Virgin Launches Glass-Bottomed Plane

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Virgin Launches Glass-Bottomed Plane

Posted by samzenpus on Monday April 1, 2013 @07:56AM from the every-seat-is-a-window-seat dept.

Em Adespoton writes "Virgin has recently created the technology required to produce the world's first glass-bottomed plane. This technological innovation coincides with the start of Virgin Atlantic Airways' first ever domestic service to Scotland. They hope to trial the glass bottom technology with other Virgin airlines in time and have asked other Virgin companies to support this innovative trial and launch their new domestic Scottish route."

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Comment prediction by ndogg · 2013-04-01 07:58 · Score: 3, Insightful

"OMG, /. is so useless today (like it is every April 1), what am I doing here?!"

--
// file: mice.h
#include "frickin_lasers.h"
1. Re:Comment prediction by Joce640k · 2013-04-01 08:09 · Score: 1
  
  Why ask me? Ask yourself.
  Every single day, please...
  
  --
  No sig today...
2. Re:Comment prediction by Swarley · 2013-04-01 08:14 · Score: 1
  
  Seriously. I hate April Fools day because a large portion of the internet seems to become a barf bag filled with lame, obvious, and painfully stupid "fooled you!" articles that don't fool anybody. And especially don't fool anybody when EVERY post is lame nonsense. Google does this properly, everybody else should quit trying and let us read actual news.
3. Re:Comment prediction by ergean · 2013-04-01 08:45 · Score: 1
  
  I'm here for the ponies!
4. Re:Comment prediction by mark-t · 2013-04-01 09:22 · Score: 1
  
  Look on the bright side.
  You can get more work done today.
  
  --
  File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
5. Re:Comment prediction by hahn · 2013-04-01 09:48 · Score: 2
  
  Okay, so you don't find it funny. But why does it make you angry? Jeez people, relax. If April Fool's jokes give you this much stress, perhaps you should take a day off from the Internet?
  
  --
  "The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well."
6. Re:Comment prediction by The+Grim+Reefer · 2013-04-01 10:02 · Score: 1
  
  I'm here for the ponies!
  You're a few years too late.
7. Re:Comment prediction by Pseudonym · 2013-04-01 10:56 · Score: 1
  
  Ah, but you didn't predict "it's already 2 April here in Australia!"
  
  --
  sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
8. Re:Comment prediction by rwa2 · 2013-04-01 12:09 · Score: 1
  
  Ha ha, April 1 is really Slashdot appreciation day. There's no real news for nerds here the entire day, so maybe you end up going to http://arstechnica.com/ or http://theregister.co.uk/ or even http://fark.com/ . But inevitably you find that professional reporting is to dry and constrained or too british and sarcastic or the comments are just too much snark, and tomorrow you will inevitably return here, to your usual comfort zone for nerd-upism and troll abuse.
9. Re:Comment prediction by uninformedLuddite · 2013-04-02 09:18 · Score: 1
  
  What seems apparent to me is that April Fool's Day is being used here as an excuse. People these days seem to be angry. If not all the time then at least a large proportion of it and many can flip into a rage cycle at the drop of a hat.
  
  --
  The new right fascists are bilingual. They speak English and Bullshit.
10. Re:Comment prediction by uninformedLuddite · 2013-04-02 09:19 · Score: 1
  
  oh shiny
  
  --
  The new right fascists are bilingual. They speak English and Bullshit.
WANT by skarphace · 2013-04-01 07:58 · Score: 3, Funny

Please let this be real... Please let this be real... Please let this be real...

--
Bullish Machine Tzar
1. Re:WANT by Finallyjoined!!! · 2013-04-01 08:19 · Score: 1
  
  I fucking hate the 1st April......... Total bollocks all over the interwebs, usually penned by dweebs who think they're so really funny....
  
  Clue: Nope.
  
  --
  If I had an Ass, I'd call it Fanny Bottom, then I could slap my Ass; Fanny Bottom, on the Arse.
2. Re:WANT by MiniMike · 2013-04-01 08:35 · Score: 1
  
  It's a joke, put your telescope away you pervert...
3. Re:WANT by cheater512 · 2013-04-01 08:41 · Score: 1
  
  How is that different to every other day?
4. Re:WANT by GodfatherofSoul · 2013-04-01 08:45 · Score: 1
  
  Kid, it's called a B-17. All you've got to do is be ready to shoot back at Messerschmitts if you want to fly in one.
  
  --
  I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
5. Re:WANT by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-01 08:48 · Score: 1
  
  Yea, it really would be cool. I'd pay extra for a seat.
6. Re:WANT by Ken_g6 · 2013-04-01 09:27 · Score: 1
  
  This particular implementation isn't real - where would they put the luggage?
  But with planes being built with more composite materials these days, I wonder if any of them can be made transparent, or at least translucent? Full side-windows and a skylight, maybe?
  Then again, there's insulation to consider. It is very cold at 40,000ft (near space).
  
  --
  (T>t && O(n)--) == sqrt(666)
7. Re:WANT by tlhIngan · 2013-04-01 09:39 · Score: 1
  
  This particular implementation isn't real - where would they put the luggage?
  But with planes being built with more composite materials these days, I wonder if any of them can be made transparent, or at least translucent? Full side-windows and a skylight, maybe?
  Then again, there's insulation to consider. It is very cold at 40,000ft (near space).
  You put the luggage where no one likes to sit - the middle seat, and the middle aisle. Those passengers could sit below or above the luggage compartment, which sits in the middle of the plane. Of course, it doesn't have to be too big because really, with airlines dinging you on checked baggage, you're not going to have much baggage to check.
  40,000 feet is nowhere near space. You may be in the tropopause near the equator, but the polar regions you're still in the troposphere. Most airliners fly higher - 50-60,000 feet isn't unusual. Even then you're really just in the tropopause.
  Of course, at 40,000 feet, there's not much to look at - the tops of clouds I suppose?
8. Re:WANT by hawaiian717 · 2013-04-01 10:42 · Score: 3, Informative
  Most airliners fly higher - 50-60,000 feet isn't unusual.
  Not unusual for Concorde, which would float up during transatlantic cruise starting around 45,000 feet up to its service ceiling of 60,000 feet. But most other civilian airliners top out in the low 40,000s; I think a few bizjets may get a bit higher:
  
  757: 42,000
  737NG: 41,000
  A320: 39,000
  A330: 41,100
  --
  End of Line.
9. Re:WANT by Pseudonym · 2013-04-01 10:58 · Score: 1
  
  On any other day, they can't pretend that you're in on the joke.
  
  --
  sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
10. Re:WANT by Holladon · 2013-04-01 12:24 · Score: 1
  
  Speaking as someone with a phobia of flying, your reaction could not be more different from mine... First April Fools' prank that has actually made me sigh with relief upon looking at the calendar :-P
11. Re:WANT by viperidaenz · 2013-04-01 12:43 · Score: 1
  
  And a way to stop the wings snapping off. there's nothing to connect the two together. Either the glass would need to be a major structural part of the plane, in which case it would be pretty heavy because glass isn't light, or the plane would rip its belly open.
12. Re:WANT by aztracker1 · 2013-04-01 19:43 · Score: 1
  
  This is my thought as well.. I think moving the seats to the bottom of the aircraft and opening up the bottom to thick glass would be f-ing awesome. Though not sure about what that would do for safety... it would be really cool. Maybe in a few years.. then again, I see things every april 1 on thinkgeek I'd like to see made.
  
  --
  Michael J. Ryan - tracker1.info
Lame by biggaijin · 2013-04-01 07:58 · Score: 2

One article was funny. Doing this to all of them, all day, is lame. Give us a break.
1. Re:Lame by leenks · 2013-04-01 08:19 · Score: 1
  
  Not least because noon passed in every timezone some hours ago.
2. Re:Lame by kernelpanicked · 2013-04-01 08:45 · Score: 1
  
  Tha hell has noon got to do with anything?
  And stop bitching already people! Get a fucking sense of humor already.
  
  --
  Ubuntu: If at first you don't succeed, blindly slap a sudo in front of it
3. Re:Lame by leenks · 2013-04-01 08:55 · Score: 1
  
  Traditionally, you only have until noon to play an April fool prank. After that, the prankster is the fool.
4. Re:Lame by kernelpanicked · 2013-04-01 09:15 · Score: 1
  
  Well then. TIL
  
  --
  Ubuntu: If at first you don't succeed, blindly slap a sudo in front of it
may I suggest science daily by GodWasAnAlien · 2013-04-01 07:59 · Score: 4, Insightful

may I suggest
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
during today's slashdot news shutdown
1. Re:may I suggest science daily by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-01 08:10 · Score: 1
  
  Thank you....
  I think this site will be replacing /. as my main nerd new site. The site's quality has declined precipitously lately, and this horrid April fools "prank" has pushed me over the edge.
2. Re:may I suggest science daily by WGFCrafty · 2013-04-01 11:20 · Score: 1
  
  Thank you....
  I think this site will be replacing /. as my main nerd new site. The site's quality has declined precipitously lately, and this horrid April fools "prank" has pushed me over the edge.
  This was badly thought out, degrading your content is f'kn stupid. There is a reason google doesn't mess with their search functionality.
  Watch unique hits take a hit.
Virgin Creates Planes? by Farmer+Pete · 2013-04-01 08:01 · Score: 1

Since when has Virgin ever made planes? Don't they buy them from Boeing, Airbus, etc? Yes, I know this is an April fools POS article, but why not suggest that Delta is going to start manufacturing submarines. It's more believable. At least Submarines actually exist.
Hmm... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-01 08:08 · Score: 1

That'd actually be kinda interesting. Maybe do it "transparent via cameras and screens" style. Takeoffs and landings would be far more interesting.
1. Re:Hmm... by neminem · 2013-04-01 08:20 · Score: 1
  
  You know, that would actually be pretty cool. Make the walls and ceilings transparent, too, while you were at it. People would totally buy that.
2. Re:Hmm... by pollarda · 2013-04-01 08:50 · Score: 1
  
  They could use some of the really cool transparent aluminum stuff they are coming out with.
  
  --
  Star Trek was a documentary.
Argh by Sparticus789 · 2013-04-01 08:15 · Score: 1

I keep coming back every few hours, hoping for the insanity to stop. And it hasn't. Time to go read Reddit.

--
sudo make me a sandwich
The real joke... by Zombie · 2013-04-01 08:18 · Score: 1

... for those of you who have never been to Scotland, is that you might enjoy its landscape when flying over it.
The only thing you can see when flying over Scotland is the top of the rainclouds.
1. Re:The real joke... by xaxa · 2013-04-01 09:40 · Score: 1
  
  ... for those of you who have never been to Scotland, is that you might enjoy its landscape when flying over it.
  The only thing you can see when flying over Scotland is the top of the rainclouds.
  I can only comment on the west coast, as that's the only part I've ever flown over, but I think the cloud tends to form at least a little inland.
  I had nice views: http://i.imgur.com/cj5qwuT.jpg (not very well photographed). It's very nice, lots of lochs, rivers and mountains.
...Slashdot? by johnny5555 · 2013-04-01 08:18 · Score: 2

So their joke is making their articles completely illegible? This is ridiculous. Way to drive down site traffic while smarter sites are driving it up.
1. Re:...Slashdot? by davmoo · 2013-04-01 08:33 · Score: 1
  
  It doesn't matter that their articles are completely illegible because none of them are real. This is the one day a year where Slashdot readers will be the very last to know about any real "news for nerds, stuff that matters". Slashdot is the only major geek news site that goes so overboard with it.
  
  --
  I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.
2. Re:...Slashdot? by bluefoxlucid · 2013-04-01 08:35 · Score: 1
  
  It's impossible for them to top OMG PONIES so they don't even try.
  
  --
  Support my political activism on Patreon.
Note to self: by fredrated · 2013-04-01 08:19 · Score: 3, Insightful

Slashdot is useless on April 1, Any Given Year.
1. Re:Note to self: by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-01 08:55 · Score: 1
  
  Actually, there was one year where the joke was that there was no joke, so on that April 1st, Slashdot was no more useless than normal.
Wonder Woman by Maltheus · 2013-04-01 08:28 · Score: 1

Good luck getting it past her patent attorneys!
Delta has the Glass Bottom Jet already by klashn · 2013-04-01 08:36 · Score: 1

What's funny about this April Fools Joke is Delta recently announced a Glass Bottom Jet feature where you can see what mountains, and cities are underneath you while flying. If you log onto Gogo In-Flight Internet while on board a Delta flight and use the Flight tracker on the iPhone/iPad you can see the attractions and terrain on your iPhone/iPad as you near them during the flight http://delta.thedigitalcenter.com/projects/8517-deltas-glass-bottom-jet
So we can see Luggage? by tekrat · 2013-04-01 08:37 · Score: 1

The bottom of every airliner is luggage, mail, and fuel tanks. So what are you looking down onto?

--
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
1. Re:So we can see Luggage? by ChrisMaple · 2013-04-01 11:17 · Score: 1
  
  Fuel tanks are in the wings, where the lift is.
  
  --
  Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
Re:I would actually like to try that by pollarda · 2013-04-01 08:46 · Score: 3, Interesting

A few years ago, I was flying back to the U.S. from Germany (via Paris). We flew over the UK, then Scotland, then the flight attendants dutifully asked us to pull down the shades so that people could watch the in flight movie. I, like the rest of the sheeple, pulled down my shade. A while latter, I broke the rules and lifted my shade only to see that we were just starting to come in over the ice flows of Greenland. Seeing the ice as it traced its way from the glacier fields into the water where it broke into small icebergs was an incredible experience. Not long later, the scene was entirely white as far as you can see like when you are flying just over the clouds -- only there were no clouds and it was entirely snow and ice. I managed to go to the back of the plane and watch it all through the back window for the next hour or so. For both myself and the flight attendant, it was one of the most awe inspiring experiences of our lives. They said that it always made them sad when they watched people missing out on this for a movie whenever she flew over Greenland.
A few hours later, we flew in over Labrador and it was just hundreds of miles of networks of rivers flowing over ice and gravel fields. I couldn't help but wonder if the plane went down how long it would take to walk out. There was an occasional road but no settlements, mines, or clear places where a dirt road would go out there. It too was one of my greatest life experiences. Way way better than watching Beverly Hills Cop 26 on the overhead.
Editors Munged my submission... by Em+Adespoton · 2013-04-01 08:47 · Score: 1

Come on... I submitted this ROT-13'd, and the editors went and converted it :P It was supposed to come out on the main page in plaintext, and only be ROT-13'd in the "decoded" version. Way to spoil a good joke, editors.
At least they had to ROT-13 it before reading and releasing :D
Stupid fucking slashdot janitors by Gordonjcp · 2013-04-01 09:09 · Score: 1

The ROT13 thing was funny once. It is now just irritating.
Please stop being such stupid unfunny fuckwits. Allowed HTML
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1. Re:Stupid fucking slashdot janitors by Mister+Liberty · 2013-04-01 11:54 · Score: 1
  
  Agreed.
  Kindergarten.
Re:Technically feasible? by phantomfive · 2013-04-01 09:15 · Score: 1

Yeah, I would LOVE flying in that kind of plane. Can we make it work?

--
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
like when the teacher is not in class... by schlachter · 2013-04-01 09:19 · Score: 4, Interesting

Being on Slashdot on April 1st is like being in class when the teacher doesn't show up. Lots of random undirected conversations spring up, and everyone says that they are justified to leave since there's no teacher, but people kind of mill about for awhile nonetheless.

--
My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
1. Re:like when the teacher is not in class... by Holladon · 2013-04-01 12:22 · Score: 1
  
  Yeah, but nobody whines like a newborn puppy when the teacher doesn't show up.
  You must have attended a school with far fewer nerds than mine. Or perhaps just a much less expensive one.
Re:I would actually like to try that by xaxa · 2013-04-01 09:34 · Score: 2

I've seen the view over Greenland once, it is indeed incredible. It only a year ago, so everyone had their own screen in the seat in front and the light from windows didn't really matter. Annoyingly, it was the first flight I've taken in the last five or so years when I've put my camera in my checked luggage.
The other 9 or so times it's been cloudy. I think you're lucky to see the mountains and glaciers.
South East England in the winter just after dusk is also amazing, on a clear day. There's so many trains snaking lines of light over the landscape, and lots of sparkling lighting from buildings and road vehicles.
So, what's this mean for all the real Scotsmen? by Linsaran · 2013-04-01 09:54 · Score: 1

I mean, it just wouldn't be proper to wear anything under their kilts.

--
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Alternatives for April 1st by Okian+Warrior · 2013-04-01 10:30 · Score: 2

XKCD is running a fascinating comic today which is (among other things) encouraging people to prank Wikipedia as well as hosting a crypto-hash contest.
Fresh, interesting, and a bit insightful. Not at all transparent, childish, silly, or obvious.
One smart creative person outdoing a gaggle of Slashdot editors.
Better use by ChrisMaple · 2013-04-01 11:19 · Score: 1

Shouldn't Playtex be using this technology?

--
Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
Today is the lamest day experienced on /. ever by Mister+Liberty · 2013-04-01 11:52 · Score: 1

Totally useless.
Anyone here thinks registered users should have a say
in how much non-humor can be tolerated?
Making people angry IS the joke. For some. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-04-01 12:23 · Score: 1

Making people angry IS the joke.
This has been going on since the start, and people keep falling for it. Essentially the entire purpose of Slashdot is to set people up for April Fools, then see how many angry/butthurt/crazy people can't help but spew "OMG, I'm so ANGRYYEEEEEE!!!!(!@#$*^@($*&)*&" on that day. Taco said at much in the first few years.
A significant number of people are sociopathic cowards, passively aggressively feeding of the anger/drama they can create and observe.
And people keep falling for it.
TLDR: Slashdot: Essentially a troll site.