Lockdown Distractions

[Kip Powick]

Aww yes, but it had a supercharger...I flew DC3s that had a supercharger and we went really high at times

The probem with the 172 was not getting to altitude, but the fact that it only had very limited 02 for the crew.... 

Trust me.....I know airplanes.....

[Malcolm]

14 hours ago, Kip Powick said:

Aww yes, but it had a supercharger...I flew DC3s that had a supercharger and we went really high at times

The probem with the 172 was not getting to altitude, but the fact that it only had very limited 02 for the crew.... 

Trust me.....I know airplanes.....

do you have a goto to the article showing the picture and of course info re the particular cessna? Might be interesting reading

[Malcolm]

1 hour ago, Malcolm said:

do you have a goto to the article showing the picture and of course info re the particular cessna? Might be interesting reading

I blew up the photo and it seems that the registration is N1122F which belongs to a nonturbo 172 and the paint job seems to match. However ...... 

N1122F Aircraft Registration

Aircraft Summary

Summary

1966 CESSNA 172G
Fixed wing single engine
(4 seats / 1 engine)

Owner

DOLLOSSO FRANK G
LAKEPORT , CA, US
(Individual)

Airworthiness Class

Standard/Normal

Serial Number

17254717

Engine

CONT MOTOR 0-300 SER (Reciprocating)
Horsepower: 145

Weight

Less than 12,500lbs

Speed

105mph

Mode S Code

050033105 / A03645

Registration Details

Status

Assigned

Certificate Issue Date

2022-01-18

Airworthiness Date

1966-06-15

Last Action Date

2022-01-18

Expiration

2025-01-31

Registry Source

FAA

[Kip Powick]

Well, as you know, not everything yoiu read on the Internet is true, (quote by Abraham Lincoln), so I will give you a bit of now "unclassified"info.....

There is no public information about the two C172s that were converted through The Agency  back in  1986 as all upgrades were done in Area 51. The cost of using the U2 was becoming extremely expensive so these aircraft, (one other built in France), were put in three locations where NORAD and The Agency wanted  continuous intelligence.

One was stationed at  Wake Island for Asian operations, and  one was located in Aruba for Caribbean and South America operations.

Two of the modified aircraft were  rebuilt to Cessna specs after the "cold war" and sold to private individuals. One was destroyed while attempting to land, in adverse weather conditions, on the USS Kitty Hawk , (carrier), about 400nm miles west of Wake island.

The one in the photo was operating out of France, covering Europe,  and was returning to the manufacturing plant in Reims France , and had a dual seat Dassault Mirage F1 as an escort. The back seater took the photo. Apparently the Cessna had a plugged urination tube.

 

[Seeker]

6 hours ago, Kip Powick said:

Well, as you know, not everything yoiu read on the Internet is true, (quote by Abraham Lincoln), so I will give you a bit of now "unclassified"info.....

There is no public information about the two C172s that were converted through The Agency  back in  1986 as all upgrades were done in Area 51. The cost of using the U2 was becoming extremely expensive so these aircraft, (one other built in France), were put in three locations where NORAD and The Agency wanted  continuous intelligence.

One was stationed at  Wake Island for Asian operations, and  one was located in Aruba for Caribbean and South America operations.

Two of the modified aircraft were  rebuilt to Cessna specs after the "cold war" and sold to private individuals. One was destroyed while attempting to land, in adverse weather conditions, on the USS Kitty Hawk , (carrier), about 400nm miles west of Wake island.

The one in the photo was operating out of France, covering Europe,  and was returning to the manufacturing plant in Reims France , and had a dual seat Dassault Mirage F1 as an escort. The back seater took the photo. Apparently the Cessna had a plugged urination tube.

 

Very interesting story Kip, thanks for posting it.

A little known historical footnote is the story of Jimmy (nickname "Flash") Gibbons.  He worked in the Advanced Materials lab at Area 51.  Shortly after leaving there he set a landspeed record at Bonneville on a 1960 Vespa. 

The record was subsequently denied when the post-run tech inspection revealed a small football-shaped device that emitted a green glow powering the scooter rather than a 50cc 2-stroke.  All mention of the scooter, and Flash, have removed from the public record.

 

[Malcolm]

2 hours ago, Kip Powick said:

Well, as you know, not everything yoiu read on the Internet is true, (quote by Abraham Lincoln), so I will give you a bit of now "unclassified"info.....

There is no public information about the two C172s that were converted through The Agency  back in  1986 as all upgrades were done in Area 51. The cost of using the U2 was becoming extremely expensive so these aircraft, (one other built in France), were put in three locations where NORAD and The Agency wanted  continuous intelligence.

One was stationed at  Wake Island for Asian operations, and  one was located in Aruba for Caribbean and South America operations.

Two of the modified aircraft were  rebuilt to Cessna specs after the "cold war" and sold to private individuals. One was destroyed while attempting to land, in adverse weather conditions, on the USS Kitty Hawk , (carrier), about 400nm miles west of Wake island.

The one in the photo was operating out of France, covering Europe,  and was returning to the manufacturing plant in Reims France , and had a dual seat Dassault Mirage F1 as an escort. The back seater took the photo. Apparently the Cessna had a plugged urination tube.

 

Interesting story.  

[Kip Powick]

5 hours ago, Seeker said:

Very interesting story Kip, thanks for posting it.

A little known historical footnote is the story of Jimmy (nickname "Flash") Gibbons.  He worked in the Advanced Materials lab at Area 51.  Shortly after leaving there he set a landspeed record at Bonneville on a 1960 Vespa. 

The record was subsequently denied when the post-run tech inspection revealed a small football-shaped device that emitted a green glow powering the scooter rather than a 50cc 2-stroke.  All mention of the scooter, and Flash, have removed from the public record.

 

[st27]

Remember these?? 
 

https://www.slashgear.com/1452344/gmc-massive-twin-six-engine/

There was a transport co,. In Eastern Ontario that had a large fleet of GMC cab overs with these engines…….Anybody remember Taggart Transport from Perth?

I believe the owner of the co. also owned a Citation he leased to Bradley’s (rumour).

https://www.google.com/search?q=taggart+transport+perth+

[Malcolm]

Are any of Northrop's "flying wings" from the 1940s still around? | Air & Space Magazine| Smithsonian Magazine

Are any of Northrop’s “flying wings” from the 1940s still around?

What ever happened to the YB-49 and the XB-35?

Rebecca Maksel

August 15, 2011

---

A Northrop YB-49 in flight over desert, probably in the vicinity of Muroc, California. NASM SI-97-15291~Am

John Canady, of Festus, Missouri, asks us: “Does there exist anywhere any pieces or artifacts of the Northrop flying wings YB-49 or XB-35?”

 

Unfortunately, the short answer is “no.” The U.S. Air Force reports that all of the XB-35s and the YB-49s were scrapped by 1953; Northrop’s beautiful flying wings today exist only in reports and photographs. So we headed over to the National Air and Space Museum’s archive to take a look at the technical files on the XB-35 (Northrop’s original, piston engine version) and the YB-49 (the turbojet version). The files contain a plethora of information, including wartime reports of spin-tunnel tests of scale models, case histories, various contemporary newspaper accounts, test pilot interviews, an accident investigation report, and analysis of long-range test flights.

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One of my favorite items in the files is this press release about the YB-49, from Northrop, dated February 9, 1947: “Designed to knife through the air before the push of eight giant engines, developing a total of 32,000 horsepower under best conditions, the monster new ‘bat bombers’ are the latest refinement of a new ‘family’ of aircraft in which Northrop Aircraft, Inc., is noted for world pioneering.”

The XB-35’s “Brief Narrative History” notes, “The maiden flight of the first XB-35 was made on 25 June 1946, covering the distance from Northrop field at Hawthorne to Muroc Lake. Cost of the one aircraft had been about $14,300,000 to this time. After 11 September, the aircraft was grounded because of the difficulties involving the gear box and propeller control; the aircraft had by then completed three tests for three hours and four minutes of flight testing.” (In our 1997 article about the flying wing, “The Edwards Diaries,” author Daniel Ford writes that the -35s “would manage to fly for a total of 36 hours, for an amortized cost of $1.8 million per hour.”)

The YB-49 wasn’t easy to handle. A case history summary put together by the U.S. Air Force reveals that “flight test personnel stated that the B-49 was ‘extremely unstable and very difficult to fly on a bombing mission,’ that the pilot had to be constantly on the controls, and that ‘even then it was impossible to hold a steady course or a constant air speed and altitude.’… [I]t was generally agreed that, in its current configuration, the plane was unsuitable for either bomber or reconnaissance work.”

“By June 1948 the usefulness of the flying wing as a bomber appeared to have been thoroughly disproven,” the narrative history continues, “and the Air Force and Northrop entered into a letter contract looking toward the construction of a reconnaissance version of the YB-49. It was under this contract, the formal version of which was approved on 16 September 1948, that the flying wing program with Northrop finally ended….”

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By 1949 there was a series of complex agreements: the two XB-35s were to be scrapped; the first two YB-35s were also to be scrapped; the one remaining YB-49 was to continue in flight test; four YB-35s and three YB-35As were to be equipped with six J35-A-19 engines each, and converted to YB-35Bs for flight test; one YB-35A was to be converted into a prototype of the RB-49A and designated the YRB-49A; and one YB-35A was to be equipped with six jet engines and fitted to act as a T-37 “turbodyne” test bed. The case history concludes, “[By 1950,] the only full-scale flying wing aircraft [then] remaining in existence was the YB-35A which was being modified to the jet reconnaissance configuration and designated the YRB-49A. This aircraft was tested under contract ac-2172 until it was authorized for reclamation in November 1953.”

The Museum’s technical files also include an oral history of Brigadier General Robert L. Cardenas, who was a test pilot on the YB-49. We’ll leave you with this tidbit from his undated (but post-1973) oral history:

“[Dan] Forbes and I were the military test pilots on the YB-49 along with Max Stanley of Northrop. There were two aircraft, one instrumented for performance, the other for stability and control. Danny Forbes flew left seat on some performance flights (every third flight). We didn’t wear parachutes because the canopy could not be jettisoned and there was no seat ejection. To bail out, you had to rotate the seat, jack it down four feet, walk back to the hatch, put on the parachute there, and drop out.”

 

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[deicer]

On 11/26/2023 at 11:23 AM, Malcolm said:

do you have a goto to the article showing the picture and of course info re the particular cessna? Might be interesting reading

Here's an update with the whole story...

 

[Kip Powick]

Yes, the Altima flew out and back into Arkansas  and was recently captured during a high speed pursuit. 

Apparently the driver had heard about the new B777s and wanted to try a hig speed pass on  an Air Canada aircraft but reportedly stated, to the arresting officer, that he couldn't get the old Nisssan up to Vr.

 

 

[Kip Powick]

A Change of Pace...

This is an amazing documentary  about the Air New Zealand crash on Mount  Erebus . Well worth the watch  of 38 minutes......

 

 

 

[Malcolm]

Steel_Eagles from facebook

The Vought V-173 "Flying Pancake" was an American experimental test aircraft built as part of the Vought XF5U program during World War II.

Both the V-173 and the XF5U featured an unorthodox "all-wing" design consisting of a flat, somewhat disk-shaped body (like a pancake flying, hence the nickname) serving as the lifting surface.^[1] Two piston engines buried in the body drove propellers located on the leading edge, at the wingtips.^[2]

In the 1930s, Charles H. Zimmerman was a noted aeronautical engineer who advocated the concept of "discoidal" aircraft, the so-called "Zimmer Skimmer" and worked on a variety of projects on his own and with the Vought company. After testing using scale models, including a remotely controlled, electrically powered large-scale model, designated the Vought V-162, the US Navy approached Zimmerman and offered to fund further development. Data and concept documentation was given to the Navy in 1939, with wind tunnel tests on full-scale models being completed in 1940-1941.

The original prototype, designated the V-173 (Flying Pancake), was built of wood and canvas and featured a conventional, fully symmetrical aerofoil section (NACA 0015). Designed as a "proof-of-concept" prototype, the initial configuration V-173 was built as a lightweight test model powered by two 80 hp (60 kW) Continental A-80 engines turning F4U Corsair propellers. These were replaced by a pair of specially modified 16 ft 6 in three-bladed units. A tall, fixed main undercarriage combined with a small tailwheel gave the aircraft a 22° "nose-high" angle.

The first flight of the V-173 was on 23 November 1942 with Vought Chief Test Pilot Boone Guyton at the controls. The aircraft's most significant problem concerned its complicated gearbox that routed power from the engines to its two long propeller shafts. The gearbox produced unacceptable amounts of vibration in ground testing, delaying the aircraft's first test flight for months. This contributed to the aircraft feeling much too heavy when maneuvering for its light weight. In addition to this on the first few flights, the pilot was never able to achieve enough speed to achieve the correct amount of airflow over the control surfaces to pull the aircraft into level flight. The test pilot Guyton discussed these issues with Zimmerman and they worked to eliminate these issues. In addition to this Guyton commented that the cockpit design was poor. He explained that in addition to the poor comfort the pilot had limited to no use for the clear bottom panels of the cockpit. He explained that the pilot sat too high in the cockpit to effectively use these lower panels for takeoff or landing. Flight testing of the V-173 went on through 1942 and 1943 with 190 flights, resulting in reports of UFOs from surprised Connecticut locals. Charles Lindbergh piloted the V-173 during this time and found it surprisingly easy to handle and exhibiting impressive low-speed capabilities. Both Lindbergh and Guyton found that they were almost unable to stall the aircraft. Guyton was able to keep the aircraft in flight no matter how hard he pulled the stick in low-speed flight ranges at any altitude under 20,000 ft. On one occasion, the V-173 was forced to make an emergency landing on a beach. As the pilot made his final approach, he noticed two bathers directly in his path. The pilot locked the aircraft's brakes on landing, causing the aircraft to flip over onto its back. Remarkably, the airframe proved so strong that neither the plane nor the pilot sustained any significant damage. Despite their inability to stall the aircraft they did find low speed handling to be a persistent issue largely due to the shape of the lifting body. They found that the aircraft acted as an airbrake when it was pulled into a high angle of attack. This meant that the control surfaces, the horizontal stabilizers, in particular, would become very hard to operate at low speeds such as stalls, takeoff, and landing.

The developmental V-173 made its last flight 31 March 1947. In 131.8 hours of flying over 190 flights, Zimmerman's theory of a near-vertical takeoff- and landing-capable fighter had been proven. This project would be improved upon including the addition of potential armament with the Chance Vought XF5U. This project would improve on many of the weaknesses discovered during the testing of the V-173 prototype.

Both the V-173 and the XF5U featured an unorthodox "all-wing" design consisting of a flat, somewhat disk-shaped body (like a pancake flying, hence the nickname) serving as the lifting surface. Two piston engines buried in the body drove propellers located on the leading edge, at the wingtips.

Photo-Description:

Aircraft: Vought V173

Reg: 02978 photos

Serial #:

Airline: United States - US Navy (USN)

Photo Date: Mar 28, 2013

Uploaded: May 05, 2013

Dallas Love Field - KDAL, USA - Texas

Notes:

A/C on loan from the Smithsonian. After an 8 year restoration, it is currently displayed at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, Love Field, Dallas, Texas.

PHOTOGRAPHER

 

[deicer]

[Kip Powick]

And they all sang at the G20 Conference

 

 

 

[GDR]

How will we ever believe anything we see on the web. They can make anybody say anything.

[Falken]

Where was Stevie, our wonder, from Canada?

[J.O.]

21 hours ago, GDR said:

How will we ever believe anything we see on the web. They can make anybody say anything.

This crap is pretty scary. Imagine getting an AI FaceTime call from one of your kids in some sort of distress. Are we going to be savvy enough to pick out a scam under duress like that?

[Seeker]

Are we watching the same video?  That looks incredibly fake to me.  All sorts of pops, flickers, jumps in the jawline.  The head bobs around like a puppet while the shoulders are completely fixed.  No doubt it will get better but not nearly good enough yet.

How to protect yourself from a scam?  Easy.  Just ask a personal question that only you and they would know the answer to - where did you go on vacation last year?  what colour is your car?  what is our dog's name?

[IFG]

29 minutes ago, Seeker said:

.... That looks incredibly fake to me.  All sorts of pops, flickers ....  No doubt it will get better but not nearly good enough yet.

Agreed about the quality of this particular iteration, Seeker, but the better-crafted warning below came years ago, and this tech is advancing at breakneck speed. Yeah, we should take the sort of care you suggest, but it's worrisome nonetheless, and some people are probably gonna get caught flat-footed while the white hats try to outrun the black hats.

Cheers, IFG 

 

 

[Kip Powick]

Yeh, you have to watch out for Scams ......I have had to call a different number 4 times in the past 4 days to tell them I don't have Netflix. I even gave them  a copy of my bank statement to show them that I have never paid for Netflix  and a photo copy of my credit card to show them that the card they have, is not in my name ........ finally got the calls stopped.....not one call today. 

[Malcolm]

3 hours ago, Kip Powick said:

Yeh, you have to watch out for Scams ......I have had to call a different number 4 times in the past 4 days to tell them I don't have Netflix. I even gave them  a copy of my bank statement to show them that I have never paid for Netflix  and a photo copy of my credit card to show them that the card they have, is not in my name ........ finally got the calls stopped.....not one call today. 

'when I get those types of message, I just assign then to JUNK or if on the phone I just block the calls. i NEVER REPLY AS THAT TELLS THEM THEYHAVE REACHED A LIVE NUMBER / ADDRES, AND THE CONTACT ATTEMPTS WILL CONTINUE

[Kip Powick]

[Malcolm]

Back in the day.

Vintage photos show how drastically air travel has changed in the last century

Sophie-Claire Hoeller, Ciara Appelbaum, and Melissa Wells 

Updated

 

Aug 29, 2023, 7:11 AM MDT

 

 

 

A plane cabin in the1960s.  Fox Photos / Stringer / Getty Images

• The 1950s are widely known as the golden age of air travel, when flying was a glamorous affair.
• Before that, flights were super loud, cold, and unpressurized.
• Today, flying is all about having the same conveniences we are used to having on the ground.

Air travel has changed significantly over the last century. 

From the very first flight in the early 1900s to seat-side, hand-carved hams in the 1950s, to today's touch-screen entertainment systems, air travel has come a long way.

Keep scrolling to see what air travel looked like in every decade.

Planes in the 1920s shook loudly and were unpressurized. Air travel was often slower than train travel and only happened during the day.

In the 1920s, people bundled up for flights.  Fox Photos/Stringer/Getty Images

The 1920s saw the first planes designed exclusively for passengers, according to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. 

Planes during this time usually held fewer than 20 passengers, reached a cruising altitude of 3,000 feet or less, and were slower than traveling by train. Additionally, planes were flying at speeds of around 100 mph, had to stop to refuel often, and could only travel by day, the Metropolitan Airport News reported.

Flying in the 1920s was also an uncomfortable experience for passengers because it was loud and cold, as planes were made of uninsulated sheets of metal that shook loudly in the wind.

Cabins were also completely unpressurized.

Nonetheless, air travel gained in popularity.

Flight attendants were introduced in the 1930s, and traveling by plane generally became more comfortable.

A plane cabin in 1936.  Fox Photos / Stringer / Getty Images

In the 1930s, female flight attendants, then called stewardesses, were first introduced to make flying more comfortable, according to the National Air and Space Museum. Their roles were similar to current-day flight attendants.

However, the first African-American flight attendant, Ruth Carol Taylor, didn't take to the skies until 1958, according to the museum.

Not only was the service better than in the 1920s, but airplanes themselves had become more comfortable. They were soundproofed, heated, and the seats were upholstered, the Metropolitan Airport News reported.

The planes could also fly much higher, reaching a cruising altitude of around 13,000 feet, which reduced turbulence and made travel by aircraft a lot faster (around 200 mph), USA Today reported.

The first pressurized commercial transport aircraft was introduced in 1938, according to the National Air and Space Museum.

 

In the 1940s, World War II changed commercial air travel.

In-flight passengers play cards and converse on a spacious airliner, circa late 1940s.  Jim Heimann Collection/Getty Images

During World War II, planes were being developed for the purpose of war, rather than commercial flight, Gizmodo reported.

The National Air and Space Museum reported, "Few members of minority groups flew before World War II. But as the economy rapidly expanded and the number of minority-owned businesses increased, more people of color began to fly."

These, however, often faced discrimination, as many airports were segregated at the time, and air travel remained mostly white, Air & Space Magazine reported.

Once the war ended, the US and Europe were left with a lot of planes, as well as large new airbases with long runways, which they repurposed for commercial flight.

New airports were built closer to Europe's main cities, like today's London Heathrow Airport, which was finished in 1946, according to its official website. Transatlantic flights, such as between New York and London, became a daily occurrence, Air & Space Magazine reported.

 

The 1950s are considered the golden age of air travel. Passengers dressed up and enjoyed inflight meals of prime rib and lobster.

Passengers relaxing in lie-flat seats in the 1950s.  Douglas Miller / Stringer / Getty Images

Despite being known as the golden age of air travel, flying in the '50s was not cheap. In fact, a roundtrip flight from Chicago to Phoenix could cost today's equivalent of $1,168 when adjusted for inflation. A one-way flight to Europe could cost more than $3,000 in today's dollars, according to the May 27, 1955 issue of Collier's magazine, as reported by Gizmodo.

Passengers got what they paid for, though. Flying was extremely glamorous: people dressed up, booze was served in fancy glassware, and meals consisted of dishes like roast beef, lobster, and prime rib, The Atlantic reported.

However, while plane cabins were mostly integrated, some US airports were segregated until as late as 1963, Air & Space Magazine reported, despite desegregation efforts having begun in 1948.

Flying was becoming more commonplace in the 1960s, and it was less glamorous than in the previous decade.

A plane cabin in the1960s.  Fox Photos / Stringer / Getty Images

Flying became more and more common in the 1960s. Passengers didn't dress up as much as before, though they typically dressed up more than passengers do today.

Passengers flying in the 1960s could also fly without any form of ID, HuffPost reported. That meant that they could just show up at the airport half an hour before departure and walk straight up to the gate.

Even loved ones could walk all the way to the gate without a ticket to send people on their way.

While a couple of exceptions exist, such as the aforementioned flight attendant Ruth Carol Taylor, African Americans were not allowed to work on planes in any capacity until the 1960s, according to the National Air and Space Museum. Marlon D. Green became the first commercial African-American pilot in 1965, paving the way for others.

Security screenings didn't become mandatory until the early 1970s when bigger flights meant more passengers.

A flight between Paris and Marseille, France, on November 25, 1976.  François LOCHON/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Security screenings didn't become mandatory until 1973, and even those were pretty relaxed compared to the airport security we go through today, The Boston Globe reported.

The "Jumbo Jet," or the Boeing 747, opened up the skies for millions of travelers who previously couldn't afford it in 1970, CNN Travel reported. Airlines, now able to fly large numbers of passengers, could sell tickets at a more reasonable price.

Still, there was plenty of legroom and flight attendants catered to passengers' every need.

From 1970 to around 1974, American Airlines even featured a piano lounge in the rear of its 747s, which would be advertised as "the ultimate in informal conviviality in the skies," HuffPost reported.

In the 1980s you could smoke cigarettes on flights, meals were included, and you could check as many bags as you wanted.

Flight attendants in 1986, on a plane traveling from Madrid to Barcelona, Spain.  Gianni Ferrari/Cover/Getty Images

Flying saw some fun arrangements in the '80s.

Continental Airlines (now United Airlines) even tested out a "Pub" configuration complete with a bar stocked with alcohol and circular tables surrounded by swivel chairs, Forbes reported.

Passengers could also make a visit to the cockpit during the flight where children were given a commemorative wing pin to remember the experience, USA Today reported.

In the 1990s, passengers could experience inflight entertainment for the first time.

Inside a Boeing 737-300 cabin in 1998.  Etienne DE MALGLAIVE/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

Air travel in the '90s saw the single biggest change up until that point: the slow but inevitable banning of smoking, Condé Nast Traveler reported.

Inflight meals, though not always the tastiest, were also free, seats were outfitted with phones, and inflight entertainment was in its nascent stages.

In the 2000s, 9/11 and other threats significantly changed airport security and what passengers could take in their carry-on luggage.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was established in 2001.  Joe Raedle/Getty Images

After 9/11 in 2001, air travel changed drastically.

Before 9/11, the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, didn't even exist. Travelers could go through security with items including liquids and small pocket knives, and they could wear bulky jackets. Passengers could even keep their shoes on, according to TSA's website. 

All that changed after 9/11 and other incidents in the early 2000s — including a foiled plot to detonate liquid explosives on planes departing London, NPR reported – and airport security became much stricter. Cockpit doors were reinforced and locked, and only ticketed travelers were allowed at airline gate areas, NPR reported.

In the 2010s, passengers began to expect the same conveniences on planes they were used to having on the ground.

A touch-screen TV on a modern-day flight.  Mizkit / Shutterstock

From private touch-screen TVs to USB chargers in every seat, plane passengers wanted to have all the modern amenities they had on the ground.

However, air travel also began to mean grappling with extra fees for everything from carry-ons to seat assignments, according to Inc., and free meals were a rarity.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic brought significant changes to air travel in 2020.

Face masks were required on airlines amid the pandemic.  Milos Bicanski/Getty Images

Much changed in air travel in 2020.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, airlines had to make significant changes for passengers to feel safe and to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Many airlines blocked middle seats to ensure social distancing, according to Delta, though most resumed offering the seats around December 2020.

Several airlines also stopped serving food and drinks on flights or served them in little plastic baggies dispensed upon boarding.

All domestic airlines finally stopped requiring passengers to wear masks in April 2022, Forbes reported.

In 2023, summer air travel ramped up once again, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, according to the TSA, and as reported by Forbes. Airline revenues also inched back near record levels, The Guardian reported.

[Kip Powick]