Decompression Event in an airliner

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Originally Posted by The SnowShow

Is the twisting, etc part of the turbulence technology?

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I assume that it must be, but I'm no engineer.

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Originally Posted by Kopi_Red

I assume that it must be, but I'm no engineer.

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Did you find the 787 to handle turbulence better?

I've leaned toward 787s whenever possible for my longer flights (3X to Australia last year) since they came out. Carbon Fiber = higher %RH w/o corrosion issues = more comfortable. Also they seem quieter inside. Never hit big turbulence in one.

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Originally Posted by Summit

787 has big LCD dimming windows... neat.

Slow loss of pressure is not a huge deal... flight crew descended rapidly... otherwise you'd be incapacitated in about 30 seconds at 35K if you didn't put on your mask.

Trip disruption sucks though not as badly as sudden decompression.

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Correct that my case was a slow decompression event. No one got sucked through any holes in the fuselage and no body passed out from lack of oxygen. The worst part was the dive and the effect of the pressure changes on all the kids' ears. If I would have been flying by myself, I would have enjoyed the experience more :dork:

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Originally Posted by The SnowShow

Did you find the 787 to handle turbulence better?

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It's hard to say. Overall it wasn't the worst turbulence I've ever experienced but it took us for a ride. Maybe the 787 might have handled that particular bout better than a more traditional plane, say a 777, but I can't make that conclusion without a head to head comparison between the two in similar turbulent conditions.

I was drinking vodka. I didn't give a shit.

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Originally Posted by kai_ski

What do you take to fly?

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Nothing these days.

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Originally Posted by frorider

I've leaned toward 787s whenever possible for my longer flights (3X to Australia last year) since they came out. Carbon Fiber = higher %RH w/o corrosion issues = more comfortable. Also they seem quieter inside. Never hit big turbulence in one.

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I'm not sure I would equate more comfort and quieter cabin with carbon vs. Al. Just a newer, better design.
The new Airbus 350WB are also much nicer than the previous models.

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Originally Posted by adrenalated

Moral of this thread: pilots are BAMFs.

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Yeah, no shit. I miss my brother.


One time, heading out of MSO we took off through the rain, which in a jet looks like the craziest downpour ever since you're going 100s of mph. Plane kept doing that slight negative G thing. It was awful. Everyone on the plane had their heads bent in what seemed like a mixture of prayer and nausea. Not being one to pray, I was mostly terrified and little nauseous. I kept think "climb through it like Denzel!"
Then we hit more turbulence on the way to SLC. Good thing the flight was short!

For the record, I did not equate carbon fiber with interior quietness. Stop spreading fake news bruh

I would think a heavier 777 would handle turbulence better than a lighter 787?

http://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=572633

...discusses some design factors re: turbulence

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Originally Posted by From_the_NEK

Correct that my case was a slow decompression event. No one got sucked through any holes in the fuselage and no body passed out from lack of oxygen. The worst part was the dive and the effect of the pressure changes on all the kids' ears. If I would have been flying by myself, I would have enjoyed the experience more :dork:

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I would have been fucked by the pressure change. My ears can't handle a regular flight. It sucks. I didn't always have an issue until a flight when I was around 30yrs old. I wanted to cut my head off I was in so much pain and I really had no idea wtf was going on. The pain goes down your neck behind your ear and into core of your brain...or somewhere like that :wink: fucking brutal! :frown: Since then I've had to use those ear pressure reducing plugs and even with those I sometimes have issues. If I have any kind of head congestion I don't even want to get on the plane.

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Originally Posted by jackstraw

I would have been fucked by the pressure change. My ears can't handle a regular flight. It sucks. I didn't always have an issue until a flight when I was around 30yrs old. I wanted to cut my head off I was in so much pain and I really had no idea wtf was going on. The pain goes down your neck behind your ear and into core of your brain...or somewhere like that :wink: fucking brutal! :frown: Since then I've had to use those ear pressure reducing plugs and even with those I sometimes have issues. If I have any kind of head congestion I don't even want to get on the plane.

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I flew to Anchorage once with a sinus infection. On the descent, I couldn't get my ears to pop. That is some unreal pain! When they finally popped my nose started bleeding like a broken pipe. That was not fun.

Did your brain come out your nose? Might wanna get that checked. I don't get many nose bleeds, but onetime I was picking my nose and I think I accidentally removed whatever plug was keeping my brain from draining out. Certainly explains a lot.

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Originally Posted by frorider

Carbon Fiber = higher %RH w/o corrosion issues = more comfortable.

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Also, cabin pressure is equivalent to ~6k ft vs 8.5k ft. Makes a big difference for most people, supposedly. I've yet to fly in one but would love to, mostly for the hudge windows.

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Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn

Did your brain come out your nose? Might wanna get that checked. I don't get many nose bleeds, but onetime I was picking my nose and I think I accidentally removed whatever plug was keeping my brain from draining out. Certainly explains a lot.

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Not sure. But this is how I felt. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...206a37b4ca.jpg

Buck up you pussies. I'm surprised nobody is bitching that on their last flight they ran out diet ginger ale. That will come on page 4.

You all would have shit your pants flying daylight B-17 missions over Germany in the big one; and pissed your pants in a DC-3 that shook and flexed like a '72 Gremlin.

Where are the real men today?

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Originally Posted by From_the_NEK

Has anyone else had the pleasure of experiencing one of these?

Long version of the story:
Saturday the 25th of February my family and I (wife and two kids 4 and 7) were travelling to Orlando to go to the most magical place on Earth.
The United flight from Burlington, VT to Newark, NJ on a small commuter jet went fine. The weather when we left Burlington was 70 degrees. We landed in a hot Newark, NJ a little over an hour later. We traversed the airport to our next flight and made it to the gate with plenty of time to grab some food and drinks before boarding our connecting flight to Orlando. Boarding went smoothly but I was keeping an eye on the weather. A strong cold front was rapidly approaching that contained strong thunderstorms and winds. We pulled back from the gate and then the captain came on to inform us that due to the storms, all departing flights were grounded until the weather cleared. They gave us free movies and we sat on the tarmac for over about an hour and a half before they brought us back to the gate a deplaned everyone. 20 minutes later they put us back on. Of course the family (Scandinavians) that were sitting behind us apparently decided they didn't need to stay near the gate :rolleyes2. They arrived back on the plane literally sweating about 20 minutes after everyone else was seated. The kids were getting super antsy about getting to Disney at this point.

And now the fun really begins...

We took off in our 737 from Newark, NJ bound for Orlando. Everything seemed fine and we reached cruising altitude around 35,000. Shortly after, as I was watching a movie, I noticed that the nose of the plane dropped and we seemed to be going into a sharp decent. I quickly flipped stations to the flight tracker screen. By the time I got there I saw that we had already dropped below 30,000 and we were dropping quick. At about 25,000' kids started screaming as they couldn't adjust pressure in their ears fast enough. Then the flight tracker screen went blank (along with all of the other screens of people still watching their movies). Then the oxygen masks dropped. I put mine on first as they instruct you to do then turned to my 4 year old that was sitting next to me. He was screaming and pulling at his ears. My stupid mask kept sliding off as I tried to keep the mask on my 4 year old. He kept pushing it off as he was totally focused on the pain in his ears.
A couple minutes later I feel the plane level off and the captain comes on and explains that the plane had experienced a pressure leak issue and that the plane had safely descended to a survivable altitude under 15,000'. We could now take off the masks. We continued to fly for another 15 minutes or so before landing at Washington-Dulles to a greeting of flashing lights of the airport's fire-safety crew.
We deplaned, and United graciously put us up in a hotel for the night. Of course by the time we got to the hotel we were only there for 4 hours before we had to return to the airport early the next morning to get on our new plane.

TL/DR
Decompression while flying sucks, especially for kids. I don't want to do that again and I'm not sure if my wife will ever want to fly again.

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About as bad as my 4-year old telling me as we are just boarding the plane "Daddy, my ear hurts."

It turned out to be 2.5 hours of hell with my 4-year old screaming the 4-year old equvilant of "FUKCING KILL ME NOW! JUST FUKCING KILL ME!).
good times

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Originally Posted by Timberridge

Buck up you pussies. I'm surprised nobody is bitching that on their last flight they ran out diet ginger ale. That will come on page 4.

You all would have shit your pants flying daylight B-17 missions over Germany in the big one; and pissed your pants in a DC-3 that shook and flexed like a '72 Gremlin.

Where are the real men today?

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My grandfather certainly enjoyed switching over to the faster pressurized B-29 from the unpressurized B-17. Now it costs $500 to fly in one for a short time but as a bonus nobody shoots at you.

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Originally Posted by Summit

My grandfather certainly enjoyed switching over to the faster pressurized B-29 from the unpressurized B-17. Now it costs $500 to fly in one for a short time but as a bonus nobody shoots at you.

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Props and respect to grandpa. One of the tough and lucky.

"One of the most treacherous assignments of the war, flying B-17s in daylight raids. The odds for those who made bombing runs over Germany were brutal: an American air crewman based in England had a 1-in-3 chance of surviving 25 missions."

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Originally Posted by commonlaw

No, and that sounds gnarly. I like to travel but hate flying. That's borne out of a general dislike of people and having to be jammed into an industrial sized pringles can going 500 knots at 35,000 feet above the earth with these people. It doesnt help that the damn bar has to approach me rather than the other way around. Anyway, I think I can take newfound pleasure in commercial airline travel after my flights a few weeks ago up to Tofino. I was crammed in an 8 seater built during the Eisenhower administration. The kid who "checked me in" (gave me a laminated post-it note that said "boarding pass") at the "terminal" (cubicle in a Vancouver airport terminal that even the airport shuttle driver wasn't ware of), also took me to the plane and then hopped into the pilot seat. He (and not they, as I'm pretty sure he's the booking agent too) sold the copilots seat to a traveler but made sure to tell her that "I would appreciate it if you didnt touch any of the controls during the flight." It was a bumpy ride over the mountains and the only thing between me and freefall was a poorly maintained cheftain and the few brain cells this kid didn't destroy the night before while at a kegger. Small flights are probably old hat for many, but it wasn't my favorite. I expected pitching up and down, but I've never felt crosswinds like that.

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Hopefully the kid will graduate to bigger planes soon so he can shut the door on the insufferable twats he has for passengers?

Damn. That really sucks for the kids. I used to fly a shitload for 5 years and never saw the masks drop once. I did have a near miss on the approach into Denver. Pilot floored it and pulled up at the last minute to miss a small plane that crossed the runway in front of us (made the news). Also had flight where the pilot had to dump fuel above Lake Michigan due to a hydraulic issue just after take off.

Coworker's plane was struck by lightning last week. Didn't sound like a fun experience.

More of a WTF situation, a recent flight was rerouted to transport two relief pilots from BWI to IAD. That's about an hour drive. The pilots' new collective bargaining agreement for this airline affords the right to demand air transportation from job to job.

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Originally Posted by ColMan

Also had flight where the pilot had to dump fuel above Lake Michigan due to a hydraulic issue just after take off.

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Chemtrails

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Originally Posted by frorider

http://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=572633

...discusses some design factors re: turbulence

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Not picking on you here, but there is a lot of misinformation in that thread.

The aeronautical design factor that has a direct bearing on how comfortable you'll be as a passenger is wing loading, which in the most simple terms is mass over wing area. If all else is equal, an airplane with higher wing loading will generally be smoother through bumps.

The operator factor is speed. Just like speed bumps in a car, turbulence feels worse the faster you go.

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Originally Posted by NW_SKIER

Chemtrails

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indeed

https://youtu.be/1h4TGlBaclM

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Originally Posted by PNWbrit

Hopefully the kid will graduate to bigger planes soon so he can shut the door on the insufferable twats he has for passengers?

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Don't change

This always makes me feel better about flying

Closest call I've ever had was a nonstop flight from SLC to DCA. Bumpy the whole way for five hours or so. Stormy weather in DC, airports starting to close, etc.

We come down for the landing and I'm casually looking out the window dreaming of being at the bar shortly. We look to be just a few feet off the ground when a big sideways gust hits us and all of a sudden the tarmac under the plane is instead the grassy median. Pilot doesn't hesitate and hits the gas (gotta love those badass pilots who don't hesitate). We ended up having to circle for a few minutes but they re-opened a runway at Dulles to get us on the ground cause we were running out of gas.

I've heard that the DCA runway is technically too short for those planes, but that some Senators came together to give them an exception so they didn't have to fly into Dulles.

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Originally Posted by commonlaw

Don't change

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Oh I'm sorry, was your raging on puddle jumper pilot piece satire?

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Originally Posted by PNWbrit

Oh I'm sorry, was your raging on puddle jumper pilot piece satire?

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Rage? Calm down and come back when you are ready to have some fun.

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Originally Posted by adrenalated

Moral of this thread: pilots are BAMFs.

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The original Bad Mother Fucker:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PeyiU3uWJ8

My close call in an airplane. We are about a hundred feet off the ground on the initial climb, when all of a sudden I hear "bam!", and then a sound like a load of rocks tumbling in a dryer coming from the engine right next to me. We circle around and land pretty quickly and then park over in a corner of the field where a fire truck arrives to watch over us. They didn't feel the need to hose us down, but we had to depart the plane and take a bus back to the terminal. Put about a 4 hour delay in my trip.

Yeah, I guess no big deal, but I sometimes think about how much worse that could have turned out.

After eating oysters in Paris, I once spent the entire trip in the bathroom of an Air France 747. If the toilet actually emptied into the Atlantic, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be here today.

If it's not too late to recognize International Womans Day and women pilots...

Funny, a good friend of mine was a pilot in the Maldives. She flew guests in to get enough float hours to captain a water bomber. She's badass indeed.

I saw a photo of a Heli pilot with this sticker on the back of his helmet. It made me laugh.

Attachment 202097

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Originally Posted by Phildo_Baggins

I've heard that the DCA runway is technically too short for those planes, but that some Senators came together to give them an exception so they didn't have to fly into Dulles.

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rwy 1/19 @ DCA is approx 7000' and the field elevation is basically sea level. That's not too short for pretty much any narrow body. Some might be load limited for take off.

The biggest challenges there are the visual approach you have to fly when the weather is good, and that there are three runways that are close enough to mistake one for another (has happened many times). Literally the last time I was there I heard, "_____airline call sign____ ahhh... it looks like you're lining up with 15. You're cleared to land 19!"

The visual for the main southbound runway requires that you fly down the river and not go over the land on either side - even at night. That's mostly for noise because you're only 900 feet over the Key Bridge, but you can't miss that turn at the island or you'll be in the restricted airspace over the Lincoln Memorial, i.e. in deep shit. If you cut the corner at the Arlington Bridge instead of continuing down to the 14th St Bridge, you'll fly over the Pentagon - which isn't shown on the chart. It's actually pretty fun.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3787/3...254bcaa3_b.jpg

i read that the approach is nicknamed the slam dunk