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Though Zachary Finkbeiner and Tyler Lockhart keep track of planes at 90 gates from the airport ramp tower, directing each to and from the runway and passing them off to the taller FAA control tower, Lockhart has perspective. The air force vet worked a tower in Afghanistan, and “delay someone over there, lives are lost.”
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Though Zachary Finkbeiner and Tyler Lockhart keep track of planes at 90 gates from the airport ramp tower, directing each to and from the runway and passing them off to the taller FAA control tower, Lockhart has perspective. The air force vet worked a tower in Afghanistan, and “delay someone over there, lives are lost.”
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The controllers still move physical slips of paper around to organize aircraft, some 1,200 per day. “All these years,” says supervisor Ed Appleberry, “and they’ve never come up with a system better than this.”
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The controllers still move physical slips of paper around to organize aircraft, some 1,200 per day. “All these years,” says supervisor Ed Appleberry, “and they’ve never come up with a system better than this.”
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Sea-Tac’s longest runway closed April 1, 2016, for repairs, including extending the blast pad at the end and scrubbing the rubber off the tarmac with a brush that applies 40,000 pounds of pressure per square inch—and could tear a hole in the concrete if left in place too long. “All I know is that it has got to be open by cherry season,” says field crew manager Eric Schaefer, pointing to the cargo planes that will carry produce to China. “When those 747 freighters are weighted down, they use every inch of the runway.”
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Sea-Tac’s longest runway closed April 1, 2016, for repairs, including extending the blast pad at the end and scrubbing the rubber off the tarmac with a brush that applies 40,000 pounds of pressure per square inch—and could tear a hole in the concrete if left in place too long. “All I know is that it has got to be open by cherry season,” says field crew manager Eric Schaefer, pointing to the cargo planes that will carry produce to China. “When those 747 freighters are weighted down, they use every inch of the runway.”
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Sea-Tac’s Satellite Transit System is 43 years old, the second-oldest in the country. Its trains shuttle 16 million people annually between the Central Terminal and the North and South Satellites, on a system made by Bombardier, which also makes airplanes.
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The underground baggage system is a Rube Goldbergian tangle of conveyor belts, scanners, and handlers tossing the bags onto electric-powered carts. In spring there’s time for the handlers to lift barbells between batches of bag arrivals, but they’re prepared for the approaching summer rush. “Our city is booming,” says Navi Mattu, a Delta baggage handler. “A lot of people will be coming.”
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Cars are repaired in an underground shop, where mechanics like Mike Hurley (pictured) bring expertise gleaned from “working on every type of vehicle the port has—backhoes, truck hoes.” From underneath the STS car, he says, “It’s more like a truck from here.”
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Sea-Tac’s Satellite Transit System is 43 years old, the second-oldest in the country. Its trains shuttle 16 million people annually between the Central Terminal and the North and South Satellites, on a system made by Bombardier, which also makes airplanes.
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The underground baggage system is a Rube Goldbergian tangle of conveyor belts, scanners, and handlers tossing the bags onto electric-powered carts. In spring there’s time for the handlers to lift barbells between batches of bag arrivals, but they’re prepared for the approaching summer rush. “Our city is booming,” says Navi Mattu, a Delta baggage handler. “A lot of people will be coming.”
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Cars are repaired in an underground shop, where mechanics like Mike Hurley (pictured) bring expertise gleaned from “working on every type of vehicle the port has—backhoes, truck hoes.” From underneath the STS car, he says, “It’s more like a truck from here.”
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Published in the Secrets of Sea-Tac issue of Seattle Met.
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