--- In BATN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "1/14 SMCo. Times" <batn@...> wrote: Published Sunday, January 14, 2007, by the San Mateo County Times Aerial show Column by John Horgan When weather conditions are right, unwitting residents of parts of San Mateo, Burlingame, Hillsborough and Millbrae are in for a surprise. Such an occasion occurred late last week. Stiff wind from the northeast caused a landing-pattern adjustment at San Francisco International Airport. Jetliners coming into SFO were forced to alter their normal approach over San Francisco Bay. Instead, for a time, they banked and came in over Peninsula residential areas and Highway 101 from the southwest. As it always is when this dramatic circumstance presents itself, the sight was rather awesome. There is nothing quite like loading your heap with vittles out in the Albertsons parking lot on Murchison Drive in Millbrae and, looming right overhead, is a briskly descending Boeing 747 packed with passengers and crew members. The feeling is that the extended landing gear is going to wind up scraping the roof of the nearby Caltrain/BART terminal across El Camino Real. You could almost wave to the pilot. The big jets put on quite an aerial show. Drivers out on the freeway who may be unaware of what's up (literally) can become flummoxed. When aircraft are honing in on SFO from this angle, there are plenty of good vantage points for the curious: the Mills High School football field, the parking lots at Wendy's and Washington Mutual, the outdoor dining area at In-N-Out. You get the idea. Open ground with unobstructed sight lines is best. SFO authorities normally don't like to have incoming jets use that approach. But Mother Nature does sometimes force their hand. When she does, take a moment and check it out. And it's free. [...] Got a hot local tip or a Peninsula vignette you'd like to share? Don't hang back? By all means, send it along to John Horgan by telephone at (650) 348-4334, by fax at (650) 348-4446 or by traditional snail mail at 1080 S. Amphlett Blvd., San Mateo, CA 94402. --- End forwarded message ---