[Closed] Windowless planes. Could you cope?

I think the challenge would be the screens would have to be absolutely bang-on in terms of showing the outside would relative to actual movements of the plane. A lot of travel-sickness comes from a dissonance between the movement being sensed by your inner ear and what your eyes are seeing. So whatever those screens are showing, if it doesn't pitch and roll in perfect sync with the fuselage movements then you'd want to make sure all that premium upholstery is easy to wipe down (or you need to at least have a school caretaker and a bucket of sawdust on hand)

Not sure it would make a lot of difference, for the majority of flights you can only see the sea anyway, or cloud. Not sure why they cant do the solar panels things now though, its on the roof so the windows aren't in the way.

Yep, would be perfectly happy. Often fly without even the slightest sight of a window.

birds have eyes.

True, but birds don't have noise cancelling headphones, IFE and a nice wine list, do they? Who cares about the view, really? Give me a more comfy seat and a faster, more efficient plane, please.

Approved.

replace the seats for cigar shaped horizontal bunks where you can lie down and if you dont want to sleep have a VDU in front of you on the ceiling of your tube. In the saved space have a bar and open area for stretching out, walking around etc.

I havent flown long haul for ten years and probably wont do it again. At 6'4" and with a wallet sphincter as tight as a piano wire the only way I can fly for more than 2hours is in a deep alcoholic stupor anyway.

Would need good window cleaners (Even though there is only one)

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Yeah, I could easily do without windows on a plane. A lot of seats are effectively windowless on wide body jets anyway.

I do like the wrap around screen concept, but I agree with maccruiskeen about the potential for travel sickness. We had this exact issue with our F1 racing car simulator. It was so convincing with a complete cockpit and wrap around screens (several million quids worth) that some of the drivers sicked up after only a few minutes in there. Their eyes are telling them they are driving flat out around Monaco while their inner ear tells them they are in fact stationary. The brain can't deal with the contradiction and makes them chuck up! It affects maybe 1 in 3 people, but not sure on that one.

Edit: just to add it's probably much less of a problem on a plane as they pretty much fly in a straight line at constant speed.

[i]How would you feel in a windowless plane?[/i]

Wouldn't bother me, I never ever get a window seat anyway

replace the seats for cigar shaped horizontal bunks where you can lie down and if you dont want to sleep have a VDU in front of you on the ceiling of your tube. In the saved space have a bar and open area for stretching out, walking around etc.

+1, only problem would be they wouldn't be so quick to empty in an emergency, but probably not insurmountable.

Traditional problem with no windows is in an emergency on the ground you can't see outside to see where fire might be around the plane and go and open the wrong exit and emergency crews can't see in to spot people or internal fires.

If they can persuade the FAA to let them go without windows then I am fine with it. Once up at cruise altitude there it's much scenery to see outside anyway but landing and take-off could be a vom-fest. But for takeoff you would probably turn off the screens anyway to save power - which is another point - the screens will have a weight and will consume power. At what point does the aero and weight advantage be cancelled out by what you just added?

I don't think windows in composite aircraft need to be such a weight and aero penalty as you can design in the opening and you will always have openings for doors, cockpit windows, fuel in and out etc etc. But if the saving is significant then I am for it.

Just wait for them to start ramming adverts down your neck every 5 minutes on a flight though.

+1, only problem would be they wouldn't be so quick to empty in an emergency, but probably not insurmountable.

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Who cares about the view, really? Give me a more comfy seat and a faster, more efficient plane, please

I for one quite enjoy the view from an outbound transatlantic flight looking over the greenland ice sheets. Also there is the approach to Heathrow that flies along the Thames allowing a fantastic view of the city on landing. Both these require a seat on the right hand side of the plane though.

At first i thought you meant without the glass...
Bit windy was my first thought... 😀

For me, one of the most exciting things about arriving in a foreign land is watching the landscape below, the mountains, the houses come into view, and the often mental cityscapes surrounding the airport as you land.

Having flown over the amazing sights of the Andes, the alps, Africa etc, it would be a terrible shame not to get that viewpoint. You'd never see it from that perspective normally, so no. Keep the Windows!

At first i thought you meant without the glass...
Bit windy was my first thought...

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Only death was an air hostess who was not strapped in.

Keep those belts on at all times 😉

What the hell happened there!?

OP - no. (Airline Captain)

Flown windowless many times out of Havana on a small russian made thing obviously for military use. You even entered through a rear tail gate designed to drive a small tank in. Crappy air con was more of an issue than windows

I'm pretty cynical these days, but every few years Boeing and Airbus trot out these visions of the future with lovely big seats, acres of leg room, bars, and social areas and wonderful tech to try to either evoke the glamor of the past or make what is probably one of the most unpleasant things we will happily pay for seem almost enjoyable - but it never comes to pass

It's all there if you want to pay for it. But most people just want the cheapest option possible. You can't have it both ways. We find business class is a good compromise for long haul flights - with the likes of BA you get a reasonable bed and loads of space. For short haul I'm happy to go economy and save a load of cash.

I wouldn't enjoy a windowless plane, but the one in the OP's link, ie with full lengh effectively transparent fuselage would be FRICKIN AWESOME!

I'd be in heaven.. literally 🙂

I wouldn't enjoy a windowless plane, but the one in the OP's link, ie with full lengh effectively transparent fuselage would be FRICKIN AWESOME!

They should extend the screens to cover the floor too.

bars, and social areas

Such as the woeful "lounge" on a Qantas A380.
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Utterly pointless waste of space. Am sure they could have made it in to some sort of uber high end suite and made some money out of instead.

Their selection of dessert wines is rather excellent upstairs, though.

What the hell happened there!?

aluminium + rivets = cracks (it happens to all planes eventually 😉 )

Aloha Flight 243 if you want to read about it.

TBH I would rather they made flying as economical and environmentally friendly as possible. It's a means of transport.

I'm sure that the new F-35 is designed with a VR headset in mind, the idea being that the pilot sees "through" the plane and thus any blind spots are eliminated.

I reckon it would be great for a few minutes, but above a certain altitude it would get pretty boring, plus you'd feel exposed when trying to get some sleep on a long haul flight.

I was going to mention the transparent cockpit technology. Landrover are talking about using it with a HUD so you can see the terrain when you are going up steep hills.

Bring it on! And if seating People like this leads to not waiting twenty minutes behind some woman who can't pick up her overnight bag to put it away and needs to take off/put on three layers of clothing to cope with the artic conditions between the plane and boiling hot terminal, then bring that on too:

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now you are talking, get all the passengers to parachute out on approach and then heave the new passengers ready and waiting to board.

now you are talking, get all the passengers to parachute out on approach and then heave the new passengers ready and waiting to board.

plus you'd feel exposed when trying to get some sleep on a long haul flight.

You can switch it off when you want to kip apparently.

CFH, is that Singletrack's website on that screen?

I like the parachute idea though, particularly as when flying to London from the US I often fly right over my house. If I could parachute out I'd save at least 3 hours door to door.

who can't pick up her overnight bag

When I come to power....

If you can't physically carry your carry on luggage, it isn't carry on luggage and shall be taken away and burned. This also applies to anyone using wheeled luggage as carry on luggage, even if they can carry it. If it needs wheels as carry on, you've overpacked.

This will not apply to "no frills" airlines. Mainly because, when I come to power, they will no longer exist.

doubt that'll be coming to ryanair or easyjet anytime soon, so unlikely to be a consideration for myself! 😆

If I had a choice between windows and Mach 2, I'd choose Mach 2. Windows are nice though, and a screen isn't the same.

I think the benefit of a windowless design would really come from changing the design from "tube with wings strapped on" to "all wing".

I like the window... Looking out of planes is cool. Watching things on a screen just isn't the same as seeing it with your eyes. Why bother flying places when you can look at a picture?

Problem is, with looking at a window your field of view is pretty limited.

now you are talking, get all the passengers to parachute out on approach and then heave the new passengers ready and waiting to board.

Fulton Recovery system?

Landing and Taking off just slows things down and adds cost, If Ryanair or Easyjet could they would almost certainly just whip you off the ground rather than bother landing...

I find that the necessity for windows is directly related to the direction you go when you enter the aircraft. When you go upstairs or turn left, there's much less need for them 8)

Indeed upstairs on a 747 on a predominantly night flight is a most peaceful way to fly.

Unfortunately my next long haul is on a 777 to Tokyo with ANA. The entertainment system appears to be largely inpenetrable to non Japanese reading/speaking people. Perhaps I should pass the time trying everything on the wine list instead!

I like the window... Looking out of planes is cool. Watching things on a screen just isn't the same as seeing it with your eyes.

I agree, really. Always prefer a window seat when I can!
Notably this one;
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Or the one on the opposite side, 62K.

So how can you tell if the props are still turning without windows?

I've flown in a little Cessna with the door open, to be honest didnt bother me what so ever. It just doesnt feel quite real.

However I wouldnt stand on top of a cliff with a 5000ft drop and feel quite so safe.

I've flown in a little Cessna with the door open, to be honest didnt bother me what so ever.

I assume that you were only in said Cessna for the climbing part of the flight. 😀

I've flown on loads of (almost) windowless aircraft:

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In my experience the best way to make a flight confortable is to lay down. Sign me up for the bunks mentioned above. Sod the windows.

Just flown into Bergen. Window seat was a real treat 😀

I reckon most airliners use some form of linux rather than windows

Pretty sure I'd end up in the seat next to the broken screen....cue x hours of flickering!

I find that the necessity for windows is directly related to the direction you go when you enter the aircraft. When you go upstairs or turn left, there's much less need for them

Even sat in the middle I prefer the concept of some daylight out there or the changing sky. Not much of an airline sleeper really though with the amount I'm doing now I need to try. So it's a no for me

Sorry, little hijack on the thread. It's for tomkerton. Was speechless at work today and you'll get it. Very busy with inbounds on the RT and a far east pilot asks, "London, are you on day light saving hours?". I reply, "eh pass message again". Repeats it. By this point I'm flummoxed when a very proper English voice replies, "yes we are and London, is there any holding?". I'm giggling away when the far east pilot asks, "so what's the local time?". Once again, proper English captain, "it's tea time". Due inability to talk without giggling I may have contributed to some delays...

As I hate flying not being able to see out would be a good thing .

Do airlines not use Zulu time?

Nope I do like a window. Love being in one of Manchester's stacks and trying to pin point landmarks plus I always pre book row 6A on short haul flights, nice view of the engine.
Have always requested window seats or pre booked seats.

Did Manchester to Chicago in the middle rows and hated it.

Wouldn't miss windows at all...I fly to Oz and back 6 or 7 times a year with work, and 95% of the flight is spent with the windows closed anyway so people can sleep. Though there is always inconsiderate tosser who opens the window to make sure some poor bugger gets blinded by the intense sunlight at 38000ft.

I always try to get a window seat if I can.

I've seen the most wondrous things from an aircraft window. Huge Himalayan glaciers, icebergs, the vastness of the Australian outback, frozen seas with cars driving on them near Finland, coral reefs in the Caribbean, large ships plying their trade across vast oceans, The Florida Everglades with their maze of water channels, approaching Tenerife with its big volcano as the sun sets, amazing cloud formations, Central London on a crystal clear night, the list could continue but I think you get the idea.

Yet throughout all these times, when I've been practically licking the window with excitement and fumbling for my camera, there's most others on the plane with either their window blinds closed shut, not interested, or too busy catching up with the latest series of 24 etc to even bother lifting their eyes from their setback screens to see what's outside. Each to their own I know but I can't help feeling really, really sorry for these people sometimes.

the vastness of the Australian outback,

the vastness of the Australian outback,

The first time I flew to Oz, the excitement when the captain announces we're crossing the (north) coast. Then 4, 5 hours later... it's still brown. That's when you realise that yes, Australia is a pretty big country 🙂

the grand canyon is pretty impressive from 30,000 ft.