'Twas the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp,Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ.The aircraft were fastened to tie downs with care,In hopes that come morning, they all would be there.The fuel trucks were nestled, all snug in their spots,With gusts from two-forty at 39 knots.I slumped at the fuel desk, now finally caught up,And settled down comfortably, resting my butt.When the radio lit up with noise and with chatter,I turned up the scanner to see what was the matter.A voice clearly heard over static and snow,Called for clearance to land at the airport below.He barked his transmission so lively and quick,I'd have sworn that the call sign he used was "St. Nick".I ran to the panel to turn up the lights,The better to welcome this magical flight.He called his position, no room for denial,"St. Nicholas One, turnin' left onto final."And what to my wondering eyes should appear,But a North American-built sleigh, with eight 1820 Reindeer!With vectors to final, down the glideslope he came,As he passed all fixes, he called them by name:"Now Fenec! Now Trojan! Now Nomad and Bacun!On Comet! On Cupid!" What pills was he takin'?While controllers were sittin', and scratchin' their head,They phoned to my office, and I heard it with dread,The message they left was both urgent and dour:"When Santa pulls in, have him please call the tower."He landed like silk, with the sled runners sparking,Then I heard "Left at Charlie," and "Taxi to parking."He slowed to a taxi, turned off of three-ohAnd stopped on the ramp with a "Ho, ho-ho..."He stepped out of the sleigh, but before he could talk,I ran out to meet him with my best set of chocks.His red helmet and goggles were covered with frostAnd his beard was all blackened from Reindeer exhaust.His breath smelled like peppermint, gone slightly stale,And he puffed on a pipe, but he didn't inhale.His cheeks were all rosy and jiggled like jelly,His boots were as black as a crop duster's belly.He was chubby and plump, in his flight suit of bright red,And he asked me to "fill it, with hundred low-lead." He came dashing in from the snow-covered pump,I knew he was anxious for drainin' the sump.I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work,And I filled up the sleigh, but I spilled like a jerk.He came out of the restroom, and sighed in relief,Then he picked up a phone for a Flight Service brief.And I thought as he silently scribed in his log,These reindeer could land in an zero-zero fog.He completed his pre-flight, from the spinner to the rear,Then he put on his headset, and I heard him yell, "Clear!"And laying a finger on his push-to-talk,He called up the tower for clearance and squawk."Take taxiway Charlie, the southbound direction,Turn right three-two-zero at pilot's discretion"He sped down the runway, the best of the best,"Your traffic's a T6, inbound from the west."Then I heard him proclaim, as he climbed thru the night,"Merry Christmas to all! I have traffic in sight."Merry Christmas All !

Absolutely great!!!!!ClayClayton T. DopkeMajor, USAF (retired)"Drac"[email protected]

This is great stuff....

Great Christmas Story!http://www.ktone.org/images/FSD_ken.jpg

Great story!Hugo

Fantastic poem. Very nicely written. :DRyan-Flightpro08 :-cool VATSIM Pilot/ControllerZLA ARTCC Senior Controller (C-3)SAN TRACON Lead ASRC (Advanced Simulated Radar Client) Beta Tester-----------------------------My "Home Made" System Specs:Intel Pentium 4 2.2GHz ProcessorTurbo Gamer ATX Mid-Tower with 420W Power SupplyEPoX 4G4A Motherboard with Intel 845G ChipsetVisiontek XTASY GeForce4 128MB Ti4600 (Det 30.30 Drivers)512MB PC2100 DDR RAM40GB Matrox 7200RPM Hard DriveWindows XP Home Edition SP1*No CPU or GPU Overclocking*3dMark2001SE Score: 11298-----------------------------Click [link:ftp.avsim.com/library/esearch.php?DLID=&Name=&FileName=&Author=Ryan+Fretwell&CatID=Root]Here to Download my American Eagle POSKY CRJ-200!

How appropiate and well written..

Fantastic!Merry ChristmasColin

Fantastic Smiley!!I remember when I was a kid my Dad used to read us "Twas the night before Christmas" on Christmas Eve. Now I know what to read to my kids :-) I'm gonna get it printed and framed and put it on my office wall. Thank you for a great present!!And to all a good night!!JaimeH

This has to become an aviation classic!Great poem! :-)Seasons Greetings

Smiley is that your creation? Fantastic.I will be sending a copy to the boys that I used to work with over on the ramp at our local airport.I agree, this one has a Christmas classic all over it.http://www3.telus.net/dport1/Radar_small.gifRC3 - Just gotta' have it!http://www3.telus.net/dport1/Radar_small.gifhttp://www3.telus.net/dport1/dansig.jpg

Thx guys Merry Christmas !The poem was sent to me from a T-28 list. I'm not sure of the origin. I figured if it wasn't already here, I would share it with you all :)

Thats the best man.JimCYWG