Ha. What's worse is driving into the domestic terminals; two lanes in all the way around. It backs up a lot all the way past the international terminal. But to anyone who thinks this is amazing. Go into the international terminal and you will be blown away.
SFO's terminal layout is among the best in the world... By bringing the passenger lanes into the middle of the airport like they do, no gate is more than a short walk from where you are dropped off, and the airport 'feels' a lot smaller than it actually is.Its runway layout on the other hand is one of the worst for a major international airport. The parallel runways are usable in VFR conditions only because they're so close, and considering that SFO sits in a regular fog zone, this means that often the airport can only operate at 1/2 runway capacity. Rising Terrain to the Southwest also forbids any Takeoffs from 19s and Landings on the 1s, further restricting runway capacity, and finally, the 28R, the only 10Kft+ runway (long enough to handle a 747 at Gross takeoff weight) points directly at a 1300 foot hill, making for a very thin margin of error should a heavy loose an engine on takeoff).Other than that, its a beautiful airport;) (Bay Area GA pilot)
That AirTrain thing isn't the most intuitive thing in the world, the two times I've been on it I've taken the long way around because you can't easily discern which way you're going. Luckily you'll always eventually get to where you want...eventually. The Bay Area's entire public transportation system is a bit of a clusterf**k. BART, Muni, SamTran, all work differently from each other and are incompatible with each other when it comes to ticketing.
You know, right after I wrote this I was driving by SFO on my way into the city and I noticed the ILS on 1R for the first time...Still never seen (but I think I may have heard) a 19 departure... but I seem to be incorrect, they _can_ do operations to the southwest, I guess they just usually don't for noise abatement reasons I guess.Thanks for the post;)
blkhwk86Apr 2, 2007
Ha. What's worse is driving into the domestic terminals; two lanes in all the way around. It backs up a lot all the way past the international terminal. But to anyone who thinks this is amazing. Go into the international terminal and you will be blown away.
eridanmanApr 2, 2007
SFO's terminal layout is among the best in the world... By bringing the passenger lanes into the middle of the airport like they do, no gate is more than a short walk from where you are dropped off, and the airport 'feels' a lot smaller than it actually is.Its runway layout on the other hand is one of the worst for a major international airport. The parallel runways are usable in VFR conditions only because they're so close, and considering that SFO sits in a regular fog zone, this means that often the airport can only operate at 1/2 runway capacity. Rising Terrain to the Southwest also forbids any Takeoffs from 19s and Landings on the 1s, further restricting runway capacity, and finally, the 28R, the only 10Kft+ runway (long enough to handle a 747 at Gross takeoff weight) points directly at a 1300 foot hill, making for a very thin margin of error should a heavy loose an engine on takeoff).Other than that, its a beautiful airport;) (Bay Area GA pilot)
jgrggApr 2, 2007
looks sort of like the airport in gta vice city
maglobApr 2, 2007
*insert generic comment about lack of digg picture section here*
diuleiApr 2, 2007
Or Tokyo or Seoul's.
virguleApr 2, 2007
astounding! now lets count the parked cars. :)
redfanApr 2, 2007
That was definitely weird when I was there... all you see is water, water, water... then you hit the ground. Bit jittery, but a nice view.
acetracerApr 3, 2007
That AirTrain thing isn't the most intuitive thing in the world, the two times I've been on it I've taken the long way around because you can't easily discern which way you're going. Luckily you'll always eventually get to where you want...eventually. The Bay Area's entire public transportation system is a bit of a clusterf**k. BART, Muni, SamTran, all work differently from each other and are incompatible with each other when it comes to ticketing.
eridanmanApr 10, 2007
You know, right after I wrote this I was driving by SFO on my way into the city and I noticed the ILS on 1R for the first time...Still never seen (but I think I may have heard) a 19 departure... but I seem to be incorrect, they _can_ do operations to the southwest, I guess they just usually don't for noise abatement reasons I guess.Thanks for the post;)
scomarthaMay 21, 2007
Perfect post! Is anyone able to open this link?
osubukuOct 11, 2007
You guys are nuts!This city is one of the most beautiful on earth...<a class="user" href="http://www.myairballoonsbuddies.com/forums/func,view/catid,2/id,330/">http://www.myairballoonsbuddies.com/forums/func,vi ...</a>
sungoddess808Mar 14, 2008
Great photo! And to think it's only seven minutes from my house. What a spectacular view! =)