Precision and Pluck: Here’s What It Takes to Fly the 787 at the Paris Air Show

I really liked the inital take off, that's impressive.

I would assume that since it's designed to handle xxx passengers and cargo, that empty, it allows it to do things that we as passengers would never need to experience.

Thank you for sharing!

S

 

But, some of us would nonetheless love to experience... ha...


Those wings are beautiful.

 

+1 to that. I think the whole plane is gorgeous.

 

A barrel roll would have made it perfect.

 

Is it just my imagination, but are those wings flexing?

 

Yes, they are flexing. I think that the only other airplane that can flex that much is the B-52 with a tip travel of 34 feet.

 

If you look at YouTube videos of various heavies landing like 747's you will see a lot of flexing going on in turbulent weather and touch-down.

Most wings on commercial airliners flex somewhat, if they didn't, your ride would be rough as hell.

Take a look out the window at the wing tip sometime and you will see it moving up and down often, even on 737's.

 

Yeah, I have. And sometimes that little guy sitting on the end of the wing can really get it going!

 

You mean 34 feet up and down? Wow. Can a pilot feel that? Watching that plane in the vid, it almost seemed as if it was flapping its wings.

 

Something all airline passengers should remember: wing flexing may look a bit scary, but it's designed into the airframe and goes a long way to making the ride smoother.

Also, sitting over the wing will give you a slightly smoother ride as well, at the expense of noise from the flap motors and landing gear.

 

Wing flex...

I remember seeing an old video of a newsreel showing a man standing on the end of the wing of a then new B-52. He was jumping up and down and the wing was flexing at least 10 feet.


Question:

When did 'big' wing flex start? With jets? The earliest I know of is the B-47. I know the 707 and DC-8 did to some extent.


Did B-29, B-24, B-17 wings flex much? I think of them as pretty rigid.

Or civilian... how about the Constellation or DC-7?