Looking at the wings while flying
 

I had a recent trip where I got a window seat instead of my usual aisle. If I don't want to get up, I don't mind it for a flight of 2-3 hours. But my seat was adjacent to the wing, and I couldn't help observing in detail little scratches and imperfections and dings in it.

Obviously the plane proceeded without difficulty, but does it ever make you nervous to get too good a view of the wing?

Nope, I find it interesting actually.

I'm only nervous if the wing is in pieces and/or leaking fuel.

Or this:

http://ilovetheyeti.blogspot.com/201...e-gremlin.html

I am always amazed how flexible those things are, and how they bounce around during flight. I know it’s safe, and by design, but it still unnerves me sometimes!

If one believes in, or trusts, the technology, then looking at wings bouncing around is not scary at all.

I like a view of the wing in fog, or even better in cool, high humidity weather. You can see nice airflow effects.

Recently flew on a KLM 747 with a window seat right over the wing, damn did that thing wobble in the air!

Looking at the wings while flying
 

They're designed to withstand forces the plane should never encounter in flight. Check out this wing stress test of a 777. It should put anyone's mind at ease if there's any concern over some wobbling...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai2HmvAXcU0

FWIW wings can have around 1/4" in deviation without affecting their performance (In my undergraduate days I did study on the rivet height vs being flush). As for the wing movement as long as the deformation stays with in the elastic limit and does not get too many cycles there is nothing to worry about.

If you look at the design of some wings like that on the Dreamliner they have curl to them on the ground but flex a huge amount when in the air:

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/r...mb-476x237.jpg

BTW If you are concerned with material flex in the transportation world - worry about bridges. Something like 10% of the bridges in USA are structurally deficient.

I completely agree, and actually when I am walking across bridges, as I do sometimes, I have the same effect. As for the wings on the planes, clearly they can take a lot, so logically it never worries me, but some part of me would like them to look perfectly pristine.

I'd be a lot more worried if the wings didn't flex :)

Me too :)^

You're in a 700,000lb piece of metal drifting through the air. And you're scared of a scratch in the wing?

Also cool are the halos (known as a glory) you sometimes see. Not my picture, but something i've witnessed several times:

http://www.eaas.co.uk/images/atmosph...ne-rainbow.jpg