    
Charles Hoffman
New member
Username: Charlie
Post Number: 3
Registered: 12-2005
Posted From: 161.226.4.6
| | Posted on Friday, July 21, 2006 - 03:38 pm: | |
Made a first time Category VI "Space A" trip from San Antonio to Washington DC and back on July 7th through July 14th 2006. I had anticipated the flight and registered with Lackland/Kelly AFB about a month in advance to Dover AFB (and back) on possible C-5 flight. About two weeks in advance, I also registered with Randolph AFB for flights to Andrews AFB (and back) as a back-up option. Later, the monthly Lackland schedule did not list any possible suitable flights; however, a few days before July 7th Randolph listed a C-21 with six seats on a 1100 showtime for an apparent 1200 departure.
I checked with Randolph PAX who suggested showing up about an hour before showtime and on July 7th I showed up first about 90 minutes before showtime to begin processing. Another Category VI showed up about 15 minutes later. A female active duty with one grade school child showed up about 1000 hours. A second active duty female with two kids (toddler and grade schooler) showed up about 1030 hours with a car seat, stroller, and luggage all of which was too much for one person to handle. These arrivals placed the other Category VI at risk on not getting on the aircraft; but, the PAX staff said they would ask the aircrew about carrying the extra person.
By 1120 hours we all had been processed, briefed, and were awaiting aircraft boarding. The C-21 was called ready for boarding by 1140 hours and we were wheels up at Noon for the three hours flight to Andrews AFB. Checked baggage meant heaving the luggage behind the bulkhead at the last row of seats. WE ended up leaving the other Category VI behind even though the aircraft left with two regular seats empty. The toddler pitched a fit and rode on her mother's lap the entire flight. The other two grade schoolers fit nicely with one adult in the two rear bulkhead seats which yielded the two empty seats. No care or concern was shown by the active duty SpaceA passengers traveling with dependents for the person left behind. (I have been reading this very informative web page regularly for about a year and it seems to me that much of the useful information is apparently contributed by retirees/Category VI members. My recent SpaceA contacts with active duty personnel leaves me with the impression that they view retiree interests/efforts as an "extra" burden on their normal duties. I am wondering if a separate section on this webpage exclusively for Category VI retirees might not produce better SpaceA travel results for us.)
On our return flight, my wife joined me as her first time SpaceA flight after initially flying commercial to visit relatives ahead of me. The drop-off fee of $175.00 by Enterprise Car rental located at the PAX Terminal at Andrews AFB, where I picked up the car about a week earlier, forced our situation to attempt the return flight from Andrews rather then from Dover, McGuire. or other possible locations. (I think a business opportunity exists here wherein, for a small fee, a centralized car rental coordination service could be arranged between Category VI SpaceA travelers and the various large/national car rental businesses wherein better rates, elimination of extra fees, and better access hours could be arranged to everybody's benefit around the country.)
"Cherry" does a nice job posting the Andrews schedule on this web page that we used as a general reference. After her initial posting for July 13th, we later listened to the telephone recording and heard about a C-40 going to Ft Worth NAS with a show time of 1800 hours and 2000 departure time. Somewhat suspicions of the information, we went to the PAX terminal about 1330 hours for any updates including potential number of seats for that flight as well as for any further details about flights for the next day. The PAX terminal staff could add nothing to the recorded information; however, I did determine that they were generally geographically challenged about the arrival locations of many of the flights and even seemed to have difficulty finding particular flights in their written materials. We left the terminal and returned about 1630 hours and, of course, the C-40 flight had been called and had left during the previous three hours and well in advance of the projected show time. To be fair, the PAX staff did perform their basic job well of calling the flights, checking materials, and boarding the aircraft; but, be forewarned that guesstimates and informed opinions about potential/pending SpaceA arrangements may not be particularily helpful.
We spent two nights at Andrews at commercial establishments off-base because of lack of military housing in the area. The Air Force lodging has lost 60% of capacity apparently because of renovations and was full until at least mid-September. The AF lodging staff does not coordinate with the Naval lodging staff at Andrews nor with Bolling AFB and would not allow retirees to access any contract housing arrangements. Sadly, it seemed the desk personnel felt quite comfortable telling you there were no rooms and goodbye. The Naval lodging staff were much more helpful; but, they could not locate any rooms in the area either. The commercial facilities also did not offer any discounts for walk-up reservations with a military ID card. (Again I think a business opportunity may exist for a centralized, coordinating arrangement that, for a small fee, links the various area lodging (military and commercial) facilities with SpaceA Category VI travelers in an effective manner that includes confirmed room availablity, pick-up transportation, and significantly reduced rates at commercial facilities as may be needed.) The military front desk personnel did not show much more initiative or effort then did the staff at the commercial facilities which may be a common finding that other have experienced.
On July 7th, we arrived at the Andrews PAX terminal at 0630 hours for a 0800 hours showtime on a KC-135 headed to Lackland AFB with a 1000 departure time indicated. The showtime call produced four people (active duty female going home on vacation, young reservist moving to San Antonio for job/assignment, and my wife and I.) We boarded the aircraft about 1000 hours and experienced a 30 minutes communications delay followed by a taxi-out and return for another 60 minute delay on an electrical problem. We discovered that KC-135's do not have air conditioning while on the ground so the interior of the aircraft was quite hot for the 90 minutes during the various repairs on the aircraft. Luckily we had purchased the in-flight meal which contained water and other fluids that kept us hydrated during the wait. The aircrew was attentive to our needs; but, I would caution that this type of aircraft is not suitable for young children or medically fragile travelers. The interior is too dark for reading and got cold in flight for some of the passengers, somewhat like the C-17's I have been reading about. WE did bring ear plugs which are essential because of the noise level and three or four hours in the sling/web seats on the side of the aircraft might be the maximum length for personal comfort. WE did have a medical squadron on-board the aircraft during the flight to practice/drill their operational techniques which was interesting to observe.
Well I got back in about a week, learned a lot during our first experience, and generally confirmed much of the information we have been reading on this webpage. Being flexible, creative, and "going-with-theflow" are the keys to having a reasonably good experience though I think I will fly commercial in the future on trips of three or four hours as a more comfortable situation. |