
SF to Paris in 2 Minutes - nimz
http://boltron.com/sf-to-paris-in-two-minutes/
======
mmanfrin
That was pretty incredible, I've never seen the northern lights from a plane.

Also, thank you for choosing music that was _not_ some airy/indie ambient
song.

~~~
clicks
It's funny you say that about the music... (in fact, I seriously can't tell at
this point if that was sarcasm) -- because the music was produced apparently
by Air France, and 'airy/indie ambient' is precisely the genre one could
describe Air France's music being.

(I personally love 'airy/indie ambient' music myself. :) Especially Air
France's, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ADxybVy5Ls> and so on)

edit: Oops, yes, apparently I confused things here (as explained below).
Sorry.

~~~
jvzr
Aren't you confusing things here?

The music on the YouTube video is described as:

    
    
       a modified template of "Gain" used with permission from DETUNE ltd. denkitribe http://soundcloud.com/denkitribe/gain - I created this arrangement on the Korg iMS20 iPad App, and it's my first custom score.
    

"Air France" is the flight company here, not the swedish band. I thought at
first you were talking about the usually ambient music that plays in Air
France's TV ads, but apparently there are two "Air France" the Earth can bear.
:P

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cwb71
“The photos during take-off and landing are all computer models and totally
rendered because I would never use an electronic device during times when the
FAA prohibits them.”

Lulz.

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smcl
This looks fantastic but hearing the shutter release every few minutes
would've irritated the hell out of me if I was sitting anywhere near him on
that flight.

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panacea
Why does this video need to be captured by a lucky passenger who found
amicable crew to let it be recorded? Why don't we have videos like this
published by airlines?

~~~
jvzr
True. I didn't even realized we could see the northern lights on such a common
flight route (and I realize now that it was pretty obvious).

~~~
jgreen10
This seems to be what most of us are thinking :), call off that Alaska trip.

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netrus
Site is down, YT mirror: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j36Erxd5rc>

~~~
cwb71
And Vimeo: <http://vimeo.com/21822029>

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suyash
Generally you can't have the window open when people are sleeping at night
time in the plane. Anyone's guess how he manage to do that?

~~~
k-mcgrady
I usually keep the window open at night and have never had anyone say
anything. I thought the only rule around that was they had to be shut during
take-off/landing if the cabin lights were on.

~~~
jibbirish
They actually have to be open during take-off/landing, in case of a crash the
rescue crew has to be able to look inside the plane from the outside.

~~~
philjohn
And the lights are dimmed on a nighttime takeoff/landing so that, in the event
of needing to evacuate, your eyes don't need to adjust as much as when going
from very bright to very dim.

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m_mueller
Just wondering: The flight attendants didn't give you any troubles on your
setup?

~~~
StavrosK
Naw, it wasn't an american airline :P

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droithomme
Very cool.

Here is the flight path, for those interested:
[http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=SFO-CDG&DU=mi](http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=SFO-
CDG&DU=mi)

~~~
mischanix
Actually, the flight path can vary depending on weather conditions between a
lower-latitude route[1] and a more direct great-circle one[2].

1\.
[http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AFR83/history/20130401/22...](http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AFR83/history/20130401/2240Z/KSFO/LFPG)

2\.
[http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AFR83/history/20130331/22...](http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AFR83/history/20130331/2240Z/KSFO/LFPG)

~~~
qnk
I'm curious: how is it possible that the lower-latitude route is almost one
thousand miles longer than the great-circle one, and still, one plane took
just 11 minutes more to get to Paris than the other at almost exactly the same
speed? Or maybe I'm miscalculating and the extra 2 knots of average speed make
that much difference in 7000+ miles trip.

What other factors not shown by FlightAware should be taken into account in
this case?

~~~
snowwrestler
The Jet Stream, which at times blows nearly west to east across the
continental U.S., and can provide a powerful tail wind to jet aircraft. This
is why the parent post references "depending on weather conditions."

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megablast
Yup, that looks like Paris alright, overcast and grey!

Except for today.

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DanBC
That glimpse of the tripod and camera is surprising.

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OJKoukaz
How and what was the hardware setup?

~~~
Samuel_Michon
It was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II + battery grip [1], Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 L
II lens [2], a TC-80N3 shutter release timer [3], on a Slik travel tripod [4].

As for how it was shot: _“I shoot these on Av (Aperture Priority) with an ISO
ranging from 200 during the day to 6400 at night. That way the 5d2 will
automatically go up to 30 seconds at night to as quick as 1/8000th when dawn
comes. [On timing:] 2 seconds during the day, and up to 30 second exposures
and intervals at night. [On battery life:] I have the grip with two batteries
and I disable photo review so the LCD screen never lights up. That way I can
shoot about 3k - 4k photos off two batteries fully charged.”_

[1]
[http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/590457-REG/Canon_3353B...](http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/590457-REG/Canon_3353B001_BG_E6_Battery_Grip.html)

[2] <http://www.kenrockwell.com/canon/lenses/16-35mm-ii.htm>

[3]
[http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_...](http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10051_10051_171331_-3)

[4] [http://www.adorama.com/alc/0011522/news/Compact-Travel-
Tripo...](http://www.adorama.com/alc/0011522/news/Compact-Travel-Tripods-from-
Slik)

