Watch the Devils do their traveling!

by MyDogsNameIsKovy on Nov 29, 2011 3:15 PM EST

I combined the Devils and my other passion...enjoy.

Years ago, the fans that are locals to Newark Airport may have seen the white Boeing 727 with the Devils logo on the tail parked over by the cross runway that runs perpendicular to the Turnpike. Its tail number is currently N615PA. That aircraft isn't the Devils' ride to and from away games any more and the team is now a client of Air Canada Jetz, the subdivision of Air Canada that specializes in all-business class charter operations. N615PA also served as the charter jet for the Dallas Stars and flew for Alitalia, Continental, Peoplexpress, Starjet Canada, Viscount Air Service, Ryan International Airlines and Miami Air International. (Whew.)

I don't post on ILWT a lot, and I'm not well-known to the community. But two things I am are a Devils fan and an aviation geek. Having said that, below please see the map that I have been building (and will continue to update throughout the season) that details the Devils' flying activities. It is current to the point that I've already loaded the flight to Denver for tomorrow's game. The team landed about two hours ago.

2011-2012 New Jersey Devils flight map

Hopefully you'll find this the least bit enjoyable, and maybe see that our team has it easy in the Eastern Conference has it easy regarding travel given how infrequently it gets updated.

--Mike, aka MyDogsNameIsKovy (and yes, I have a dog that we named Kovy)

All FanPosts and FanShots are the respective work of the author and not representative of the writers or other users of In Lou We Trust.

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Cool, Thanks!

And Kovalchuk speeds away, great moves, busting through, DID YOU SEE THAT?

by KovyisLove on Nov 29, 2011 3:23 PM EST reply actions

Interesting. I have myself a junior interest in aviation (and, of course, the Devils).

My guess is that once the season’s traveling is done all of those flight paths around the country will spell something out. My hope is that it will read: “Cup #4”. Knowing the League, however, I expect a more likely result would be: “I <3 Crosby”.

by elesias on Nov 29, 2011 3:27 PM EST reply actions

Spelled flight paths

Those do exist. I’ve seen a Cessna test flight crew plot a course around the country that resulted in the Cessna logo being displayed on the map. This was about three years ago, so there’s no live links to that map that I can quickly find.

There was also a Boeing test crew working on the new 747-8 Intercontinental that did a long-haul endurance flight without leaving the Lower 48. They plotted out a path that ended up with ‘747’ spelled out across the country. (link)

by MyDogsNameIsKovy on Nov 29, 2011 3:47 PM EST up reply actions

ha, my dogs name is “Marty”

"Its the letter D"

by Rory B. Bellows on Nov 29, 2011 4:13 PM EST reply actions

Cool.

Hey, thanks for putting this together. Very interesting.

But, why do they flight out of Newark instead of Teterboro? Without knowing otherwise, I’d assume Teterboro would be more accomodating of stars, charters, corporate jets, NetJets, etc.

If you cant take-off or land a 727 in Teterboro, well that’s easy enough to understand.

by Alan Wright on Nov 30, 2011 5:23 PM EST reply actions

Re: Teterboro

Air Canada has an economy of scale at Newark since they already operate flights out of Terminal B to Calgary, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. They can’t swap out an aircraft (there are only six in their fleet that do this kind of VIP work, and they have had all of their main cabin seats removed) but at least they have staff and availability of parts in a worst-case scenario since the newly merged United/Continental also has Airbuses (Airbii?) in its fleet. Air Canada and the now-former Continental will always have a soft spot for each other, since Air Canada was a big investor during one of Continental’s trips through bankruptcy court.

Teterboro does have enough runway for a 727 that isn’t fully loaded, but I would imagine that hangar space there comes at quite a higher premium.

Going back to the celebrity thing at Teterboro, I have only been on their ramp twice, and both times I’ve had a celebrity aircraft sighting. Once was the custom-painted DC-3 that INXS was using…I think I saw it there the last time that Michael Hutchence was alive to appear on SNL.

Also, the other time I walked past a Learjet that had ‘Camille’ painted at the top of the tail. Turned out that Bill Cosby changed the name of the plane after the divorce.

by MyDogsNameIsKovy on Nov 30, 2011 8:54 PM EST up reply actions

Yep, you’re an aviation geek. That’s cool, though! A few pals of mine are pilots (one commercially, another a private pilot) but they might not be as wonky about it as you are. Details, intricacies, etc.

First: after I posted I saw on the Teterboro Airport wikipedia page that there’s an FAA ban on aircraft over 100,000 pounds at Teterboro. The ban goes back to 1967 at least, but in 2003 or 2005 Congressman Steve Rothman (D-NJ 9th District) urged Congress to uphold the ban. H.R. 3058 (2005), Section 106.

So, it appears that noise complaints from 1965 until today have protected Bergen County landowners and residents to the detriment of regional planning and air travel.

You might think, for instance, that such a ban would exist for general domestic travel, but make an exception for the sports 8-10 local sports teams which would make use of a 727 at Teterboro. Their travel would be rare and predictable, after all. Their planes might be pared-down in terms of seats, but would fill up with big bodies, lots of equipment, and fuel… pushing them back above 100,000.

Also, it certainly be very convenient for those teams playing at the Meadowlands complexes, because the airport is right there! But… no. There may also be other practical, logistical concerns behind such decision for the FAA, though you’ve said Teterboro has enough runway. So, I suspect it’s just populism.

Second: thank you for your thorough explanation. The logistical concerns/ convenience of flying out of the Newark terminals make sense in light of the Air Canada fleet. I don’t know how those concerns could be ameliorated at Teterboro (extra equipment or mechanics on-hand?), but Newark is obviously massive airport with a lot more safeguards if there’s a snafu for the team plane.

As to the celebrities… well, NJ’s got oodles of them. Teterboro must be a good place to spot them.

by Alan Wright on Dec 1, 2011 4:18 PM EST up reply actions

Sweet, this is pretty cool to see. It’s always interesting to see and learn new things about my favorite team, so thanks for putting it together.

Now, all we need is for someone with a culinary passion to put together a chart that graphs the eating habits of Chico Resch

Deadspin -- In Lou We Trust

by NJallDay on Nov 30, 2011 8:27 PM EST reply actions

done.

Go Devils
Go Jets

by FrankG929 on Nov 30, 2011 8:47 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs

Hahaha, nice!

"Everyone loves a comeback."

by DrWho720 on Dec 1, 2011 9:40 AM EST up reply actions

Hahahah! Rec’d.

Best part:

1,317,173 results

In Lou We Trust

by NJallDay on Dec 1, 2011 10:02 AM EST up reply actions

dude, you’re a hero in my book

by OnessMaximus on Dec 1, 2011 4:15 PM EST up reply actions

Update

DEN-MSP just added from yesterday.

As an aside, the Devils seem to have the smaller of the two aircraft types that Air Canada offers for this trip. The big one seats 64 and the small one seats 58. I wonder how they figure out who doesn’t make the trip for seat count reasons.

by MyDogsNameIsKovy on Dec 2, 2011 8:46 PM EST reply actions

Update

MSP-YWG added. Flights that leave the Lower 48 can be seen on the world map at the bottom of the page, beneath the detailed US one. There is a way to get more detail out of that lower map section, but I am not paying for that.

by MyDogsNameIsKovy on Dec 3, 2011 7:45 AM EST reply actions

Wow.

According to

http://www.ontheforecheck.com/2011/6/23/2240779/nhl-travel-miles-by-team-super-schedule

the New Jersey Devils are the NHL’s least-flown team.

by MyDogsNameIsKovy on Dec 4, 2011 8:56 PM EST reply actions

Yep, I had known this part but it was still neat to see it illustrated in the way you did above. Having an major airport only minutes away from where you play/practice can’t be too bad either.

In Lou We Trust

by NJallDay on Dec 5, 2011 6:17 PM EST up reply actions