An experimental research flight operated by Australian airline Qantas touched down in Sydney on Friday, after flying nonstop from London -- a journey that pushes the frontier of modern aircraft capabilities -- smashing two aviation records and witnessing a rare double sunrise along the way.
Two sunrises later, they emerged blinking into a bright, warm Friday afternoon on the east coast of Australia. At least three whole hours sooner than if they'd had to change aircraft en route. Other passengers, mainly Qantas employees and frequent fliers, wear biometric monitors during the flights to record sleep patterns, physical activity and even inflight entertainment consumption.
A 6 a.m. departure means showing up at the airport shortly after 4 a.m. -- a grim time of day at a UK airport in November. The early slot will allow this unscheduled flight to take off before Heathrow hits peak time and also ensure those on board get to experience two sunrises in the course of their flight.
"I had goosebumps on my arms when we were taking off," says one of the cabin crew -- equally as excited as their passengers at the prospect of being on a landmark flight. Today's flight is so long we will experience a double sunrise -- it's a very rare event to see two sunrises of different days on the same flight. Qantas chose the name"Project Sunrise" in honor of clandestine World War II flights that were made from Perth to Sri Lanka en route to London. They were fraught with danger, and lasted so long they saw two sunrises.It's exercise time.
Quest's diary: I chatted with pilot in command, Captain Trennery. She performed the take off and will do the landing in Sydney. Planning for this flight took months. I am hoping it will be longer than the New York to Sydney flight time of 16 hours, 16 minutes and claim the record as longest flight time.
A few days before the departure of the Sydney flight, Qantas announced it was pledging to become a zero carbon emissions airline by 2050 by introducing as-yet unavailable aircraft, aviation tech and sustainable fuel. Quest's diary: Lights out! The flight has gone into its dark phase for the next nine hours. Those being monitored start to rest. I should. But I am still not sleepy. Instead I have another go at"Untouchable." This time I last another 30 minutes. Prefer to daydream out of the window instead.Most passengers are asleep or trying to sleep at this point, which is a shame as they miss sunset as the plane reaches Astana in Kazakhstan.
I like it! I just spent 34 hours going New York to Manila, with a charming stopover in Shanghai Pudong.... NEVER AGAIN
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