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"Pilots get 10 times more air than passengers"

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from the Boeing website:

Myth: Pilots turn off air conditioning packs to save fuel.
Fact: While the flight deck does have the capability to shut down an air conditioning pack in the event of a malfunction or abnormality, this is not intended for fuel-saving purposes. In fact, on many Boeing airplanes, when one pack is shut down the remaining air conditioning system automatically goes into a high-flow mode to compensate for much of the capacity of the unit that is turned off. Of course, that means that more air is being taken from the engine compressors by the portion of the system still operating, so there is little to be gained from a fuel-efficiency standpoint. Some early 747s (not 747-400s) do have an economy setting that can be used to save fuel through reduced air flow. This is intended for use at operator discretion when passenger loads are light. However, that feature is no longer offered and, in any case, Boeing recommends all packs be operated at the normal standard setting whenever passengers are on board.


Basically she found out that the dinosaur of a 747 that she used to get reamed up her poop-chute on back in the glory days had the ability to shut down one of three packs... so now there must certainly be a switch aboard every other jet that allows the pilots to inhale rich, oxygenated, filtered pine-tree air freshened giddy gas, while her and the self-loading cargo in the back pick the SARS out of their teeth and suck on the farts of their neighbors.. Who let this B*tch out of the kitchen?
 
WOW, this is more than I ever wanted to know about the air in my cabin or how the system works. Thank god those 747's are now flying boxes who dont seem to mind if one of the three packs are off.

'Kindly ask a stewardess to ask the pilot for "full utilization of air.'" Then they'll know you know the airline terms and the pilot can flip a switch."

Yeah, I'll get right on it...tell me if you feel any better ok honey.

This is like the kid with a casio altimeter watch who wants to go to the FAA cause we were only at 8000 feet the whole trip. A little knowledge is a very dangerous thing.
 
She's not a moron in the sense that she's dumb. She knows how to get women riled up and in a tizzy- crying, weeping, going stark-raving mad...

She is like the Oprah of the skies. Preying on dumb women everywhere...

Which is pretty much like everywhere like Such As...
 
emailed to her this morning:

Ms. Fairechild, I feel that I can speak for the aviation community as a whole when I say that you are an uninformed blithering moron. You obviously have no idea what is going on within the hull of an aircraft, and your stupidity has now infected the general public with this mockery of an article. Spouting off tripe such as this, without so much as a glance at any research materials, makes hard-working pilots look like utter buffoons and brings their already tarnished reputation even lower.
I will not dispute that reduced oxygen levels will create some physical impairments. In fact, this is the ONLY line of text in your article that is even remotely factual. What you are completely clueless to, however, is the fact that the pilots and the cabin crew are breathing the exact same air with the exact same oxygen concentration as everyone else. See, this is how the environmental system works in a pressurized aircraft. Fresh air, from the outside world, is brought into the aircraft, usually through the engine intakes. This air, which is extremely thin and cold at high altitudes, is compressed for use by the engine in order to generate the thrust needed to keep the aircraft aloft. There will be an excess of this compressed air, and since all of it will not be needed for the combustion process the extra is siphoned off to be used in other applications such as cabin pressurization. This high pressure air is then routed to the air conditioning packs which filter it and regulate the temperature to a comfortable human level. The air then gets ducted under pressure into the cabin of the aircraft, and through controlling the rates of inflow and outflow the cabin pressure is maintained. There is no recirculating of air because there is ALWAYS air coming in from the outside world and there is ALWAYS air going out. If no air came out, the plane would literally pop like a balloon. If one of the packs were turned off, there would not be enough airflow in the cabin to maintain pressure and you will suddenly find that breathing and staying warm have just become considerably more difficult.
As for those oxygen bottles you mention, there is one caveat that you did not address with regard to them. The bottles are for EMERGENCY USE ONLY! If a fire breaks out in the cabin, whoever is fighting that fire is going to need something to breathe to prevent smoke inhalation. If the cabin pressure is lost, whoever is piloting the aircraft will need something to breathe to prevent passing out at the controls.
I would sincerely hope that you stop blatantly trying to misinform and terrify the flying public, but I know you would never do so. Invoking fear, spreading farcical rumors, and villifying pilots are bread and butter to a person such as yourself. All I can say is that, as a professional aviator, if I am ever cursed with being in the same aircraft as you, I will kindly but gently ask you to get out and walk.
 

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