Pretty Pillion and I flew to Denver this last weekend on a 787; my first time on one. Our trip was like the movie 'Planes, trains and Automobiles' but I'll just talk about the aircraft.
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We flew out of Washington Dulles on a United bird. A blizzard was fast approaching and the snow had begun an hour earlier. We hoped to be off the ground before the high winds hit. By the time we got to our seats on the spacious 787, the winds were picking up. The windows were covered in snow and I knew we would be delayed for de-icing.
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The Captain came on the speaker and told was they had a maintenance issue in the cockpit and that technicians were researching the remedy. I sent a text to my three sons in Denver that we were going to visit. I told them the technicians were looking up "How to fix a Boeing 787" on YouTube. I thought it was funny as did they.
The Captain said the issue was fixed and that we would head to the de-ice pits in a few minutes. However, in a few minutes he said that issue had returned. Pretty Pillion was a tad concerned with the 'Issue' and the blizzard now fully upon us. I assured her that the plane won't take off if conditions are outside of its limits nor will we fly if this so called 'issue; is not resolved.
Now delayed an hour with the maintenance matter, we finally pull out and head to the pits. We had to sit on the tarmac for another 20 minutes awaiting our turn. Dulles has some pretty cool looking sprayers now. The operator sits on the tractor and an arm reaches up and sprays the pertinent areas. This took about 20 minutes to do on the big bird even with a sprayer on each side.
As we approach the runway, the Captain tells us the climb out is going to be a little rough but once we are at altitude it should smooth out nicely. Allow me a brief pause in the story to remind you that I was a Naval Aircrewman for 21 years. Rough has a well defined meaning in my mind regarding take-offs and landing on helicopters. This take-off takes the cake for all time 'rough' take-offs and climb outs. Pretty Pillion squeezed all the black juice out of the seat's arm rests. I thought for sure we were rolling down one of Maryland highways instead of flying.
Once we broke out of the clouds, the big bird did settled down. Babies were crying, as were the guys with man buns, I laughed to myself being outnumbered by them both. (Don't berate me, I have seen what babies can do to a grown man, YouTube has many videos of the tragic assaults...)
The rest of the flight was great. The 787 is a wonderfully nice aircraft inside. The toilets even seem to be big enough for two...
