When it comes to science, technology, and travel, few things are more fascinating than airplanes and aviation. They’re an essential part of our daily life, but the simple fact is that few people know much at all about how airplanes are made. So here are some interesting facts about how airplanes are made.
Airplanes Can Withstand Lightning
Airplanes are designed to be protected from lightning strikes, and they get struck all the time. Even though engineers use many different types of metals in the aviation industry, lightning doesn’t harm planes or their passengers. The plane’s design allows the charge from the lightning bolt to run right through it without causing any harm. Furthermore, the number of strikes on average is once every thousand hours of flight time, but it’s been decades since lightning brought down a plane.
Airplanes Have Special Tires
Airplane tires are specially made. They’re designed to handle loads of up to 38 tons, and they’re also designed not to pop on landing. They’re also way overinflated by automotive standards at 200 psi, which is about six times the pressure used in a car tire. If a plane needs a new tire, the ground crew just jacks up the plane in a way that’s remarkably similar to changing an auto flat.
Airplanes Can Fly Safely on One Engine
Airplanes don’t need both engines to fly. They have two engines, but it’s perfectly safe to fly on one, although doing this reduces the flight range of the plane and makes it less fuel-efficient. Moreover, all planes going on a long-distance route have to pass a test for how long they can stay in the air on one engine. This is especially true for planes flying over oceans or large uninhabited areas, such as the Arctic.
Planes can fly a surprisingly long way by using something called glide ratio. For example, airplanes like a Boeing 747 can glide two miles for every 1000 feet of altitude. If the situation calls for it, gliding gives the pilot and crew time to find a place to make an emergency landing and to get everyone safely back on the ground.
Those are just a few interesting facts about how airplanes are made. There are hundreds of others, but simply reviewing a few makes it clear how miraculous airplanes are.
