Reflections from Wayne Hale on the apparent new anti-social activity in airplanes: Looking out the window.
I have actually been requested to put my shade down on an occasion in which the sun was beaming right in the window. On my trip to Israel a couple years ago, the sun came up as we were approaching the French coast, but the plane remained dark. I had to crack the bottom if I wanted to see, as we crossed the French then Italian Alps and Monico, and then Italy and Greece. Last week on the way to DC I ended up with a window seat with no window (the seat in front of me had two). It was almost claustrophobic. When I hear about these new aircraft coming along without windows, I think “No way.”
First world problems….
Another is mine: I am so tall that the window is about at the level of my lower ribcage – if I am stuck in an outboard seat (I normally try for an aisle) there is no way I can bend enough to see much out the window.
To see out the window, you could rig up a periscope. A periscope was good enough for Charles Lindbergh.
Maybe they’ll install a few cameras on the exterior of the aircraft and allow passengers to get a virtual view through their entertainment system.
This wins the comment of the week!
On my way back from Nashville I was three seats back from a person who had her shade open, and the rising sun was shining directly on my face, to the point where I couldn’t see anything else. I guess I should have just accepted that since it would have been impolite to ask her to lower her screen, she should have been able to see outside to her heart’s content.
I prefer an aisle seat myself when I have a window seat the shade is almost always down. Having spent years underwater in a submarine not being able to look outside doesn’t phase me. I concede the need for those with a more delicate constitution. The shade positioning comes down to manners and etiquette which have gone out the window some years ago.
For me, and I suspect for many others, it not about having a delicate constitution — it is about wanting to enjoy the amazing view!
Yeah, but you could hear what was out there?
Hey Rand, how would you like to fly on a flying wing? It could carry half its weight in cargo, or passengers. I have flown on 737, and on A-320. I would like to fly on a lightcraft one day. It would be able to go any where in the world in one hour, or less.