Boeing 787 does near vertical takeoff! Cool video

[jimlup]

I get motion sickness so i would not have wanted to be aboard but this is a cool video.

I wonder if they've cured the orginal battery fire problems with this aircraft yet?

[sharp_stick]

1. That is such a cool looking airplane

I had one go over the house a couple of weeks ago and it's distinctive even from below.

I've become addicted to the PlaneFinder app, heading outside to look up whenever I see a 787, 747-800 or A380 fly over.

[petronius]

2. As a somewhat nervous flyer, I find videos like this (as well as the more extreme

testing videos) to be reassuring - seeing what a modern plane is really capable of and able to cope with puts the choppy air and occasional shaky descent into perspective.

Although I worry a bit for the reputation of Vietnam Airlines: after this floats around the web long enough it will probably end up being labeled as their standard takeoff behavior...

[mainer]

5. I flew Vietnam Airlines in the mid-80s

It was an Ilyushin and instead of an escape slide, they had an escape ROPE. I kid you not. Thank god we never had to use it.

[DFW]

11. Those old Ilyshins were scary planes

I flew one back in the 1980s--well, two, actually, since the first one fell apart in flight and was "lucky to get back down in one piece" according to the airport staff. The second one finally got me to where I wanted to go, albeit 8 hours late. It was an IL-62, the Soviet copy of the old British Vicount-10. WHY anyone would WANT to copy the VC-10 remains a mystery to me.

[liberaltrucker]

3. But can it barrel roll?

[Cooley Hurd]

8. Only if ol' Tex Johnston was flying it!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_M._Johnston

<snip>

Johnston is best known for performing a barnstormer-style barrel-roll maneuver with Boeing's pioneering 367-80 jet in a demonstration flight over Lake Washington outside Seattle, on August 7, 1955.[5] The maneuver was caught on film and was frequently shown on the Discovery Wings cable channel in a three-minute short as part of the Touched by History series, while the channel still aired. Called before the then-president of Boeing, Bill Allen, for rolling the airplane, Johnston was asked what he thought he was doing, and responded with "I was selling airplanes". He kept his position as a test pilot, and did not get in legal trouble for his actions. Along with his cowboy style of dress, such maverick behavior is said to have inspired the creation of Dr. Strangelove's Maj. T.J. "King" Kong character, who, in rodeo style, rode a balky nuclear weapon to its target.

</snip>

[A HERETIC I AM]

15. My favorite quote of his regarding that incident;

"I put it in a 1 G roll. The airplane never knew it was upside down!"

[Cooley Hurd]

17. If only he poured tea during it...

Good ol' Bob!

[liberaltrucker]

21. Man, they sure don't make test pilots like they used to.

[mainer]

4. A different video with profile of that steep takeoff

Wow. Those wings are gorgeous -- makes me think of a dragon's wings.

&feature=youtu.be

(I assume the videos were taken with drones?)

[jimlup]

6. Very cool! Thanks

Can I have one?

[ProdigalJunkMail]

16. for the low low everyday price of about $150,000,000...

you, too, can own a bit of lux...

sP

[jmowreader]

7. I don't know about this...

If I was that worried about surface-to-air missile fire, I'd rethink my plans to buy Dreamliners - they'd be better off with a fleet of nice pre-owned 767s that won't put as big a dent in the national exchequer if one gets shot down.

[Flaxbee]

9. wow. that was impressive. Russian pilots also take off damn near vertically ...

just the way they fly, commercial or otherwise.

That being said, I HATE "fly by wire" planes - there are no manual controls on the new planes, as far as I know. One strong EMP (say, if the sun burps) or computer fail (redundancies too) and you can't control the wings. Used to be you could go back to the middle of the plane, open a hatch and manually control the flaps. Not any more.

[Major Nikon]

14. The Dreamliner has a triple redundant control system

Two use electric motors connected to the control surfaces and one is hydraulic. "Manual" controls aren't bulletproof. They typically had no redundancy and if a steel cable gets cut you are SOL.

New smaller planes still use steel cable controls, but they aren't practical on very large jets.

[Flaxbee]

18. I knew they had redundancies - to do otherwise would be negligent - but

what happens if the computer craps out or is hacked or there is an EMP? How does it all work together? In other words, if computer systems fail, can the plane - esp the heavies - still be flown?

[Major Nikon]

20. I'm not that familiar with how it works

However, I don't think it could pass certification unless it has at least 2 fully redundant systems, meaning there's no single point of failure than can take it down. Control systems are the most vital component of the aircraft. I don't know if the hydraulic system even has a computer control as it wouldn't be necessary. While there have been a few instances were failures have taken down an aircraft, newer designs take those failures into consideration and engineer those weak points out.

[Baitball Blogger]

10. I'm guessing that would not be possible with a full load of passengers and cargo.

[DFW]

12. A friend of mine took one from here (Germany) to Japan recently

He said it was fine. Of course, it's always fine if you land safely!

Starting September, we get nonstop service from here (Düsseldorf) to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific. Not that it's ideal for a long weekend, but if the fares aren't horrendous, I might be able to drag Mrs. DFW off for a week in Kowloon.....

[avebury]

13. Way too cool!

I remember years ago we changed flights in Pittsburg (I think but am not sure). Our departing flight seem to make a really steep take off that was a little jarring for those not expecting it.

[Veldrick]

19. Cool

Seems like a safe alternative.