Decompression Event in an airliner

[huckbucket]

Who's been on the new 787. I get to take one in a few weeks. Kinda excited.

[The SnowShow]

Who's been on the new 787. I get to take one in a few weeks. Kinda excited.

I might as well and really want to hear what it's like. I hate turbulence and hear it has some technology to counter some of it?

[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.

[old goat]

I was flying in a little turbo prop from Denver to C Springs through a thunder storm. I was terrified by the turbulence and at the same time awed by the incredibly beautiful thunder heads with the sunlight streaming between them. Strange mix of emotions.

[BmillsSkier]

Had a similar flight from Atl to LA. Big ass storm and we had to fly right through it. Looking out the window I swear the wings were flexing up and down close to 20 feet at the tips. I love to fly but that flight had me a little worried.

After seeing this years ago I stopped worrying about the wings falling off and directed my focus on engine failures and empty bar carts.

[LegoSkier]

No really bad experiences but the site https://www.aviationweather.gov is the place to go for seeing reports of turbulence and ice. It can psyche you out for a flight though when you look before boarding and see lots of severe reports along your route.

[The SnowShow]

No really bad experiences but the site https://www.aviationweather.gov is the place to go for seeing reports of turbulence and ice. It can psyche you out for a flight though when you look before boarding and see lots of severe reports along your route.

Is "TS" on that site a thunderstorm?

What are the blue, red, purple dots?

[BmillsSkier]

Is "TS" on that site a thunderstorm?

What are the blue, red, purple dots?

Without looking I'd say blood splatter on the ground.

[jackattack]

No decompression. But I have been on a flight from BTV to ORD that included lots of freefall. Weightlessness is pretty awesome. Good thing I was higher than a kite. Everybody else in the passenger cabin, including the flight attendants thought we were all going to die that day.

What do you take to fly?

[Kopi_Red]

Who's been on the new 787. I get to take one in a few weeks. Kinda excited.

I flew in one to Japan last year. What I remember from that flight was when we hit some bad turbulence the entire fuselage was twisting back and forth with every jolt and bump. NW_SKIER was sitting next to the window with his arm on the armrest and the wall kept bumping into his elbow. It was a trippy ride. I never felt unsafe because it was a new plane but I won't want to be riding in that same plane 20 years from now...

[hutash]

Flying has never bothered me. Now, driving to the airport scares the shit out b of me.

On a flight once from Vegas to Burbank. Sunset over the desert and mountains, weaving around thunder heads was very beautiful. Approached the airport in a massive rain, bumping and bouncing, one if the most turbulent flights I had been on. By now it is dark, and I figure we are about to land. when all of a sudden the pilot is on full throttle and we are ascending as fast as possible. No fucking idea what just happened, no comment from the flight deck, but when we landed there was a seat belted ovation from the passengers. I assume there was some issue with ground traffic, but I never did find out. That was the first time I had seen the passenger give the pilots a round of applause.

I have since flow Aeroflot, and the passengers giving thanks after a successful landing is common place. Apparently safe landings are not a given ib Russia.

I love to fly, I have just come to hating fucken airlines. They all suck hairy donkey scrotums.x;

[BmillsSkier]

when we landed there was a seat belted ovation from the passengers. I assume there was some issue with ground traffic, but I never did find out. That was the first time I had seen the passenger give the pilots a round of applause.

You should fly Southwest more often. Pretty much every flight ends with the cattle class erupting in applause.

(I say that with kindness as I think SWA is a fine carrier and I fly SWA any time my pile of Delta points won't allow me to and they're both hubs in Latoya Jackson Intergalactic Nail Salon and Spaceport)

[The SnowShow]

I flew in one to Japan last year. What I remember from that flight was when we hit some bad turbulence the entire fuselage was twisting back and forth with every jolt and bump. NW_SKIER was sitting next to the window with his arm on the armrest and the wall kept bumping into his elbow. It was a trippy ride. I never felt unsafe because it was a new plane but I won't want to be riding in that same plane 20 years from now...

Is the twisting, etc part of the turbulence technology?

[billyk]

After seeing this years ago I stopped worrying about the wings falling off and directed my focus on engine failures and empty bar carts.

My dad was a "tech rep" for Boeing back in the 50's and early 60's. Kind of a Field Application Engineer / Customer support guy between Boeing and the Air Force. We'd travel around the country living a couple years at a time near Air Force bases. I remember a couple times at SAC headquarters near Omaha seeing black clouds rising up and learning that a bomber had crashed. My dad explained that even though Boeing had well documented the max loads the aircraft could handle, the Air Force liked to run their own stress tests to see just how far they could push past the documented limits. Kind of like that video, but in actual flight tests. Too bad for the crews.

[Shredhead]

What are the blue, red, purple dots?

Flight category's of reported meteorological conditions.
Green VFR - Visual Flight Rules - good visibility
Blue - Marginal VFR - hazy, but you can see
Red - Instrument Flight Rules - Bad
Magenta- Low Instrument Flight Rules - whiteout, can't see shit right down to the ground

[Kopi_Red]

Is the twisting, etc part of the turbulence technology?

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

[The SnowShow]

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

Did you find the 787 to handle turbulence better?

[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.

[From_the_NEK]

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.

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

[Kopi_Red]

Did you find the 787 to handle turbulence better?

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.

[NW_SKIER]

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

[riser4]

What do you take to fly?

Nothing these days.

[Shredhead]

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.

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.

[stuckathuntermtn]

Moral of this thread: pilots are BAMFs.

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!

[frorider]

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