5 ms·

Roughly 25 years. The other thing that you probably didn't notice directly but made you feel better is the better pressurization. Newer planes tend to keep high

Roughly 25 years. The other thing that you probably didn't notice directly but made you feel better is the better pressurization. Newer planes tend to keep higher pressures (since carbon fiber is ridiculously strong), which helps prevent some of the general discomfort of flying.

simonjgreen 2y ago
The 787 and the A350 are both a delight to fly long haul
- s1artibartfast 2y ago
  I still prefer A380 when I can get one. The extra space is amazing.
  - gruez 2y ago
    Isn't that determined by seat pitch, which in turn is arbitrarily configurable by the airline? What does the model have to do with it?
    - skissane 2y ago
      Given how huge the A380 is, it is more likely to fly less than completely full, which increases the odds that you'll have vacant seat(s) next to you in economy class. Also, if you want to go for a walk, the distance you are allowed to walk is a lot further.
      - kijiki 2y ago
        > Given how huge the A380 is, it is more likely to fly less than completely full That is quite nice as a passenger, but also a big part of why they're no longer made, and why most airlines are phasing them out...
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
    - apelapan 2y ago
      The A380 has higher ceilings than other planes. Doesn't help the knees but makes it feel a lot more airy.
  - johnwalkr 2y ago
    One thing I dislike about flying a full-ish A380 is the length of time for meal service. It can be over 1 hour that you have to sit with your tray table occupied and seat upright, before your tray gets picked up. If you want to use a laptop or sleep, it feels like forever.
dredmorbius 2y ago
NB, for any budding bathynauts: carbon fibre is strong under tension, which is precisely the use-case for higher-than-ambient-pressure vessels such as air- and space-craft. It's far less comparatively strong under compression, which seems to have been the principle failure mode of the now-permanently-submerged Titan. The failure modes of explosive vs. implosive failure are also relevant. High-pressure implosions tend to collapse the entire hull, whilst so far as I understand, explosive failure, particularly at the relatively low pressure differentials of air and space flight, tend to be localised, and the fibre-reinforced nature of composite materials should reduce damage to the neighbourhood of the initial failure point in many cases. Implosive failure needn't actually penetrate the hull so much as crease it, a mode which CF handles poorly respective to the application.
- Terr_ 2y ago
  I think a lot of people have a misconception that keeping pressure in is just as hard as keeping pressure out, while in some ways, it's probably easier to make a space station (keep 1 ATM in) than to make a submarine (keep 500 ATM out.) Hence sci-fi horrors is like getting sucked out into space through a pinhole.
  - adgjlsfhk1 2y ago
    yeah, this is really one of my pet peeves. Lots of people like to pretend that holding a vacuum is really hard, but if all you need is a gross vacuum, it's only about as hard as going down 40 ft into the water.
    - eastbound 2y ago
      Other misconception: That we immediately die in space. You can probably survive a minute or two.
  - euroderf 2y ago
    If a micrometeorite (or other space detritus) puts a pinhole in a wall in the space station, can you plug it by covering it with your finger, without necessarily losing the finger ?
ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
I never got the chance to fly in a Dreamliner, but I have been told that its air is also more humid than standard jets (because of the carbon-fiber construction, I think, so metal oxidation isn’t an issue).
- adgjlsfhk1 2y ago
  > because of the carbon-fiber construction yes > so metal oxidation isn’t an issue no. It's not rust, but that higher pressure air can hold more water at the same relative humidity. The higher pressure air is achievable because carbon fiber has higher tensile strength per weight.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
    That makes more sense. Thanks!
  - nemetroid 2y ago
    > higher pressure air can hold more water at the same relative humidity The 787 and A350 cabins have higher relative humidity. > no. It's not rust, Citation needed. Corrosion resistance is one of the most advertised benefits of the composite materials in those aircraft[1][2]. 1: http://www.lb.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/articles/qtr_4_06/article_04_2.html http://www.lb.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/articles/qt... 2: https://skybrary.aero/sites/default/files/bookshelf/3851.pdf https://skybrary.aero/sites/default/files/bookshelf/3851.pdf
- wkat4242 2y ago
  Nice, then finally I won't get nosebleeds on long flights <3
  - ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
    Also, I get headaches on planes. The 10,000-foot altitude air pressure does it.
bobmcnamara 2y ago
These are Boeings we're talking about.

simonjgreen 2y ago

The 787 and the A350 are both a delight to fly long haul

s1artibartfast 2y ago
I still prefer A380 when I can get one. The extra space is amazing.
- gruez 2y ago
  Isn't that determined by seat pitch, which in turn is arbitrarily configurable by the airline? What does the model have to do with it?
  - skissane 2y ago
    Given how huge the A380 is, it is more likely to fly less than completely full, which increases the odds that you'll have vacant seat(s) next to you in economy class. Also, if you want to go for a walk, the distance you are allowed to walk is a lot further.
    - kijiki 2y ago
      > Given how huge the A380 is, it is more likely to fly less than completely full That is quite nice as a passenger, but also a big part of why they're no longer made, and why most airlines are phasing them out...
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - apelapan 2y ago
    The A380 has higher ceilings than other planes. Doesn't help the knees but makes it feel a lot more airy.
- johnwalkr 2y ago
  One thing I dislike about flying a full-ish A380 is the length of time for meal service. It can be over 1 hour that you have to sit with your tray table occupied and seat upright, before your tray gets picked up. If you want to use a laptop or sleep, it feels like forever.

dredmorbius 2y ago

NB, for any budding bathynauts: carbon fibre is strong under tension, which is precisely the use-case for higher-than-ambient-pressure vessels such as air- and space-craft. It's far less comparatively strong under compression, which seems to have been the principle failure mode of the now-permanently-submerged Titan. The failure modes of explosive vs. implosive failure are also relevant. High-pressure implosions tend to collapse the entire hull, whilst so far as I understand, explosive failure, particularly at the relatively low pressure differentials of air and space flight, tend to be localised, and the fibre-reinforced nature of composite materials should reduce damage to the neighbourhood of the initial failure point in many cases. Implosive failure needn't actually penetrate the hull so much as crease it, a mode which CF handles poorly respective to the application.

Terr_ 2y ago
I think a lot of people have a misconception that keeping pressure in is just as hard as keeping pressure out, while in some ways, it's probably easier to make a space station (keep 1 ATM in) than to make a submarine (keep 500 ATM out.) Hence sci-fi horrors is like getting sucked out into space through a pinhole.
- adgjlsfhk1 2y ago
  yeah, this is really one of my pet peeves. Lots of people like to pretend that holding a vacuum is really hard, but if all you need is a gross vacuum, it's only about as hard as going down 40 ft into the water.
  - eastbound 2y ago
    Other misconception: That we immediately die in space. You can probably survive a minute or two.
- euroderf 2y ago
  If a micrometeorite (or other space detritus) puts a pinhole in a wall in the space station, can you plug it by covering it with your finger, without necessarily losing the finger ?

ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago

I never got the chance to fly in a Dreamliner, but I have been told that its air is also more humid than standard jets (because of the carbon-fiber construction, I think, so metal oxidation isn’t an issue).

adgjlsfhk1 2y ago
> because of the carbon-fiber construction yes > so metal oxidation isn’t an issue no. It's not rust, but that higher pressure air can hold more water at the same relative humidity. The higher pressure air is achievable because carbon fiber has higher tensile strength per weight.
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
  That makes more sense. Thanks!
- nemetroid 2y ago
  > higher pressure air can hold more water at the same relative humidity The 787 and A350 cabins have higher relative humidity. > no. It's not rust, Citation needed. Corrosion resistance is one of the most advertised benefits of the composite materials in those aircraft[1][2]. 1: http://www.lb.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/articles/qtr_4_06/article_04_2.html http://www.lb.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/articles/qt... 2: https://skybrary.aero/sites/default/files/bookshelf/3851.pdf https://skybrary.aero/sites/default/files/bookshelf/3851.pdf
wkat4242 2y ago
Nice, then finally I won't get nosebleeds on long flights <3
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
  Also, I get headaches on planes. The 10,000-foot altitude air pressure does it.

bobmcnamara 2y ago

These are Boeings we're talking about.