I drove under an A380 yesterday

woodstock

woodstock

Final Approach
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I've seen them a number of times now, at Dulles. I've watched them take off, taxi around, etc.

This was the first time I've seen them from a nearby road. He was right overhead. Big lumbering behemoth! They certainly look like they are moving in slow motion, and they look like they are taking forever to gain altitude.
 
Was it one of the transpacific flights? Even the 747's bound for Japan and Korea don't look like they're going to make it off the ground at IAD.
 
It is truly amazing that something so ugly can fly.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
So ugly the earth repels it?
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It's so heavy that it pushes the Earth out of the way with the downwash off the flaps.

Hideous Abomination.

I'm dreading the first crash of one. 500-900 people all at once. Assuming all live through the crash, does any city have facilities to handle that many serious injuries all at once. Or is it a case of take a number and we'll get back to you next wednesday.
 
flyingron said:
Was it one of the transpacific flights? Even the 747's bound for Japan and Korea don't look like they're going to make it off the ground at IAD.
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As far as I know, Air France is the only airline operating an A380 into Dulles.

I've seen plenty of 380s at LAX that do transpac routes, but only the AF beast at IAD.

I recall seeing the Concorde at IAD years ago (many, many years ago. Sigh). THAT was a beautiful bird. (Yeah, I know there's technically still one at IAD in the Udvar-Hazy, but that's not the same as watching the takeoff and landing).
 
This was the 5:15 heading to Paris. The one I will be on, in May.

I looked up and was surprised to see an apartment building hovering overhead.

The people behind me must have loved to slow down to 40 mph with me (they were far enough behind when I started to slow that it was no biggie, the roads were practically empty and the fact that they didn't try to pass me must have meant they were watching too).

How fast are they going on takeoff, anyway? I know the big ones look like they are going slower than they actually are. This just seemed sooooo slow, and I got a good low glimpse of it even though the runway couldn't have been three miles behind it. Maybe two. How close is the Greenway to the end of the runway?
 
woodstock said:
This was the 5:15 heading to Paris. The one I will be on, in May.

I looked up and was surprised to see an apartment building hovering overhead.

The people behind me must have loved to slow down to 40 mph with me (they were far enough behind when I started to slow that it was no biggie, the roads were practically empty and the fact that they didn't try to pass me must have meant they were watching too).

How fast are they going on takeoff, anyway? I know the big ones look like they are going slower than they actually are. This just seemed sooooo slow, and I got a good low glimpse of it even though the runway couldn't have been three miles behind it. Maybe two. How close is the Greenway to the end of the runway?
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We took off on a pretty heavy (640k lbs) 777-200 yesterday (not a 380 obviously) and our initial speed on climbout was 165-180kts. Those big planes, esp the 380, sure don't look like they're moving, but they're doing 180+kts above 1000' agl.


I see a lot of A380s in FRA and LHR. They are big, but to me they don't seem as big as I thought they would be. Of course, the current versions of the A380 are the "small" ones. :eek:
 
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woodstock said:
This was the 5:15 heading to Paris. The one I will be on, in May.

I looked up and was surprised to see an apartment building hovering overhead.

The people behind me must have loved to slow down to 40 mph with me (they were far enough behind when I started to slow that it was no biggie, the roads were practically empty and the fact that they didn't try to pass me must have meant they were watching too).

How fast are they going on takeoff, anyway? I know the big ones look like they are going slower than they actually are. This just seemed sooooo slow, and I got a good low glimpse of it even though the runway couldn't have been three miles behind it. Maybe two. How close is the Greenway to the end of the runway?
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This is how it was once explained to me:

Without any other objects nearby against which to judge velocity, the brain tends to use the speed at which something travels its own length. The illusion is magnified when there is little relative motion within your field of view (i.e., when the object is coming straight towards or away from you).

I remember watching a 747 on final approach into Detroit. It looked like it was just hanging in the sky.
 
wsuffa said:
I recall seeing the Concorde at IAD years ago (many, many years ago. Sigh). THAT was a beautiful bird. (Yeah, I know there's technically still one at IAD in the Udvar-Hazy, but that's not the same as watching the takeoff and landing).
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I was based at IAD when the Concorde was still flying. It always made me stop and look and we'd fly in parallel with it (It was heading for 1R while we were lying on 1L).
 
I can't wait to see how crowded the concourse is when 500-800 people are waiting to board, and 500-800 people de-plane at the same gate. Man, there is gonna be a wait at the bathrooms that rival a 1960's rock festival.:yikes:
 
Keith Lane said:
I can't wait to see how crowded the concourse is when 500-800 people are waiting to board, and 500-800 people de-plane at the same gate. Man, there is gonna be a wait at the bathrooms that rival a 1960's rock festival.:yikes:
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Think about Customs & Immigration. Global Entry pays for itself on that trip alone.
 
Keith Lane said:
I can't wait to see how crowded the concourse is when 500-800 people are waiting to board, and 500-800 people de-plane at the same gate. Man, there is gonna be a wait at the bathrooms that rival a 1960's rock festival.:yikes:
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Because even if they were all there at the same time, they wouldn't meet. When Air France unloads the passengers go direct from the jetway to a back hall and down to immigration. Only after the plane is cleared and cabin turned do the people hanging out in the departure lounge get to board.
 
Keith Lane said:
I can't wait to see how crowded the concourse is when 500-800 people are waiting to board, and 500-800 people de-plane at the same gate. Man, there is gonna be a wait at the bathrooms that rival a 1960's rock festival.:yikes:
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I want to see an airline get mad at an airport or customs or the tsa and over a few months slowly arrange for 5-6 of them to arrive within an hour of each other. Then when they cart off the last of the exhausted workers, they bring in another 8 planes. Get the job done and the workers are exhausted beyond reason. Don't get the job done and the pax are mad at the people who didn't get the job done. :lol:
 
:o) I didn't drive under an A380, but there was this B-25 Mitchell that attracted my little "roller skate's" attention, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

HR
 

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A friend of mine had Global Entry majorly foul up his paperwork. He was denied entry back to the US. 30 minutes later he was cleared, but he was told it's going to take them months to sort it out.

No thanks. I'll stick with regular passports. Total time from deplaning to walking in the front door of my house is under 60 minutes - and that includes walking to the parking garage.
 
Lawreston said:
:o) I didn't drive under an A380, but there was this B-25 Mitchell that attracted my little "roller skate's" attention, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity.
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You need a smaller rollerskate. Drive up under the plane, hook on and winch it up into the bomb bay, close the doors, start the engines and go.
 
If that were an Austin Healey Sprite it would probably fit the bomb bay. The A H 3000 BJ-8 is a bit too large to fit.

HR
 
woodstock said:
A friend of mine had Global Entry majorly foul up his paperwork. He was denied entry back to the US. 30 minutes later he was cleared, but he was told it's going to take them months to sort it out.
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Sorry to hear that. That story is clearly the exception rather than the rule. Sounds like they sent him for secondary inspection, which can occur whether one is GlobalEntry or not. In my experience, and the experience of everyone I know that's gotten GE, the folks with CPB that work Global Entry really bend over backwards to make the program a success.

In the end he was admitted, no? As I understand the law, CBP can't deny entry to a US citizen - it is one's right to re-enter the US. It may take some time to establish that one is a US Citizen, but once that's established one must be admitted. They can certainly "inspect" you and your stuff, and they can confiscate suspect or illegal items, and they can arrest you for warrants or criminal behavior, but they must let you in.

No thanks. I'll stick with regular passports. Total time from deplaning to walking in the front door of my house is under 60 minutes - and that includes walking to the parking garage.
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So it may not be worth it to you.

For me and my travel patterns, it's been well worth the money and time invested - it has saved me countless hours (including the ability to take earlier flights when I come into NY, Atlanta, DFW, Chicago, etc.), and it will save me the need for additional passport pages because you don't get stamps coming back into the US. And if TSA ever gets their act together on their "trusted traveler" program, it will save me there. But I'm traveling every week or two, so reducing hassles at the airport is a big deal to me.

YMMV, and you may not want to do it. Everybody's different.
 
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