Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is a textbook case of buzzkill.
Being a buzzkill doesn't make it less true, though. I'm disappointed to see the parent comment being downvoted.
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Easter egg in flight path of last 747 delivery flight
141–150 of 421 posts
Re: Easter egg in flight path of last 747 delivery flight
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is this tradition even new? Drawing things in the sky seems to be a well established aviation tradition.
> Drawing things in the sky seems to be a well established aviation tradition Not really... This level of high-precision and publicly-available flight tracking is pretty new.
Drawing stuff on a map with a GPS track is a rather beaten path in the world of Strava and similar [0]. Not being bound to the road network graph just makes it easier. I don't want to think about the fuel burned for this stunt, but if I were in some position that is required to sign off that flight path I'd sure congratulate whoever came up with this. Wouldn't even be all surprised if tomorrow some Airbus ferry flight would respond in the same medium with a respectful salute to the old lady.
([0] but relative to anything that would be considered a tradition in aviation, the entire concept of GPS is rather newfangled, despite it's surprising age, I'm not disagreeing)
Re: Easter egg in flight path of last 747 delivery flight
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
> My napkin math seems to indicate this couldn't possibly cost Boeing more than $10-20k? Pretty small potatoes to such a large company. Yeah they were losing billions through criminal negligence and delayed deliveries of the 737 Max, so a couple of tens of thousands for some well needed good PR is nothing. This is probably the first bit of it for multiple years now, with all the delays in the 777X, assembly quality i…
Yeah but they are also a major contributor to our breakaway UAP program with Lockheed - and also, the Horse fucking industry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enumclaw_horse_sex_case
That link was... an interesting read. I'd say it merits a NSFW tag but it's kind of obvious from the title.
> Pinyan had previously lost the ability to experience certain sensations after a motorcycle accident, and he had begun to seek out increasingly extreme sexual acts
Almost feel bad for the guy if it weren't for the animal cruelty.
Re: Easter egg in flight path of last 747 delivery flight
#144I find it just really endearing that at companies, regardless of how many other issues they have or the dysfunctions and bland corporate culture, there are people who keep the pride of purpose and "olden days / traditions" in their memory and do things like this. Or are able to call on institutional memory of something bygone, that reappears once in a while. (whether it's a big gesture like this or small cultural day…
Why do you think top management isn't part of this? Many times it's top management itself that makes sure these traditions continue. Maintaining company culture is something incredibly important to a lot of executives, at certain companies at least.
And judging from the press, this was a highly coordinated event including thousands of spectators and John Travolta. [1]
Top management can love having fun and maintaining traditions too. They're people too.
[1] https://thepointsguy.com/news/boeing-747-farewell-celebratio...
Re: Easter egg in flight path of last 747 delivery flight
#145Makes me think of the famous "707 Barrel Roll" story from its initial testing: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/60-years-ago-the-f... “You know that. Now we know that. But just don’t do it anymore.” Edit: forgot the barrel roll was on a 707 - not a 747
there's film of Tex Johnston's Dash-80 barrel roll https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaA7kPfC5Hk many years later, Boeing Chief Test Pilot John Cashman stated that just before he piloted the maiden flight of the Boeing 777 on Jun. 12, 1994, his last instructions from then Boeing President Phil Condit were “No rolls”. -- anecdote from https://theaviationgeekclub.com/that-time-tex-johnston-barre... I wonder why "the suit…
The Dash-80 roll was a 1-G maneuver that didn't strain the airframe at all. Local legend says that single barrel roll was enough to convince an airline industry skeptical of jet aircraft to open their checkbooks. Boeing -- in the person of Tex Johnston -- changed the world that day.
Re: Easter egg in flight path of last 747 delivery flight
#146Earlier quoted context omitted.
[flagged]
A single plane has less of an ability to " Destro The Environment " than a Single Politician.
While that's true that no individual action matters, it's also true that our individual actions taken as a whole has an impact on the world, and because of that, we must treat individual actions as though they had the impact of collective actions.
Re: Easter egg in flight path of last 747 delivery flight
#147After the 777 gained enough market share, it just seemed like less and less flights (especially the long range ones) were on the 747. End of an era. I flew on the top deck of a 747 once, I was sweating the whole time, but the views were worth it.
Re: Easter egg in flight path of last 747 delivery flight
#148Are jumbo jets being retired because of fuel economy? If so, is there a chance demand for them will return if there's a spike in passenger numbers? I would've thought a larger fleet of smaller planes would be less efficient because it increases operational cost and you have more overhead weight to move around.
Four engine airliners are 2x more expensive to maintain. The extension of ETOPS to longer distances was their death knell.
Re: Easter egg in flight path of last 747 delivery flight
#149Earlier quoted context omitted.
It took them 2 hours and 40 minutes to complete the easter egg
More cynically: Roughly 2.4 tons of fuel, equating to 16.8 tons of CO2 emissions.
Yeah, this can't be some prank by a renegade flight crew, it can only be a farewell celebration act with a kick-off meeting, a budget and a dozen people who signed off. But I'm not criticising, by that measure we'd have to question any resource expenditure that exceeds the bare minimum for sustaining life.
Re: Easter egg in flight path of last 747 delivery flight
#150The 747 IMO is the most beautiful aircraft ever, certainly the most beautiful civilian aircraft. A couple of years ago, I made it a point on an international trip with my kids to book seats for us on the upper deck. It was really awesome, and I am sure they will look back on it as a great memory. If you are able to, before it is too late, I would encourage doing it. The most iconic seats on the most iconic civilian a…
When you have been away from them for a while and you're used to just spending time in terminals with nothing but 737s everywhere, when you come back to a terminal with a 747 at the gate, it is a bit awe inspiring to see just how big these are. Similar to the first time walking up to a 777, A380, etc. They are just huge (or the 737 is tiny).
Both.