Thursday, December 14, 2017

The minnow and the whale


One of the more amusing aspects of flying is the discrepancy in size between many aircraft.  Here's a fun meetup on the runway:  a Bombardier Dash 8 commuter airliner (capacity usually about 35-75 depending on fuselage length, maximum takeoff weight up to 30-odd metric tons) takes off immediately ahead of an Airbus A340-600, at one time the longest commercial airliner in the world (capacity up to 375 [comparable to Boeing's biggest 777's or its 747], maximum takeoff weight up to 330 metric tons).  The contrast is eye-catching.





Like I said:  the minnow and the whale!




Peter

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another case, with a cheekier minnow

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXPUXOl0qQ0

Ben Yalow said...

It's a good thing they were in that order. If the Dash 8 had been following the A346, that runway delay would have been a lot longer, since they would need to wait for the wake vortices to clear.

Karl Gallagher said...

I was told this while I was in the Air Force . . .

An F-16 found itself going down the taxiway with a C-5 coming the other direction. The pilot radioed, "Tower, what are the intentions of the C-5?"

The C-5's front cargo hatch began to open. Over the radio came, "I'm going to eat you."

Nuke Road Warrior said...

Why am I reminded of the opening sequence of Star Wars Episode 4? Rebel courier vs. Imperial Star Destroyer.