April 26, 2005 – SJC to AUS Nonstop

April 26, 2005 – SJC to AUS Nonstop

It’s Tuesday April 26, 2005 at 12:10 PM, American Airlines 1172 is pushing back six minutes behind its scheduled 12:04 departure time from Gate A10 at San Jose Mineta International Airport. I’m sitting in window seat 5A, port side of the MD80 bound for Austin Bergstrom International Airport, arrival time 5:24 PM Central Daylight Time. The two rear mounted Pratt & Whitney engines on the MD80 will propel us at 500 mph during our three-hour flight but as we crawl along the taxiway almost the entire length of the runway, they appear more the tortoise than the hare. As we near the end of the taxiway, passing several brown rectangular-fronted buildings each with a triangular fronted roof, the captain announces over the intercom, “we’re number one for takeoff. Flight attendances please take their seats. Welcome aboard.”

He swings the plane in a complete u-turn to the right pauses at the end of runway right, and then floors the two Pratt & Whitney engines. We immediately feel the thrust push us back into our seats. In no time at all we’re streaking down the runway and as we pass the control tower off the port side of the plane, the MD80 climbs effortlessly, gracefully skyward, zipping across California 101 and gaining altitude heading northwest before beginning a banking right turn that will bring us in a gradual u-turn heading south along the California 101. As we begin the turn, the wetlands at the southern tip of San Francisco Bay are spread out beneath me. As we complete the turn, we are flying over the sprawl of Silicon Valley hemmed in by the Diablo range to the east. As if challenging the physical boundary, valley houses are creeping up the side of the range made green by a season of abundant rain; the gullies of the mountains lush with dark green vegetation fed by water trapped beneath ground.

We’ve flying south and slightly west a mere 15 minutes into the flight. We’ve gained enough altitude that puffs of clouds are passing beneath us as we come upon San Luis Reservoir and O'Neill Forebay off highway 152 just over the crest of Pacheco Pass that cuts across the Diablo Range. The MD80 is on a path that will soon have it passing over Interstate 5. Between the Mountains and the Interstate lay stretches of parched brown earth that soon gives way to a quilt of large green and brown squares where corporate agriculture has cultivated the land. Running alongside I-5 and making the greening possible is the California Aqueduct.

It’s 12:35 and the view out my window is becoming obscured by an increasing amount of haze. “This is the captain,” the intercom says. “We’ve reached our cruising altitude of 33,000 feet. I’ve turned off the seat belt sign and you’re free to move about the cabin. But when you’re seated be sure to keep your seat belts fastened.” The MD80 has gradually eased eastward just far enough that we’re over 5 freeway, which I can just make out through the haze that continues its game of peek-a-boo.

At 12:55 I’m looking down on brown mountaintops with bits of white scattered along the peaks. The earth below is a huge canvas and the artist only has brown and white paint in his palette. The result is a collection of approximate squares and rectangles and imperfectly shaped circles of varying shades of brown. The quilt of irregularly shaped brown sections flow endlessly beneath the plane. A little further along we pass over a large stretch of beige the color of mocha followed by a section of light brown streaked with white (limestone?).

Just after 1:00 we come upon a housing subdivision disappearing beneath the MD80. The overcast has nearly gone. Beyond the town is an isosceles triangle of land laid out next to a section of white land that resembles the cross section of an airplane wing. It’s three times the size of the triangle.

At 1:40, the MD80 comes upon the outskirts of a large city and the Captain announces we’re passing over Phoenix. It become clear to me once I find Interstate 10 heading east and see where it crosses Interstate 17 heading north to the greener and cooler climes of Flagstaff. At I-17, I-10 heads south and east on its way to Tucson. Thereafter it turns eastward and heads for El Paso. As the MD80 continues on, the earth below slowly begins to turn from brown to green. By 2:00 Pacific Daylight time, we’re well into New Mexico.

At 2:10 below us several thousand feet on the port side of the MD80 a lone jet streaks westward—our combined speed making the jet’s passing that much faster. In another five minutes a densely populated area appears ahead. As we come upon the area, the pilot announces we’re over El Paso off the starboard side and Las Cruces off the port side. We’re less than 500 miles to Austin and the rate the pilot is going we’ll be 15 minutes ahead of schedule.

By 3:00 Pacific Daylight time, 5:00 Central Daylight Time, the pilot begins to decelerate and I can feel the plane begin its descent from 33,000 feet. The rate of descent is becoming noticeable as my ears begin to complain. “We’re 75 miles from Austin Bergstrom Airport,” the intercom declares. Below details on the ground are becoming clearer. Lush stretches of green dotted with homes on large tracts of land, a development of large lot homes clustered together, a river snaking its way beneath the MD80…

We pass Austin downtown heading south toward Bergstrom. We fly south of the airport then bank left and make our way toward runway left. The air brakes come on and the pilot reduces altitude further as the MD80 closes in on the end of the runway. We pass over what appears to be a wrecking yard and a bit further along a large lot containing garbage trucks. Over a stretch of trees and a river or canal and the plane touches down at 5:20 Central Daylight Time. We’re in Austin, in just under three hours of flying.