SparseFlyerette

I have said that Yoga sessions should be implemented.

Everyone stop stealing my ideas.

Sean Peever

If I am going to do Yoga in the aisle I would make sure to walk back to the PY or Y cabins so I don't bother the other people in J.

llcooljayce

Wait ... was this you?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-0...t-yoga/7292708

Dollars2Donuts

Ok, my hack is not the easiest to accomplish and frankly, it really should not be performed by mere amateurs.

1. Before boarding the flight, look at your BP.

2. At this point memorize the seat that is assigned to you. If you cannot remember this long and detailed seat # (which can be as many as three digits!!) then it is suitable to keep your boarding pass in your hand for easy reference.

3. Proceed to board the plane. You can say hi to the FA, or not, this is your choice. This may slow you down a bit, but it may get you slightly better treatment later in the flight, especially if you are cute.

4. Go to your fracking seat and sit in it. If you are in 12C, please try to resist all temptation (as much fun as this may be) to sit in 14D and then argue with the person that is actually assigned to that seat.

5. Enjoy all of the benefits of not being retarded.

Now, like I said, this is probably too much to ask and non-seasoned traveler for, but it is the best hack I know of.

D2D

canopus27

The background
I'm a window geek. I love watching the world scroll past the window when I fly; I look at the land, I look at the clouds, I admire the colours of the sunset, I watch for other planes ... I will almost always carefully select which side window seat I get, just so that I can avoid the "sun" side of the plane. I'm a window geek.

However, especially on ULH flights, I know there is always a mix of time zones aboard, and some people are invariably trying to sleep - and so I don't have my window shade open nearly as much as I'd like to. I'll certainly open the shade during take-off & landing, and sometimes I'll crack it open just to take a quick look mid-flight ... but my preference would be to have it open the entire flight, and out of respect for my fellow passengers I don't do that.

Anyway, last week I flew to/from HKG in J, and over the course of those flights I developed a pretty cool solution that I thought I'd share with the gang here.

The hack
The quick summary is that I setup my phone to display a video of the window view for the entire flight. The phone display let me see what was happening outside, but the blind was closed so no external light ended up flooding the cabin.

The details
The physical setup was key. I had a neck cushion with me, and I jammed that into the space below the window. The phone rested on top of that (in landscape orientation), and then I slid the blind down so that it overlapped the top of the phone by a fraction. This ended up being a pretty decent way of holding the phone in position, while also preventing any excess light from getting in. The phone itself blocked the majority of the width of the window (and so stopping light from coming in where the shade was open), but I put a couple of napkins around the edges and they blocked almost all of the remaining light.

Here's a picture of the setup (click to expand):


I had a USB cable with me, and so for power I plugged the phone into the USB port in the recessed area. To avoid having the screen saver shut the display off, I put the phone into video record mode and basically recorded the entire flight - the original purpose was just to watch the screen itself, I wasn't planning on using the recording ... but the video ended up being better than I expected (see below). To prevent the phone from running out of storage, I set the recording mode to "hyperlapse" (I have an Android phone, but I think iPhones can do the same); this has the benefit of keeping the screen on all the time, but the resulting video file is a very manageable size and didn't fill up the phone.

As I mentioned, the video itself ended up being pretty cool. In hyperlapse mode it records approx 2 mins video per hour, so the 16 hour flight was "only" 30 mins long. I have cut it down to some highlights ... if you'd like to see a 4 min summary of a 16 hour flight, you can see it here:

Next steps
I'm pretty pleased with how it worked out, but there are always potential improvements. The physical placement and mounting of the phone worked ... but it was not optimal. I'm now thinking about getting some sort of suction cup phone holder, and using that to stick the phone securely in place to the window.

If I also had a semi-rigid cover (perhaps cardboard, or maybe thin plastic), then I could cut a hole in it for the lens, but basically block the entire window using that. That should improve the light seal, and would also allow this hack to work on the 787 (which doesn't have blinds). I will also need to figure out how to mount that with / over / around the phone holder … more experimentation is required here.

The only other change I would make, would be to the recording setting. I discovered after the fact that the hyperlapse speed was set to "auto", which continuously varies the recording speed depending on how much movement the phone observes. This has both pros and cons, but the result is that the final video (which I wasn't originally even planning to keep) has a bit of a stutter ... it suddenly slows down when an interesting cloud appears, for example. I think the video would look more consistent if I forced the hyperlapse mode to a fixed speed (I'm thinking 16x) ... but more experimentation is required.

But overall, this did exactly what I wanted; it gave me a continuous window view, without disturbing the rest of the cabin.

margarita girl

OMG. Very cool. Excellent choice of audio too.

Thanks for sharing! ^

airbus320

@canopus27 : Well done ^

songsc

Thanks for sharing.

What I usually do is to sit on the side away from the sun and it is usually OK to keep the window open during the meal service. After that I go to the Lav near L2 or R2 if there is anything interesting to see.

My pet peeve is that during night time flights, the mood light on AC is too bright that it's hard to see many stars in the sky, let alone aurora. I was lucky enough to fly on KE once where the cabin was completely dark and the view near North Pole was stunning.

24left

@canopus27

OUTSTANDING!!!! Thanks os much for sharing.
Your video would be great for posting in this thread
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/air-c...photos-21.html

(not sure about cross-posting rules though)

JustSomeGuy1978

If your phone is a samsung phone there is an app that basically allows you to mirror and control your phone on your tablet, or laptop screen. It's called sidesync. I think it might be useful in your application. I.e. Set up the phone as you have but still have to ability to control your phone through your tablet/laptop.

wayner92

But that would require taking your phone off Airplane mode as you would need to use BT or Wifi to connect phone to tablet or laptop. You would never take your phone off Airplane mode, would you

Isn't it funny how keeping wifi on during a flight was a safety risk, at least until selling wifi service to flyers became a revenue stream.

canopus27

Cool, thanks. My biggest question is the mounting of the phone ... because I suspect that most mounts are not as flat as I'd like, so I worry that getting something that holds the phone firm & flat against the window will be a challenge.

JustSomeGuy1978

A roll of scotch tape, while appearing as an odd carry on item, might be your best tool. Keep It Simple principle.

24left

Great idea, just beware some tape products leave residue on the phone or window, particularly if there is any condensation. I've used the paper-type tape that a friend suggested. He picked it up at a medical/surgical supply store but I think it's available in well-supplied drug stores (Shopper/Pharmaprix, Jean Coutu, Rexall, etc.)

There is also a plastic version that does not leave residue.


@canopus27

I just caught this 1 minute video taken yesterday onboard a flight during the eclipse. Clearly some avgeeks in the group but there were a few interesting things people used.

Note the suction cup on the window on the Flight Deck. ^

(sooooo jealous)

tip: make sure to click to turn up the audio

https://twitter.com/AlaskaAir/status...038528/video/1

Diabeetus

Conceivably, there will be some AC flights that will be on the totality path in 2024. If so, and if we haven't all died because of the Orange God-Emperor's Nuclear Holocaust, then we should plan a Totality-on-board do.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_..._April_8,_2024