BS: Lights in planes

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: MudGuard
Date: 06 Feb 04 - 09:57 AM

Tell that to catsPHiddle, Liz!
She nearly didn't fly home from Belfast...

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 06 Feb 04 - 09:40 AM

I'd've read her documents over her shoulder and pointed out spelling and grammatical errors, but I do that anywhere!

I think I prefer the Easyjet 'no booked seat' policy, but it can be a bit awkward for less abled passengers who can't get able bodied people out of the sensible seats that have leg room.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: GUEST,Strollin' Johnny
Date: 06 Feb 04 - 07:53 AM

Liz, I asked for a window seat on a daytime flight Gatwick to Houston TX, so I could see Greenland/Labrador/Great Lakes etc. No chance - all taken. Bastard! So the young lady in the window-seat next to me closes the blind before take-off, refuses my polite request to swap seats once we were in the air, reads, clicks the buttons on her laptop or sleeps through the whole flight, and opens the blind approximately 10 seconds before touch-down in Houston.

Nearly 700 quid to look at the back of the seat in front for ten hours! If she didn't want to look out of the bloody window, why take a window seat??? Grrrrrrrr!

Nothing to do with this thread really, just having a moan.
Johnny

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 06 Feb 04 - 04:44 AM

I really resented being asked to close my blind during a day flight, when they show the movie. From what I could see, it was a typical French movie (boy falls for girl, girl falls for other girl, boy commits suicide, girl doesn't give a shit) that no-one was watching or could understand anyway. Most of them were watching through closed eyelids (well, we'd taken off at about 6.00am local time!) and I wanted to finish a drawing I'd done at the airport. And I wanted to see the view, all those beautiful turquoise islands set in a lapis sea..... bastard stewardesses made me shut the blinds!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: Shanghaiceltic
Date: 05 Feb 04 - 11:48 PM

Once flew on internal flights in Russia on an old Yak aircraft.

Bumpy take off resulted in light fittings falling out. So no need to turn them off on landing. However a change of underwear was required !

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: Dr Will C U Now
Date: 05 Feb 04 - 12:25 PM

It also helps if you cant see the trickle of water running down the Steward(ess)s legs during "slight technical problems"

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: Ebbie
Date: 05 Feb 04 - 12:16 PM

I like 'darksuckers'. I just wish there were a shorter name for them. They are equivalent to air conditioning units, usually written as AC. Should darksuckers be DSes? The longer this earth rolls with me on it, the more I learn...

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: DMcG
Date: 05 Feb 04 - 04:10 AM

On my last three flights at least, with different carriers, we were asked to close the window blinds during take-off and landing "because of regulations."

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: freightdawg
Date: 04 Feb 04 - 11:27 PM

Oops, forgot to mention that it is during takeoff and landing that the electrical load is the greatest. Those landing lights that you can see for 10 miles (required day and night) require a lot of juice. Also, extending, and retracting all the flaps and landing gear also puts a load on the electrical system, although the actual heavy lifting is usually done by hydraulic pressure.

Just happens to be down my alley so-to-speak. I fly airplanes for a living, although considerably smaller ones than the ones most commonly used for passenger service.

Woof.

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: Amos
Date: 04 Feb 04 - 11:06 PM

I think freightdawg's explanation is persuasive.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: freightdawg
Date: 04 Feb 04 - 10:46 PM

In case of an accident the explosion and related fires are going to pretty much destroy anyone's night visioin, passenger or flight attendant. If there is no explosion or fires and electrical power is still available, the lights would come up for emergency exits. If no electrical power is available, the flight attendants have plenty of high power flashlights readily available.

The real answer has already been given. When departing or landing a flight crew switches the plane's electrical source from the engines (turning generators) to an auxilliary power unit (usually located in the tail). The reason being is that if an engine fails during the most critical phases of flight you do not want the remaining engines to be burdened with generating (mostly) extraneous electricity. However, the APU is much smaller than the combined electrical output of the engines, so electrical demands are reduced somewhat. In smaller planes the pilots do not want the glare to affect their forward vision (obviously not a problem in a closed and locked cockpit.) There are probably other reasons (dim lights tend to subdue the passengers somewhat, I have noticed) but mostly it is due to the reduced electrical capacity during the critical phases of flight.

Having you close your window screen is a new one for me. Sounds like a cranky flight attendant, or maybe the sun was shining is someone's face. (kind of tricky at night, though)

Freightdawg

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: GUEST,ClaireBear
Date: 04 Feb 04 - 07:18 PM

I'm sure I've been on at least one flight during which I was asked to close my window screen for landing. I quite resented it, never having seen London from the air...

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 04 Feb 04 - 07:07 PM

The more electrical circuits with current in them, the more chance of sparks when the plane crashes and breaks into tiny pieces, spraying flammable fuel everywhere...

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: Amos
Date: 04 Feb 04 - 06:21 PM

BS indeed. It is probably also to minimize loss of night vision in stewards/esses/

A

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: Cluin
Date: 04 Feb 04 - 05:56 PM

Because a dark plane is lighter in weight than a lighted one. The darksuckers weigh more when operational. Airplane technology allows the charge of the darksuckers to be dumped outside the plane prior to takeoff.

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: Dead Horse
Date: 04 Feb 04 - 02:16 PM

To keep you in the dark?
Although I do beleive it's because the plane needs every last bit of available energy to git off da ground. Dunno 'bout comin' in tho?

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 04 Feb 04 - 01:40 PM

Wow... that's neat...

:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Lights in planes
From: MudGuard
Date: 04 Feb 04 - 01:31 PM

In case of an accident - when the lights might fail - your eyes should be used to reduced light already.

That's what a stewardess told me when I asked her that question...

Subject: BS: Lights in planes
From: John-S
Date: 04 Feb 04 - 01:23 PM

Does anyone know why the lights in planes are turned off for take-off and landing ?