First time flying

locutus12 · 20 May 2006 at 11:26

THERES SOMETHING ON THE WING!!!

flyings great, nothing like 2 inches of tin between you and a fourty thousand foot fall to put things into perspective.

saitrix · 20 May 2006 at 11:31

2 inches?

Much less then that, the wings skin is only ~2mm thick you realise?

AJUK · 20 May 2006 at 11:37

BeatMaster said:
Incorrect. Flying is the safest mode of transport infact you have more chance of winning the lottery than been killed in a plane crash statistically.

Travelling by car is the most dangerous form of transportation, FACT.

Statistics

You will eventually die in a car crash 1 in 125
You will be a victim of violence in the suburbs 1 in 2,000
You will develop a brain tumor 1 in 25,000
You will die in a fire this year 1 in 40,000
You will win a state lottery jackpot 1 in 4,000,000
You will be killed in an airplane crash 1 in 4,600,000

(From What The Odds Are, by Lee Krantz)

More info

I'm also about to fly for the first time and from Newcastle Airport. Only 2 weeks 6 days to go now...scary! Looking forward to it though

BeatMaster

You do realise I was joking?

BeatMaster · 20 May 2006 at 13:47

AJUK said:
You do realise I was joking?

Nope

BeatMaster

blueCAT · 20 May 2006 at 14:01

One thing to be aware of, you won't be able to imagine what it's like before you fly. I didn't really think about it before, and it really took me by surprise.

What I mean is, things like... it's very unlike a train - much more like being in a car. You can feel the movements of the pilot steering (which kinda freaked me out). Accelerating along a bumpy runway up to 200mph(?) is quite bizzare but then when you're up, it's all good.

Get a window seat, it's like simcity.

Hamish · 20 May 2006 at 14:05

saitrix said:
2 inches? Much less then that, the wings skin is only ~2mm thick you realise?

Well if it was too thick the plane would be too heavy and fall out the sky

mauron · 20 May 2006 at 15:50

er.... if the plane was too heavy it wouldn't take off

ballistic · 20 May 2006 at 15:54

mauron said:
er.... if the plane was too heavy it wouldn't take off

or it would, but not for long, just like how Aaliyah died

locutus12 · 20 May 2006 at 16:14

incase this happens...

make sure you have this book... available from amazon.co.uk

on a serious note, the book looks like it may be a damn good read

saitrix · 20 May 2006 at 16:18

mauron said:
er.... if the plane was too heavy it wouldn't take off

If it was just the perfect amount of weight it could be possible for it to take off using the same effect WIG planes fly with the cushion of air near the surface. Then as soon as it gets too high it would drop back down and would crash.

Calibos · 20 May 2006 at 16:30

I was nervous the first time I flew. Until we started the takeoff and we accelerated down the runway. "OH MY GOD, this is so cool! What a rush! etc etc. On our way to the destination I was a little bored as we were mostly flying through cloud and you could see F all out the window. On the way back I wasn't bored at all because we were either flying through blue skys or above cloud. The views were amazing.

Just to note, the wings flexing and bending is normal (assuming you can see them from your seat) and safe. Light turbulance which is like driving over a bumpy road is....normal and safe, heavy turbulance which is rare and is like dropping a bit fast in an elevator......is normal and safe. You really only have to worry if the nose of the plane is pointing directly towards the ground or the you are upside down. Other than those two, anything else that happens on the flight is 99.999999% probably safe and normal.

So don't look on your first flight as something to be scared of. Look forward to what will probably be your biggest rush bar sex to date. Flying is cool.

BeatMaster · 20 May 2006 at 21:38

Are you allowed to take pictures out the window?

BeatMaster

Aliboy · 20 May 2006 at 21:53

BeatMaster said:
Are you allowed to take pictures out the window?

BeatMaster

Yup

I took a video of my landing (even though I shouldn't have :eek:

)

Al

VaderDSL · 20 May 2006 at 21:58

The best part of flying is the initial acceleration and rotation part of take off and the landing when the pilot start the descent

it's just cool being able to listen to the machinery and tell what's happening

georges · 20 May 2006 at 22:28

I love flying except one time with AirUK on some super-***** plane with rotors which was really small which went stansted->holland somewhere then we connected to germany.

I was packing myself on that plane. Big rotors just didn't seem right on a plane to a 10 yr old :eek:

Chojin · 20 May 2006 at 22:57

inferno · 20 May 2006 at 23:06

Flying is so fun!

haven't experienced a cross wind landing or go-around yet, now they would be exciting!

saitrix · 20 May 2006 at 23:11

inferno said:
Flying is so fun!

haven't experienced a cross wind landing or go-around yet, now they would be exciting!

Landing at Gibralter is fun also.

Roduga · 20 May 2006 at 23:12

saitrix said:
Landing at Gibralter is fun also.

Real men land on grass.

1pudding1 · 20 May 2006 at 23:27

Like this one, the brownish strip next to the road right in the middle of the pic, circuit side is the one with all the cloud on!

OR this one, nice and exciting flying very low over the houses, just gotta hope you dont have an engine failure after take-off or go-around otherwise your going in the drink!