The wonderful split-flap Departure Board at Frankfurt Airport

An Aileron Aviation Films Production
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The very last departure board using split flap displays is located at Frankfurt Airport. It is operating since 1972 and was modernised in 2010.
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©Aileron Aviation Films 2018
This video is property of Aileron Aviation Films and may not be used in any way without our written permission.

[@AileronAviationFilms]

There are a few spelling mistakes, can you spot them?

[@Jaguar79gt]

0:33 mittlere tafel "amsteroam" :) 0:41 m. T. "Londonostansted" hab ich was gewonnen? :D

[@AileronAviationFilms]

Min. Einen mehr gibts noch, aber schonmal nicht schlecht :) Und nein es gibt nichts zu gewinnen ~ Ole ✈

[@ethanliu1340]

Hi! I'm editing a travel vlog and was wondering if I can use some parts of this video in my intro? It will be just 1~2 seconds.

[@mariohintze7555]

@@AileronAviationFilms Wer einen Fehler findet darf ihn behalten.

[@Tronoid]

So far I spotted : "Sankt Petersburg", Tokio Narita, "Lissabon". In another video one can spot "Lonoon-Deathrow" ^^

[@tripleseven8361]

As an airline pilot, in and out of FRA on a regular basis, I'm happy to say that it's still there!

[@roachtoasties]

Cool. I'm tired of staring at large flat screens at airports and train stations. We need more of these.

[@PopCapMusicTrending]

AMOLED screen + animation + sound effect will do the same. Plus it will not have much moving parts. And they could program different fonts, colors, and designs too. :)

[@katarh]

It would totally be possible to replicate it, but it would require an intentional effort and the expense of hiring a design team willing to do it, when most modern status boards are driven by simple queries and standard frameworks like Bootstrap. An international airport might actually be one of the few places willing to pay for the aesthetic in modern technology - and then they could potentially license it out to others for a fee to pay for it.

[@Themoosy]

@@PopCapMusicTrending still not the same somethings you just can’t replace like this is just nostalgic even this video isn’t the same as rl

[@PopCapMusicTrending]

@@Themoosy but still it has a lot of motors nad higher probability of mulfanction, and who would stare at those boards for a long time, passengers would just probably look for a second and then do other things on their phones right away. Passengers nowadays in my opinion doesn't care if they were busy or in hurry.

[@PopCapMusicTrending]

@@katarh it's easy to make i promise, Im speaking as a student front-end dev and web dev, you can even download something like this on playstore for your phone or in webs for Free. We already had digital boards on the airport, the program is the only one missing.

[@m80116]

The clarity and immediateness in reading these displays is amazing... although it hasn't got the iconic sound charm of slowly refreshing boards of olds.

[@NazriB]

Lies again? DMP DEP

[@robb3532]

I love listening to these at Airports and Rail Stations, not many left now but oh so great to see (and hear!) them in action...

[@AileronAviationFilms]

Indeed, actually I think this is the only one left in Germany. Also there are not many companies which provide service and maintenance for these... Hope they won't get replaced soon. ~ Ole ✈

[@alexsmart9576]

@@AileronAviationFilms At Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) train stations, the split-flap departure boards were used as late as 2019. Dunno about nowadays

[@PascalGienger]

@@AileronAviationFilms Frankfurt Airport has its own team repairing and maintaining it and also a work room to replicate/rebuild parts / digits.

[@chrisalister2297]

In 2001, I flew for the first time which was out of the US to Denmark, I saw a split-flap sign in the Zurich airport during layover. I was mesmerized by it.

[@robertfrank16]

I was born in Germany and flew in and out of FRA constantly between US and Germany when I was a kid. This was always so satisfying to me. I'm 23 and haven't been back since I was 9. I miss this and I am so glad it still exists.

[@matthewvwuk]

I can remember these type of departure boards at London Waterloo railway station back in the 1980s-1990s. I used to be fascinated by them & wondered how they worked.

[@soviet_salsa2983]

These types of boards are so much cooler than the digital ones

[@youbotvideocollector9753]

I remember that display in Frankfurt in the '80s!

[@teilemafia679]

Can you please make a 2 hour version of that? I need it to fall asleep:)

[@AileronAviationFilms]

Hehe :) Use the repeat function of KZbin ;) ~ Ole ✈

[@sapphirology]

I was at this airport in 2003, and they had it then too. Everyone just stood in amazement watching it. I'm glad to see that it's still there because I might be going through this airport again soon.

[@barnsley101685]

Just been now, it’s still there!

[@harlequin75]

i have been intrigued by this since 1978

[@dennishall6098]

Mesmerised by this board for about forty mins whilst swapping at Frankfurt to Zurich!

[@optroncordian7863]

That one is fast!

[@rahulgawale]

Its so satisfying to watch them changing!

[@James-gc5if]

Ah we used to have one of those in London Waterloo. Happy days :)

[@jasona716]

That is a truly beautiful thing!!

[@AileronAviationFilms]

It definitely is! ~ Ole ✈️

[@VanNatalRN]

Beautiful 😍 i miss them so much

[@kallistnemain2343]

That's awesome, it's like analog static.even sounds like it.

[@tripleseven8361]

They used to have one of these in London Heathrow as well...Watching the board was mesmerizing!

[@walterbsfo1]

Yes, an amazing one in the T3 departure lounge

[@andrewcourt5156]

The big upside of this type of display is it is very easy to determine if even there has been a little change to a single detail… if say the gate number changes, it is hard to notice it on a big / tv screen display of perhaps 60+ lines… on the flip display you can see and hear it flipping and your attention is drawn to it !!

[@itchyJaw]

This is refreshing

[@Mister_King01]

It reminds me of the one at Taipei Main Station, I used to wait at the lobby just to see & hear it flaps when taking trains. Unfortunately, it was replaced by LED displays couple years ago.

[@HWingsAviation]

These are awsome

[@AileronAviationFilms]

Yep they are :) Thanks for watching! ~ Ole ✈

[@Ramash440]

My local airport used to have one of those back when I was a kid. Then they swapped them for a bunch of boring TVs and some large LED displays. I miss 'em not gonna lie...

[@shukhratarifdjanov292]

This how all major European airports used to be in 1970s and 80s

[@satjitsethi8]

I'm typing this from Mumbai / Bombay (BOM) airport and reminiscing about the bygone era of split-flap displays. Miss their sights and sounds 😢

[@anonandon71]

Sick

[@OatFoundry]

We'd love to hear what you think of our Split Flap displays - modernized, controlled by smartphone, and much more cool stuff.

[@AileronAviationFilms]

So normally we don't respond to this kind of comments but your split flaps actually look very interesting, just wondering how much they cost :D ~ Ole ✈

[@OatFoundry]

Thank you for getting back to us! We're happy to help, please send us an email at [e-mail]

[@uchihasasuke7436]

@@AileronAviationFilms I respect that you actually took a look and responded! Cool stuff

[@juliabonsignore]

Hey! Can I use this footage in a vlog? I was talking about this board and I think this is the best video out there. Of course, I will link your channel for credits.

[@sim61642]

Alot quieter than i have imagined them to be, but still a spectacle nonetheless. 😮

[@fatdoi003]

i really like this old time flip boards.. will like it more if it goes one step further by flipping the whole line blink then flip the new information with the last few flips super slow

[@kwokshuifan470]

Good old days.

[@MrKkprince]

Pure elctromechanical ART. iS IT STILL ACTIVE 2022 ?

[@AileronAviationFilms]

Yes, it is still fully operational.

[@TariqKhan612]

absolutely - i have one in my house

[@shko0729]

まさかのICAO!?

[@nekomi_ch]

Shit we need to bring back

[@ethanliu1340]

Hi! I'm editing a travel vlog and was wondering if I can use some parts of this video in my intro? It will be just 1~2 seconds.

[@AileronAviationFilms]

Hey! As long as you give credits you can use it! :) ~ Chantal ✈

[@leonjuraeee]

Just wondering are split flat displays on sale

[@AileronAviationFilms]

Many thanks for watching! In fact, there is a company that sells split flap displays. However there are quite expensive, I am not sure but think they are called Oat Foundry. We hope we could help you! ~ Ole ✈

[@leonjuraeee]

Ok thanks for the info!

[@JJ_Skippy]

I wonder how they do that?

[@chriscarr959]

It may be different depending how old these are, but most likely a large controller connected to a computer gets flight data, and at a set interval compares newly retrieved data with the previous data(or which character is currently displayed at each address) and decides how many times to move each one, then boom, sends the calculated number of electronic pulses(or some sort of mechanical trigger) to each row/column to get the desired new character. So for instance if the top row says 123 AAA and the new data is 345 BBB it would send 2 trigger events to row 1 column 1, column 2, column 3, then 1 pulse to 5,6, & 7, then stores the new value of each block to calculate how many flips it will need for the next update. Even more crazy to imagine are the large flip dot displays, which essentially act as individual black and white pixels in a large array, like a TV screen, and can be used to make all sorts of crazy designs and graphics. There's a few videos of them on here!

[@Luwab]

There are trained hamsters behind each sign.

[@phijoto]

Am I allowed to use this Footage in a short video if I link to this?

[@AileronAviationFilms]

If you give proper credit, go for it :) ~ Ole ✈

[@phijoto]

@@AileronAviationFilms okay thank you. I will link to this video and to your channel

[@Jaguar79gt]

hab noch nie drauf geachtet, das die so "laut" sind :D

[@AileronAviationFilms]

Machs beim nächsten mal ;) Vielen Dank fürs Anschauen und Kommentieren! ~ Ole ✈

[@hgatheszgh5615]

1:00

[@SheldonBeldon]

It needs updating to a soulless LG screen that hurts your eyes with McDonalds banners scrolling along the bottom

[@retroryan838]

Funny joke

[@facundosoto2748]

It can play Bad apple? haha

[@kentslocum]

This is why cyberpunk is nowhere near as cool as steampunk. 😊

[@Funkteon]

In the end, Frankfurt/Germany will be the last place on earth with these Solari 'Split-Flap' Boards, because every other country/company around the world that used it got lazy and cheapskate and can't/won't maintain the board... Germans, however, are an industrious people who have the knowledge and skills to maintain such brilliant technology and make replacement parts, even if it is an Italian invention...

[@thatguy6214]

Only germans could maintain the "brilliant " technology? Dude its a 65 year old retired simple ass techonlogy. It requires maintainence yes, its not complicated. It takes a huge team of people to keep this thing going you can just install a screen and not have to touch it for years. It made sense to get rid of it when remodeling. They kept it because its a form of historical art for the airport. Any first world airport could have one of these if they wanted, with their own citizens maintaining it.

[@pasuggun9438]

돈이없나보네 액정으로안바꾸네