Boeing 787

[#1]

The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner made its first international flight today and arrived this morning at Farnborough for the Air Show.  I was surprised how quickly the plane came to rest when it landed.  Looks a great plane, can't wait to go on it.

Boeing 787

[#2]

Interesting construction, how on earth will they recycle it at end-of-life!

[#3]

An interesting point but I guess that won't be a worry for over 20 years.  
The launch airline in the UK is Thompson Airways and they will fly it from 2012.  BA and Virgin also have orders for it.

[#4]

Quote from: artmo

I was surprised how quickly the plane came to rest when it landed.

Would guess that was for the show, and the plane was probably at near minimum weight when it landed. Passengers would need full seat harnesses rather than just lap belts or "enjoy" banging their heads on the seat in front if that kind of stop was employed in service.
Think most modern aircraft can do it if required, but its costly in tyres and brakes. Think there's some film around of the Airbus 380 doing much the same thing during testing where a brake caught fire. Brake fires are not common but, not unknown either.

[#5]

Later news bulletins yesterday showed more details of the plane. It certainly has some new design features.  The cabin is pressurised at a higher level than current aircraft which will make a more comfortable journey and relieve some of the jet-lag that is suffered on long haul flights.
Inside the 787

[#6]

The big new Super 700+ seater has just got permission to land at Stansted, but only in an emergency

[#7]

Quote from: artmo

The cabin is pressurised at a higher level than current aircraft which will make a more comfortable journey and relieve some of the jet-lag that is suffered on long haul flights. Inside the 787

I was always of the understanding that jet-lag has more to do with the timezones crossed than the condition of the cabin.
From NS.

Quote

Jet lag is a common condition that sometimes occurs after long distance flights. It is the result of your body finding it difficult to adjust to a new time zone. Jet lag can disturb your sleep pattern and make you feel drowsy and lethargic (lacking in energy). Jet lag often becomes more severe as more time zones are crossed

[#8]

Yes, changing time zones is one of the main reasons for jet lag.  It particularly affects you if travelling west to east.  Other factors are cabin pressure, alcohol consumption, sleep, dehydration and age.  One feature on the 787 is the ability to simulate sunrise/sunset by changing the conditions in the cabin.
There are a number of solutions to jet lag.  Changing watches to local time helps as does Melatonin  which is available on prescription in the UK.

[#9]

Quote from: artmo

... jet lag.  It particularly affects you if travelling west to east.

I have often heard this comment from others, but when I was doing regular long-haul flights I found it was the other way round for me.
I have a wholely unscientific but plausible theory for this. Most of my long-haul journeys were to Asia and the Far-East for business purposes, and I felt more affected by jet-lag and needed more time to recover when I returned home. I suspect this was because when travelling towards the east, I was going to work, so I would be very busy working and more mentally prepared to ignore the effects of jet-lag in order to get work done in the short time available to me. However travelling westwards to go home, I'd be more relaxed and therefore less prepared or less willing to resist jet-lag.
I also have some vague notions that the effects of jet-lag on an individual, and the time needed to recover from jet-lag, depend on whether they are a morning or an evening person. I wouldn't be surprised if morning flight departures versus evening departures has some effect too.

[#10]

One reason put forward for jet lag being worse flying east is that you are flying into darkness, i.e. the clock moves forward.  Flying west you are flying into daylight which doesn't have the same adverse effect on the body clock.  I guess when it comes down to it everyone reacts differently.  I used to suffer jet lag the day after returning from the US.  In recent years I don't seem to be affected until about the third day of my return. 

[#11]

Personally I think it is down to the timing of the flights more than anything.
When I've gone to the US, we've always had mid-late morning flights out of the UK which results in an afternoon landing in the States.  Stay up until you reach a sensible bedtime (10pm local time perhaps) and get a good night's sleep.  Possibly a little tired the next day, but within a couple of days all is fine.
Coming back, it does tend to be overnight flights.  Unless your in 1st class, sleeping is almost impossible; so by the time you land at Heathrow, you've been on the go for ages and are absolutely worn out.
Not sure if you can get flights that land early/mid evening from the states - that should help a little.

[#12]

An airline captain was breaking in a very pretty new blonde stewardess. The route they were flying had a stay-over in another city. Upon their arrival the captain showed the stewardess the best place for airline personnel to eat, shop and stay overnight.
The next morning as the pilot was preparing the crew for the day's route, he noticed that the new stewardess was missing. He knew which room she was in at the hotel and called her, wondering what had happened to her.
She answered the phone, crying, and said she couldn't get out of her room.
"You can't get out of your room?" the captain asked, "Why not?"
The stewardess replied: "There are only three doors in here," she sobbed, "one is the bathroom, one is the closet, and one has a sign on it that says 'Do Not Disturb'!"

[#13]

geofftswin you're right.  Most transatlantic flights leave the US late afternoon/early evening.  The exceptions to this are the routes that have multiple daily flights such as New York where they are spread over the day.  I think a lot of flights from the east tend to be the reverse.

[#14]

Maybe Petlew will know why flights to the US mostly leave in the mornings and travel during the day whereas flights from the US travel through the night and land early mornings.  Is it simply for convenience of handling agents and less time on the ground thus saving costs?

[#15]

I suspect restrictions on night flying at the airports for noise reasons (especially take-offs) are the main reason.