Entries this day: Accents Takeoff Video_Toilet

Accents

12:47 am 13 February 2001

We were supposed to start boarding 30 minutes ago, but have not yet. Well, actually they just now started, 30 minutes late. I imagine we will still barely get out kinda on time. Supposed to leave at 11:15pm local time. (It's 10:47 local time now)

1:00 am (11pm LA) (6pm Mel) (5 more hours be awake)

We are on the plane. And let me tell you, that I cannot possibly tell you how -*!CUTE!*- was the Aussie accent of one of the flight attendants. And I say "one" of the attendants because I haven't heard any of the others speak. Her accent was SO Awesome!!!!

So, for the record, we are on a Boeing 747-400, in seat 68A and 68C, and hoping we will not have a passenger in 68B. ;-)

There are 3 seats on the left side, then 4 seats in the middle, and 3 seats on the right side. I must say it's not as big as when Fred and I went to Australia with our parents in 1986. I remember it to be 4 seats, then 5 seats, then 4 seats again. And we sat in the middle section; I know that for sure.

There are a lot of young passengers on the airplane. Maybe 15 percent seem to be high school youth age and just traveling without parental units. Maybe 15% is not a big deal. Whatever.

1:12 am

They are on the intercom, "Passenger Say, Es Ay Why, please make yourself known to the flight crew."

1:14 am

They are still looking for passenger Say. We were scheduled to be taking off right about now.

Takeoff

13 February 2001

 6:32 pm Melbourne
11:32 pm Los Angeles
 1:32 am Houston
7935  miles to go
12771 kilometers to go

On the 747 watching huge blast from the engien. From this seat I can see the back of the outer left engine and the water on the ground being blown hard backward.

We are taxiing around the airport. I have Wende's watch so I can fill in the time needed to accelerate to takeoff. I wonder what airspeed that is.

They have given us headphones and socks and eyemask and pillow and blanket.

Chillin beside sign [[Q1] <- Q -> ] at 1:43am CST. We're 30 minutes late taking off.

11:46 pm PST

Moving now from Q1 sign.

11:48 pm PST

We are stopped again.

11:51 pm

Still stopped.

Wow suddenly I'm crazy tired.

11:52 pm

Engines winding up we are moving. Taxiing [T 25R-7L]

We are en queue for takeoff but still need to turn around.

11:54 pm

huge aleron on wing. Extended way back. Barely taxiing about to turn around I think. Since we got on 25 R-7L runway 2 planes have taken off before us. One just now (737) and one 747 and another 737. Three total.

11:58 pm

I just heard a tone and the captain said gently, "sit down!" A 747 is rolling beside us and bang they go. We are rumbling behind and beside them and now turning around on U7L. I can see 4 planes in queue behind us.

We are 90 degrees, 135, 170, 180 degrees turned.

12:00am local time 7pm in Melbourne.

We are just about to GO!

I have Wende's second hand on her watch.

:45 rev up
:53 when he really kicked the engines
:45 takeoff = 52 seconds acceleration

Approx 1 minute in air 472 meters high = 2885 feet at 247 mph

1:55 911 meters at 392 km/h

time   altitude

2:20   3650 ft          4
       218              47
       1188 m           4810
       1200
2:35   1213 meters

5 min in air 316 mph 3 7022 feet -5 deg C outside.

6:15 min in air
349 mph = 564 kph
8516 ft = 2700 m
14 F

7:       102   3170m  14:54 hours left to go

8 min 418  7xx  3555m  -11 C

433mph ground
14294 ft = 4385 m
10 F = -18 C
8 minutes 
19 miles

10 min
437 mph
17403 feet
5340 m
-9 F = -23 C

Wende's water bottle lid just leaped from the bottle when she opened it. whoosh! Pressure!

12 min
40 miles = 66 km
21000 ft = 6400 m
-25 F = -32 C

519 mph
22000 t = 6705 m
-31 F = -35 C

553 mph = 892 kph
24500 ft = 7467 m
-40 F = -40 C
16 min
116 km out

574 mph = 924 kph
25500 ft = 7924 m
-47 F = -44 C

579 mph 
7494 met
-45 C

600 mph = 966 kmph 
27500 ft = 8382 m
-54 F = -48 C
19 min
105 miles out

This video display is SO AWESOME!! Shakey Shakey

mil/h                 km/h
573       30500 ft    918    9296 m  -48 C

31000 ft
-54 F = -49 C
23 min
141 miles out

555mph = 894
31000 ft
-52 F
-47 C
27 min
174 miles out

Cruising altitude now - same altitude as from Houston to LA

Video Toilet

2:33 am CST 7:33pm Tuesay Mel

I have totally thrilled at the dynamic readout on the movie screen telling our speed!

It displays various measurements for barely long enough for me to type them.

groundspeed 901 km/h 
alt 310000 ft = 9448 m
temp -50 degrees Fahrenhieght = -46 degrees celcius
23 minutes flight time 
357 miles out.

To the best of my ability I wrote a lot of such measurements in my diary, which will be transcribed to the previous entry.

groundspeed 905 km/h  
altitude 948 m  
-49 F = -45 C

2:36 am

now they are showing a video thing, but I can't hear the audio in my headphones - just rockin' elevator music.

I'm now going to switch my Visor to Melbourne time as the default.

7:41 pm Tuesday 13 February 2001 (melbourne time)

Now I have audio in my headphones that would match the video if one were playing.

8:37 pm Tuesday 13 February 2001

It appears the two movies that we will be able to view are not two movies that really interest me.

I've been watching their MTV-News-ish programming with sports, fashion, Australia each represented. I'm getting pretty tired.

Only 2.25 more hours to go until sleep time!

9:11 pm MEL

Oh my god this was so funny!!!

I went to the bathroom (not funny), peed (not funny), and noticed the hole in the bottom of the toilet was relatively small (hmm, that's funny..)

I flushed it (not funny), and then WHOOOOOOOSHHH!!!!! it sucked air down the hole so fast!!

Oh my gosh!

I flushed it again.

WHOOOOOOSSHHHH!!!!

Wow!!!

I yanked a length of about 8 squares of toilet paper off the roll, dangled them above the hole.

WHHOOOOOOOOSHSH FFFFFPP!

It sucked the paper down shoop!

I unhooked the roll from the wall, and dangled the end of it over the toilet, hoping to get a Calvin and Hobbes toilet paper unrolling.

WHOOOOOOSSHHHH!! fwip!

It yanked the paper off the roll, and the roll did not spin at all. Oh well.

On more 8 or 10 square length dangled over the toilet

WHOOOOOOOSSHHHH!!!! fwwwwpp!!

Hahahha!! So Hilarious!!!

Just as I left, one of the stewards was walking with purpose toward the restroom. Do they have a Frequent Flushing Indicator?

9:20 pm (4:20am CST)

That was enough entertainment for 1 night for me. Especially since the movie is Meet The Parents, which I did not really like in the theaters. I'm going to go to sleep.