Virgin Launches Glass-Bottomed Plane

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."

Comments

Comment prediction

[ndogg]

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

WANT

[skarphace]

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

Re:WANT

[hawaiian717]

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

may I suggest science daily

[GodWasAnAlien]

may I suggest
http://www.sciencedaily.com/

during today's slashdot news shutdown

Note to self:

[fredrated]

Slashdot is useless on April 1, Any Given Year.

Re:I would actually like to try that

[pollarda]

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.

like when the teacher is not in class...

[schlachter]

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.