Things Pilots Only Tell Other Pilots

Bright Side

Ever wonder what really goes on behind the scenes during a flight? Well, buckle up, because pilots are spilling the beans on some seriously juicy secrets you won't hear anywhere else! From hidden compartments to in-flight rituals, they're dishing out the details that'll make you see air travel in a whole new light. So, if you've ever been curious about the mysteries of the friendly skies, this video is your ticket to uncovering the truth! Get ready for a wild ride – you won't want to miss it!  Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV   Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me

Transcript

00:00 Now here's something scary. You're hanging in the air at an altitude of 30,000 feet.

00:06 Frightening? Okay, let me make it better.

00:08 The altitude is the same, but you're inside a large metal tube of an aircraft.

00:13 Your flight is a really long one.

00:15 And now, six cups of water later, you feel the urge to visit the bathroom.

00:21 But the line is so long.

00:23 Suddenly, a rather geeky thought bubbles up in your mind.

00:27 Each of these people is going to flush the toilet after using it.

00:30 But how can a plane carry so much water?

00:33 And where does all that waste go?

00:36 Surely it doesn't get dumped mid-flight upon pre-selected cities along the way

00:41 splattering all over the ground and...

00:43 Okay, that's enough.

00:45 One pilot has revealed a secret.

00:47 All the waste goes through special plumbing to the rear of the plane.

00:51 There, it's stored in sealed compartments.

00:54 When the plane arrives at its destination, the ground crew removes all that waste.

00:59 On a long-haul flight, toilets can be flushed more than a thousand times,

01:03 which creates up to 320 gallons of waste.

01:06 Now, about that water.

01:08 Have you ever seen a toilet bowl filled with water on a plane?

01:12 No. That's because on a plane, you use a vacuum toilet.

01:16 It's not your regular home toilet bowl filled with water.

01:19 When you flush this good old toilet, a siphon drains the bowl,

01:23 and gravity then carries the water further into the sewer system.

01:27 But this approach won't work on an aircraft because it's moving.

01:31 The water would splash out through the whole flight,

01:34 especially when the plane is flying through a region of turbulence.

01:37 But if there's no water, you can't use gravity or siphon to empty the toilet bowl.

01:42 Instead, when you flush, a valve opens in the sewer line,

01:46 and the vacuum pulls the waste out of the bowl into a special tank.

01:50 And since the vacuum does all the work, there's almost no need for water,

01:54 or rather bright blue sanitizing liquid they use in planes.

01:58 That's why such a system needs just half a gallon of fluid, or even less, for one flush.

02:03 In comparison, a water-saving toilet uses 1.6 gallons,

02:07 and a regular toilet needs 5 gallons of liquid.

02:11 Okay, we've figured out how planes deal with all that waste accumulating during the flight.

02:16 But let's imagine another situation – a cracked cockpit windshield.

02:21 The thing is, such a windshield consists of two panes of thick glass

02:25 with a plastic layer for heating in between.

02:28 Either of these panes can hold the full pressure if something happens to the other.

02:32 So even if a windshield cracks, the airplane remains safe.

02:37 This happens very infrequently, but when it does,

02:40 pilots usually descend to reduce the pressure on the windshield,

02:43 and if necessary, change their itinerary.

02:46 Okay, now let's speak about what we can do if there's a dangerous snake in the cockpit.

02:51 Now, you might say I'm making this up, or I saw it in that Samuel L. Jackson movie,

02:56 but it was a real situation.

02:59 A South African pilot had flown a small plane with four passengers to an altitude of 11,000 feet

03:06 when he noticed something that was, shall we say, by no means supposed to be inside –

03:11 a cobra slithering under his seat.

03:14 For a second, he was just staring at the reptile.

03:17 Then, not wanting to cause panic, the pilot very calmly told his companions about the unticketed stowaway.

03:24 The plane had to make an emergency landing.

03:29 In this case, the pilot decided to be honest with his passengers.

03:33 But sometimes, pilots choose to replace the words that make certain people nervous,

03:38 like turbulence, with other, much more innocent expressions.

03:42 And if you want to be in the know, pay attention to the following signs.

03:46 If a pilot tells the cabin crew to sit down, a patch of bumpy road is ahead.

03:51 Another expression you should be on the lookout for is "we're flying through an air pocket."

03:56 This air pocket is just another word for the winds jostling your plane from different directions.

04:02 But here's the thing – the term "air pocket" causes way less panic than turbulence.

04:07 And there's also the "area of weather."

04:10 This phrase usually means heavy rain or a thunderstorm not far from a flying plane.

04:15 So, don't be surprised if your captain says, "There's an area of weather ahead. We're going to fly around it."

04:21 Oh, and since we started on the mysterious language pilots use, here are some more examples.

04:27 You can overhear a pilot saying, "George is flying the plane."

04:30 And no, they don't mean their colleague. That's how the plane's autopilot system is called.

04:35 George is programmed to follow a certain route, taking into consideration the weather conditions, turbulence and altitude.

04:42 Pilots normally use the autopilot after reaching cruising altitude or after flying for more than 10 hours.

04:49 That's when they're expected to rest.

04:51 Sometimes you may overhear that there's a pilot in the jump seat.

04:55 It's not a rare occasion when an off-duty pilot or other flight personnel takes a jump seat when flying back to their home base.

05:03 Federal Aviation Administration inspectors can also travel in fold-up seats.

05:08 Some airlines may even offer jump seats to pilots working for other companies.

05:13 Also, if you were wondering, there's no connection between the jump seat and actually jumping out of the plane itself.

05:20 Now, if your first flight has arrived late and you're in a mad rush to catch a connecting flight, you're called a "runner."

05:27 You might overhear crew members or ground staff saying, "Runners are on the way."

05:32 It means you're waiting for some transfer passengers.

05:35 Unfortunately, if a flight has a strict departure time, it may leave without runners.

05:41 Now, if you hear a pilot saying, "Pan, pan," it's not a great sign.

05:45 Trouble is on the way.

05:47 Pilots use this term in their communication with air traffic controllers.

05:51 This is the signal which means that something has gone wrong with the flight and the cockpit crew needs immediate attention.

05:58 If other pilots, who are using the same radio frequency, hear this signal, they stop all their communication and let the pan-pan pilot get their message through.

06:07 "Tree, five, niner" – nah, it's not some mega-secret code.

06:12 It's the way pilots pronounce certain numbers in their pilot English.

06:16 "Tree" stands for three, "five" for five, and "niner" is used instead of nine.

06:22 Such pronunciation helps to avoid radio miscommunications and the confusion caused by similar-sounding numbers.

06:29 Uh, we're just finishing some paperwork.

06:31 If you hear the captain saying this phrase, it doesn't mean you're in for a delay.

06:36 Finishing paperwork usually means revisiting the flight itinerary, checking the plane's weight and balance, or even waiting for the ground staff to prepare the flight's logbook.

06:46 The "final approach" means a bit different things for pilots and flight attendants.

06:51 The cabin crew speaks of the "final approach" when the plane is nearing the final part of the descent.

06:57 For pilots, the "final approach" means that the plane is already aligned with the runway and they don't need to maneuver or make additional turns.

07:05 If a pilot refers to a "ferry flight" – F-E-R-R-Y – they speak about a situation when an empty plane with no passengers or cargo on board gets flown from one place to another.

07:17 For the cabin crew, it's the time when they can relax.

07:21 Ferry flights may happen when there's a technical problem with an airliner, and pilots need to bring it back to its home base.

07:28 But even if the flight is full, the crew still has an opportunity to rest.

07:33 Some Boeing jets have a place where crew members can relax during their shift.

07:38 The door to this safe haven looks like any other covered door.

07:42 Once you open it, you'll see a narrow staircase leading to a small room with two beds separated by curtains.

07:48 There's also some place for staff to hang their uniforms.

07:52 By the way, some pilots say they don't like it when people clap when the plane lands.

07:57 They say they aren't doing anything special since it's just their job.

08:01 "You don't clap for the mail carrier when they deliver your mail, do you?"

08:05 That's a rhetorical question one of them asks.

08:08 You're also not supposed to tip your pilots, even if you really want to, because it's weird, as some of them admit.

08:15 The whole tipping aspect is new in the flying industry.

08:18 And while tipping flight attendants is becoming more common, who would've thought?

08:22 Giving money to pilots is kind of frowned upon.

08:25 That's it for today!

08:32 So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

08:37 Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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