Airports and airplanes

[CaptainPanic]

The good

The acceleration on the runway, followed by the G-force at actual take-off is awesome. The view from the window on a clear day is fantastic. The feeling of speed, when you can spot another airplane going in another direction, is mind-boggling. You can reach most of the world within 24 hrs because of airplanes. That must make it a good invention?

 

The bad

You sit with 100-400 people crammed into a tiny space. At least 3 people invade your little bubble of privacy for the duration of the flight. No matter how clean you are, you stink if you get out of the airplane. The food sucks. The chairs are too tiny. Waiting at the airport makes it all much slower than necessary. Getting to and from the airport is often a hassle, especially for early or late flights. Airport security sucks. And I haven't even started about delays and cancelled flights. Not a nice experience.

 

The ugly

Airplanes are terribly polluting. Perhaps not per traveled kilometer per person - but because you'll travel really far, you will still pollute. Airplanes bring the exhaust gases, including all the particulate matter right into the higher parts of the atmosphere... contrails from airplanes are even able to turn a lovely clear summer day into a hazy partly clouded day. Any invention capable of ruining a nice summer day must certainly be terrible??

 

 

Just a little rant about flying. I'm about to leave on another flight (for work)... I thought I'd just get this out of my system before I leave.

 

Any thoughts?

[Xittenn]

The Good

 

Vacuum pockets

 

The Bad

 

The children sitting behind you screaming in french that the plane is going to crash into the lake and that we are all going to die

 

The Ugly

 

Being assigned the middle seat in-between two men with serious obesity issues ..... no qualms with the men just the situation!

[Doc. Josh]

Im not a big fan of airports however i have quite a funny story in relation, Long story short i was hunting on a weekend used my main suitcase etc... Got home my wife cleaned out my bag washed clothes etc... Well that following week i had to fly in to NJ for my wifes 80 yr great aunts birthday. Well first i get to Tampa international forgot my wallet on the night stand due to our flight being at 5am and i worked all night and just forgot so 21.0 miles back home then back now im running late i look like a madman sprinting through the airport with my bag. As i approch the security officer to check me and my luggage he stops me tells me to put my hands behind my back and face the wall, Well im by no means a criminal so im freaking out asking why. Well the lady behind the desk pulls out my hunting hatchet and starts to accuse me of being a criminal etc.. n ow i have a huge crowd around me a ton of police and my flights almost done boarding. End result was a very understanding police officer that hunts and has a dingy wife so he takes the axe and tells me to hall A** to the plane. So i made my flight and had a very interesting story to tell. plus got back to hear that my name made the local paper. Never found the article tho.

[lemur]

The good

The acceleration on the runway, followed by the G-force at actual take-off is awesome. The view from the window on a clear day is fantastic. The feeling of speed, when you can spot another airplane going in another direction, is mind-boggling. You can reach most of the world within 24 hrs because of airplanes. That must make it a good invention?

Not only that but think about how much less infrastructure they require than any form of surface transit except ships/boats. When you talk about the pollution and fuel usage of passenger jets, just think about how much pollution and fuel-usage is the result of road and highway building or building and maintaining rails for trains. What about tires? How many tires would get used if everyone in a passenger flight travelled the same distance by car or bus? In fact, I can't think of any aspect of air-transit that is less green than surface-transit.

 

The bad

You sit with 100-400 people crammed into a tiny space. At least 3 people invade your little bubble of privacy for the duration of the flight. No matter how clean you are, you stink if you get out of the airplane. The food sucks. The chairs are too tiny. Waiting at the airport makes it all much slower than necessary. Getting to and from the airport is often a hassle, especially for early or late flights. Airport security sucks. And I haven't even started about delays and cancelled flights. Not a nice experience.

Compare this with sitting in any other vehicle for the same period of time. True you can stop and get out for a while when you're on the ground. If you don't like the food, why don't you bring a bag lunch or take-out? Also, I wonder why no one has come out with sleeper-aircraft that fly at night. People could sleep in stacked drawers, which would fit far more people into the plane. I guess the problem would be evacuation in case of emergency.

 

Just a little rant about flying. I'm about to leave on another flight (for work)... I thought I'd just get this out of my system before I leave.

 

Any thoughts?

I think people get burnt out on flying because they have to do it so much. It ruins the fun of it to do it so much. Maybe telecommuting and other virtual meetings and work-interactions will replace business travel and re-open the industry for (occasional) leisure travel.

 

 

[imatfaal]

Im not a big fan of airports however i have quite a funny story in relation, Long story short i was hunting on a weekend used my main suitcase etc... Got home my wife cleaned out my bag washed clothes etc... Well that following week i had to fly in to NJ for my wifes 80 yr great aunts birthday. Well first i get to Tampa international forgot my wallet on the night stand due to our flight being at 5am and i worked all night and just forgot so 21.0 miles back home then back now im running late i look like a madman sprinting through the airport with my bag. As i approch the security officer to check me and my luggage he stops me tells me to put my hands behind my back and face the wall, Well im by no means a criminal so im freaking out asking why. Well the lady behind the desk pulls out my hunting hatchet and starts to accuse me of being a criminal etc.. n ow i have a huge crowd around me a ton of police and my flights almost done boarding. End result was a very understanding police officer that hunts and has a dingy wife so he takes the axe and tells me to hall A** to the plane. So i made my flight and had a very interesting story to tell. plus got back to hear that my name made the local paper. Never found the article tho.

 

 

Great attitude to women - you take an hatchet to the airport and it's your wife's fault for not cleaning your suitcase out properly -what century is this?

 

 

[ewmon]

My flying experiences began in small planes (Pipers, Cessnas, etc), and it impressed me that I could tell the exact moment the plane disconnected with the ground. Years later, when I began flying on airliners, I thought they'd be too big to feel the "floating" sensation. Not! And to this day, every time I experience "lift off", this smirk appears on my face because it's the coolest part of the flight.

[imatfaal]

My flying experiences began in small planes (Pipers, Cessnas, etc), and it impressed me that I could tell the exact moment the plane disconnected with the ground. Years later, when I began flying on airliners, I thought they'd be too big to feel the "floating" sensation. Not! And to this day, every time I experience "lift off", this smirk appears on my face because it's the coolest part of the flight.

 

I know the smirky feeling entirely - but for me it's that mad rush when the plane starts to accelerate, cos it's always harder than I remember.