[ambivalent_98]

I am glad to see that these airborne giants are being considered for test drives & initial ownership section. Awesome guys. Just a pointer - for those who want to oogle at these beauties and drool over them go to the following site where there are more than 100,000 photos in various categories

Airliners.net | Airplanes - Aviation - Aircraft- Aircraft Photos & News
JetPhotos.Net - The Friendly Way to Fly!

The official jargon used (rather I have heard these folks use)
747 family
747-100 - 741
747-200 - 742
747-300 - 743
747-400 - 744

Same for the others in the Boeing Family eg 777-300 = 773. Same goes for Airbus
A330-300 = A333 and A340-500 = A345.

[ashishsonileo]

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[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

I always wanted to know specifications at which these huge machines operate, specially the mach speed. Thanks for sharing this wonderful info.

Spike

[xingamazon]

Wow never expected an aircraft review, I really thought you had driven a vehicle and felt like having rode a airplane and thats why the title.
Never expected a real Airplane review. As someone mentioned few pics atleast of the simulator would surely add to the enthusiasm

[ambivalent_98]

Originally Posted by SPIKE ARRESTOR

I always wanted to know specifications at which these huge machines operate, specially the mach speed. Thanks for sharing this wonderful info.

Spike

All commercial jets operate below Mach 1. Most fighters / bombers go above the Mach number. The top speed of a B744 is Mach 0.8 that comes to about 950 km/hr. But none of them travel at their top speed as there is another spec called "Cruise speed" with which they can achieve the desired range. of course the payload is also the deciding factor but then they usually keep to the "cruise speed"

[ifly]

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

All commercial jets operate below Mach 1. Most fighters / bombers go above the Mach number. The top speed of a B744 is Mach 0.8 that comes to about 950 km/hr. But none of them travel at their top speed as there is another spec called "Cruise speed" with which they can achieve the desired range. of course the payload is also the deciding factor but then they usually keep to the "cruise speed"

most cruise at sub-sonic speeds. that is < o.9M

most fighters have capability of supersonic flight. This is used for dogfights/escape maneuvers incase being intercepted or being fired upon using after burners. Sustained supersonic flight of 2.2Mach to 2.4Mach in a MiG21 is less than 15 min. Don't know what it is now- Israel's modified them. Primarily due to the heat that is produced at high speeds.


The newer generation's are capable of going more than 3Mach and have solved to a larger extent the challange of high speed aerodynamics. They have a constraint of fuel. The after burners burn A LOT of fuel.

Not that it matters- our tax money pays for it.

[raman.]

This review was not completely unexpected. Because T-Bhpians are different!!
Some time back when I read the review of a ship, I was totally surprised, so this review was not that shocking.
But these reviews do let us know some very interesting facts about BIG machines.
Keep it up guys!!

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

All commercial jets operate below Mach 1. Most fighters / bombers go above the Mach number. The top speed of a B744 is Mach 0.8 that comes to about 950 km/hr. But none of them travel at their top speed as there is another spec called "Cruise speed" with which they can achieve the desired range. of course the payload is also the deciding factor but then they usually keep to the "cruise speed"

Thanks for this superb thread !

I have seen 1000 kph+ speeds when flying between Amsterdam and Minneapolis on more than one occasion ..but i do remember tail winds close to 100kph .

BTW the aircraft was an Airbus A330 on all the trips

[RGK]

Excellent Flyboy. I have small bit of scare whenever I do a air travel. I worked in Private Airline way back in 2000 and had a chance to go to cockpit during a long flight. The pilot showed how it works. brought down the altitude and showed some technics (turned a small knob the flight started swerving to the left etc.. etc) which I forgot when I came out of the cockpit.
I have some basic doubts- pardon for ignorance
1. why all lights outside the aircraft is switched on even during daylights also
2. why windows shades are asked to lift and cabin lights switched off during takeoff and landing
3. what is auto pilot

[MileCruncher]

Wow, what a thread!

I have always been interested in Aircrafts and this thread kind of satiated quite a bit of my knowledge quest. Thanks Man!

@ Cougar: Could you please explain what is meant by MCLR and VLA. Also I'm surprised that Boeings don't have FWB. BTW whats your take on 787 Dream Line?

[sandeepmdas]

Originally Posted by RGK

2. why windows shades are asked to lift and cabin lights switched off during takeoff and landing

RGK, me no pilot, but know the answer for this, because I too have asked the same question. Here's why:

The interior lighting should match outside as much as possible for take-off and landing, which is helped by opening the shades. Imagine the scenario if an airliner left the cabin lights on during landing and the power goes out. Passengers will have difficulty seeing in the dark and this will slow down the evacuation as they wouldn't be acclimated to the sudden darkness. Just like the way we enter a movie house for a matinée..

Secondly, in a crash, the emergency lights should go on. Even though, having as much outside light as possible, logically, is helpful.

Lastly, rescue personnel from outside can peer inside the cabin more easily, to see if anyone is trapped inside. This will work only in some small turboprop airliners, I guess.

[ifly]

@RGK

1. For the birds. Especially the one that travel in flock. Remember the Hudson incident in the US?

2. what Sandeep said and closed shades are sign of hijacked aircraft

3. Auto-Pilot: Self explanatory, the aircraft is piloted automatically. Will maintain a perticular altitude and a heading. Modern aircraft will even make an autoland. This is done during the winter months in New Delhi when the visibility is very limited.

This however does not eliminate the need for a human pilot contrary to many beliefs.

[_raVan_]

Originally Posted by RGK

Excellent Flyboy. I have small bit of scare whenever I do a air travel. I worked in Private Airline way back in 2000 and had a chance to go to cockpit during a long flight. The pilot showed how it works. brought down the altitude and showed some technics (turned a small knob the flight started swerving to the left etc.. etc) which I forgot when I came out of the cockpit.
I have some basic doubts- pardon for ignorance
1. why all lights outside the aircraft is switched on even during daylights also
2. why windows shades are asked to lift and cabin lights switched off during takeoff and landing
3. what is auto pilot

Well Sandeep has replied to your points 1 and 2. Let me try the 3rd. Please note that I am also not a pilot (a poor IT guy at that). I just play Flight Simulator a lot.

Autopilot is nothing but the onboard computer controlling the aircraft based on some preset parameters. The pilot feeds the parameters like the altitude at which it should fly, the direction in which they should be heading, the speed in nautical miles an hour. Additional parameters being the rate of ascending and descending (at feet per minute i think) and the turn banking degrees (from 10degree to 30 degrees). Additionally, it will also align the aircraft with the runway if provided with the ILS frequency and start descending on its own when the ILS is hit.

[RGK]

@sandeep,ifly,ravan - thanks. Indeed great info. The big machine is something which is definitely one of the greatest inventions of mankind. The amount of quality checks in each and every product in an aircraft is awesome.
Another question from my side
- During flight in all aircrafts, the aircraft is inclined atleast around 10 to 15 degree.. I mean you feel a upward slope from the back of the aircraft to the frontside i.e the cockpit side. I noticed in almost all planes and gives a feeling it is still climbing.. when you walk you feel it but you may not notice while sitting..

[RGK]

+1, why planes do not have reverse gear.