quick question -

Another quick question - I heard an ATC in B airspace refer to an
aircraft as being "in the penalty box" - is this a holding area for
aircraft that aren't cleared to depart or who are waiting for an
aircraft to clear their gate?

Thanks in advance -

-B

Sandman wrote
Another quick question - I heard an ATC in B airspace refer to an
aircraft as being "in the penalty box" - is this a holding area for
aircraft that aren't cleared to depart or who are waiting for an
aircraft to clear their gate?

At Chicago's O'hare (ORD), waiting for a gate.

Bob Moore
PanAm (retired)

On Jul 15, 4:19 pm, Robert Moore wrote:
Sandman wrote

Another quick question - I heard an ATC in B airspace refer to an
aircraft as being "in the penalty box" - is this a holding area for
aircraft that aren't cleared to depart or who are waiting for an
aircraft to clear their gate?

At Chicago's O'hare (ORD), waiting for a gate.

Bob Moore
PanAm (retired)

If I remember correctly, there's a a parking area on the tarmac that
is labeled "Penalty Box". I thought airplanes that violated a
controller's directive were sent there. Was it just a parking area
waiting for a gate to clear?

wrote:

If I remember correctly, there's a a parking area on the tarmac that
is labeled "Penalty Box". I thought airplanes that violated a
controller's directive were sent there. Was it just a parking area
waiting for a gate to clear?

As far as I know, the PB is at any airport, and is just a euphemism for
wherever you get to sit and wait for many reasons. You could be waiting
for a clearance, a gate, etc... but you can't wait on the taxi way, or
at the gate, if outbound.

Anything with no place to be gets to sit there, out of the way, in the
Penalty Box.

On Jul 15, 4:19*pm, Robert Moore wrote:
Sandman *wrote

Another quick question - I heard an ATC in B airspace refer to an
aircraft as being "in the penalty box" - is this a holding area for
aircraft that aren't cleared to depart or who are waiting for an
aircraft to clear their gate?

At Chicago's O'hare (ORD), waiting for a gate.

Bob Moore
PanAm (retired)

For what it's worth, ORD was in fact the airport where I heard this -
thanks - puzzling to me that it would be specific to that airport.

I had a research advisor named Bob Moore, BTW

-B

Sandman wrote
For what it's worth, ORD was in fact the airport where I heard this -
thanks - puzzling to me that it would be specific to that airport.

The ground controllers at ORD used to have all sorts of cutesy names
for the ramps and taxiways. The following was copied for a web site.

"O'Hare is a bit busier at nine in the morning than JFK would be, but not
enough to be a problem. It's been quite a while since I last originated a
flight from ORD, and among other changes the taxiways have all been renamed
to the modern standard of alphabetic names. This is a bit of a shame, since
ORD taxiways were, at one time, embellished with names of the most
outlandish whimsy, such as the "Scenic", no doubt short for the scenic
route, which that particular piece of concrete may well have been! "Wolf
Road" was the terminology for a short north-south stretch that could, in
fact, be seen as a virtual extension of the real Wolf Rd, a major
thoroughfare just north of the airport. Some names, such as the "Cargo"
were self explanatory (that was the one that ran right by the old cargo
facility, the facility that was torn down to make way for the new
international terminal), while others, such as the "Wedge" are more
nebulous. I suppose that particular taxiway just looked like a wedge from
the air. Who among us really knows now, since all of the original players
are long retired?"

Ah..Yes....aren't we?

Bob Moore
ATP B-707 B-727
PanAm (retired)

On 2008-07-15, Sandman wrote:

Another quick question - I heard an ATC in B airspace refer to an
aircraft as being "in the penalty box" - is this a holding area for
aircraft that aren't cleared to depart or who are waiting for an
aircraft to clear their gate?

Thanks in advance -

It doesn't exist. Just a slang term for a controller who sends you to
the back of the line when you **** them off or mess up their sequencing.


Morris