Have you ever seen a passenger jet take off almost vertically? Wow (Image: Boeing)
This week Boeing released a video of its newest 787-9 Dreamliner practicing some graceful maneuvers in preparation for this week’s Paris Air Show.
Must see this for the awesome near vertical take off!
Watch this bird soar!
How would you like to be onboard for this flight? I would!
Here BBC explains how planes can take off at near vertical angles like this.
More about the Paris Air Show here— it’s one of the largest aviation gatherings in the world where industry professionals as well as the general public get to see what’s new in the sky.
Related: Boeing Dreamliner grounded: My report from Tokyo
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There’s nothing “almost vertical” about this. Yes, it’s a steeper takeoff than normal, but the “vertical” effect is due to the optical illusion caused by the camera angle. Video taken from the side at a reasonable distance would show the real angle, but when the camera is basically pointing directly down the angle of the plane, with runway at the bottom, the human brain is tricked into seeing it as vertical when it really isn’t.
I think I’ll pass. A while back I was on a flight that was landing around 11:00pm in El Paso, and just before we reached the end of the runway the plane aborted the landing and pulled up. Our ascent was nowhere near as sharp as what we see in this video, and it was still terrifying. I’m really glad I had used the lavatory just before we approached the airport. After a few moments, the pilot announced (his voice quavering in anger) that another plane had been mistakenly cleared to take off from that same runway and that it was taxing onto the runway just as we were landing. Scary stuff.
The Dreamliner is a nice plane, but I’m not wild about the engines and those sawtooth-like things coming out from the back of the cowl, which I’ve heard people call “shark teeth” or a “chevron-tooth design.” It reduces noise, which is good, but it looks awful.
You bet I would! The new 787-9 is so graceful with that great wingspan and the Vietnam Airlines livery looks beautiful too.
I would absolutely do this, although I would probably not put my carry-on under the seat in front of me 😉