www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Whenever I'm in a high stress situation, I have a few techniques. And I'm usually stressed out in airports and airplanes.

Chanting "Serenity now, serenity now" actually works for me. Most of the time. If that doesn't work, I just imagine how good my life is and how bad it could be. I could be a very young latina with three bebes and three bebe padres, livinig in a tin roofed shack with dirt floors, no electricity and no running water. My only source of income is go to San Jose and hope I can get gringo to pay me for sex. And if I'm lucky, they won't be too fat, too smelly, mean, or try to cheat me, or have some really weird sexual tastes, or be too rough in bed, or try to get me drunk and take advantage of me.

Yep, then I always calm down. My life is fucken golden compared to the way 90% of humanity has to get by. It helps ones perspective when you have images from all over the world of absolute, grinding poverty and desperation to remind you how blessed you are. I have to to turn off my Kindle, kind lady? Sure thing. No problem.

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Man I'm living life like a great white shark swimming with minnows! It's all about panocha, great scotch, fine cigars, loud-ass rock music and speed, speed, speed - plus spending as much time as possible in paradise on earth, Costa Rica!

we’re missing the point here [in part], a plane is in its MOST vulnerable position: at takeoff and at landing. therefore, free and unfettered attention is required of everybody especially those seated in and close to the exit positions.

Sweet, now we can move onto why its sooo imperative I recline my seat up the 0.09374 inches before landing/take-off...


Cujo

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"Pain is the fuel that fans the flames of my pyre. A battle plan is only as good as the general carrying it out on the field. This is my war son, and I have the biggest bombs and the smallest conscience"...

Actually that is a very important safety regulation for the person seated behind you. If the aircraft suddenly decelerates your body remains in the seat because your seatbelt is fastened but your upper torso can snap forwarded because of the G force. Should the seat in front of you not be in the full upright position your head could smash into it causing serious injury.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Yes I'm aware of the reason, just poking fun at the over kill .. I remember all those ppl who survived that plane crash for having them upright and the other half dying in the huge ball of flames on the ground...

Naw, I get it..better not to get whip lash before disintegrating...


Cujo

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"Pain is the fuel that fans the flames of my pyre. A battle plan is only as good as the general carrying it out on the field. This is my war son, and I have the biggest bombs and the smallest conscience"...

I know you are aware of this but you forgot to point out that is why pilots have not only seat belts but a combination which includes a shoulder harness.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

imagine a whole lotta combination of things: least of which is the girth people have morphed into over the years,,, a ‘POS' [person of size] posses plenty of obstacles to the industry. extensions are easy - and provided for lap belts - not certain this could be done with the harness.

Pilots seats had shoulder harnesses long before passenger girth became an issue.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

A few reasons that I can think of...

1) cost - of course it's always one factor for the airlines. Shoulder harnesses are worth around $1500 each and the inertial reels about $500 each as opposed to $400 or so for a lap belt.
2) An improperly adjusted shoulder harness can do more harm then good in an accident, while a lap belt is super easy to adjust. One of my pre-flight routines when I'm taking the observers seat in the cockpit is adjusting the various belts. PITA when some skinny flight attendant sat in it last, lol.
3) You can't get people to wear lap belts half the time. Imagine the frustration FA's would have trying to get 300 people putting on harnesses and then having to check them for fit afterwards.
4) A shoulder harness needs a solid mounting point for it's two shoulder belts and inertial reels. Passenger seats are designed to break over in a crash. One 3 person seat bench in coach weighs about 50-75lbs depending on the shit added to it. One crew seat that has a harness and the structure strong enough to support it weighs about 100 lbs EACH. You can have an airplane where everyone has a 5 point harness but can't fly anywhere because it's too heavy or.... you get the point.

As for safety... don't knock the simple old passenger seats. Airplanes made before 1988 (iirc) have seats that can withstand 9G's of crash force in a forward direction. Later regs raised that to 16G's IMO, the shoulder harnesses are not just a means to give the pilot a better chance at surviving a crash but are more there to let them be able to maintain control in an upset aircraft condition like turbulence or loss of attitude control.

There's been many crashes where passengers survived in their seats while the rest of the aircraft was in a million pieces.

Pilots seats had shoulder harnesses long before passenger girth became an issue.[/quote]

not really. and i can certainly understand why this may strike a cord with you, but fat people have been around since - well,,, - forever.

Do not understand the comment "this may strike a cord with you" but be that is may yes overweight people existed long before Wilbur and Orville. However, given that shoulder harnesses were in use when they airlines were using a standard weight of 165 lbs per passenger for weight and balance calculations it would seem your observations are more conjecture then fact. But in the end none of that is important to the discussion at hand. Cost, fat people, marketing considerations, etc. who cares. Pilot seats & flight attendant seats have shoulder harnesses passenger seats do not so obviously they add a safety factor even for those pilots who are overweight.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine