The first-ever non-stop commercial flight from Australia to the U.K. took place at the end of March. For the inaugural journey back to Perth, Australia, which departed later the same day, flying enthusiast Noel Marsh-Giddings took his camera on board Qantas flight QF10 and filmed not just the takeoff and landing, but also the entire 16-plus hours in between.
There aren’t many commercial flights that stay in the air for this long, but if you’ve ever wondered what it might be like to actually experience such a trip, now you can find out. Just pull up a comfy chair, grab a few snacks, and settle in for the virtual journey of a lifetime.
Noel doesn’t simply crank up his camera the moment the Boeing 787 Dreamliner starts rumbling down the runway. Keen to present viewers with the entire adventure, his video also includes parts of the build-up, including taking the London Underground to Heathrow Airport, checking in, and boarding.
With his camera pointed out of the window, the aircraft and its 200-plus passengers climb into the sky over London before turning south.
“Once airborne, we proceed over Europe, towards Romania, the Black Sea, and Turkey,” Noel writes in the video’s notes. The sun sets as they fly through Turkish airspace, and a while later they pass over the Iranian city of Shiraz, with the lights of Dubai and Abu Dhabi shimmering in the far distance.
A nice touch by Noel is the inclusion of air traffic control audio, as well as map data showing the location of the plane on this first-ever direct flight from London to Perth. He also includes clips showing the aircraft interior, the all-important in-flight meals, and passing air traffic, among other things. To see the list of extras and the precise times where they occur, click on the “show more” button below the video.
The plane later passes over the south coast of India and Sri Lanka before continuing over the Indian Ocean toward Perth where it lands under cloudy skies.
“We get a water cannon salute as we taxi to the terminal, before parking and making our way into a crowd of news reporters and media as we enter the arrivals hall,” Noel wrote. “We hang around to watch the press interview the captain before making our way out to a rainy day in Western Australia.”
OK, unless you’re a fan of slow TV, we understand you might not want to sit through the entire flight, so instead how about a speeded-up version lasting a couple of minutes that Noel has kindly posted on his Facebook page?
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