In article .com,
Jay Honeck wrote:
Ahh, that is where I started learning to fly. If you enjoyed watching
the FedEx rush hour from the ground, then you need to come back and
take the tour of the sort hub. The tour actually starts around
midnight and, according to several FedEx pilots, is jaw droppingly
impressive. They move an inconceivable (channeling Wallace Shawn)
number of packages in just a few hours.

THAT would be cool.

I got a tour of the Memphis hub during 'peak'. Peak is their term
for the few weeks before Christmas. I was there on December 20.

As an old newspaper guy, I've always been fascinated by the assembly,
sorting and packaging equipment at the newspapers I've worked for and
with. FedEx has taken these concepts to cosmically different levels
than I've ever experienced...

The amount of sorting that goes on is amazing. The main sorting
area is three levels of conveyer belts about twenty belts wide.
The middle layer is perpendicular to the top and bottom layers.
The packages are scanned as they enter one of the conveyers on the
top level, and then the computer figures out where they need to
end up. There are hydraulic hammers along the conveyers to kick
the packages down to the next level as needed so they end up in
the right bin at the end. Make sure you have enough padding, since
your package will be getting multiple hits and drops as it is
sorted. And watch your step as you walk through the hub, since
tugs have the right of way.

And, of course, they use really cool jets to accomplish their mission,
all landing in one area within a few hours. Amazing.

Being up in the FedEx control tower watching the line of jets on
approach was really cool. They have their own control tower in
case anything happens to the FAA one, but it isn't normally staffed.
The animation of the radar plots doesn't do it justice. Looking
up and seeing 30+ planes on approach and knowing they're all FedEx
is cool.

Even the security screening is interesting. While we were waiting
for our contact at the hub, we got to watch lots of employees
showing up for work. Six or seven standing room only bus loads
would show up every few minutes, and as fast as the buses could be
unloaded, the workers were through security. The trick, besides
everyone being really familiar with going through security, was
that they didn't bother with the silly little bins for your keys.
The tables next to the walk through metal detectors had high sides,
and the workers just chucked their keys down the table as they
hustled through the metal detectors and grabbed their keys at the
end. There was a separate line off to the side for bag screening,
and a second metal detector for every three front line ones to take
care of anyone that tripped the first one. Everyone would be
through security by the time the next bus loads showed up. Even
with a high degree of automation, it still takes lots of people to
load the boxes.

John
--
John Clear - http://www.clear-prop.org/