Unlike most of us, there are some people who travel a lot. And I mean A LOT. They probably already know about all the “little things” in planes, like:
- Why plane windows are so small, why they’re round, and why they have those little holes in them
- What is that white vapor that blows into the cabin
They’re aware of the stuff that’s done to affect our subconscious, like:
- Why seats on a plane are usually blue
- The psychological mind games Southwest’s been experimenting with
- The secrets of why airports are designed like they are
They know all the little hacks to make a flight better:
- How to possibly avoid being forced to gate check your carry-on bag
- 15 ways to make flight attendants love you
They probably even know about all the safety stuff, too. Like:
- Which seats have the best survival rates
- What flight attendants are really doing when they greet you on the plane
- Why planes don’t fly over the Pacific Ocean
- Why do emergency doors sometimes have red tape over the windows
They might even know which airline is best if you want to join the Mile High Club. 😉
What many don’t notice
But some frequent flyers and I bet most not-so-frequent ones, never even notice this little thing on planes:
It’s just a small triangle. Sometimes, it’s black, sometimes brown, and sometimes red. You’ll see them on each side of the plane, right over the wing.
Most people pass them and, as I said, never even notice they’re there. Which is just as well because they’re not really for us. They’re for the flight crew.
Those triangles indicate the windows that have the best view of the wing. When flight attendants or pilots need to look at the wings, the triangle stickers are markers that tell them exactly where to look. So if they’re inside the cabin and want to check the moving parts of a wing (read: the flaps and slats), or are looking for problems like ice, they won’t have to practically crawl over a bunch of passengers before finding the best view.
They’re good for us, too
Although the windows with the triangles are specifically there as information for the flight crew, they can help us passengers too. If you like to get “just off the wing” photos or videos, the seats with triangles are the way to go.
PC: Pexels
FUN FACT! The wings are also generally the center of gravity on a plane, and the aircraft moves up and down from the wings like an axis. So if you have a tendency to get motion sick, sitting between the triangles would have you sitting in the part of the plane that’s the least bumpy (not including turbulence. You can’t avoid whatever turbulence the pilot winds up hitting).
One final fun fact!
The window seats with the black triangles have sometimes been called “William Shatner’s Seat.”
The Shatner reference is to one of the more bizarre episodes of The Twilight Zone (as if any of the episodes of that show weren’t bizarre?), Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, the third episode of the TV show’s fifth season. It first aired on October 11, 1963. In it, Shatner plays Robert Wilson, a guy who is recovering from a nervous breakdown. While on a plane with his wife, he looks out the window and sees a creature on the wing staring back at him.
The opening narration….oh, man!
Portrait of a frightened man. Mr. Robert Wilson, thirty-seven, husband, father and salesman on sick leave. Mr. Wilson has just been discharged from a sanitarium where he spent the last six months recovering from a nervous breakdown, the onset of which took place on an evening not dissimilar to this one, on an airliner very much like the one in which Mr. Wilson is about to be flown home. The difference being that, on that evening half a year ago. Mr. Wilson’s flight was terminated by the onslaught of his mental breakdown. Tonight, he’s traveling all the way to his appointed destination which, contrary to Mr. Wilson’s plan, happens to be in the darkest corner of the Twilight Zone.
So there you go. Now that you’re aware of those little triangles, I promise they can never be “unseen.” Next time you’re on a plane, you can impress your friends and family by pointing out the little triangle and explaining what it’s for.
And if you already knew about them, yay for you!
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