h a l f b a k e r y"Bun is such a sad word, is it not?" -- Watt, "Waiting for Godot"
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The plane approaches the terminal gate nose-first and stops.
Passengers disembark from the front (first class section) to the
rear, as normal.
After the last passenger leaves, the flight crew does cleaning of
the passenger area; baggage handlers remove checked bags
from
the baggage compartment;
the plane is refueled, and so on --
but
all this happens while the entire plane is slowly rotated on a
giant
Lazy Susan platform (just after the gate-extension has moved
aside to not be in the way).
The gate-extension is then moved to connect to a rear hatch of
the plane, and boarding begins, with first-class passengers as
normal. They might have to walk a bit farther to reach their
seats, but they won't be in the way of the horde of passengers
following them, from low-numbered seats to high-numbered
seats.
Note some fuel is saved because the plane doesn't need to turn
around while leaving the terminal --it has already been turned
around by the giant Lazy Susan.
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Annotation:
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// some jet fuel is saved // |
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No, it isn't. Aircraft don't pushback from the stand using reverse thrust because of FOD. They're moved by special pushback trucks. |
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Go to an airport and watch how ground handling is done. Then come back and fix the idea. |
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[8th of 7], I'm aware of the existence of special pusher
trucks. I am not aware of EVERY jet ALWAYS getting pushed
back by such trucks. (not to mention that those trucks use
fuel, too, while the giant Lazy Susan can be electric --and
the source of the electricity can be solar, wind, hydro,
nuclear, ...) |
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Make the pushback truck a PHEV, and put photovoltaics on its large, flat upper surface. Now, that really would make sense. No gearbox needed, and electric traction can deliver huge torque. Mass doesn't matter, they need to be very heavy anyway to get the grip needed to shift a 200 tonne aircraft, so NiFe or lead-acid arrays are fine. |
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The main purpose of this Idea relates to getting the
passengers seated more quickly. Typically, with front-
hatch boarding, the aisle is full of people that are
blocking
other people from reaching their seats. When
disembarking, though, there is an orderly front-to-back
flow of passengers. Well for an orderly front-to-back
flow
while boarding, we need to have the passengers board
from the rear. The thing about fuel savings is minor,
compared to that. |
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[8th of 7], the pusher trucks wouldn't need to exist if
the giant Lazy Susans existed (which also would have
fewer parts to break down). |
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You haven't thought about the rate-limiting step of the process, have you ? |
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When disembarking, the cattle collect all their bits and pieces and then stand in the aisles, waiting for the door to open. Then they rush out to join the queue at Immigration. |
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On boarding, they find their seat and then have to stow their gear. This is what causes the delay. Doesn't matter whether they're herded on from the front or the back; the rate limiting step is how fast a passenger of average intelligence (if any) can stuff their possessions into the overhead lockers with one hand, while fighting off other passengers trying to do the same with the other hand. |
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Pushback truck fails; tow it, bring in another. Fix the broken one else where. |
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Lazy susan fails; bring in a pushback truck, then later take the stand out of service while the maintainers work on the turntable. |
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Also, this entire idea is only applicable if you share your plane with other people in some sort of commie-style collective arrangement. I can't see it catching on. |
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Don't worry, it's only for proles. |
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Just treat as an intellectual exercise. Don't let it bother you ... of course, all real people have their own fleet of aircraft. |
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I'd hardly call "one plus a spare" a fleet, [8th]. |
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Show a little compassion... Barack's not exactly free of commitments in other areas, it's all the U.S. can afford having squandered all those borrowed billions on providing free healthcare to wetbacks .... |
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Of course "two" isn't a "fleet", but leave him a few shreds of dignity. He's probably not a bad person ... misguided, yes. Incompetent, yes. A waste of oxygen, yes. But he meant well ... |
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Only a few more days, and sanity will return. |
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How about boarding from above? A belly-dump arrangement drops the incoming passengers and their hand luggage onto a conveyor belt and then closes; a similar mechanism above the plane then drops the departing passengers into their new seats. |
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