h a l f b a k e r y
Veni, vidi, teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikini.
idea:
add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, best, random
meta:
news, help, about, links, report a problem
account:
Browse anonymously,
or get an account
and write.
Login
Create account.
|
|
|
Please log in.
If you're not logged in,
you can see what this page
looks like, but you will
not be able to add anything.
While I was watching the stewardess ask each passenger what they wanted to drink last night and then stop to pop open a can based on their choice it occurred to me that it would be much faster if the cart had cannisters in it so drinks could be filled similar to the way they are at fast food restaurants.
The cannisters would have to be smaller of course but that doesn't seem like it would be a huge obstacle.
Jay Jay the Jet Plane
http://pbskids.org/jayjay/
a safe and cuddly plane for [notmarkflynn] [ato_de, Feb 07 2006]
Annotation:
|
| |
I knew all those high school years in the food service industry would come in handy. Besides the actual soda dispenser you see in a fast food joint, there are bags of flavored syrup in back, along with a hose hooked up to a water supply (one of the great mysteries of food service is how the bubbles get in the soda). Your cart would have to carry a large tank of water, various syrups, and a mysterious bubble making machine around, and where would it get the electricity to pump everything to the dispenser? |
|
| |
A rechargable battery built into the bottom of the cart would take care of the electricity. When I worked at McDonalds pressurized tanks contained everything you need to get a Coke from the spigot. |
|
| |
Actually when I did volunteer work, the local Pepsi franchise donated the beverages. They had a manual fountain machine that sat in a standard sized picnic cooler. The syrup and water sat in the cooler while a small portable CO² tank sat beside it and was connected to the machine. The drinks were manually pumped into the cups. You could probably make a smaller version of that with multiple spouts. |
|
| |
Would the CO2 bottle be a problem? Safety-wise, I mean. |
|
| |
Think that's why they haven't dispensers on board now? |
|
| |
The CO² tank was similar to the tanks that they use for portable propane or portable oxygen and it was surrounded by a thick plastic frame. I dont know if it can be any safer than that. |
|
| |
How well do those CO2 tanks handle rapid decompression? i'm sure it wouldn't help the situation if the window broke, all the air rushed out of the cabin and the drink carts exploded |
|
| |
The carts exploding during rapid decompression would be the least of your worries if your a window broke at the typical crusing attitude. Assuming you could get your oxygen mask on in the 20-30 seconds you'd have to do it before blacking out, the temperate would quickly drop below -47C, freezing you. |
|
| |
Why does it always seem like planes kill everyone who boards? |
|
| |
I'd really like someone to tell me a story about how planes are safe and cuddly. |
|
| |
Ah, but the act of waiting for your drink is part of the experience of riding on a sky bus. |
|
| |
Seriously. The main reason they serve you drinks on board is to keep you busy and not thinking about the negative aspects of the flight. People sitting there watching a drink cart slowly approach are less focused on the loud noises, the crowded conditions, the weird lighting, all that nonsense. |
|
| |
Drink/snack service is designed to take up as much of the flight time as possible. |
|
| |
A story about safe and cuddly airplanes:
I once took a trip from Seattle to New York. The seats were thickly padded and trimmed in leather. It was very cozy. Shortly after takeoff, I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was in New York. We taxi'd to the gate. I got off, collected my luggage, and went on to have a nice vacation. |
|
| |
Boring, wasn't it? That's why you don't hear stories about all the planes that don't blow up. |
|
| |
The canister system would be heavier than the cans that it would replace. Any cost savings achieved by moving to a bulk system would be offset by the extra cost of carrying the extra weight.
Airlines these days are operating with razor-thin profit margins, and weight cuts of even a couple pounds here and there are considered significant. An extra thirty or so pounds per service cart just to get the drinks to a passenger a few minutes faster is almost a non-option. |
|
| |
There's the issue of maintenance. These things have to be cleaned regularly. Extra cost.
There's the issue of tuning. The CO2 content needs to be adjusted for local pressure, so you don't get too much or too little fizz. Since cabin pressure changes, this is not feasible.
There's the issue of certification. Any pressurized vessel must be certified for aircraft use. This adds even more cost to the system. Reduced cabin pressure doesn't produce any significant increase in rupture risk, but if a tank did rupture, the damage could be catastrophic. |
|
| |
Sure, getting my beverage a minute sooner would be nice, but it's not worth all the potential problems. |
|
| |
Tell me another one [Freefall,] I'm not sleepy yet... |
|
| |
There once was a man from Nantucket... |
|
| |
Another negative aspect is that post mix syrup drinks taste like bumchutney. |
|
| |
Next time you're sitting in your seat waiting for the drink cart to go by so you can get up to go to the bathroom that extra minute might seem mighty handy. |
|
| |
Instead of bothering to put the drink supply on-board, why not leave the big machines in the galley and have a small curly hose attached to the drink cart and give the stewardess a bartender's gun? |
|
| |