In Flight Mysteries

I just learned another useless fact. This time it's about airplane windows. Have you ever wondered why those windows are always round? In the early days of commercial airline flight they were as square as your home's windows (or my blockhead). Here's the answer to my question. Sharp corners are natural weak spots where stress concentrates, weakened further by air pressure. When subjected to repeated pressurization, four corners on a square window spell disaster. Curved windowpanes, on the other hand, which have no focal point, distribute that stress, reducing the likelihood of cracks or breaks. Circular shapes are also stronger and resist deformation, and can thus survive the extreme differences in pressure between the inside and outside of the aircraft.

I read that on line so it has to be right (told you I was a blockhead). No, seriously, it is true. I verified that at several respectable web sites. But this airline window thing has me wondering about some other  air mysteries that I never did track down. Can a passenger open an airplane exit in flight? I think they can in Hollywood films. But the pressure inside the cabin makes it impossible to open the doors or emergency hatches of an airplane that is in flight. I must say there have been times when I wanted to try. Sometimes the passenger sitting next to me behaved so badly or in a disgusting way I would have preferred an early deplaning via the emergency exit. I suspect any passengers who sat next to a politician had the same feelings.

Another mystery is whether they dump the WC waste in flight? You can relax and look upward now. No human waste will hit you in the face because the waste tanks were flushed while in flight. Birds rule the waste dump thing. The explanation for that question is that the ground crew disposes of the excrement after the plane lands. Even if the pilot and flight attendants wanted to empty a tank mid flight, they couldn't, as the valve is located on the outside of the plane, and can only be opened by the ground crew. But wait! Waste not, want not.

Waste can accidentally seep out of the tanks in a malfunctioning aircraft. This happens when a sewage tank or drain tube develops a leak, usually resulting in what air travel experts refer to as “blue ice", which is what you get when the blue waste treatment liquid from a plane toilet is exposed to freezing temperatures at high altitude. Better stop looking upward. I think that I am going to take  a train on my next trip.