Airplane ride

[peapod123]

Hey sorry guys,

I did do a search but im not getting the answers I am looking for. Can anyone tell me what the airplane experience is like, particularly coming form the new jersey/ny area? I want to hear people's experience in terms of is it just like taking an airplane to california? etc.. ne detailed info would be greatly appreciated.

[MitchDC]

Most plane rides are all the same. California is west and Dominica is south. You will fly to San Juan, Perto Rico in a regular sized airplane. Then from San Juan you will switch to a prop plan which is a bit different. Some say the landing in Dominica is scary, but I didn't think so. Its an amazing view of the lush island filled with folliage thick in the center. I traveled a lot before going to Dominica so it wasn't any big deal for me. If you have never left the country or flown into a small airport before, it may be "scary" for you as well.

-M

Hey sorry guys,

I did do a search but im not getting the answers I am looking for. Can anyone tell me what the airplane experience is like, particularly coming form the new jersey/ny area? I want to hear people's experience in terms of is it just like taking an airplane to california? etc.. ne detailed info would be greatly appreciated.

[RossMD2006]

The plane ride to Puerto Rico was similar to any other flight within the continental US. When you get to Puerto Rico, make sure you get the last taste of civilization-whether it be the buffalo wings at the bar, or what not. Grab whatever "American" you can...The trip from Puerto Rico to Dominica is what I found to be different. You are in a small jet with two seats on each side of the aisle. The flight is cramped and sometimes gets sweaty (on the way back from Dominica to the US, because of the hot weather in Dominica). The flight is pretty much your typical flight, just a smaller jet. When you approach Dominica, all you will see is green, green and more green...yes the nature island! A few houses here and there...When you begin to land in Dominica, the pilot will make a turn over the island and go down towards the landing strip. You will leave the plane and walk towards the main building of the airport, which is smaller than Ross itself! Seriously, don't expect a LaGuardia or O'Hare type of airport. More like your house back in the US. You stand in line to give your passport and Ross documents to the airport officials, after which you look for your bags which are lying on the floor...you grab your bags and declare any items you may have, walk out the door and Ross students should be there waiting for you....and so your journey begins

Good luck...it will be an experience you will never forget...

[FoxTrot]

You are in a small jet with two seats on each side of the aisle. The flight is pretty much your typical flight, just a smaller jet.

When you begin to land in Dominica, the pilot will make a turn over the island and go down towards the landing strip.

Since when have jets been flying in and out of Dominica? :confused:

Jets have turbines, the planes in the caribbean have turboprop engines to drive a propeller. Big difference.

[sukhtinder]

its kind of like from star wars ep 4, when the x wings dove into the death star on their attack run, just dont be on a plane flown by a guy like "Porkins"..."Red 6 standing by..."

The All New Porkins Home Page (http://www.jekporkins.net/)

[Shah_Patel_PT]

Hey sorry guys,

I did do a search but im not getting the answers I am looking for. Can anyone tell me what the airplane experience is like, particularly coming form the new jersey/ny area? I want to hear people's experience in terms of is it just like taking an airplane to california? etc.. ne detailed info would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry dude...I tried uploading a video of the landing....but the size is too big..:(

[jim]

the planes are turbo-props and the one big difference may be that they are LOUD. some people wear earplugs.

[MylifeatDominica]

And when the plane lands, the captain always announces on the loud speaker:" welcome to the Jurassic park, and now civilization ends here."

[Locuscoeruleus22]

Hahah I love the drama. But you're all correct for someone who have never flown nor never left the US, it will be an experience.

[AxlFoley]

Its routine flying...until you leave San Juan. If you've never been on a turboprop...well as the other person in their post stated..its frickin loud ,and the plane itself is kinda narrow, but not too bad i guess. One thing though...as you notice the plane lowering...DO NOT worry....the trees may be gettin closer , with no sign of pavement or an airport in sight, but there is a runway. Im sure some people dont like it, but i found it to be kinda cool. You kinda descend altitute faster than you would at most airports, but again nothin to worry about...just dont have any preconceived ideas about the airport itself...

[peapod123]

hey guys thanks for all the help, how long does it take from san juan to dominica?

[AxlFoley]

bout 1.5 hours

[MylifeatDominica]

, but again nothin to worry about....

ya, the lifesaver jacket is under your seat, and in case the plane crashes, u can always swim in the warm caribbean sea, sunny and warm. that is better than crashing into some moutains, rice fields, etc.

and since the plane is so small, it is unlikely that u will board with a terrorist. :lolup:

[singer]

bout 1.5 hours

Of course if you fly American Eagle and they still are using the old equipment your wait for them to do maintenance on the airplane before it takes off could be as long as the trip itself.

[AxlFoley]

HAHA , you know your absolutely right. I actually forgot a story that happened my first trip. I think our alternator decided to quit working while in the air or something....and well they didnt have any spares at Mellville Hall, so we got halfway in the air, and turned back...and ended up waiting another hour for ANOTHER place instead. So ya that particular trip took about 3-3.5 hours. but all my subsequent trips had NO problems...

But Singer...I am just tryin to stay optimistic for all these new kids...They will have plenty of time getting adapted to the "island life" lol

[AxlFoley]

ya, the lifesaver jacket is under your seat, and in case the plane crashes, u can always swim in the warm caribbean sea, sunny and warm. that is better than crashing into some moutains, rice fields, etc.

and since the plane is so small, it is unlikely that u will board with a terrorist. :lolup:



EXACTLY .... nothin to worry about :D

[ROCKYMAN]

Hey sorry guys,

I did do a search but im not getting the answers I am looking for. Can anyone tell me what the airplane experience is like, particularly coming form the new jersey/ny area? I want to hear people's experience in terms of is it just like taking an airplane to california? etc.. ne detailed info would be greatly appreciated.

I described my experience in one of the books I am writing about my medical education. I often try to use analogy to describe my experiences in Dominica. The airplane ride in the United States starts like a date with a girl you have been wanting to $#%!@ and you are smiling and giddy with "love" as you leave United States airspace. When you get to dinner (Puerto Rico) with your date you get a sense everything is changing (damn hot and humid, nobody speaka englisha and everybody wantsa cash) but you decide to "tough it out" for the promise of great sex (medical school). The plane takes off for Dominica (foreplay) and after an hour of sitting close you feel sweaty (also foreplay) and she is loud (the propellors), but as you go in (landing) for the big play (copulation) you feel an unexpected big bump (the airstrip) and your ecstasy (orgasm) is interrupted by the announcement that you have landed in Dominica. Limp and sweaty (afterglow), you walk to a beat-down building and wait in long lines (training for first semester) to get your passport checked and to ask why your luggage is on a different flight (primary ego defense of dissociation, and a warning). The long series of anticlimactic "experiences" serves to prepare you for the ride to Picard, the location of Ross Med, where you see the medical school looks somehow smaller than in the pictures. So it goes, for the first weeks, as you learn to associate each expectation with a disappointment (addicted to love or something like it), but by the time of your first exam you think you have already spent thousands of dollars and why not try to work on the "relationship". The heat, the humidity, the insects, the scumbags in your class, etc., gradually seep into your cerebrum and anesthetize your old "idea" of medical school, until by the end of second semester you have the equivalent of Alzheimer's disease and have forgotten about the standards you expected of medical education, and instead become a receptacle of trivia, not all of it Board relevant, waiting at the shacks for a styrofoam container full of greasy compressed grilled chicken parts, the smell of formaldehyde in your scrubs, and a yellow piece of cadaver fat on your shoe.

(excerpted from my forthcoming book, copyright 2005 by ROCKYMAN; permission to quote only in it's entirety and only within www.valuemd.com (http://www.valuemd.com))
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