Collapsing Soda Bottle

[SkyHog]

I forgot to mention this here. On my most recent flight on Tuesday, returning home, I was at 11500ft. While up there, opened up my Dr. Pepper and noticed that it had become extremely pressurized, and I had to slowly let the pressure out so it didn't foam all over the place. I finished off the contents of my Dr. Pepper, replaced the cap, and put the bottle in my flight bag so it would be secure.

After landing, I went to empty the trash from my bag, and found the Dr. Pepper bottle had completely collapsed on itself, almost flat.

This is the coolest thing I've ever seen (well...thats an overstatement. Y'all understand what I mean.). I am assuming that it was caused by the extreme change in pressure between 4500ft (at KTCS) and 11,500ft, and then the subsequent landing at 5800ft?

If it helps - the Altimeter at KTCS was like 30.28 and at KAEG was 30.42 (both estimates within a few hundreths). Would that have any effect?

 

[Kelly]

The baro pressure at the two locations has almost no effect - it is pressure difference in the two altitudes. I was at 10,000 one time and I heard a loud BANG in the tail - I was sure I had just snapped a control cable, but the plane felt the same - I looked back to see my son in the third row seat looking stunned with potato chips covering him after the bag blew up.

oh - NEVER let you passengers open soda unless you coach them first... Above 6000 feet it can easily foam over unless you open it in stages.

 

[EdFred]

The bottle will do the same thing going into a refrigerator after sitting out at room temp or higher.

PV = nRT

 

[gismo]

The bottle will do the same thing going into a refrigerator after sitting out at room temp or higher.

PV = nRT

Yeah, but it needs to be a really cold refrigerator to produce the same pressure drop as Nick got dropping from 11.5 to 5.8. Nicks altitude loss corresponds to a pressure drop of about 3 psi or slightly less than 20%. Since the 'T' in your gas equation is absolute, going from 75F to 35F (535 to 495 Rankine) would be less than a 10% drop.


Nick, the effect you observed has nothing to do with the elevation you took off from, only the elevation related pressure change from where you were when you capped the empty bottle and the altitude at which you observed the collapsed bottle.

On the practical side there are a couple things worth mentioning besides the classic exploding potato chip bag. One important one is that the boiling point of liquids decreases pretty dramatically with altitude (that's the reason for those high altitude cooking instructions on packaged food mixes) and this has resulted in more than one surprised coffee drinker. If you open a thermos of hot coffee (or any other liquid that's stored near it's ground level boiling point) it will immediately begin to boil and blast the hot liquid out of the thermos into your face and lap. This is not a very pleasant experience in the cockpit or anywhere else.

Another issue pilot's need to be aware of is the effect of altitude on things packed in your or your passenger's luggage. If you don't tightly seal the container, you will likely find that your cologne, mouthwash, contact lens solution, etc will have found it's way out of the bottle and "enhanced" the clothes in your suitcase.

 

[EdFred]

True Lance,

The bottle doesn't go completly flat, but there is definite depressurization. But it is a cheaper experiment than burning all that avgas to get to 11,500. Not as fun, but cheaper.

 

[Missa]

True Lance,

The bottle doesn't go completly flat, but there is definite depressurization. But it is a cheaper experiment than burning all that avgas to get to 11,500. Not as fun, but cheaper.

Hey Ed... want to do that experiment (the fun way) this weekend? I'll bring the soda!

Missa

 

[inav8r]

After landing, I went to empty the trash from my bag, and found the Dr. Pepper bottle had completely collapsed on itself, almost flat.

No pics?

 

[Brian Austin]

I use this technique with a water bottle to explain air pressure to kids I take up. Keeps them occupied when I'm taxiing, too.

 

[fgcason]

This is the coolest thing I've ever seen (well...thats an overstatement. Y'all understand what I mean.). I am assuming that it was caused by the extreme change in pressure between 4500ft (at KTCS) and 11,500ft, and then the subsequent landing at 5800ft?

It was the pressure difference between the last altitude it was opened and the landing. 11500 to 5800 is all that counted on the descent.

I've had the same thing happen with waterbottles many times. A few bottles have failed on me and if it has water in it at the time, you can end up with a small flood. The same thing happens while flying, driving and backpacking. Dehydrated camp food packages must be deflated before loading them in the pack before a trip. If you don't, they'll expand until the backpack is really tight against the compression straps.
Fill the bottles to about 1/2" from the top or empty them and leave the cap loose or off and the air compression/decompression issues go mostly away. Or cap them and have some fun conducting science experiments.

 

[Pilawt]

Most of our trips are in mountainous areas of the west, so we generally cruise at 10,000 - 15,000 (yes, with O2). The only beverages we take aboard are bottled water or non-carbonated juices. Once we goofed and bought bottles of that fizzy flavored water. Opened it at cruise altitude and got drenched.

-- Pilawt

 

[The rogue]

I thought that I was the only one that was amazed by things like that!!!

 

[Henning]

I forgot to mention this here. On my most recent flight on Tuesday, returning home, I was at 11500ft. While up there, opened up my Dr. Pepper and noticed that it had become extremely pressurized, and I had to slowly let the pressure out so it didn't foam all over the place. I finished off the contents of my Dr. Pepper, replaced the cap, and put the bottle in my flight bag so it would be secure.

After landing, I went to empty the trash from my bag, and found the Dr. Pepper bottle had completely collapsed on itself, almost flat.

This is the coolest thing I've ever seen (well...thats an overstatement. Y'all understand what I mean.). I am assuming that it was caused by the extreme change in pressure between 4500ft (at KTCS) and 11,500ft, and then the subsequent landing at 5800ft?

If you think thats cool, if your pet has fleas, take them up and climb as hard as you can to about 12,000'. They explode...cool. My ferret and my girlfriends dog never had fleas because they came flying with us about two or three times a week in my Travel Air.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

If you think thats cool, if your pet has fleas, take them up and climb as hard as you can to about 12,000'. They explode...cool. My ferret and my girlfriends dog never had fleas because they came flying with us about two or three times a week in my Travel Air.

Henning, there is a large red light on my laptop labelled "BS" and the darn thing is flashing like crazy right now - what the heck is that?
Need references or photo-evidence!

 

[Henning]

Henning, there is a large red light on my laptop labelled "BS" and the darn thing is flashing like crazy right now - what the heck is that?
Need references or photo-evidence!

Try it, then brush your pet over a white sheet and see what you find...

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

Well if you are right, I might have the basis for my million-dollar business finally!

 

[gismo]

If you think thats cool, if your pet has fleas, take them up and climb as hard as you can to about 12,000'. They explode...cool. My ferret and my girlfriends dog never had fleas because they came flying with us about two or three times a week in my Travel Air.

I wonder if that would work on those pesky Japanese Beetles (look like ladybugs but they stink) that keep infesting my house. Then again I probably couldn't get the house into the plane and it might not climb very well if I could.

 

[SkyHog]

I wonder if that would work on those pesky Japanese Beetles (look like ladybugs but they stink) that keep infesting my house. Then again I probably couldn't get the house into the plane and it might not climb very well if I could.

Plus - imagine the smell of a bunch of those beatles popping in unison!

 

[Missa]

Ewe, this thread has gone off in a discusting tangent...

Missa

 

[walterman]

oh - NEVER let you passengers open soda unless you coach them first... Above 6000 feet it can easily foam over unless you open it in stages.

So what about places like Denver? And commercial flights are often pressurized to 6000-8000 feet. And I've seen soda machines at those little diners on the tops of ski slopes. Do the soda companies have a speical low-pressure canning technique for high-altitude use? Wouldn't suprise me. Wonder how we can get ahold of some of those?
Walter

 

[Dave Siciliano]

Try it, then brush your pet over a white sheet and see what you find...

Henning!! You just never cease to amaze me with the comments you come up with. You'd make a great guest on one of the late night talk shows!!

Dave

Guys; when you say bottles, I assume you mean plastic containers, right? (Bottles mean glass to some folks.)

To take this to an extreme, in the P-Baron I coached my nieces on the last trip to put some things in the cabin (pressurized) and some in the nose compartment (unpressurized). Of course, after my detailed explaination, they all listened--right??

Dave

 

[gismo]

Plus - imagine the smell of a bunch of those beatles popping in unison!

In this fantasy, I would have been flying someone else's airplane and breathing O2 from a mask.

 

[Maverick]

A made a trip to Dallas a few years ago landing at Addison airport. I stayed at the Homewood Suites nearby and on the morning of my departure I picked up a few things from the breakfast bar to munch on during my flight. One of those things was a cup of yogurt.

After departing Addison and climbing to 7,000, I set the autopilot and opened the yogurt. Well...... due to the pressure differential I ended up wearing some of my yogurt.

The funny part is that a friend was along with my on this trip and she also had a cup of yogurt. She thought I did something clutsy when I opened mine but she found out the truth when she opened hers.

Now honestly, I just didn't think to warn her about that. I'll bet she thought I kept it to myself on purpose though.

Jeannie

 

[Richard]

A made a trip to Dallas a few years ago landing at Addison airport. I stayed at the Homewood Suites nearby and on the morning of my departure I picked up a few things from the breakfast bar to munch on during my flight. One of those things was a cup of yogurt.

After departing Addison and climbing to 7,000, I set the autopilot and opened the yogurt. Well...... due to the pressure differential I ended up wearing some of my yogurt.

The funny part is that a friend was along with my on this trip and she also had a cup of yogurt. She thought I did something clutsy when I opened mine but she found out the truth when she opened hers.

Now honestly, I just didn't think to warn her about that. I'll bet she thought I kept it to myself on purpose though.

Jeannie

So you have a yogurt malfunction and then your friend, who witnessed the event, makes the same mistake shortly after? I'm sorry Jeannie, but all I can think of is that is something you two will share a laugh over for a long time to come.

I've oft been tempted, never have done it. I'd like to strategically place, as in well hidden but within earshot, several inflated balloons in the cabin of a buddy's a/c before a hi alt flight.

 

[HPNPilot1200]

I've oft been tempted, never have done it. I'd like to strategically place, as in well hidden but within earshot, several inflated balloons in the cabin of a buddy's a/c before a hi alt flight.

I wouldn't recomend it

...although if you have yogurt, a camera, and a passenger in the right seat; go right ahead...then that would be acceptable.

I'd like to see a picture of a stunned pilot's face covered in yogurt....well maybe since I'm not volunteering, I'll photoshop it

 

[Richard]

I wouldn't recomend it

...although if you have yogurt, a camera, and a passenger in the right seat; go right ahead...then that would be acceptable.

I'd like to see a picture of a stunned pilot's face covered in yogurt....well maybe since I'm not volunteering, I'll photoshop it

So far, there is only one pilot I would do this to. Even still, I think I wouldn't do it to him unless I made sure another rated pilot who was in on the prank was also at the controls. The yogurt thing is too messy. I did have a plastic water bottle pop all over the floorboards just as I was coaxing another foot out of the 'ol girl very close to service ceiling. The noise which startled me was the cap ricocheting off the panel.

 

[Skip Miller]

...climb as hard as you can to about 12,000'. They explode...cool.

What rate of climb is necessary to explode the buggers?

-Skip

 

[TangoWhiskey]

Another issue pilot's need to be aware of is the effect of altitude on things packed in your or your passenger's luggage. If you don't tightly seal the container, you will likely find that your cologne, mouthwash, contact lens solution, etc will have found it's way out of the bottle and "enhanced" the clothes in your suitcase.

That explains why my can of Edge shaving gel is always slimy and has gel coming out of the nozzle when I arrive at the hotel after flying commercial with my bags in the cargo hold... thanks!

 

[Richard]

That explains why my can of Edge shaving gel is always slimy and has gel coming out of the nozzle when I arrive at the hotel after flying commercial with my bags in the cargo hold... thanks!

Add deodorant stick to that list. It must be the air trapped inside the solid stick.

 

[Henning]

What rate of climb is necessary to explode the buggers?

-Skip

I would climb varying from 1500 fpm down to 1000 (turbos kick ass)

 

[msmspilot]

So what about places like Denver? And commercial flights are often pressurized to 6000-8000 feet. And I've seen soda machines at those little diners on the tops of ski slopes. Do the soda companies have a speical low-pressure canning technique for high-altitude use? Wouldn't suprise me. Wonder how we can get ahold of some of those?
Walter

Don't know about high altitude places like Denver, but Coca-Cola wanted to see what happened with Coke in space, so they worked a deal with NASA and have special cans with straws that don't let the liquid float all over the place and they had to use less carbonation than usual for the device to work and the stuff not to spew in space. I don't know how pressurized they keep the orbiters but they's what they told us at Space Camp many years ago

 

[Richard]

Don't know about high altitude places like Denver, but Coca-Cola wanted to see what happened with Coke in space, so they worked a deal with NASA and have special cans with straws that don't let the liquid float all over the place and they had to use less carbonation than usual for the device to work and the stuff not to spew in space. I don't know how pressurized they keep the orbiters but they's what they told us at Space Camp many years ago

It wasn't the ride in near zero G that was the concern, it was the ride up which was the problem. Diffusion of a gas within a gas.

 

[Lawreston]

Several years ago I was Delta-ing across the country. My only carry-on was my camera gear luggage. Somewhere up there at altitude there was a photo opportunity and I arose to bring down my carry-on. Said camera case was one of the mid-size Pelican suitcases(air-tight/water-tight). In order to open the case I had to purge the pressure-release valve: Psssssssssssssssssss Lemmee tell ya, personnel was on me like fleas to a dog.

HR

 

[Everskyward]

Don't know about high altitude places like Denver, but Coca-Cola wanted to see what happened with Coke in space, so they worked a deal with NASA and have special cans with straws that don't let the liquid float all over the place and they had to use less carbonation than usual for the device to work and the stuff not to spew in space.

I'm sure they don't do anything different in the canning process for product shipped to Denver. Our pop is like everyone else's, only you may call it something other than pop. We travel with it all over the country and the pressure changes don't seem to affect it. On the other hand, it's not a good idea to leave a toothpaste tube partially open and put it in the unpressurized baggage area.

 

[AdamZ]

I'll tell ya Henning you have led quite the life. Fleas exploding at altitude, flying corpses in a C172 through thuderstorms. You gotta write a book about this stuff.

 

[SkyHog]

I'll tell ya Henning you have led quite the life. Fleas exploding at altitude, flying corpses in a C172 through thuderstorms. You gotta write a book about this stuff.

I agree....morbid question ahead:

nevermind - that was not cool.