FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Why do so few people look out the window of the plane?
Old Oct 5, 2011 | 3:56 am
  #51  
PaulNichols
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Bradford, UK
Programs: KLM Flying Blue Gold
Posts: 28
Originally Posted by dinoscool3
The design of the windows has to be special or the whole plane breaks up. The Comet (the first Jet passenger plane) had rectangular windows. After a number of accidents it was found that the rectangular windows caused cracks in the plane after extensive use, and the cracks would enlarge, hence the plane breaks up, in flight. That's why we see oval windows today. But I agree, windowless aircraft=count me out!
Yup I'm aware of all that (and the water tank tests that finally revealed what many hours of test flying didn't), but my general point was we're beyond that being a problem now. If not having windows in aircraft makes them safer then by default that makes every pressurised aircraft with windows flying today less safe; something absolutely no-one in the industry is ever going to claim. One thing it would do is make maintenance cheaper, as windows need to be checked which costs money (hence why we see so many 'eyebrow windows' on 737's get plugged).

I doubt it will ever happen to be honest. Apart from the fact I'm pretty sure the vast majority of passengers would kick up a major stink about it there are safety implications as well. At the moment (certainly in the UK) if the window blind on an aircraft has a problem and won't stay up then that row of seats has to be taken out of use as being able to see inside the aircraft in an emergency is a requirement. Not having windows would make seeing inside, well, a bit difficult!

Last edited by PaulNichols; Oct 5, 2011 at 4:52 am
PaulNichols is offline