Boeing 787 Dreamliner wows with near-vertical takeoff

Yahoo News ^ | June 12, 2015 | Amanda Kooser

[entropy12]

This article, Boeing 787 Dreamliner wows with near-vertical takeoff, originally appeared on CNET.com.

Hold on to your stomach. Here goes the 787-9.

The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is no tiny flower. The plane holds 280 passengers, has a nearly 200-foot (about 60-meter) wingspan and is over 200 feet in length. It's smaller than a 747, but you still might expect it to be a lumbering creature, raising itself into the air in a gentle arc.

[entropy12]

I get it, the almost vertical takeoff is impressive in the video, But what will that do to the stuff in the overhead compartments? And it will certainly exacerbate my acid re-flux, by bringing my stomach up in level with my throat.

[Rodamala]

FUAirBus

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Greyhound is ready when you are.

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

AGREED!

[entropy12]

Not going that far down to Greyhound! But there are plenty of prop planes still flying around, and some older jets like the Boeing 747’s which are better for my acid re-flux.

[TurboZamboni]

passengers would Al Roker themselves.

[djf]

Try that stunt with a bunch of the great unwashed aboard and you’ll have pea soup all over the place!

[erlayman]

It was maybe a 60 degree angle that I think any plane today can do when empty.

[publius911]

I get it, the almost vertical takeoff is impressive in the video, But what will that do to the stuff in the overhead compartments? And it will certainly exacerbate my acid re-flux, by bringing my stomach up in level with my throat.

No need to panic, Skippy. You and your overhead luggage are safe.
That plane was pretty much empty.
I suppose that the main thing to notice is that other and previous airliners, empty or not, could not perform that maneuver.

[cornfedcowboy]

They can do the same with one of the earlier versions of the 757. They wouldn’t be able to perform this stunt though if they had a payload and a full load of fuel.

[Moonman62]

It isn’t nearly vertical. It isn’t all that impressive. Mainly it’s the camera angle that gives it the wow factor.

[Moonman62]

They can do the same with one of the earlier versions of the 757.

...

I was on a nearly empty 757 taking off from DCA when the pilots decided to do one of those. I loved it.

My other favorite was also in a 757 taking off from St. Thomas toward the hill with all the plane parts in it. They hold the brakes and let the engines get up to thrust.

[cornfedcowboy]

I met a pilot that had to fly an empty 757 to get serviced. The pilots did the super steep takeoff. Air traffic control got on the radio and told the pilots to contact “Mission Control”.

[Jeff Chandler]

It was maybe a 60 degree angle that I think any plane today can do when empty.

Yep. There was a company nearby that refurbed airliners. I used to watch them do some amazing stunts with those big birds. I finally had the opportunity to talk to some of those folks and they informed me that it wasn't anything special, that airliners are capable of doing all kinds of crazy things, they just don't normally do so because of their purpose.

[4yearlurker]

My older told me that when he was in Vietnam the U2(I think) would take off and go almost straight up. He told me cameras were not allowed there to take pics of that aircraft.

[4yearlurker]

That should read "older brother."

[Harold Shea]

Saw a coupla U-2`s in Guam...they told us no

pictures and don`t mention seeing the when we

landed at the airport on the way home.

They are bigger than they look in pics.

Guam,the hottest place I`ve ever been.

[entropy12]

Of all the planes I have flown in, starting with Boeing 707 in 1960, I like Boeing 747 the best. It has the feel of riding in my 1967 Cadillac Eldorado sports coupe. It seems to have the right amount of power, and the smoothest ride.

[rellimpank]

-wonder if Bob Hoover could do a hammerhead stall in one?