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Follow along as we fly from SFO to HNL in an NWA 757-351 
and meet some of those involved with your on time departure and safety.
FLT 221, 6/5/07, NM 2098, PTOG 259000, FUEL 58200, FLT TIME 4:58, ETOPS SMF-ITO.

SFO Flight Ops

After speaking with our dispatcher, Todd verifies the information on our flight plan and creates our Pacific Orientation Chart. He highlights our route, creates our ETOPS points and we check weather, fuel, NOTAMS and winds aloft. The paper on the left is our "flight release", to the right is our "flight plan" and above those is our West Coast/Hawaiian Orientation chart.

Flight Op's people are great and have all of our paperwork printed, ready and laid out when we arrive.

Walk around inspection time.

LEFT: While we prepare the airplane, the ramp guys load us up. It takes many people to get us ready to fly across the Pacific.

While Todd did the walk around inspection I inspected the logbook and loaded the computer. (FMC) LEFT: By this time our flight attendants have boarded the airplane, stowed their gear and checked their equipment. Time for me to say hello and brief them concerning flight time, weather and ride info and stress the importance of good crew coordination. All of this done of course with a delicious cup of airline coffee. We're almost ready to go.

Gate agents...

Mechanics...

and aircraft fuelers. It takes a small army of people, acting in unison to get flight 221 out on time. And these are only the people that you see.

And let's not forget the guys in the tower and the caterers who supply us with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

NWA, now DAL, utilizes the 757-300 series for our west coast to HNL service. She has 224 seats, a max gross takeoff weight of 265,000 pounds and can carry 81,000 pounds of fuel in her three tanks. Much more than the 58,200 pounds we'll need today.

Our "push crew" holds up the steering bypass pin and salutes us goodbye. This tells me that the nose wheel steering has been reconnected and we're clear of all ramp obstructions. With our after start check complete I call for flaps 15 and a taxi clearance.

Todd calls ground control and receives a clearance to runway 28L via Alpha, Foxtrot1 and Foxtrot and performs the taxi checklist.

With all checklists complete, we're cleared into position and hold on runway 28L. Moments later we're cleared for takeoff to follow the GAP3 departure.

Shortly after the gear and flaps are up and stowed we can see San Francisco and the Bay Bridge off our right. The GAP3 is simply a straight out departure, 13 DME to the Gap intersection.

The Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito pass off our right side as we climb straight out towards GAP intersection.

Approaching GAP, ATC clears us directly to our first track position, BEBOP at 37N125W.

We're well west of SFO now, but this shot will give you an overhead perspective of SFO.

N36W128

N32W126

N31W133

N24W156

We have approximately 2,000 miles of ocean to span, the worlds largest infact, to the worlds most remote archipelago. Shown above are a variety of views from the cockpit window depending upon your direction of flight. We're on track R464 which starts at BEBOP (N37W125) and ends at BITTA (N23.5W155.5) 

Here's the big picture! R464 is highlighted, showing our track and all appropriate coordinates, oceanic entry and exit points and ETOPS location. There's neither radar nor VHF out here so all position reports and other communications are accomplished via HF, SELCAL or ACARS.

We're approaching BILLO, approximately N31W142 as I prepare our next position report. I'll call SFO Radio on HF and give them our position/time over, next waypoint and ETA, flight level, fuel, winds and ride info. We passed BILLO one minute early and 600 pounds under burn.

We're about half way, have past our west coast ETOPS point, have given two position reports... now it's time for dinner! Looks like Mexican this afternoon. Many complain about crew meals but I enjoy them. But keep in mind I like the coffee too.

We're west now of our oceanic exit point nearing BRADR at approximately N24.5W154. We'll contact HNL center shortly on VHF and start listening for HNL ATIS.

How do we know when we're getting close to HNL? Simple, our lead FA brings up chocolate chip cookies. We've stowed our crossing cart and now refer to a HNL High Altitude Enroute Chart.

Dispatch sends us an ACARS ALERT message concerning the Kilauea volcano on the island of Hawaii as we start our descent approaching Maui, Molokai and the Kaiwi Channel.

WONDERBAR!! Oahu. Two thousand one hundred miles later there it is, dead ahead, we found it!

LANDFALL! Over Oahu looking down into the Diamondhead Crater, Waikiki Beach and downtown Honolulu. We'll have dinner at Dukes tonight on Waikiki.

On a high, right downwind for 8L with a great view of HNL, Pearl Harbor and the Waianae Mountain Range. We're six minutes ahead of our flight plan and 1,800 pounds under burn.

We've turned final over the Pearl Harbor Channel and have been cleared to land on 8L. You can see 8R, the reef runway, Diamondhead and downtown Honolulu as well.

We've landed and turned off 8L but thought you might want to see this NWA 747-400 that landed behind us. Inbound from Nagoya I think. That's the WaIanae Mountain Range behind them that I mentioned in a previous shot.

We'll fall in line behind this Hawaiian B-767-300ER to the gate. They just arrived from LAX.

Holding short of the ramp. American just pushed from the gate in this 767-300ER and will be underway momentarily.

We're almost there, we'll be parking adjacent to that 757-300 that you see ahead to the right.

The old control tower near our gates as we pull into our alley.

We've parked and will be heading downtown soon but thought you might like to see these two DC-10's parked behind us.

Whoa, that's far enough.

We're parked at the gate and the chocks are set.

We officially hand the airplane over to maintenance.

And the ramp guys unload her.

The Hawaiian Islands, the worlds most remote archipelago and we found it! And the next morning as I enjoy breakfast and later lunch on beautiful Waikiki Beach. Thanks very much for following along on NWA flight 221 on 5 June 2007.

Yes it's true. All good things do come to an end. About 31 hours later we're back on the job preparing to return to the mainland.

Looking down runway 8R at 2230. We're bound for LAX via the MKK4 departure and Track 577. We'll arrive at LAX at about 0630 tomorrow morning.

The same view down 8R if you're lucky enough to have the seniority to fly the daytime flight. This runway is also known as "the reef" runway and was an alternate space shuttle landing site for this corner of the world.

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