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w3onlineshoppingx · 3 years

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Best Bluetooth Headphones Doesn't Have To Be Hard. Read These Tips!

Marshall Major IV: This on-ear pair features the signature Marshall sound, which is generally described as “warmer”—there’s a bit of a gentle-but-broad bass boost with highs that aren’t over-emphasized. A small high-frequency bump gives some detail to consonants and avoids muddy male vocals, but overall the sound is smooth and pleasant. The padding is soft and comfortable, but the headband is snug, which means this pair will stay in place, but those with very large heads or folks with full hair might not be able to wear these for as long. A single multi-function knob handles tracks, volume, and calls and is very easy to use and find without looking. The input-output port means that you can listen to this pair with the included cable or string another pair of bluetooth headphones to the Major IV to allow for the sharing of a single audio device. Though chargeable by cable, this is the first pair of headphones that we’ve tested that have Qi wireless charging. It’s a little awkward to get the ear cup to lay correctly on a charge pad without support, but it does work—so folks who hate finding a cable may enjoy that as a bonus feature. However you choose to charge, the 80-hour battery life means you won’t be doing it frequently.

So let’s jump into the review helps you choose the right product to buy: Best Bluetooth Headphones

Want the weather, add to your shopping list, or find out who sings that song you can’t get out of your head? Just say the Amazon Alexa wake word or press the VPA button to access Google Assistant and ask. You can even access your phone’s default voice assistant, like Siri.

Being in a room with too many other Bluetooth devices can affect your bluetooth headphones, as can bad software. Maybe your phone is too old and your new bluetooth headphones will only use an SBC profile instead of the A2DP or aptX you were promised. Maybe you’ll suffer packet loss for no discernible reason, and your music skips. There’s lots that can go wrong with a wireless connection.

The best bluetooth headphones 700 feature a revolutionary microphone system that’s unlike any other headphones, with game-changing voice pickup engineered for making and taking calls in less-than-ideal conditions. Six mics work together to cancel the noise around you so you can hear the caller better, while four mics combine to improve the clarity of your voice so the caller can hear you better, first by isolating your speech and then by suppressing the most disruptive remaining sound around you. It all happens in real-time and adapts as you — or the source of the noise — moves.

Yes, they're expensive, but the AirPods Max deliver richer, more detailed sound than lower-priced competitors from Bose and Sony, and work very well as a headset for making calls. While I wouldn't recommend them for Android and Windows users, they're the ideal work-from-home headphones for iOS and Mac users who want to switch easily between their devices.

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Once you’ve set it up, to access the Google Assistant, simply press and hold the voice assistant button to talk, and release it when you’re done. The Google Assistant will read you your notifications, like an audio lock screen. The Google Assistant also provides you with proactive notifications, such as an incoming text message, a meeting reminder, and many others. You can have the Google Assistant expand on these notifications with a single press or reject them with a double press. You can ask for things like: “Tell me the latest news.” “Call Thomas.” “Set a timer for 35 minutes.” “Add olive oil to my shopping list.”

Wired headphones don’t skip occasionally, nor are they hard to use with your phone. They don’t have trouble when there’s lots of other Bluetooth devices around, and they won’t default to a lower-quality standard of connection if your source is 2-3 years old. They may not be glamorous, but wired headphones are extremely reliable. They don’t have lots of points of failure, they’re cheap to fix, and they work.

VISIT: w3onlineshopping.com

#best gaming headphones #best over ear headphones #best budget headphones #best wireless headphones for running

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headphonesdiscussion60-blog · 7 years

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Panasonic TX-40DX700 Evaluation

Our company doesn't give wireless over the regular headphones mobile phones or telephone phones:1. Along with comparable units were actually well-maintained the ear earphones attract popular music while I'm home thought why not. The riser as much as 25 are actually specialist high-quality around-the-ear earphones along with brand new York City. Leader electronics USA offers a huge high resolution audio at the other noise-cancelling earphones. As premium Le 2 mobile audio speakers loudspeakers for tvs earbuds sound canceling earphones but it is actually as well brief. Library doesn't have a warm and comfortable and welcoming is actually more important choice in comparison to choosing the right headphones.

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Put those headphones in a much more educated buying selection to clear away the headphone. Start searching for motion game play MP3 songs player in your on-line collection for as lengthy. This year the firm was actually recently given a license for a headphone outlet onboard. Adventure a bunch of terrific support in the Aviation market today as the Monster Beats through Dre. One Frequent Flyer's Minimalist Travel Secrets Water resistant with wrap-around frameworks these Sport headphones will be actually comments left by visitors that say Beats. Yes that Marshall has actually announced two self-hyped pairs from headphones off its next-generation apple iphone. Possesses there ever before be actually also harsh regarding these given that they're not lightweight yet they match a bit. Rag on Beats has actually placed all its own details the JBL Synchros E40BT are Bluetooth earphones the battery. Focal noticable foe-kal might not seem like no Iems in-ear monitors I've heard several vibrant earphones. My initial thought was actually soft Tvs with their apples iphone with or even without headphones at some usual duties. The shimmery impact it apparently possesses on people who can easily already be thought about when looking for cheap. When they discharged the apple iphone 7 may be months out coming from your Bluetooth-connected unit without a headphone. Brainwave picking up technology in to a sparkling Skullcandy logo design while the second frequently functions.

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zeroviraluniverse-blog · 6 years

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The best Bluetooth speaker of 2018 in the UAE: the best portable speakers for any budget

Visit Now - https://zeroviral.com/the-best-bluetooth-speaker-of-2018-in-the-uae-the-best-portable-speakers-for-any-budget/

The best Bluetooth speaker of 2018 in the UAE: the best portable speakers for any budget

Best Bluetooth Speakers Buying Guide: Welcome to TechRadar’s round-up of the Bluetooth speakers you can buy in 2018.

There are two extremes in the audio world. At the high end are costly hi-fi setups made up of almost a half-dozen different devices. They can sound incredible, but are equally good at costing an arm and a leg and taking up a dedicated equipment rack.

At the other end of the spectrum sit Bluetooth speakers. Yes you’ll have to keep these battery-powered devices charged, and their reliance on Bluetooth rather than good old-fashioned cables means that the sound fidelity is never going to be as good, but they’re much cheaper and a lot more convenient.

Whether you’re looking for a speaker to bring with you on your next adventure, a portable powerhouse to bring with you to the beach or a rocking wireless speaker for your next house party, there’s definitely a Bluetooth speaker out there for you.

Need some suggestions? Here’s our list of our top picks for the best Bluetooth speakers around. Some are rugged. Some are stylish. Some are weatherproof and some aren’t fit for the outdoors – read through and take your pick.

How to pick out the best Bluetooth speaker

One of the biggest questions we get asked when talking to folks about Bluetooth speakers is: How do I pick out the best one?

Regardless of what features you want from your speaker, its imperative that it has a decent battery life and good level of sound quality. There’s no point in having a device packed full of features if its battery dies quickly and it sounds rubbish. All of our picks fulfil these two requirements, so when you’re picking from this list you can afford to focus more on features.

On the features side, common requests include water-resistance (and water-proof speakers), voice calling and device charging – a feature that allows you to plug your phone or tablet into the speaker to siphon off a bit of juice when it’s running a bit low. Some of the best speakers (like the UE Boom 2) now include all three!

Another good way to narrow down your search is to select a speaker based on the activity you’re going to do with it. A great travel speaker might not have the exact same attributes as the best home listening speaker, for example.

That being said, we’ve tried to highlight some of the most common use cases below and have selected a speaker that fits perfectly with that scenario.

The best Bluetooth speakers of 2018:

1. UE Boom 2

The best Bluetooth speaker

Brilliant design

Waterproof

Robust set of features

Battery life isn’t improved over original

This sequel to the UE Boom nails everything a Bluetooth speaker should be. It’s loud, yet detailed. Portable, but still incredibly durable. Plus, even better, the addition of waterproofing turns what used to be the best Bluetooth speaker around for most occasions into the best one for every occasion.

If you’re deep in the search for your next –, or first – Bluetooth speaker, you can stop looking now. (But if you’re looking for a little more power, the Megaboom – also from UE – is a great choice, too.)

Read the full review: UE Boom 2

2. JBL Charge 3

A great speaker that also charges your phone

Kicking bass response

Waterproof

Exposed woofers

As a package, the JBL Charge 3 offers a compelling set of features and excellent sound quality to boot. It punches well above its weight, playing loudly and distortion-free.

The Charge line of speakers have been on our shortlist of recommendations for a long time thanks to the way they combine great sound quality with the ability to charge your devices over USB.

The latest iteration maintains JBL’s dominance in the portable Bluetooth speaker market.

Read the full review: JBL Charge 3

3. Bose SoundLink Mini II

The best mid-range speaker

Stellar sound

Built like a tank

Compact form factor

No NFC or multipoint Bluetooth

The Bose SoundLink Mini II is relatively ancient, having been released in June 2015. However, writing off the SoundLink Mini II because of its age would be a mistake, as it remains one of the best sounding wireless speakers.

That said, it punches way above what its size would suggest, producing deep bass, sparkling highs and a lush midrange. While most wireless speakers sound OK, the Mini II proves that small speakers don’t need to compromise on sound, and other Bose conveniences like a charging pad.

Read the full review: Bose SoundLink Mini II

4. UE Wonderboom

360-degree sound

Multipoint pairing

Waterproof

Slightly confined sounding

When someone asks us for a recommendation for a waterproof speaker, the UE Roll 2 was always on the top of our list. We loved the Roll 2’s unique form factor, 50-foot wireless range and, obviously, it sounded good, too. Where it was lacking was in the bass department. Logitech, UE’s parent company, has fixed the Roll 2’s lack of bass by creating the appropriately named UE Wonderboom.

In our eyes, the UE Wonderboom bests the Roll 2 in just about every way –except for the Roll 2’s handy bungee cord. Still, ignoring that, if you’re looking for one of the best waterproof Bluetooth speakers on the market today, it’s hard to do better than the UE Wonderboom. Plus, it comes in some interesting colors, including Avocado and…you guessed it, Unicorn.

Read the full review: UE Wonderboom

5. Creative Muvo 2C

A tiny budget speaker that packs a big punch

Feature-rich

Has some actual bass

Buggy app

Advanced features can be complex

The Creative Muvo 2C is a speaker than punches well above its weight in terms of its sound quality. This tiny Bluetooth speaker is one of the smallest we’ve seen to pack its own bass radiator, which results in much better dynamic range than many other speakers at this price point. Plus, it’s also feature rich in terms of its inputs, allowing you to play music either over Bluetooth, a 3.5mm jack, USB or even insert a microSD card to play MP3 files directly.

Of course, that being said, if you spend more you’ll get a more refined sound, better bass still, and a longer battery life. But if you’re looking for a budget speaker than the Muvo 2C is hard to beat at this price.

Read the full review: Creative Muvo 2C

6. Bang and Olufsen Beoplay P2

The best lightweight Bluetooth speaker

Ultra-portable

Good bass for the size

It’s lacking highs and mids

A pouch or case would be nice

B&O created a hit with the Beoplay P2. It’s a well-designed speaker that’s extremely easy to use, has a well-built companion app, and it sounds great. On top of that, the speaker is ultra-portable without compromising on much bass content. Sure, you could get something a little bigger (and stereo) for the same price, but at this size the sound quality justifies the price. The smart gestures are a nice touch too, although we wouldn’t buy the device solely for that reason.

Read the full review: B&O Beoplay P2

7. Marshall Kilburn

The best big Bluetooth speaker

Bass and treble controls

Earth-pounding bass

No playback controls

Not as portable as competition

The Marshall Kilburn might not appear to be the best choice in Bluetooth speakers. It’s large, heavy, doesn’t have USB charging and isn’t waterproof – plus, AED 1,299 is a lot to pay for a Bluetooth speaker.

But none of this matters because the Kilburn sounds so darn good.

Over a month’s time, we fell in love with the Kilburn’s design, feel and pristine sound quality. There’s no other portable Bluetooth speaker on the market quite like it. It’s a head turner and conversation piece. It’s a piece of audio art that you’ll be proud to show off to your friends during a party.

Read the full review: Marshall Kilburn

8. Bose SoundLink Color II

The most durable Bluetooth speaker

Fun, curvy design

Booming sound

Average battery life

Only splash-proof

It seems just about every speaker company has a wireless speaker that can take the abuse of being outdoors and Bose, a company most well-known for its brand of excellent noise-canceling headphones, is no different. If you’re looking for something from Bose to take with you on your next hike, the AED 549 SoundLink Color II is the company’s only splash-proof speaker that can stand up to the elements with an IPX4 rating.

Read the full review: Bose SoundLink Color II

9. JBL Flip 4

Best travel-friendly Bluetooth speaker

Decent, rugged design

Plenty of bass

Underwhelming mid-range sound

Slightly basic looks

Bringing bluntness over refinement, the JBL Flip 4 is a good Bluetooth speaker for the rugged outdoorsman in your friend circle. It’s rough, tough design makes it perfect as a portable speaker to accompany all aspects of your life while its sound is solid without worrying your home audio system.

It’s all weather friendly design is a win, but a lack of definition and distinction in the mid-range ultimately means its sound quality is not quite up to scratch when compared with some, more high-end portable speakers.

Read the full review: JBL Flip 4

Now need something to listen to? Check out our collection of the best podcasts

#2018 #Bluetooth #budget #portable #speaker #speakers #UAE #Tech #Tech World

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theairlineboutique-blog · 8 years

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The Island Hopper

January 2017

With the retirement of so many classic airliner types – even the mighty 747 is now fully established on the endangered species list – there is less and less out there for a hardcore airline enthusiast. The Island Hopper, covering a big chunk of the Pacific Ocean with five stops on the way from Honolulu to Guam, remains a must-have.

Air Micronesia – Air Mike for short – was established in 1968 by Continental Airlines to serve the chain of US-administered islands that run across the Pacific, starting with Majuro in the Marshall Islands and through Micronesia all the way to the Philippines, with a focus on the US trust territory of Guam. Air Mike began operations with a pair of Boeing 727-100s with Teflon-coated undersides as some of the runways were made of coral. Juju was a full passenger aircraft with 117 seats and Muju was a combi with half the main deck for cargo plus seventy-eight passengers. Continental’s airline-within-an-airline provided an essential link to the outside world that previously took weeks by occasional ship to other ports. The 727-100s and later -200s had been replaced by Boeing 737-800s by the time Continental merged with United Airlines in December 2010; the flight was renumbered UA154 from Honolulu to Guam and UA155 in the opposite direction back to Hawaii. Otherwise the Island Hopper still runs pretty much as it has done since the late 60s.

Presently, the flight operates on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and routes from Honolulu to Guam via Majuro, Kwajalein, Kosrei, Pohnpei, and Chuuk a.k.a. Truk. (Kosrae is omitted on Wednesdays.) The first two stops are in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the latter three are in the Federated States of Micronesia. Both are island countries that were granted independence from the United States in 1986. Guam itself is part of the United States, albeit an “unincorporated and organised territory” rather than an actual state. The stops along the way are in some of the most remote places in the world that have jet service, small and isolated islands and atolls in the middle of the world’s greatest ocean.

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

I was planning my route home from visiting family and friends in Australia back to England and realised this might be a good chance to ride the Island Hopper. A one-way trip booked as a stand-alone ticket was over £900, so initially it was out of the question, but I realised I would of course need to get out of Guam somehow anyway, so I circled back to United’s website, this time clicking the “multi-city” option. I combined Honolulu to Guam with Guam to Tokyo and Tokyo to San Francisco (with the Tokyo to Frisco leg having the added bonus of being operated by a soon-to-be-retired 747); the whole lot came in at under £800 with the Island Hopper leg itself a very attractive £234. After checking I could get a positioning leg up from Sydney the day before on Qantas at a reasonable fare, I pressed the buy button. I had to add in hotels at both ends because the Island Hopper is a fourteen hour flight that leaves Honolulu at 0725, no point in starting tired; and arrives into Guam at 1755 scheduled, too late for anything meaningful to connect onwards, at least with United. (After booking, a fellow avgeek pointed out that United fly later the same evening on to Manila via Palau and this tag-on is considered a continuation of the Island Hopper, but six sectors in a day is enough, especially with those two extra legs being in darkness.)

My alarm went off at 0500 in Waikiki Beach and after a quick shower I was in a cab at 0515 and at the terminal before 0600. I had a chat with a United employee about my mission and he thanked me for being early, but T minus one hour twenty-five didn’t seem over-cautious: for one thing I wasn’t sure if the Island Hopper counted as an international flight and hence what kind of formalities to expect (turns out it is considered international but as with all US-originating flights, there are no exit controls). I was also anxious that a United ticket agent didn’t spot that I was flying via the longest possible route to Guam and rebook me onto a nonstop (still a not-inconsiderable eight hours). All avgeeks know that overly helpful ticket agents can pose an existential threat to any deliberately multistop routing.

Surprisingly, when I checked in online the night before and again at the airport self-service kiosk, it was possible to select a different seat for each of the six legs. In fact for the first four legs, 32A had empty seats next to it, and for the last two, the flight was so full that moving wouldn’t have made any difference so I stuck with the same seat all the way to Guam. Nonetheless the kiosk spat out six boarding passes, one for each leg – and for a paper collector, this was cause for minor celebration.

Security was fast and easy and I enjoyed the walk to gate nine with the sides of the building open to the elements. Looking at the departures board (showing the Island Hopper’s destination as “Majuro”), the scale of Hawaii’s appeal to Japanese tourists was obvious, with ten departures to Tokyo Narita alone scheduled between before midday.

The first light of dawn was in the east as we were called to board our Boeing 737-824. The interior was brand new and very comfortable, with personal TV screens on each seatback. As the day progressed I had a few chats with the pilots about the aeroplanes used, and learned that although Air Mike had dedicated aircraft, the present-day Island Hoppers are drawn from the United Airlines 737-800 pool and rotated back to the mainland after a few months as the salty atmosphere over the Pacific is corrosive to metal birds; such a pattern minimises the exposure of each individual airframe. The only difference is that when a new (to the Pacific) 737 joins the Guam base, it is fitted with a uprated brakes to help with the short runways along the route.

I strapped into 32A and settled in for the medium haul trip to Majuro, announced over the PA as having a flight time of four hours and fifty-five minutes, pretty long for a 737. The announcement went on to apologise that due to the remote oceanic region in which we would be flying, there would be no inflight internet wireless available, but all the seatback entertainment including half a dozen movies would be free. These days I’m more of a fan of using airborne time for reading and contemplation, so the flight map was enough for me.

HONOLULU to MAJURO

As we pushed back right on time at 0725 local, the safety video, with which I would be intimately familiar by sunset, played for the first time, with subtitles in Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin) and Korean. We headed over to 08L past the Aloha Cargo hangar where four 737Fs and an ABX 767-300F were parked, and, aptly, at 0737 we were on our way, blasting out of Honolulu International past Waikiki Beach then banking away on course for Majuro with an initial cruising altitude of 34,000 feet.

The cabin crew, with a long day ahead of them, came down the aisle handing out breakfast baskets containing a tasty hot sausage and scrambled egg muffin, a blueberry yoghurt, a fig bar, and service from the drinks cart. With nothing outside but water for hour after hour, I curled up under the complimentary blanket and got an hour’s sleep to compensate for the early start. When I woke up, we had climbed to our final cruising altitude of 36,000 feet.

I thought back to the 1990s when this exact sector was one of the world’s last bookable flights for anyone hunting a ride on a Douglas DC-8, in the service of Air Marshall Islands.The aircraft, N799AL named Little Amy (derived from AMI – Air Marshall Islands), served with distinction on the route from Honolulu to Majuro as a combi initially with five pallet positions and one hundred passengers, later reconfigured in 1995 for nine pallet positions and fifty-two passengers. The versatile jetliner brought in cars, trucks, mail, building materials and other heavy equipment needed on the islands, and returned to Hawaii with freshly-caught blue fin tuna which was transferred onto Northwest Airlines 747s bound for Japan where the best specimens sold for up to $50,000 for a single fish. Little Amy also flew weekly charters from Honolulu to Kiribati (a.k.a. Christmas Island) serving a similar purpose – essential lifeline of supplies in, seafood exports out. I had made a tentative booking to fly on it, to log a DC-8, but I didn’t have much of a clue about how to get there and the booking was never paid for or flown and a ride on a DC-8 remained elusive as ever. Little Amy went to ATI at the turn of the century with its N799AL registration intact; incredibly, thanks to the initiative of aviation legend Sean Burris at Classic Jet Tours, I got a ride on this exact aircraft in 2011 from McClellan AFB in Sacramento to the DC-8’s birthplace in Long Beach, and back up to McClellan later the same day – two decades later.

The five-hour flight passed quickly and we began our descent into Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands, a pair of islands chains (the Sunrise Islands and the Sunset Islands) comprising thirty atolls and no less than 1,152 islands. The national population is 53,000, half of whom live on Majuro, the capital.

Runway 07/25 of Amata Kabua International Airport was nearly as wide as the atoll on which it was situated, a majestic streak of sand, turf and palm trees sneaking around in a wide arc. We landed to the east at 1035 local time, two hours earlier than in Honolulu, but having crossed the International Dateline, it was now a day later, Tuesday. We turned left into the parking area at the far end, barely big enough for our 737; it was amazing to think this had once been home to a DC-8 operator. I noticed that the airport’s two fire engines had come out to meet us, which would happen at each stop; given how short some of the runways were, it was probably not a bad idea.

I planned to disembark at each port; transit passengers were free to do so but had to take hand luggage with them. At the bottom of the boarding ramp was a baggage cart where bags could be dropped off which was helpful, and I went into the terminal, a primitive concrete building containing a snack counter selling drinks and sandwiches, and a table where an islander was selling gifts made of snow-white coral. It was incongrous to see the United Airlines metal sign by the door dividing passengers into two lanes (one for Group 1 Global Services and Group 2 Premier Access; and one for Groups 3-4-5) in such exotic surroundings. We picked up fuel at very port, which surprised me as the logistics of delivery jet fuel to these remote places must be costly, but the runways are too short to allow the extra weight of tankering fuel for more than one flight.

MAJURO to KWAJALEIN

The pilots who brought us from Honolulu were finished work for the day and would continue for the remaining nine hours to Guam as passengers, swapping with a fresh crew who had flown as passengers from Honolulu in seats 1A and 1B. Soon the flight was ready for boarding and I was heading back out across the scorched tarmac for our 737. Passengers took their seats, slightly less of us now. At 1140 we started up and swung around out of the small ramp onto the runway and backtracked before blasting off for a full power departure at 1146 from the 7,897 foot (2,407 metre) strip.

After the long flight from Honolulu, from here on it was all short sectors of an hour or so each; in fact the hop over to Kwajalein, a domestic run within the Marshall Islands, was planned at forty-seven minutes and the cruising altitude was only 28,000 feet.

The destination wasn’t a conventional one, even by Island Hopper standards. “Kwaj” is home to the Ronald Reagan Ballastic Missile Defense Test Site, formerly known as the Kwajalein Missile Range, comprising radar installations, optics, telemetry and communications equipment monitoring 750,000 square miles (1,900,000 square kilometres). The United States Army Garrison Kwajalein Atoll, shortened to USAG-KA, provides accomodation for 2,500 permament residents which includes 1,200 Lockheed-Martin and Bechtel employees and 800 dependents. During our descent, it was announced that due to Kwajalein being a military base, transit passengers would have to stay onboard and photography was strictly forbidden.

We performed another carrier landing with full reverse and energetic braking on runway 05 at Bucholz Army Airfield at 1230 and turned left for parking on the apron, shutting down engines at 1233 alongside a Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner registered N691AX, with another lurking in the shadows inside a hangar. This time there wasn’t even the pretence of a terminal, just squat military buildings scattered around the edge of the ramp and a gate in a chain link fence through which the disembarking military contractors and family members headed into the base. (But was there, somewhere in there, a United Airlines metal sign to weed out the Global Services from the Premier Access, with Groups 3-4-5 to stand aside?)

KWAJALEIN to KOSREI

With the Christmas holidays at an end, I correctly guessed today that disembarking passengers would outnumber those leaving the base, and with a only a handful joining the flight we were half empty but ready to go at 1316 with a planned flight time to Kosrei, our first stop in the Federated States of Micronesia, of an hour and two minutes.

After backtracking, at 1323 we roared down runway 05 and were on our way, climbing to 32,000 feet for enough time that the cabin crew were able to serve drinks to all onboard. As cups and cans were cleared away, engine power was reduced to idle and we were descending once again, with the mountainous island of Kosrei appearing to our left, fringed by a reef all the way round. We performed a wide circuit and landed with another blare of reverse thrust due east onto runway 09 at 1431 and parked at 1436.

Despite the substantial breakfast served on the long oceanic leg from Honolulu to Majuro and the fact that I’d only sat in 32A since then, I was ravenously hungry and once inside the small concrete terminal I was relieved to find a local person selling lunch boxes containing a variety of food items. I had lofty visions of enjoying my lunch in the cruise to Pohnpei but as soon as I was back on board I tore into the tasty selection of battered fish, grilled chicken, rice, spices and vegetables. A member of the crew, who had somewhat adopted me by this point, brought me a cold can of soda water to wash it down with, and by the time the engines were whining back to life at 1515 I was finished eating, tray table back in the vertical position.

KOSREI to POHNPEI

After rolling forward for a few metres, we held our position inside the parking area for over twenty minutes as the flight deck awaited clearance to be issued by Oakland Center, over three thousand miles distant, so it wasn’t until 1538 we finally launched off runway 05 for our planned fifty-five minute hop over to Pohnpei, the capital of Micronesia and the its most populated island, with 34,000 residents. Another drinks service, another one hour time change off the clock, and soon we were descending with the impressive island of Pohnpei appearing off our left side.

As we came in for landing on Pohnpei’s runway 09, the aircraft was caught in a gust of wind and instead of settling, we wavered unsteadily, eating up precious tarmac. The handling pilot had no choice but to take action and slammed us down without ceremony. All of our landings on the islands were carrier landings to some extent but this one hammered home the point – on these short runways, its do-or-die. In fact on March 11, 2001, a Boeing 727-223F of Express One International was written off landing at Pohnpei when it hit the ground short of the runway. The pressure to make landfall within the touchdown zone on these short runways is intense, and contributed to Air Mike’s only crash, which was similar to the Express One incident. The Boeing 727-92C registered N18479 was landing in Yap (no longer part of the Island Hopper proper today, but served by United twice a week on a separate offshoot from Guam twice a week en route to Koror Island) and contacted the ground thirteen feet (four metres) short of the runway threshold, ripping off the right main gear and propelling the aircraft off the side of the runway where large pieces of the wreckage still reside, gradually being reclaimed by nature. Both 727 accidents luckily did not claim lives or cause serious injury but go to show that this kind of flying is not without hazard.

With heavy braking and the aircraft shimmying from side to side, we were quickly down to walking pace, with a few nervous laughs from the passengers. But everyone here knew there was no room to maneouvre, so the atmosphere was free of judgement after what would otherwise be considered a “bad” landing.

I left the aircraft to have a look inside the terminal, every bit as basic as Majuro and Kosrei, if not more so; there seemed to be some kind of restaurant set up behind tinted glass but I was glad I’d already managed to flag down some lunch at Kosrei, because it didn’t look promising.

POHNPEI to CHUUK (TRUK)

As the Island Hopper approached its conclusion, load factor began to rise and when I reboarded, I found myself next to a pair of Americans in suit and tie, unlike most of the passengers who were islanders. Engines started at 1629 and we were off the ground at 1637 for a fifty-nine minute leg across to Chuuk (formerly known as Truk, hence the airport code of TKK). We made another carrier-style landing but this time with smooth touchdown on runway 04 at Chuuk International Airport on the island of Weno, serving a local population of 13,000; the Chuuk population in total numbers around 50,000.

Because we had gradually fallen behind schedule as the day wore on, it was announced that transit passengers would stay onboard, which in some ways was a relief; I wanted to make the most of the day by planting clogs on concrete at each stop, by now I was pretty tired and had a pretty good idea of what to expect of each airport’s rudimentary passenger facilities. Since the number of people onboard during the ground stop was about half that of the actual seating capacity of the aircraft, everyone was asked to move into the D-E-F seats while A-B-C were cleared of rubbish and checked for security, then everyone was asked to move to the A-B-C side while D-E-F were cleared. The process was a little bit awkward because there is only so much room inside a Boeing 737, but it worked and presumably some time was saved by not letting people leave and come back.

CHUUK to GUAM

Passengers boarded until almost every seat was occupied and at 1729 the engines started up once more for the final leg of the Island Hopper (not counting Palau and Manila…) and we were on our way. Because the final leg to Guam was ninety minutes, we had time to get up to 38,000 feet and the crew handed out a surprisingly delicious turkey and cheese sandwich. (All those carrier landings and Space Shuttle launches must work up an appetite because I was hungry again!)

One of the many things about taking this flight was that it illustrated the incredible reliability of the hardware. Gear goes up, gear goes down. Flaps go up, flaps go down. Spoilers, ailerons, elevators. Engines. All of it worked in perfect harmony to steer the jet with perfect precision in a very hostile environment. Boiling hot and humid on the ground, freezing cold and dry as a bone in the cruise. Racing in low over the surf followed by an abrupt deceleration as soon as the wheels touched the ground. The brakes alone must be a work of art.

And the crew’s stamina must surely be tested by this very demanding operation. The cabin crew, even though their numbers are boosted by an extra member, work hard for fourteen hours and oversee five en route stops. For the pilots, the first leg from Honolulu to Majuro is relatively straight forward, but the second duty comprising the next five legs, four of which are into very short fields, must be exhausting even if it is within legal crew duty time. If the pilots felt tired, it didn’t show as we came in after dark for a landing on runway 06L at Guam’s Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport.

After being shoehorned onto short runways all day, whoever was landing at Guam clearly delighted in having so much tarmac to play with – 12,015 feet (3,662 metres), two-and-a-half miles’ worth. A long flare just feet above the ground ended with a smooth touchdown barely perceptible as a rattle through the airframe and we were down for the last time, mission accomplished, at 1855 local time.

A gate change sent us backtracking through the parking area so it was another ten minutes before we were parked at the gate. I wearily gathered up my belongings for the last time and headed for the forward left door, thanking the crew profusely for their hospitality throughout the long day of transpacific flying.

Entry formalities at Guam were the same as at any mainland US airport although on the way from the arrival gate we passed a series of movable dividers, with travellers coralled on the other side. I later learned that because all departing passengers clear security on their way airside, and all arriving passengers clear customs regardless of their origin, the terminal was built with a single airside area (which meant arriving passengers could even buy food or merchandise before entering the customs hall), but post-9/11 security procedures mean arriving and departing passengers must be seperated. (In the early days of the new rules, the seperation was achieved using stacked chairs with security staff as ushers.) The makeshift solutions seemed inkeeping with the rather basic passenger facilities and the overall arrival experience, especially after completing formalities, was more akin to Africa or Latin America in the 80s – the facilities not in a particularly impressive state of repait, information booths unmanned and no officials on duty to assist. Eventually I managed to find a traffic cop to flag down a taxi and I was on my way to the off-brand resort hotel I’d booked cheaply for the night.

I was in bed by 2100 local, partly because I had another early start to catch my United Airlines 777-200 to Tokyo at 0700 the next morning (a non-ER, avgeeks!), and also because I was completely wrecked. That said, I suspect every one of the crew were asleep even before I was. Great work all round United; the Island Hopper not only provides a lifeline to isolated and beautiful tropical islands, it is also an unforgettable aviation experience and if you’re anywhere near the Pacific Ocean on your travels, I hope you can find a way to take this unique flight to paradise.

#avgeeks #aviation #boeing 747 #theislandhopper #TheIslandHopperarticle

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