Aviation - Gizmodo

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Your Next Plane Seat May Well Have an Airbag
Boeing Swears Dreamliner Will Fly This Year, Really
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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
10/26/09

In reply to Your Next Plane Seat May Well Have an Airbag
Poor dummy. They forgot to tell him he's flying Air Face-plant... #airplaneairbags
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FooSchnickens - BPH Free
10/26/09

In reply to Your Next Plane Seat May Well Have an Airbag
Nuts to that! Install self-inflating pillows that activate when the passenger is feeling drowsy!

Airplane ergonomics are probably the worst in the world. #airplaneairbags
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curious-character
10/26/09

In reply to Your Next Plane Seat May Well Have an Airbag
Doesn't anybody read the story before making snarky comments? These are only installed in certain locations where a passenger's head would smash into something very hard (this doesn't include most seats in coach).

It is also designed to raise the survivability threshold of a crash from 9g to 12g. That involves accidents on or very close to the ground (overshooting the runway for example) but clearly excludes plummets of death.

It's amazing how quick we all are to find stupid shit to bitch about. #airplaneairbags
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Canoehead promoted this comment curious-character was starred

Canoehead
10/26/09

@curious-character: Cathay seems to be installing them in all of their seats... #airplaneairbags
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Canoehead
10/26/09

In reply to Your Next Plane Seat May Well Have an Airbag
So THAT'S what they are - I have actually seen these belts on a few Cathay pacific flights. It just looks like a big piece of padding on one side of the lap belt - I could not figure out why only one side of the belt was padded, but now I know.

Since we travel with a baby, I would love to know how to have one deactivated, since it looks like on deployment it would push my child through my face.

I also don't understand why they don't add some sort of 5-point harness - you would only have to wear it during takeoff and landing, and then just wear the lap belt at cruise altitude. #airplaneairbags
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jetRink
10/26/09

@Canoehead: Someone proposed seating passengers backwards because it greatly improves survivability, but they decided that that would be too disorienting and people wouldn't be able to find the exits after a crash.

Given that, I bet the 5 point harness would be too complicated for addled passengers to take off before the fire got them. #airplaneairbags
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Canoehead
10/26/09

@jetRink: That makes no sense. I know that some people get motion sick moving backwards (I don't), but you just follow the lighted strips to the nearest exit. If that fails, follow the smoke since it will likely be flowing towards the nearest big hole.

You could easily have a 5 point harness with a big, easy to grab, release catch. I think the airlines don't like the "message" sent by something that looks like it belongs in a stunt plane. #airplaneairbags
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James Babiarz
10/26/09

@jetRink:
Heaven forbid putting exits and both the front and the rear of the place.... #airplaneairbags
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Canoehead
10/26/09

@James Babiarz: Um, which they do. Have you not ever flown in a commercial airplane? #airplaneairbags
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Curves
10/26/09

In reply to Your Next Plane Seat May Well Have an Airbag
I hope they are detachable and can be used as floatation devices too. On the slimmmmm chance you survive the crash, of course. #airplaneairbags
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rivercat
10/26/09

In reply to Your Next Plane Seat May Well Have an Airbag
Pointless! They'd do better to equip each seat with an ejection seat system. #airplaneairbags
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spannu
10/26/09

@rivercat: I don't know about you but I certainly don't want my chair to accelerate my skull into the overhead compartment at 15g. Isn't that what this regulation is out to prevent? #airplaneairbags
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FriarNurgle
10/26/09

In reply to Your Next Plane Seat May Well Have an Airbag

The cost of replacing all those "what to do in an accident" pamphlets is going to be astronomical. #airplaneairbags
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froggy
10/26/09

In reply to Your Next Plane Seat May Well Have an Airbag
this is so silly on so many levels... a) do you really think an airbag is going to save you on a plane crash? really?; b) the weight added to the plane means increased fuel costs aka higher prices for passengers and/or less luggage allowance; and c) what happens if the airbags deploy because of a electrical short/hard break on landing/turbulence? that plane will be grounded months to reinstall them, meaning huge costs on top of huge losses of revenues.

Just buckle your damn seatbelt when you're seated. It won't kill you, hell, it might even save you a nasty bruise.

(edit: they can always add a shoulder strap for much less weight and about the same degree of protection)
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chauncy that billups promoted this comment Edited by froggy at 10/26/09 10:34 AM froggy was starred froggy was unstarred

deciBels
10/26/09

@froggy: At Southwest, bags fly for free! #airplaneairbags
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FunkyJ
08/27/09

In reply to Boeing Swears Dreamliner Will Fly This Year, Really
I predict the Boeing 787 dreamliner will crash by last quarter 2010 as they rush the plane out to meet media expectations.
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Lite: hates Illinois Nazis
08/27/09

In reply to Boeing Swears Dreamliner Will Fly This Year, Really
Well, either it will work and Boeing has a new technology lead over Airbus in building/designing efficient aircraft. Or, it doesn't and the company fails.

That's pretty much how it works right? I wish they were a bit more open and honest about the delays, but at least they aren't willing to put a product into production with known design flaws.

Last I knew the A380 was still having major electrical issues.
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Skunky
08/27/09

In reply to Boeing Swears Dreamliner Will Fly This Year, Really
As someone who works in QA, I'm more than happy to cut anyone some slack for a delay caused by needing to improve design based on test failures. This is exactly WHY testing is important! I don't know about the rest of the Gizmodo readership, but I personally would rather have a safe plane arrive late, then get a plane on time that randomly decides to pop when pressurized during a flight.

I also believe that while setting a release date is a good thing internally to give everyone a definate deadline, people really, really need to stop telling them to the public before they've determined if it's a realistic goal.

Man I phail at teh speelingz.
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Edited by Skunky at 08/27/09 5:34 PM Skunky was starred Skunky was unstarred

Kaiser-Machead
08/27/09

@Skunky: Considering how wary I am of flying (it fucking freaks me out to feel even one bit of turbulence), I agree.
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LastError
08/27/09

@Skunky: Well, then you should know how often problems are in fact uncovered in late QA testing. The difference is, this is an untested and unproven airliner that they want to stuff with passengers. Not just a mundane consumer good. Nobody cares really if a faulty item gets on the store shelf just recall and fix it. But a fault with this airliner could kill hundreds of people.

Making planes out metal is well understood. The issues and risks are know. What Boeing is doing here -and which they admit has inherent flaws- is throwing away all that knowledge in favor of a whole new way. That's nice. But lives are at stake.
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Skunky
08/27/09

@LastError: 100% true, which is why it bothers me that they would say "it's due at such 'n such a time" when they themselves can't fully predict the outcome. Just crank on it and make it ready when it's ready, nobody wants to miss something because they're in a rush.
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anexanhume
08/27/09

In reply to Boeing Swears Dreamliner Will Fly This Year, Really
These are the perils of your subcontractors having subcontractors. Systems integration with that level of dependency is going to have problems.
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Identity (Metric)
08/25/09

In reply to This Is What a Helicopter Firing High-Speed Rockets Looks Like
pew pew?
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Dirkfart Faeclefunk
08/24/09

In reply to This Is What a Helicopter Firing High-Speed Rockets Looks Like
If that's what Alexander the Great used I can see now how he kicked so much butt.
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FooSchnickens - BPH Free
08/24/09

In reply to This Is What a Helicopter Firing High-Speed Rockets Looks Like
They make low speed rockets?
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