Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

DL Trip Report TPA-ATL-DTW-TPA in F/Y with 77L and Cedar Point!

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • DL Trip Report TPA-ATL-DTW-TPA in F/Y with 77L and Cedar Point!

    Previous Reports:
    NW Trip Report TPA-MEM-DTW-CLE-MSP-BOI in F/Y
    NW Trip Report BOI-MSP-DTW-CLE
    NW Trip Report CLE-DTW-TPA
    DL Trip Report TPA-ATL-DCA-ATL-TPA in F/Y


    Hello,
    Once again, I'm here posting yet another trip report. This time it is of my latest trip up to Detroit. My family and I flew up to meet with relatives and to spend the Halloween weekend at Cedar Point. If you don't know what Cedar Point is the please click here.
    We met up with my uncle who had recently returned from a Mumbai trip and he got us rooms and tickets and Hotel Breakers for our stay. I was originally going to take the nonstop TPA-DTW flight but I saw an opening and you guys are about to experience exactly why I took it. Also, in my opinion, this is one of my more detailed trip reports. So, enjoy!

    Tampa, Florida
    5:50AM

    Friday, October 30th, 2009
    I woke up to my "Anthem Pt. 2 - Blink-182" ringtone. I jumped out of bed, took and shower and waited for my family to get ready. Once everyone was ready to go we got into the Xterra and headed to the airport. The drive was normal with no major traffic problems. Only problem we had was the new overpasses and road by the airport entrance re opened after being redone and we missed the airport exit! But, we still got there. We parked at the long term lot and made our way into the airport.

    Tampa International Airport

    6:35AM
    I checked in at the Delta counter and checked my one bag. I got to see the itinerary for my flights one more time there. I had specifically chosen to change my nonrev listing from NW493 to DL2058 and DL1442. Some would ask, "Why would you WANT to connect through Atlanta!?" Well, my answer is, because I get to fly on a 777-200LR. I had gotten the loads for both flights which ended up being great. Anyways, I went through security and made my way to gate E62 to see my Boeing 757-200 ETOPS sitting at the gate waiting for it's first flight of the day. I patiently waited with my tall Java Chip Frappaccino for my name to clear the stand by list. As expected, it did. But this time, First class. I finished my drink adn got on the plane for my short flight to Atlanta.

    Air Lines Flight #2058
    Tampa (TPA) - Atlanta (ATL)
    Equipment - Boeing 757-200 ETOPS
    Seat Assignment - 05A, First Class, Window
    Departure Time - 7:24AM
    Arrival Time - 9:31AM
    Flying Time - 2 hours 07 minutes
    Departure Gate - E62
    Arrival Gate - B27
    Aircraft Registration - N650DL, delivered on 6/28/1989
    Status - Delayed due to traffic in Atlanta. Landed about 20 minutes late.
    Video - Delta Flight #2058 from Tampa to Atlanta

    Flight #2058
    I boarded and sat down in seat 05A. The first thing I was asked was if I wanted a drink. We pushed back and taxied to 18R for our short takeoff roll to Atlanta. I got Sprite in a glass cup and a Delta cookie, which by the way are very good. We reached cruising altitude and I basically explored the IFE for a while. I also logged in with the "Deltatrygogo" promotional code for free wifi. About a half hour from Atlanta the captain came on and said that due to an emergency resulting in ground delays in Atlanta we were going to enter a holding pattern. We went in ovals for about 20 minutes until we descended into Atlanta. The landing was excellent with no bad turbulence. Once we parked I got a quick picture of the cockpit then left.


    Flightaware map for flight #2058.


    My plane, N650DL sitting at E62 in Tampa.


    Departure board for Atlanta wiht my name cleared as #1.


    PTV's in first class. First time ever having TV's on board a domestic flight for me!


    There was a turquoise color in the cabin. I thought this looked nice with the terminal in the background.


    Sunrise as we depart Tampa.


    Finishing our turn over Tampa Bay.


    Sprite and free WiFi!


    Just over the Georgia border.


    In our holding pattern.


    Some clouds.


    Holding.


    Finally landed in Atlanta. Taxing to the gate here.


    Gate B27


    N650DL's cockpit.

    Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport
    The Atlanta airport was pretty nice in my opinion. I got off 2058 and headed for the tram to Concourse E, to find my 77L. I do have to say though, they really do jerk that tram around compared to the one in Detroit! Anyways, I found my flight on the screens and headed to E16. When I arrived I saw the beast sitting there staring at me! Haha. I sat there waiting... After about 20 minutes they called my name and gave me my seat. 41A. They said Business had checked in full but I didn't care, I just wanted to get on.


    Inside Atlanta's international concourse. (Concourse E)

    Air Lines Flight #1442
    Atlanta (ATL) - Detroit (DTW)
    Equipment - Boeing 777-200LR
    Seat Assignment - 41A, Economy, Window
    Departure Time - 10:24AM
    Arrival Time - 12:33PM
    Flying Time - 2 hours 09 minutes
    Departure Gate - E16
    Arrival Gate - A30
    Aircraft Registration - N703DN, delivered on 3/6/2009
    Status - On Time
    Video - Delta Flight #1442 from Atlanta to Detroit

    Flight #1442
    This is one of the most amazing flights I've ever been on. Once I boarded I could tell this plane was brand new. Everything smelled nice, everything was clean and the seats were spotless! I found my seat (41A) and found out I had the entire row to myself! I took a few pictures as we taxied to the runway and saw the Delta Breast Cancer Awareness 757. After watching the takeoff I turned on my little PTV. I looked through it to find it was a different selection then the previous flight. So, I watched my two favorite shows. House and NCIS. As we cruised I looked around the cabin and took pictures. I was given a Coke and some peanuts, but I would have preferred the cookie. We started our descent into Detroit, Michigan once I was halfway through mu NCIS episode. When we landed we all clapped when the flight attendant told us we had military personel on board for a brief visit back home. Once we parked I talked to the captain and took some more pictures. But, I had to get off of the plane at one point! Haha


    Flightaware map for flight #1442.


    N703DN sitting at E16 waiting for me!


    Gate E16 and Flight 1442.


    View from my seat.


    View while taxing.


    Climbing over the storm clouds in Atlanta.


    Watching House M.D.


    The huge wing of the 77L.


    My snack.


    Cruising.


    The cabin.


    My row.


    Coming up on Sandusky. Exactly where I would be 8 hours later.


    Wingview.


    Descending.


    Spoilers.


    Detroit!


    Turning while on approach.


    On final.


    The two tails.


    PTV's switched over to this.


    The flightdeck on N703DN.


    Business Elite seating.


    N703DN viewed from the Detroit terminal.

    Detroit Metropolitan Wayne Co. International Airport

    When I arrived in the Detroit airport I made my way to the bathroom. After that I did some roaming which included going over to the airlink terminals. I had a while to sit around because my mom and sister where flying on NW493 nonstop from TPA getting in at around 2:45PM and my cousin was coming in from Boise at around 4:30PM. When my family got off the TPA flight we made our way to Chili's and ate. I got the Broccoli Cheddar Soup and a Bacon Cheese Burger. Once we finished we sat and watched the Tokyo flight leave. Then, we went over to gate A27 for my cousins flight arriving from Salt Lake City. Once we got him we went to baggage claim and got our bags.


    Inside the tram in Detroit.


    An A320 CFM engine.


    A Northwest CRJ-200 taxing by.


    My mom and sister arriving.


    Their plane parking.

    The Drives, Cedar Point and Detroit
    The drive from Detroit to Cedar Point is about three hours. My uncle had brought his '09 Explorer and his friend, Michelle, brought her '08 Mountaineer, with her daughter and her friend. My cousin and I decided to drive with Michelle. We basically just slept a little bit, talked and ate. We stopped at a gas station after passing though Toledo and we got a 64oz Gatorade and two huge sourpatch bags! We finally got into Cedar Point at about 7:30PM. We checked in and went into the park. We all rode Maverick, Magnum XL-200, Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster. We finally got to sleep at around 1:30AM!

    Saturday, October 31st, 2009

    We got up at about 9:00AM and immediately got ready and got in the park at 10. We rode a bunch of rides including Magnum XL-200, Millennium Force, Raptor, Maverick and Top Thrill Dragster. We finally talked Michelle's daughter and her friend into riding Dragster. So after dinner, we rode it and it ended up being their favorite ride. We ended up riding Top Thrill Dragster 10 times between 9PM and midnight. There was like no line. We finally got to be that night at around 2AM.


    View from our hotel room. Lake Erie.


    Top Thrill Dragster. Launches you from 0-125MPH in 3.8 seconds sending you straight up 420 feet then straight down! The most amazing ride ever!


    Cresting the top.

    Sunday, November 1st, 2009
    We got up at around 9AM and finished our packing. We checked out and I was given the keys to my uncles Explorer. It was a big up from my mom's Xterra. We left and met my grandparents at a Bob Evan's down the street. I got a huge breakfast since I hadn't really eaten anything lately. After we ate we all got in the cars (Explorer, Mountaineer and Camry) and started driving back to Detroit. We stopped at a Nuclear Power Plant and took a family picture in front of it. Haha. After that we finally made it back to Detroit, or more specifically, Novi. We took our bags downstairs. We came back up and my aunt came back inside and said that the dog, "Frosty" had chased a raccoon up a tree. It was pretty funny to see a raccoon in a tree and a miniature dog barking at it! I took a picture of it then went back inside. Later, we drove to Buffalo Wild Wings. On the way there we got about 3 feet from hitting a deer. No exaggeration. All I heard was tires squealing from the other lane and then I saw a deer running in front of the car! We ate at Buffalo Wild Wings for a while and played games. When we went home, my uncle let me drive his 2010 Lincoln MKS. It is officially the nicest car I have ever been in! I went back, packed and went to bed since I flew home the next day.


    The raccoon Frosty chased up a tree!


    My uncle's 2010 Lincoln MKS.

    Detroit, Michigan
    5:45AM
    Monday, November 2nd, 2009
    I woke up in the early morning. The first thing I did was go wake my cousin up. I got dressed, took a shower and ate breakfast. We got in the car and headed to the airport at around 6:30AM. I didn't have a very long travel day ahead of me (1 flight) but my cousin did since he was going all the way out to Boise through Minneapolis. When we arrived at the airport we got our bags out of the car, said goodbye to my uncle and went inside.

    Detroit Metropolitan Wayne Co. International Airport
    After arriving we made our way to a surprisingly long check in line. It took us about a half hour to get through it! Afterwards we went through security. As I was taking my shoes off I remembered that I had left my face wash and acne medicine in my backpack. Both being over 7 ounces each. So, all I said was ooooh crap! Luckily they didn't catch it and let me go with it. After security we went with my cousin to A40 to say goodbye when he left for Minneapolis. Afterwards we headed over to A8 for our flight to Tampa. Since I had about two hours I decided to ask for my mom's Delta ID and look around for the stop over store. After being given directions several times I finally found it. It involved going down an authorized personnel elevator to the "gate" level. I bought a 747 cockpit poster, a DTW crew bag tag and a Delta key chain. After that I went back up and waited to be called for the Tampa flight. They cleared us in an exit row and we boarded.


    Check in.


    Inside the terminal.


    The tram and the fountain.


    Water.


    747-400.


    Delta Stop Over Store.

    Airlines Flight #2173
    Detroit (DTW) - Tampa (TPA)
    Equipment - Boeing 757-200 (5500 Series)
    Seat Assignment - 33F, Exit, Economy, Window
    Departure Time - 10:32AM
    Arrival Time - 1:00PM
    Flying Time - 2 hours 28 minutes
    Departure Gate - A8
    Arrival Gate - E67
    Aircraft Registration - N503US, delivered on 4/22/1985
    Status - On Time
    Video: Northwest Flight #2173 from Detroit to Tampa

    Flight #2173
    Boarding the plane I automatically knew it was the 5500 series. (I didn't look at my pictures yet at that time). The plane itself showed alot of aging and dirt. The tray tables were scratched and almost broken, the carpet was worn out badly, windows were scratched and the plastic around the windows were cracked. Even the seats, showed age. I looked out onto the wing and saw dirt. Of all the Northwest flights I've taken in my life, this had to involve the worst plane. We pushed back and took off. The flight was fairly uneventful and I slept most of the time. I woke up for the descent and found that the flight attendant in the jumpseat right infront of me was talking to my mom. Apparently they were partners at the Northwest Experience last year. We took a different approach into Tampa this time. We came in from the east over downtown and turned around south of MacDill. The landing was kinda rough. We parked at our gate I we went back home after a long weekend!


    Flightaware map for flight #2173.


    Our gate to Tampa.


    N503US.


    View from my seat.


    Taxing past N676NW. I was on that plane in June 2008 while it was still in Northwest colors.


    Descending into Tampa.


    Tampa Airport.


    Downtown Tampa. The blur is not the camera. It was the window.


    Turning back towards TPA.


    Over MacDill Air Force Base.


    Back home.


    Again, thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read my report. I put alot of work into this so I hope you enjoyed it. If you'd like to see my previous reports, use the links at the top of the page. If you'd like to view my Jetphotos or YouTube videos click the links below. Once again, thank you and enjoy!

    My Jetphotos

    My YouTube Videos

    Sincerely,
    Matt Doehring


  • #2
    That is a good comprehensive flight review, thanks for posting. I loved watching your videos as well, what camera do you use? Can't wait till later this month, I'll be connecting at ATL!

    Comment


    • #3
      Excellent flight review

      Originally posted by Foxtrot View Post
      That is a good comprehensive flight review, thanks for posting. I loved watching your videos as well, what camera do you use? Can't wait till later this month, I'll be connecting at ATL!
      Really a great flight review, very nice job Matt! I can't believe you got to ride the Boeing 777L on a US domestic flight! As for which camera he uses, according to his exif data, he uses a Sony Alpha A-200 DSLR.

      Regards,

      Rohan

      Comment


      • #4
        Thanks!
        Yes, I'm using a Sony A-200 DSLR. For the videos, I used a small handheld Casio digital camera! Haha.

        Comment


        • #5
          This report is perfect. Nothing tops having TPA and the 77L in one report. Plus, your pictures are great.

          Thanks for sharing!

          Comment


          • #6
            Enjoyed reading all of your reports.
            Airlines: XT,KL,SN,ACA,DL,AF,TV,SN,OS,LX,WA,NW,FI,US,AW,CO,OH,OO,9W,AA,AE,FL,B6

            Aircraft:AT4,B763,B734,A321,B743,FRJ,B763ER,B772,A343,B733,F70,MD80,AR8,A319,CRJ,F50,D10,D95,A333,B752,B762,ERD,B764,CR9,B77W,AB6,ATR,B717,E190

            Airports: ANR,AMS,ATL,BRU,ATH,JFK,LGA,GSP,CDG,FCO,EWR,FAO,VIE,ZRH,MEM,DTW,KEF,PHL,CLT,IAH,MIA,JAX

            Comment


            • #7
              Excellent trip report. I just love non-reving on DL and am SO jealous you got to ride on the 77L domestically. Although I don't believe that the 757 you were on was etops; especially if it had the new entertainment system.
              Flown on: 146, 319, 320, 321, 717, 722, 732, 733, 737, 738, 744, 752, 753, 762, 763, 764, 772, AT7, CR1, CR2, CR7, CR9, 328, D9S, D95, 135, 145, 170, 175, F100, L10, M11, M88, M90

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by WidgetKid View Post
                Excellent trip report. I just love non-reving on DL and am SO jealous you got to ride on the 77L domestically. Although I don't believe that the 757 you were on was etops; especially if it had the new entertainment system.
                Thanks. No, it wasn't ETOPS. I didn't figure that out until recently. For some reason I thought all 757s with winglets were ETOPS certified. Learn new things every day!

                Comment

                Working...
                X