Global positioning waypoints have some great names. Strung together, a series of waypoints can connote a message indicative of the area the waypoints are above or serve as a memento to people who are well-known to the area. This article follows a previous article about the naming convention of waypoints. Here are more arrival and departure procedures at US airports with interesting naming conventions.
Charlotte/Douglas Int'l
Known to Charlotteans as "the Queen City," Charlotte, North Carolina, is the second-largest banking center in the US after New York City. It would only make sense that one of the arrivals serving Charlotte/Douglas Int'l Airport is named the BANKR3. The arrival serves aircraft arriving in Charlotte from the south and features waypoints named to be phonetically pronounced Ponzi (after the Italian business person Charles Ponzi and his infamous schemes), interest, checking, credit, debt, and balance.
Charlotte/Douglas also has a separate procedure for arrivals from the northeast named the CHSLY5 in honor of Captain Chesley Sullenberger from US Airways 1549 "Miracle on the Hudson." Flight 1549's first officer, Jeffrey Skiles, and flight attendants Doreen Welsh, Donna Dent, and Sheila Dail also have waypoints named in their honor on the arrival as well.
Boston Logan Int'l
Boston is a prolific sports city. Love it or hate it, Boston professional sports franchises have enjoyed historic success across the gamut for over a century. As an acknowledgment of this, Boston's General Edward Lawrence Logan Airport (named after the Harvard graduate, Army General, politician, and Boston native) has six departures named for its sports teams.
They are the PATSS 6, SSOX 6, CELTK 6, BRUWN 6, REVSS 5 (New England Revolution soccer) and BLZZR 5. For non-sports fans, these names are references to the Patriots (American football), Red Sox (baseball), Celtics (basketball), Bruins (ice hockey), Revolution (American soccer/football), and the Blazer lacrosse team, which ceased in 2011. The departures are a final reminder to pilots of Boston's sports dominance as they leave, a sore spot for many aviators loyal to other cities' sports franchises.
Miami Int'l
The CSTAL 2 arrival (pronounced "coastal") serves none other than Miami. Fittingly, the waypoint which serves as the arrival's namesake is located on the coast north of Boca Raton. The arrival is truly one of the most stunning anywhere in the US on a sunny day, giving pilots spectacular views of the Kennedy Space Center and the east coast of Florida before dropping them off directly above Miami's glass and steel downtown.
Waypoints over the water are pronounced "ocean," "bonefish," and "coastal." Once over the city, the waypoints nod to famous designers who have inspired Miami's fashion trends. The names include Gucci, Armani, and Fendi. Musicians Madonna and Tupac are featured names just before an easterly landing.
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Int'l
The last feature for this article is the JJEDI 3 arrival which serves arrivals from the east into Atlanta. The arrival is full of references to the original six Star Wars films. TIE fighter, New Hope, Deathstar, Wookie, Chewie, Leia, and Skywalker are just a few of the many Star Wars-themed waypoints. Most procedures feature a handful of topical waypoints, but the JJEDI 3 has references from the flight levels all the way down to 8,000 feet.
So many good arrivals and departures across the US are worthy of discussion! Choosing which ones to feature is indeed tricky. Watch for part three of this article and perhaps many more after that.