Aviation Specials – May 2018

more fl ashing beacons, each being jostled

onto Memphis airport’s extended runway

centrelines by the invisible hands of air

traffi c controllers and pilots. Very rapidly,

strings of bright landing lights festoon the

dark skyscape and as they grow closer

their movement through the otherwise

empty void becomes more apparent.

Tonight FDX1121, a 757 from Des Moines,

will be fi rst to land at 2212. Then there is

an MD-10 on FDX1126 from Jacksonville at

2214, followed by a 757 on FDX1376 from

Cha anooga at 2220. Another 757 is

inbound on FDX1362 from Roanoke and is

expected to touch down at 2222, an A300

on FDX1350 is due from Mobile at 2226,

another A300 operating FDX1206 from

Boston is at 2229, and the 767 on FDX1221

is expected at about the same time. But

the night is still young, and for the next

three hours 150 aircraft will land on the

parallel runways at a peak rate of one

every 40 seconds. The last inbound will be

on the ground around 0100.

Boeing 777s and McDonnell Douglas

MD-11s handle the bulk of the international

lift, while Airbus A300s and an increasing

number of Boeing 767s replace an ever-

dwindling fl eet of MD-10s and A310s

on the domestic trunk routes to other

FedEx hubs. Boeing 757s fi ll in the gaps.

The turboprop ATRs and Caravans are

relatively scarce at Memphis, as they

primarily ply connecting routes from

secondary hubs to smaller communities.

On the ground all is still calm, but the

sense of anticipation is palpable. Dollies

are formed into precise rows besides

aircraft parking bays alongside scissor

lifts (hi- loaders, sometimes referred to as

hi-los), while across the aprons orange

beacons fl ash atop tugs. Empty ULDs (unit

load devices – metal containers, or cans)

are stacked in the corners. Coordinators

are poised in the fi rm’s ramp tower high

above the apron. As the fi rst 757 rounds the

corner, ‘an army’ bedecked in high-visibility

clothing swarms to a gate. A marshaller

brandishes illuminated wands, while wing-

walkers watch the clearances to ensure

there are no collisions with the equipment

in which drivers sit ready for action.

As soon as the aircraft comes to a stop,

a well-oiled and carefully orchestrated

machine swings into action. Chocks in,

ground power connected, and then the

hi-lo moves towards the forward fuselage

while a large cargo door swings upwards.

Ground staff open the lower holds, and

less than fi ve minutes after the wheels stop

rotating the fi rst cans are off and on the

way to the cavernous sorting facility. All

cargo will be offl oaded within half an hour.

Inside the building, much of the work is

computerised and conveyors take much

of the strain. But the massed workers

unload, check, scan, sort and reload the

millions of items FedEx handles every

night. Most are redirected to their fi nal

destinations within 15 minutes. In the

early hours processions of dollies start

to weave their way back to the myriad of

white, purple and red aircraft out on the

airfi eld. Flight plans are prepared and

fi led, weight and balance calculated, load

sheets produced, aircrews briefed, pre-

fl ight checks performed, and fuel uplifted.

At 0200 the outbound wave begins. First

out tonight will be FDX162 to Anchorage,

a 777, followed by FDX1560 to San Antonio

fl own by a 757. By 0230 the departures

will be coming thick and fast, with eight –

two A300s, three MD-10s, two 767s and a

777 – anticipated to be airborne at 0236

MEMPHIS

40 // Extreme Airports

ABOVE: A

McDonnell Douglas

MD-10F and a

MD-11F wait for

permission to taxi.

BELOW: During

the early hours,

every stand is

occupied by a

FedEx jet.

34-41_Memphis.indd 40 11/05/2018 12:45