Travel
01/06/16 05:37
I grew up around airplanes. For the most part, my parents operated fairly small aircraft. The workhorse of our fleet was a Piper Super Cub, which had two seats in tandem. Over the years we had models ranging from 90 to 150 horsepower. The cubs were used for chemical application, some had belly tanks and some had a tank that fit into the back seat of the aircraft. We also used cubs for fire patrol, game counts, search and rescue and other missions in the backcountry. Our company also kept a four seat airplane for charter work that could be converted to carry a pilot, a flight nurse and a single stretcher for air ambulance duty. Sometimes we had more than one airplane of this size.
Our largest airplane, however, was a converted military surplus C-45G. It was manufactured by Beechcraft and the civilian designation of the plane was Beech 18. Ours had two 450 hp engines, retractable gear and a cabin that would accommodate seats for up to 10, though usually we flew it with some of the seats removed for increased cargo area. Compared to the other airplanes we operated, the Beech was fast. It could go over 200 mph and its best economy cruise was around 185 mph at altitude. It had large fuel tanks and was capable of long distances. The longest trip I ever took in the airplane was from Big Timber, Montana to Washington, DC, with a single fuel stop in Indianapolis. The trip was completed in a single day. On the return trip, we made an overnight stop in Chicago.
Growing up the way that I did, I’ve always been interested in travel and have wanted to take some big trips. I was 25 years old the first time I had an opportunity to take a really long flight. We flew commercially from Edmonton Canada to Amsterdam, Netherlands. The trip was just under 9 hours. I remember being especially impressed that the Boeing 747 had crew relief quarters. The pilots were able to take a break while other pilots flew during the flight. We returned by the same route with roughly the same flight time.
To date my record long-distance flight was from Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia. That trip involved 15 hours and 45 minutes in flight, just a tad shorter than the 15 hour return from Sydney, Australia to LA. Both of those legs involved connecting flights as well so total travel in a single day stretched to about 18 hours. These flights involved crossing over the International Date Line, so we “lost” a day on the outbound trip and for the return trip we landed at very nearly the same time on the clock as our departure time.
I’ve also been able to fly from Vancouver, BC to London, a trip that took about 10 hours.
I enjoy reading, and sometimes dreaming, about the longest flights on the globe. The technology of airliners now make it possible to travel between any two points on the globe nonstop. That ability does not, however, translate into profit for airlines, so practical point to point travel depends on the number of people wanting to make the trip. Long flights, therefore, are always from one population center to another. For many years, the longest flight leader was Singapore Airlines’ nearly 19-hour flight from Newark, NJ to Singapore. That flight, however, is not currently operating as the company awaits the delivery of new aircraft in 2018. When it resumes, the newer aircraft will be a bit faster and times will be somewhat shorter.
Today, the longest regularly-scheduled airline trip on the planet is from Auckland, New Zealand to Dubai. The trip takes 17 hours and 15 minutes and covers 8,819 miles. That isn’t a flight I’m ever likely to take, so I’ve been dreaming of a shorter distance that takes about the same amount of time: San Francisco to Delhi, India. There is also a Quantas flight from Sydney Australia direct to Dallas, Texas that comes in at 16 hours and 50 minutes.
It is clear that we have figured out how to safely transport people over very long distances and that people are up to traveling for times approaching 20 hours in an airliner. Long-distance flights, of course, have meal and beverage service and extended periods of time when passengers can get up and move about the cabin. The aircraft tend to have larger restroom facilities for a bit of clean-up and sophisticated entertainment systems for television viewing. They also have larger spaces for carry-on luggage, power ports for charging personal electronic devices and Wi-fi Internet access that, while not operating at the highest speeds is reasonably reliable.
More intriguing to me are the details of the aircraft. A new generation of more fuel-efficient aircraft are now being put into service. These planes are made out of more lightweight composite materials. That weight savings translates to lower fuel consumption and lower fuel consumption means additional weight savings as the fuel required is a large percentage of total takeoff weight. There are some really innovative cabin improvements in 1st class and business class. Some seats fully recline to allow more comfortable sleeping. I, however, am unlikely to be occupying those seats. I do enjoy the few photographs I have seen of the crew cabins. These super-long flights carry even more extra crew. Sometimes the pilot who takes off the plane is not the same one that lands at the other end of the flight.
I’ve always taken a lot more trips in my imagination than I’ve been able to undertake in real living. Although we have some big trips in our future, I doubt that I’ll ever really set any records for length or duration of flying. I’ll leave those trips to others. In the meantime, I enjoy thinking about the travel possibilities that exist and adventures that are possible.
I estimate today’s travel from home to the church will take around 14 minutes.
Our largest airplane, however, was a converted military surplus C-45G. It was manufactured by Beechcraft and the civilian designation of the plane was Beech 18. Ours had two 450 hp engines, retractable gear and a cabin that would accommodate seats for up to 10, though usually we flew it with some of the seats removed for increased cargo area. Compared to the other airplanes we operated, the Beech was fast. It could go over 200 mph and its best economy cruise was around 185 mph at altitude. It had large fuel tanks and was capable of long distances. The longest trip I ever took in the airplane was from Big Timber, Montana to Washington, DC, with a single fuel stop in Indianapolis. The trip was completed in a single day. On the return trip, we made an overnight stop in Chicago.
Growing up the way that I did, I’ve always been interested in travel and have wanted to take some big trips. I was 25 years old the first time I had an opportunity to take a really long flight. We flew commercially from Edmonton Canada to Amsterdam, Netherlands. The trip was just under 9 hours. I remember being especially impressed that the Boeing 747 had crew relief quarters. The pilots were able to take a break while other pilots flew during the flight. We returned by the same route with roughly the same flight time.
To date my record long-distance flight was from Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia. That trip involved 15 hours and 45 minutes in flight, just a tad shorter than the 15 hour return from Sydney, Australia to LA. Both of those legs involved connecting flights as well so total travel in a single day stretched to about 18 hours. These flights involved crossing over the International Date Line, so we “lost” a day on the outbound trip and for the return trip we landed at very nearly the same time on the clock as our departure time.
I’ve also been able to fly from Vancouver, BC to London, a trip that took about 10 hours.
I enjoy reading, and sometimes dreaming, about the longest flights on the globe. The technology of airliners now make it possible to travel between any two points on the globe nonstop. That ability does not, however, translate into profit for airlines, so practical point to point travel depends on the number of people wanting to make the trip. Long flights, therefore, are always from one population center to another. For many years, the longest flight leader was Singapore Airlines’ nearly 19-hour flight from Newark, NJ to Singapore. That flight, however, is not currently operating as the company awaits the delivery of new aircraft in 2018. When it resumes, the newer aircraft will be a bit faster and times will be somewhat shorter.
Today, the longest regularly-scheduled airline trip on the planet is from Auckland, New Zealand to Dubai. The trip takes 17 hours and 15 minutes and covers 8,819 miles. That isn’t a flight I’m ever likely to take, so I’ve been dreaming of a shorter distance that takes about the same amount of time: San Francisco to Delhi, India. There is also a Quantas flight from Sydney Australia direct to Dallas, Texas that comes in at 16 hours and 50 minutes.
It is clear that we have figured out how to safely transport people over very long distances and that people are up to traveling for times approaching 20 hours in an airliner. Long-distance flights, of course, have meal and beverage service and extended periods of time when passengers can get up and move about the cabin. The aircraft tend to have larger restroom facilities for a bit of clean-up and sophisticated entertainment systems for television viewing. They also have larger spaces for carry-on luggage, power ports for charging personal electronic devices and Wi-fi Internet access that, while not operating at the highest speeds is reasonably reliable.
More intriguing to me are the details of the aircraft. A new generation of more fuel-efficient aircraft are now being put into service. These planes are made out of more lightweight composite materials. That weight savings translates to lower fuel consumption and lower fuel consumption means additional weight savings as the fuel required is a large percentage of total takeoff weight. There are some really innovative cabin improvements in 1st class and business class. Some seats fully recline to allow more comfortable sleeping. I, however, am unlikely to be occupying those seats. I do enjoy the few photographs I have seen of the crew cabins. These super-long flights carry even more extra crew. Sometimes the pilot who takes off the plane is not the same one that lands at the other end of the flight.
I’ve always taken a lot more trips in my imagination than I’ve been able to undertake in real living. Although we have some big trips in our future, I doubt that I’ll ever really set any records for length or duration of flying. I’ll leave those trips to others. In the meantime, I enjoy thinking about the travel possibilities that exist and adventures that are possible.
I estimate today’s travel from home to the church will take around 14 minutes.