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I just want to try going down one of those slides because I was on a pretty empty flight a few years back talking about a bunch of poo poo with the crew (since they were also bored) and one of the things they mentioned was how ridiculously fast you go down those slides. how could I not want to try it after hearing this? Just how fast it is really? Inquiring minds want to know.
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May 23, 2014 22:56
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Psion posted:I just want to try going down one of those slides because I was on a pretty empty flight a few years back talking about a bunch of poo poo with the crew (since they were also bored) and one of the things they mentioned was how ridiculously fast you go down those slides. Really loving fast...to the point that if you aren't prepared you're going to break bones on landing. It's only marginally safer than jumping out the door without a slide.
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May 23, 2014 23:02
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I think that's just more evidence that flyers ought to be able to test these things out somehow. I'd rather not learn the hard way how fast they are when I'm in a smoke-filled cabin evacuating with 400 screaming passengers (aside from myself, who will of course be ice-cold collected and perfectly in control) seriously I think it'd be both fun and educational to get some federal certificate that yes, I have tested out how the hell to evac from a plane and am marginally more competent than average. Then I should get priority on exit row seating 
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May 23, 2014 23:24
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As someone who frequently does a 10.7k mile each way trip for work I can say that most people are horrible and should not be allowed the privilege of air travel. Even a 90 mile flight I frequently take on an EMB somehow takes 2 hours due to boarding, seating, and deplaning stupidity.
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May 23, 2014 23:28
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I think I've mentioned this here before, but hey, it's SA and we all tell the same stories over and over... Back in the late 80s, my father was a low-level manager at a now-defunct airline. There was a threat that the flight attendants were going to go on strike, so the company's response was to send every member of management through full flight attendant training. This was jokingly referred to as "skirt school", as they had to take a bunch of balding guys in their 40s with high blood pressure and the attitude that comes from multiple divorces and convince them to serve drinks and teach the seatbelt/oxygen mask lesson with a smile. The strike never happened, and the Disney version of this story shows that all of them learned a valuable lesson about how being a flight attendant really sucks and they should be treated better, but no... Nearly 30 years later, these guys are still complaining about having to go down the damned slide and busting an ankle. In training, in a controlled environment.
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May 23, 2014 23:32
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MrChips posted:Really loving fast...to the point that if you aren't prepared you're going to break bones on landing. It's only marginally safer than jumping out the door without a slide. Nice post/avatar combo. benito posted:Back in the late 80s, my father was a low-level manager at a now-defunct airline. Trying to think which one, but there are so many 
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May 23, 2014 23:40
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benito posted:complaining about having to go down the damned slide and busting an ankle. In training, in a controlled environment. In fairness, exiting the cockpit via the ropes thru the eyebrow windows is probably just a tad more hardcore.
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May 23, 2014 23:47
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benito posted:Don't worry, you've got that seat cushion to hold on to... as it releases the years, possibly decades of accumulated farts contained within. Might help with the luggage thing if the airport terminal didn't have announcements every 30 seconds about how if you lose sight of your bags for 30s your bags will detonated by the bomb squad and you'll be shipped to gitmo. Also that airlines are terrible with bags in unusual situations and will be happy to give you $75 for your $2000 laptop and medicine they just lost.
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May 23, 2014 23:50
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SybilVimes posted:In fairness, exiting the cockpit via the ropes thru the eyebrow windows is probably just a tad more hardcore. Or if you're a Dash/CRJ driver, out a hole in the roof.
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May 24, 2014 00:12
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The Ferret King posted:That's a little extreme isn't it? The plane's still have life vests. I'm not saying it's as good or as easy as being in a raft (and even that isn't easy) but it's not like you'd be completely under your own power for 2 hours. You'd have floaties. Also, the emergency slides double as life rafts once everyone is out, don't they?
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May 24, 2014 00:24
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hobbesmaster posted:Might help with the luggage thing if the airport terminal didn't have announcements every 30 seconds about how if you lose sight of your bags for 30s your bags will detonated by the bomb squad and you'll be shipped to gitmo. Also that airlines are terrible with bags in unusual situations and will be happy to give you $75 for your $2000 laptop and medicine they just lost. Exactly. It's kind of like how inconsistent and constantly changing rules at TSA checkpoints slow down the line. Belts on or off? Laptop in the bag or not? Do shoes have to go in their own bin or are you going to get yelled at if they're in the same bin with your empty laptop bag? I was at one airport where the guy flipped the gently caress out because I was wearing a baseball cap. I had no problem taking it off, but it was the first flight out of several dozen where that was an issue. Put up a $1 sign stating that baseball caps are forbidden and I'll happily comply. If you have zero desire to be a terrorist or commit any crimes, it is remarkably easy to get confused as to how you are expected to act in the modern airport/airplane environment, and anything you do wrong (through no fault of your own) causes delays for everyone behind you.
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May 24, 2014 00:34
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EnergizerFellow posted:Along those lines, there's always The Sky Crawlers, which is worth it just for the visuals and music alone. Thank you for linking this, I have a thing for anime involving planes, it's really hard to find though because they keep stuffing mecha into any vaguely war themed show. I'd highly recommend Yukikaze myself from what i understand it's kind of ace combat the anime but it's humans vs aliens in an alien world, can't guarantee this because I haven't played any ace combat games but I can guarantee you plane action is at the very least entertaining. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXadee4y5PQ
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May 24, 2014 00:55
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If you're not doing Precheck you're loving it up
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May 24, 2014 00:56
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:If you're not doing Precheck you're loving it up Like going to a small airport?
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May 24, 2014 01:13
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Regarding life rafts: Hudson River anyone? River ditching near a city is still pretty possible, and in winter with cold water people could easily die of hypothermia if forced into water.
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May 24, 2014 01:24
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But no rafts were deployed there? We're talking about rafts, not slides. (The slides float and can be used as temporary rafts hence why you're allowed not to have any)
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May 24, 2014 01:36
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benito posted:Exactly. It's kind of like how inconsistent and constantly changing rules at TSA checkpoints slow down the line. Belts on or off? Laptop in the bag or not? Do shoes have to go in their own bin or are you going to get yelled at if they're in the same bin with your empty laptop bag? I was at one airport where the guy flipped the gently caress out because I was wearing a baseball cap. I had no problem taking it off, but it was the first flight out of several dozen where that was an issue. Put up a $1 sign stating that baseball caps are forbidden and I'll happily comply. In the designated pre-check screening line: "Is there a laptop in that bag, sir?" "Yeah but I'm pre-check" "ALL LAPTOPS MUST BE OUT OF THE BAG SIR" "Uh...ok" *Pulls laptop out of bag, sets on the belt* "YOU NEED A BIN FOR THAT LAPTOP SIR" "Do I need to take my shoes off too?" "NO YOU'RE PRECHECK SIR, IT SAYS SO ON YOUR BOARDING PASS, COME ON THROUGH" Cue everyone behind me going WTF Basically everyone who works for the TSA is a blithering idiot who doesn't even know the basics of their own rules. e: Also at least half of them are insecure fuckheads on a power trip because they've got a uniform and a two-cent badge so they just make up rules as they go. hobbesmaster posted:Like going to a small airport? Also this. It shouldn't matter that the airport doesn't have a designated pre-check line because it's in bumfuck, nowhere, the whole point of pre-check is that prior to arriving at the airport I've ID'd myself as someone who presents a low security risk, which is why I get expedited screening. It shouldn't matter that I'm not going through a designated pre-check line, I've got pre-check on my boarding pass and I'm showing my mil ID. Is it really necessary for me to take off my shoes and belt and pull my laptop out just because I'm being forced to travel out of shithole, Alabama? Wait, nevermind, answered my own question...it makes grandmas feel better, which is the whole point of the pointless security theater that is the TSA. iyaayas01 fucked around with this message at 01:47 on May 24, 2014 |
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May 24, 2014 01:39
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If I am flying on my own, I get to 2nd base with the TSA about 80% of the time. All SSSS all day. If I am flying with my family, something near half the time I get pulled out for a little rub up while the rest of the fam waits on the secure side. But if I am flying with kids and no wife, straight through the metal detector with my shoes on, first time, every time. Slo-Tek fucked around with this message at 01:51 on May 24, 2014 |
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May 24, 2014 01:48
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New business for busy travelers: Rent-A-Sprog?
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May 24, 2014 01:52
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iyaayas01 posted:Wait, nevermind, answered my own question...it makes grandmas feel better, which is the whole point of the pointless security theater that is the TSA. I think it's been at least a decade since it even accomplished this much. I got a 'TSA-friendly' messenger bag with a fold-out laptop compartment and it's helped make getting through security a touch easier. For whatever reason they seem to have given up making you pull all your toiletries out, which also helps. Still with the belt and the shoes and they can't seem to make up their minds whether you should carry your wallet (and ID) with you through the scanner thing or whether it needs to be X-rayed for ???
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May 24, 2014 01:56
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Snowdens Secret posted:I think it's been at least a decade since it even accomplished this much. I had to yank out my toiletries going from SEA->LGA but they didn't give a gently caress coming back from LGA. The belt thing is just loving annoying to me. More so than shoes for whatever reason.
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May 24, 2014 01:59
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Additional fun... I'm a wine writer, and last year the TSA made a big deal about about being able to carry corkscrews on planes, since the foil cutting blades are only about an inch long, aren't sharp, and really couldn't hurt anyone. That announcement got a lot of publicity, but the quick repeal did not. On a recent flight to RDU, I'd forgotten that I had a corkscrew in my laptop bag. I gave the, "Sorry, my bad, you can throw it away." Time to trigger the full scrotum groping while they signaled over for a supervisor to determine whether or not I could carry it on the plane. "I don't need it, it was a freebie, just throw it away and let's keep the line moving." Time to bring out the ruler and list of prohibited items and dig around in my pants. "I really don't need that corkscrew, I don't care what you do with it, but I'm not going to take it on the plane." Ugh. I'm not mad at the individuals in the TSA, I know coming from a family of airline workers that there is rarely any reason to be mad at the front line employee who is having to enact an asinine rule or deliver bad news about your luggage. But for Pete's sake... benito fucked around with this message at 02:21 on May 24, 2014 |
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May 24, 2014 02:19
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You can be mad at the front line TSA workers. The words "customer service"do not mean the same thing to them as they do to the rest of the world.
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May 24, 2014 02:40
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Having done a HUET course twice with emphasis on cold water immersion (offshore canada) I always can't help but laugh during the safety briefings when they talk about rafts and using your seat cushion and etc etc, when in reality *if* you make it out of the plane in the first place you'll still be lucky to last more than a few minutes in the water.. There's a reason we had to fly in these. edit: Obviously I'm talking about northern climates, not Australia Niven fucked around with this message at 02:53 on May 24, 2014 |
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May 24, 2014 02:49
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Acid Reflux posted:You can be mad at the front line TSA workers. The words "customer service"do not mean the same thing to them as they do to the rest of the world. "Eyyyy, Duane - go service up that customer."
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May 24, 2014 02:50
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I guess what I don't understand about the TSA is where we hire these people. What exactly are the necessary qualifications to join the TSA? And are most of the visible employees at about the same level? Like, is a supervisor a guy who just kept breathing long enough to get promoted or is it gonna be someone who actually obtained some level of education? I've had a few positive interactions with people that seemed to be supervisors, but none with the rank and file that I can remember.
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May 24, 2014 02:59
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Prop Wash posted:I guess what I don't understand about the TSA is where we hire these people. What exactly are the necessary qualifications to join the TSA? And are most of the visible employees at about the same level? Like, is a supervisor a guy who just kept breathing long enough to get promoted or is it gonna be someone who actually obtained some level of education? I've had a few positive interactions with people that seemed to be supervisors, but none with the rank and file that I can remember. If you can fog a mirror without having to think about it too hard they will hire you. If you can make vaguely coherent sounds while smiling in a non-threatening way they make you supervisor.
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May 24, 2014 03:03
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Niven posted:Having done a HUET course twice with emphasis on cold water immersion (offshore canada) I always can't help but laugh during the safety briefings when they talk about rafts and using your seat cushion and etc etc, when in reality *if* you make it out of the plane in the first place you'll still be lucky to last more than a few minutes in the water.. There's a reason we had to fly in these. Minutes is all you need because a survivable ditching is likely to be right next to an airport like US Air 1549 or a runway overrun in which case you're still at the airport.
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May 24, 2014 03:04
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Prop Wash posted:I guess what I don't understand about the TSA is where we hire these people. What exactly are the necessary qualifications to join the TSA? And are most of the visible employees at about the same level? Like, is a supervisor a guy who just kept breathing long enough to get promoted or is it gonna be someone who actually obtained some level of education? I've had a few positive interactions with people that seemed to be supervisors, but none with the rank and file that I can remember. Most smaller airports seem to have nicer people at the checkpoints. They also seem to be much more consistent. This is opposed to going through Detroit where I was quite confused and suspicious because the loving TSA guys were asking about where I was going, whether the trip was business or not, who I worked for everything like they were passport control.
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May 24, 2014 03:07
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I was flying Portland to Austin when I was wearing my belt buckle that was the left half of a 1911, but quite clearly a belt buckle and not a real gun. It wasn't to scale, it was probably 1/4 the size of an actual 1911, and was just pewter with some kind of fake mother-of-pearl plastic for the grip. I know some of you will probably give me poo poo, but I don't fly often and this was my daily wear belt. TSA in Portland? Gave me a look but let me keep it. TSA in Austin, coming home? Confiscated. A pistol belt buckle. In motherfucking Texas.
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May 24, 2014 03:07
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SyHopeful posted:TSA in Portland? Gave me a look but let me keep it. I think that the inconsistency is the most frustrating thing for frequent travelers, because every airport seems to operate on a different set of rules. I'd been on a long series of flights back and forth from MEM, ATL, CLE, DTW... And then I had a flight out of Cincinnati. They seemed to know how to funnel business travelers, families, paralyzed old people, etc. into the appropriate lanes. All of the TSA employees were cheerful, they were joking around with the passengers, helping them load their bags on the belt, no passengers got yelled at, and as we exited security they all wished us a good trip. I flagged down a TSA supervisor and asked him what I needed to do to fill out a positive comment card, because it was the best experience I'd had in years of post-9/11 flying. Dude almost wept as I wrote it up. They claim that they have to mix up the rules to keep the terrorists on their toes, but it's a crazy bureaucracy that seems like one of those large scale psychology experiments that people will criticize as utterly inhumane in decades to come.
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May 24, 2014 04:13
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edit: nothing to see here, move along...
Captain Postal fucked around with this message at 04:16 on May 24, 2014 |
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May 24, 2014 04:14
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It's fine, planes flying cross country that don't pass over the sea don't need life rafts.
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May 24, 2014 05:50
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drunkill posted:It's fine, planes flying cross country that don't pass over the sea don't need life rafts. Absolutely correct. There aren't any life rafts in that picture (those are inflatable/floating slides which must always be fitted and work perfectly well in inland waters), and life rafts wouldn't have helped if they were present. Although I think the regulations should be changed to lower the boundary from 400NM to something that can be reached quickly by S&R like 20NM. Even 100NM is too far out if you're in the water with nothing more than a life vest and a floating seat if there is swell or wind. Captain Postal fucked around with this message at 06:11 on May 24, 2014 |
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May 24, 2014 06:08
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Captain Postal posted:Absolutely correct. There aren't any life rafts in that picture (those are inflatable/floating slides which must always be fitted and work perfectly well in inland waters), and life rafts wouldn't have helped if they were present. 20 miles out in the Bering Strait with a life vest or cushion is just as deadly as 100. Oceans are deadly and the slightest bit of shelter matters. Taking off any survival gear is a bone headed move.
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May 24, 2014 06:26
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Kind of reminds me of the bullshit that happened with the titanic and minimal amount of life saving gear according to the regulations of the day  Also the fact that the ocean will kill you loving dead within minutes from hypothermia.
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May 24, 2014 08:34
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Prop Wash posted:I guess what I don't understand about the TSA is where we hire these people. What exactly are the necessary qualifications to join the TSA? And are most of the visible employees at about the same level? Like, is a supervisor a guy who just kept breathing long enough to get promoted or is it gonna be someone who actually obtained some level of education? I've had a few positive interactions with people that seemed to be supervisors, but none with the rank and file that I can remember. I've seen several ads in airports encouraging former mil folks to apply for TSA jobs. That should tell you all you need to know.
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May 24, 2014 08:36
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Psion posted:I just want to try going down one of those slides because I was on a pretty empty flight a few years back talking about a bunch of poo poo with the crew (since they were also bored) and one of the things they mentioned was how ridiculously fast you go down those slides. Escape slides are *not safe*. They're simply safer than remaining on the plane and they're the only reasonable way of getting lots of people out of a plane in ninety seconds. For a small plane, like the Hudson River ditching, you've got four slides between 100-200 people. Possibly more if that particular design has overwing slides as well (not sure about the Bus; a 737 does not have overwing slides - you just climb onto the wing and slide down the flaps). There's been very few successful ditchings ever - until a few years ago the most successful was probably the Comoros hijacking, and that killed at least a third of the passengers. You've all got life vests, and probably enough space around the slides once they're detached. If you can't get help quickly you're not likely to survive anyway - even with a life raft you've still got no way of warming up or drying off, no food, no water... Twin-engine aircraft are limited in how far they can go from diversion airports, based on known reliability of their engines - the principle is basically "if you lose one engine, you're nearly guaranteed to have the other free of mechanical failure until you've landed". Three or four engine aircraft already have more redundancy available. Very few things can take out both engines and still leave you any chance of surviving, and you're not likely to find a flock of geese at three hundred thousand feet. Running out of fuel is about the only other option I can think of. Either you've got time to get closer to land - probably all the way to an airport - or you're going down *right now* and liferafts aren't going to do you any good at all.
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May 24, 2014 10:14
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Mike-o posted:Kind of reminds me of the bullshit that happened with the titanic and minimal amount of life saving gear according to the regulations of the day The regulations in place in the days of the Titanic reflected a completely different approach to SAR however. It made sense back then, because it was assumed you'd just be transferring the passengers to another vessel. Of course they didn't have a whole lot of experience ramming ships into icebergs at 21 knots. I think people are vastly overestimating how useful life rafts are. Imagine one of those inflatable boats kids play with at the lake, scale it up so it fits thirty people (more like fifteen comfortably) and fill it with 3 inches of puke. There you have it, life raft. They're better at protecting from hypothermia than an open lifeboat, especially if you have an inflatable floor, but not by much. Do aviation rafts even have canopies?
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May 24, 2014 12:30
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What would be loving amazing is if the pilots had a button to lock all overhead compartments in an emergency. And a detailed test of airline boarding and safety procedures before being allowed to enter a plane.
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May 24, 2014 13:54
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