Orange and brown are two of my favorite colors, so it is easy to understand why my eyes took such a fancy to this shot taken from an airplane as Patrick Powers took off and away from the Hawaiian islands. At first glance you’d think it was a fiery sunset over gently rolling waves in the Pacific, but it’s really a sunset captured at 35,000 feet. Mind-boggling when you think about it – don’t you agree? Fabulous work on Patrick’s behalf and I hope to see more in the Gadling Flickr Pool.
Touring the Airbus A380
A couple of months ago, Adrienne Wilson let us know that the Airbus 380, the largest jumbo jet built to date, had passed its safety evacuation test. Well, now, thanks to the Times Online, journalist Martin Symington gives a sneak preview of what the A380 is like inside — and man, is it impressive. The article has a list of astounding statistics, like:
- Each plane has more than four million parts.;
- The Wright brothers’ first flight in 1903 (36.6m), could have taken place on either passenger deck (49.7m and 47.9m);
- The temperature in the engines reaches 2,800C, half that of the Sun’s surface; and my personal favourite
- A freighter version, the A380F, will carry 150 tonnes of cargo – about the same as a herd of 57 fully grown Asian elephants.
Amazing vessel. Not surprisingly, my buddy, Sir Richard Branson, has already gone on record suggesting that the Virgin Airlines Airbus A380 “might have on-board gyms, showers, beauty parlours and casinos, not to mention double beds in private cabins.”
Dude. If I ever get a Virgin ticket on one of these things, they may never get me off of it.
Rat on Plane?
From the sound of this Gridskipper blurb about a
first-hand affair with a tiny, furry vermin running about the airplane cabin on a flight into JFK, lets just say
I’m glad it wasn’t me. Imagine. According to his tale the plane was about to descend for landing when he felt a few
taps and an "odd pulling" on his pant leg, the kind that obviously couldn’t come from the restless passenger
behind you and could only be accomplished by a rat. YES, A RAT on the plane.
His reaction to the critter’s friendly pre-landing probing – he let out a yelp. A yelp! Now here’s where I would have
seriously caused a scene and surely wouldn’t have handled things the way the author did, but you’ll have to let him
tell it.
Before he signs off of this horrific in-flight tale he polls readers to find out what stories
they’ve got to share as well. Vermin, roaches or what have you and as far as I’m concerned I’ll pass on anything too
wild. The rat on my favorite airline was enough for now. Thank you.
via
Worldhum
Paying More for Airline Extras
A
long while back I made a crack about how much I
wish there was some kind of Maxwell Smart "Cone of Silence" available on planes so that I don’t have to
listen to the soul-chilling wails of someone’s distraught baby as I fly. I was chastised a bit by angry readers who
apparently felt that it was my duty as a fellow human to tolerate the cries of the baby and the parents who were doing
little to quiet him. (That really is the rub, after all, that the parents weren’t doing much to keep him quiet).
Anyway, I still dream of that cone of silence, and ,in fact, if I knew I was being seated next to a crying in fact, I
would gladly pay for it. Or better, I would pay for my own section where no crying babies are allowed. And while we’re
at it, no sickeningly obese, smelly, talkative, people either. So there.
Well, this is apparently not a
novel idea. In fact, as
WAPO’s Keith L. Alexander reports in this piece, it seems that many folks would
also willingly pay to be free of such burdens, as well as to be provided with various amenities such as an extra
carry-on bag, better food, or (God forbid) unlimited alcohol. This seems to me a wonderful idea. You get what you pay
for and if you want more, it’s yours. If you’re like me, you cold care less about eating that horrid airline food and
could easily pass on the peanuts if it means saving a few bucks.