Tuesday night we flew from NYC JFK nonstop to Santiago, Chile on a LAN airlines 787-8, a 10 hour flight. I have to admit that I was a little worried as knowledge can sometimes be a terrible thing.
The lighting and layout is impressive as you first get on, comfortable and spacious feeling, soft and not glaring. The cabin lights changed during the flight as we went from night to day time. The overhead bins are spacious and I was able to open it without having to step on a seat to reach it.
As we were boarding we were told not to use any electronic devices as the plane was being fueled. Rich and I were seated in row 32, seats J, K, an aisle and a middle seat on the starboard side. Before the person in the window seat arrived, I played with the electronic dimmer on the window but it was hard to tell the difference as it was around 8 pm and already dusk.
We would have liked a little more legroom but at least the LAN configuration is better than some US domestic flights. There were 110ac outlets under the middle seat and a USB port on the seat back entertainment system which we both though worked very well. There is a sensor so if you wave your hand in front of the monitor, LEDs indicating where the USB and headset ports are light up. It did take a bit to figure out which icon controlled the overhead light versus dimmed the monitor. I thought my overhead light was pointed on my head instead of my tray which I found a little annoying and I wished I could have dimmed it as well. The overhead ventilation was great, easy to control and plenty of air if I needed it.
Takeoff was smooth and it did not take very long for rollout. Impressive since every seat was filled and there was a lot of luggage on board (note: we had 5 checked bags, 3 @ 43 lbs, 2 @ 49, 4 of which had boat parts). It is amazing how much the wing flexed upwards. The plane seemed ready to fly. There was no hydraulic noises like you hear on other airplanes, nor the thud when the landing gear is stowed. Since we both used to work in the Noise Lab, we especially noticed how much more quiet it is inside.
A few times during the flight it seemed like the engine power was increased even though we were in cruise. I suspect it was due to the CACs but just a guess on my part.
There was some turbulence during the flight, with the accompanying announcements to remain in your seats and buckle up.
At the end of the flight we waited until all the other passengers had deplaned and asked if we could see the cockpit. The pilots seemed delighted to be able to show us. They were friendly and gave good reports. The captain had previously flown 767s and said that switching over to the 787 was not difficult. The copilot had flown 707s and remarked that they were trained not to look at the wings on the 707 due to the movement but that there was not a lot of flutter on the 787 wings. They were awed by the CCR - was it a brain or the heart of the airplane. One problem they did mention was load shedding for the ECS. That could lead back to our comments about the engines/CACs. At first the pilots did not like the HUD but now they would miss them if it was removed. They truly seemed to enjoy flying the 787. I asked it they were using the feature to deal with turbulence and they said yes they were and that from their perspective it helps a lot and that they report less turbulence than other airplanes in the same area.
Rich and I were both impressed. You should all feel proud of the 787. I hope you will get a chance to fly on it as a passenger going to some place in the world for fun and not for work or as work. It beats the A330 we flew from Buenos Aires to NYC JFK in May when the plane kept going down the runway for so long I thought we would not take off but arrive at the subway station at NYC. It also provides a better ride than the 777-300 we flew from Toronto to Santiago in February, which surprisingly was my first ride on a 777.
There will be no more airplane flights in our near future. We will be doing some boat projects before continuing to sail south to Puerto Williams and Cabo de Hornas, leaving Puerto Montt hopefully late November.
I feel much better about flying on a 787 now than when I saw all the problems in the lab. It is not to say that there are not any problems but that the flying experience is a great one.
Hopefully our sailing experience will be just as smooth.
Elaine and Rich
Puerto Montt, Chile
The lighting and layout is impressive as you first get on, comfortable and spacious feeling, soft and not glaring. The cabin lights changed during the flight as we went from night to day time. The overhead bins are spacious and I was able to open it without having to step on a seat to reach it.
As we were boarding we were told not to use any electronic devices as the plane was being fueled. Rich and I were seated in row 32, seats J, K, an aisle and a middle seat on the starboard side. Before the person in the window seat arrived, I played with the electronic dimmer on the window but it was hard to tell the difference as it was around 8 pm and already dusk.
We would have liked a little more legroom but at least the LAN configuration is better than some US domestic flights. There were 110ac outlets under the middle seat and a USB port on the seat back entertainment system which we both though worked very well. There is a sensor so if you wave your hand in front of the monitor, LEDs indicating where the USB and headset ports are light up. It did take a bit to figure out which icon controlled the overhead light versus dimmed the monitor. I thought my overhead light was pointed on my head instead of my tray which I found a little annoying and I wished I could have dimmed it as well. The overhead ventilation was great, easy to control and plenty of air if I needed it.
Takeoff was smooth and it did not take very long for rollout. Impressive since every seat was filled and there was a lot of luggage on board (note: we had 5 checked bags, 3 @ 43 lbs, 2 @ 49, 4 of which had boat parts). It is amazing how much the wing flexed upwards. The plane seemed ready to fly. There was no hydraulic noises like you hear on other airplanes, nor the thud when the landing gear is stowed. Since we both used to work in the Noise Lab, we especially noticed how much more quiet it is inside.
A few times during the flight it seemed like the engine power was increased even though we were in cruise. I suspect it was due to the CACs but just a guess on my part.
There was some turbulence during the flight, with the accompanying announcements to remain in your seats and buckle up.
At the end of the flight we waited until all the other passengers had deplaned and asked if we could see the cockpit. The pilots seemed delighted to be able to show us. They were friendly and gave good reports. The captain had previously flown 767s and said that switching over to the 787 was not difficult. The copilot had flown 707s and remarked that they were trained not to look at the wings on the 707 due to the movement but that there was not a lot of flutter on the 787 wings. They were awed by the CCR - was it a brain or the heart of the airplane. One problem they did mention was load shedding for the ECS. That could lead back to our comments about the engines/CACs. At first the pilots did not like the HUD but now they would miss them if it was removed. They truly seemed to enjoy flying the 787. I asked it they were using the feature to deal with turbulence and they said yes they were and that from their perspective it helps a lot and that they report less turbulence than other airplanes in the same area.
Rich and I were both impressed. You should all feel proud of the 787. I hope you will get a chance to fly on it as a passenger going to some place in the world for fun and not for work or as work. It beats the A330 we flew from Buenos Aires to NYC JFK in May when the plane kept going down the runway for so long I thought we would not take off but arrive at the subway station at NYC. It also provides a better ride than the 777-300 we flew from Toronto to Santiago in February, which surprisingly was my first ride on a 777.
There will be no more airplane flights in our near future. We will be doing some boat projects before continuing to sail south to Puerto Williams and Cabo de Hornas, leaving Puerto Montt hopefully late November.
I feel much better about flying on a 787 now than when I saw all the problems in the lab. It is not to say that there are not any problems but that the flying experience is a great one.
Hopefully our sailing experience will be just as smooth.
Elaine and Rich
Puerto Montt, Chile
No comments:
Post a Comment