Kinja reply list

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marimvibe, new packaging, same great tasteKaila Hale-Stern
6/24/15 3:14pm
though some planes actually can make the exhaust go in reverse to back the plane up.
Props only. The C-17 can backup using thrust reverse, but turbofan airliners aren’t designed for it.
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  Milwaukee_WYmarimvibe, new packaging, same great taste
  6/24/15 3:40pm
  Some airliners can use thrust reversers to back up. There are videos on YouTube of DC-9s doing this as well as others.
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  Carilloskismarimvibe, new packaging, same great taste
  6/24/15 3:49pm
  It has to do with the engine mounting position low wing mounted engines on low wings like those on 707/737/747/757/767/777/787 A300/310/320/330/340/380 to reduce FOD being kicked up and then being sucked into the engines. On planes with high mounted engines like, DC9, MD80, MD90 717, and 727 typically use thrust reverser to pushback.
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Snap AlongsKaila Hale-Stern
6/24/15 3:33pm
On a recent British Airways flight from Rome to London I sat in the exit row and the exit door made an ungodly amount of creaking and popping noises throughout the flight. It was a little nerve wracking since it was so loud. As we landed in London - WATER began to drip from the ceiling and run down the front of the door. I don’t know if it was condensation due to the temp changes, but it was also raining outside as we landed. That didn’t help my imagination. I pointed it out since there did appear to be a about a small glass full’s worth of water running down the door, but the cabin crew just shrugged it off and looked at me like I was a “nervous” flyer. Which I’m not, unless there’s stuff from the outside coming INTO the plane.
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  Kaila Hale-SternSnap Alongs
  6/24/15 3:37pm
  i’m not a nervous flyer but this would terrify me
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  0ttrSnap Alongs
  6/24/15 4:03pm
  almost certainly condensation from the A/C that started draining when the plane started turning to line up for landing, otherwise you’d’ve had a decompression with the fun masks dropping out on you
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jacksonextremeKaila Hale-Stern
6/24/15 3:16pm
This article was awesome.
I’m a nervous goddamn wreck when I fly. I know it’s safe, I know turbulence is fine, I know all the bonkers ass noises happening are normal, I know that weird feeling during takeoff when the plane feels like it’s starting to go down is no big deal, but goddamn if I don’t spend most of my flight white knuckling the seat with thoughts of careening toward the earth in my head.
Unless I’m drunk, then it’s fine.
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  Fractured Farinajacksonextreme
  6/24/15 3:21pm
  Like you, I’m a nervous wreck when flying. I absolutely hate it, yet I understand that quite often it’s really the easiest, most economical way to get where I need to go. I had a flight a few years ago on a regional jet where, on approach, I could feel the plane slowing and dropping and I nearly came unglued. There’d be a sensation of feeling like you were being pulled backward slowly and then a gentle descent...I couldn’t wait for that plane to get onto the ground.
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  KagePjacksonextreme
  6/24/15 3:25pm
  Oh god the engine power and altitude flucuations really freak me out.
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ek1111Kaila Hale-Stern
6/24/15 3:39pm
Hi, well an interesting article but a little disappointing for me as someone who does get anxious about flight sounds. You pretty much describe all the sounds while the plane is on ground, taking off, or landing. The most freaky sounds for me are always those while in steady flight. Like changes in engine pitch, sometimes it sounds like the engines are powering down or vice versa. There are a few different sounds while in steady flight, and those are actually the most terrifying and the ones I tend to notice and get nervous about. No mention of those...
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  flightlevel270ek1111
  6/24/15 4:04pm
  No need to be anxious! If you were able to plug into the cockpit and listen to the pilots talk to ATC (air traffic control) you would immediately understand that those changes in engine pitch are almost always a result of being approved to climb or descent to a new altitude. Most of the enroute conversations between controllers and airline pilots is about how comfortable the ride is and whether it is better 2,000 feet higher or lower. If it is better at an another altitude (or if they can climb higher for better tailwinds/efficiency, or if it is time to begin the long descent) they will change altitude. In level flight (meaning you are not climbing or descending), at a given airspeed (say normal cruise speed — the airplane equivalent of loafing along the interstate at 70 MPH), the amount of power needed is a constant for the weight of the plane at that time. So, if you want to climb you will need to add power (or reduce power if you want to descend). That is why you will hear the engines spool up during cruise. The engine will spool up and the plane will climb. Or it might get softer and the plane will descend (because going down you have gravity to help). In addition, the plane may bank (turn) because the pilots are following a flight plan that often travels along “roads in the sky” (jet airways) and at an intersection in that road they may turn to join another road or the road may change its direction a bit. Occasionally they may turn to avoid weather that would be uncomfortable for the passengers. They have on board radar to see storm clouds and weather being broadcast to them from the airline dispatch office. So, using that, they may make small corrections to their route to avoid bumps, rain, etc.
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  0ttrek1111
  6/24/15 4:09pm
  during flight the plane will be assigned different flight levels (altitudes) and the pilot will program those into the flight computer and the engines will respond. When beginning descent, the pilot will literally idle the engines. You are basically gliding while the engines just idle. I’m a nervous flier too, but I don’t notice any other sounds while in cruise other than maybe the cabin air cycling on and off.
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Done With This SiteKaila Hale-Stern
6/24/15 2:58pm
“People not familiar with airplanes are scared because they are forced to be quiet and go along with acting normal while stuck in a tube hurtling through the air at 600 miles an hour, and 30,000 feet above the earth.”
It’s not the hurtling through the air 30,000 feet above the earth so much that scares me. It’s the possibility of hurtling into the ground at terminal velocity that creeps me out.
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  Kaila Hale-SternDone With This Site
  6/24/15 3:05pm
  same, but i was reassured by all of the back-up systems and stress tests as described here
  it seems like most of the crashes in recent memory have been human error or intent, no?
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  The Ghost of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ AKA BabyStepsDone With This Site
  6/24/15 3:11pm
  I think for me it is the loss of (the illusion of) control that makes all of what you wrote and what the author wrote so scary. In a car I feel as if I have control and that makes it easier for me to accept.
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dhighdrated2Kaila Hale-Stern
6/24/15 3:37pm
i love all the backup systems and feel moderately safe - except for the landing gear. There is one set of landing gear and if any part of it doesn’t deploy your landing on the ground is gonna be troublesome. You hear stories every year of a plane trying to defuel so that it doesn’t blow up during the skid. make me feel better about that.
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  0ttrdhighdrated2
  6/24/15 4:05pm
  if it’s any consolation, most pilots will go their entire careers without any kind of landing gear trouble.
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  dhighdrated20ttr
  6/24/15 4:19pm
  there should be a manual way to crank that stuff out if it doesn’t delpoy correctly. and pardon my ignorance cause i know nothing about how any of it all works.
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ArcaneKaila Hale-Stern
6/24/15 3:11pm
Very cool to understand a lot of the sounds. Thanks. One question: I’ve often noticed a very distinct “fffrrrrrrppp” sound often followed by a noxious smell. Any ideas? Sometimes I hear/smell it during the whole flight. Sometimes it’s only momentary. Never know what it’s going to be. Would love to know how to avoid it and potentially shut off whatever device is making it. Thanks in advance!
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  NOArcane
  6/24/15 3:35pm
  That’s a DBRV (Digestive Byproduct Release Valve) venting off unneeded methane. Depending on the size of the aircraft, there could be hundreds of DBRVs present, though they thankfully don’t all operate at once.
  Studies have shown that DBRVs could be made to vent less frequently if the in-flight meal quality was improved, but sadly the airlines have found that most customers are unwilling to pay for the difference on their ticket prices.
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  houndoggie1976Arcane
  6/24/15 3:36pm
  Sorry, my bad.
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resinburnerKaila Hale-Stern
6/24/15 3:18pm
“ he flips a switch to make the wings almost twice as wide as they normally are”
Is this really a thing or it this just poorly worded?
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  marimvibe, new packaging, same great tasteresinburner
  6/24/15 3:21pm
  Poorly worded. It’s almost like a simple English wiki article. He’s talking about the flaps, which in part extend the trailing edge of the wing. It’s also not anywhere near a 2x difference, particularly on takeoff where they’re not fully extended.
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  whynotresinburner
  6/24/15 3:27pm
  It is simply worded but yes, it is a thing. Slats (front of the wing) and flaps (rear of the wing) lower to increase the wing area and allow you to fly at lower speeds (and thus need less runway to take off/land). They increase drag, however, which is why they are raised/stowed after takeoff when the plane is flying at high enough speed that they are no longer needed.
  Note this is true for most aircraft, but there are some that don’t have slats (typically smaller regional jets) and technically a plane can takeoff without the flaps (just need a lot more runway).
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diasdiemKaila Hale-Stern
6/24/15 3:16pm
Gremlins.
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  Kaila Hale-Sterndiasdiem
  6/24/15 3:30pm
  also the original “nightmare at 20,000 feet” with baby captain kirk!!
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  Terror and Lovediasdiem
  6/24/15 4:01pm
  YES!!!! I knew you wouldnt let me down!
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lostEngineerKaila Hale-Stern
6/24/15 3:26pm
Reminds me of a time, I was riding with a frantic first timer. The APU started up and she freaked. So I told her not to worry that’s just the APU and it’s a good thing, I work on those all the time. Then the guy in front of me turns and comforts her, he stated he was an F/A-18 pilot, then the guy next to him announces he flew F-4s. Then an Air Force guy chimes in with stories of his Stratotanker. I never was on a flight with so many auxiliary back ups to the back ups backups for the pilot.
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  lightnquicklostEngineer
  6/24/15 4:06pm
  Insert “yo man, I heard you back up your back ups....” joke here.
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  fadecomiclostEngineer
  6/24/15 4:37pm
  I hope they didn’t all have the fish.
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