Visible wingtip vortices make for one amazing approach into Frankfurt, Germany.
This video footage features a Boeing 777 from Singapore Airlines making an approach to Frankfurt Airport in Germany, on a drizzling early evening. The sky looks like an impressionist painting. Note those amazing, huge wing vortices. Those vortices are beautiful but they also can be dangerous.
Vortices create what is known as wake turbulence. They are effectively horizontal tornadoes coming off the “dirty” wing configured with full flaps for the approach. The vortices are so strong that they could flip an aircraft. The Boeing 777 is considered a heavy aircraft. Controllers ensure at least 3 minutes of separation between the arriving aircraft and those that follow it.
About the Boeing 777
The Boeing 777 (also known as “the Triple Seven”) is a long range, wide body, twin engine jet that has quite a few variants. These include the 777-200, the 777-200ER, the 777-200LR, the 777-300, and the 777-300ER. These jets are basically different lengths and hold different numbers of passengers.
The Boeing 777 is the world’s largest twin jet, with twelve wheel landing gear (six wheels underneath each side of the plane) and a seating capacity of anywhere from 350 to 450 passengers. Its powerful turbofan engine has the largest diameter of any commercial aircraft. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner shares some of the same design features with the Boeing 777.
The 777 was designed to replace older wide body airliners. It flew its maiden voyage on June 12th of 1994, and was introduced with United Airlines on June 7th of 1995. It is considered a relatively fuel efficient alternative to other wide body jets. Its primary users are United Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates and Air France. As of July of 2016, there have been 1,417 Boeing 777s manufactured. Despite that the unit cost ranges from 260 million to 300 million dollars, the Boeing 777 has received more orders than any other wide body airliner.
The Boeing 777 also holds the record for the longest distance flown non stop by a commercial aircraft.