We had an amazingly cool trip to Tampa Airport today. We got a behind the scenes tour of many areas. MY favorite was the police and dispatch station. It was like sitting in the war room watching a zillion monitors watching traffic, terminals and other things. 
We learned about the history of the airport. 
We got to see the base of the tower where they monitor the flights. 
The ARRF was also really cool. We got to see all the training rooms for the firefighters. 
There was another group in the “normal” meeting room so we got to hang out in the comfy chairs in their media room. There were no complaints! 
Seeing all the gear was neat. I was amazed at the different suits for different type of calls. Most calls are airport terminal calls and nearby traffic stuff. They have a fancy fireproof suit for working around hot burns like jet fuel. 
The fire trucks are cool. They have a long rod on the front for piercing the plane to inject the foam. 
Each truck is equipped with different fire fighting equipment but it is all listed on a huge board. 
A better look at the injector. 
The firefighters have to use the gym 1 -2 hours a day! 
We saw one of the Trump planes leaving the airport. It was here for maintenance from back during his campaign! 
We took a tour of the tarmac and other areas at the airport you normally dont get to see. This is a training burn fuselage. Several times a year in the middle of the night they do training. They di it in the night because people would panic if they saw flames at the airport and smoke in the day! 
This is one of the repair hangers. Any brand plane can come for service for the right amount of money. 
This wall is for testing the engines. It buffers the sounds from the area. We did a figure eight inside the area. 
This is not at the airport but who can resist looking at Blue my hamster! 
And Butterscotch. 
Oh and mom hurt her foot the day after the airport tour. She managed to impale a pencil into her foot, mechanical, and it broke off in her toe. She has to go to the foot doctor on Monday and get an MRI as well. 
So she is still getting around…. via crutches and a cart. 
There is the tip! 
OKay since that was gross. Here is another photo of playtime with the hamsters. 