Airplanes (Aeroplane)

Future planes might have windowless cabins with giant screens showing the view outside — like being in a flying IMAX theater!

Engineers are designing planes that could take off and land vertically like helicopters but fly as fast as regular planes!

Fun and Unique Facts

Every day, about 100,000 flights take off and land around the world — that’s more than one flight every second!

The pressure inside an airplane cabin at cruising altitude is like being on top of a 6,000-foot mountain!

Lightning strikes commercial airplanes about once or twice every year, but special protection systems keep everyone safe inside!

The Wright brothers’ first airplane engine pumped out 12 horsepower — less than the power of many modern riding lawn mowers!

An airplane’s “black box” can survive temperatures of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,093 °C) — like a volcano’s fiery lava!!

Modern airport radar can track more than 400 airplanes at the same time — like keeping track of 400 flying friends!

Some military planes can fly so high that pilots must wear special suits similar to astronauts!

The fastest air-breathing jet ever built, the SR-71 Blackbird, could fly so fast that its surface would heat up to 500°F (260°C) — hot enough to bake cookies!

Commercial airplanes typically cruise at 36,000 feet (11 kilometers) — so high that you can see about 230 miles (370 kilometers) to the horizon, like being on top of 120 Empire State Buildings stacked on each other!

The air you breathe inside an airplane cabin is completely refreshed every 2–3 minutes — cleaner than most shopping malls or classrooms!

The spiral-shaped cone you see on the front of jet engines, called a spinner, helps guide air smoothly into the engine — like a funnel for air!

Modern airplane engines are so reliable that they can run continuously for over 20,000 hours — that’s like keeping your car running non-stop for more than two years!

When cruising, a jet engine takes in about 1.2 tons (about 1,200 kilograms) of air per second — enough air to fill a house-sized balloon in less than a second!

The Wright brothers’ first airplane cost less than $1,000 back in 1903 — about $30,000 today —while a modern passenger jet runs around $300 million, making it thousands of times pricier!

Most airplanes are painted white because white paint reflects sunlight and helps keep the aircraft cooler — like wearing a white t-shirt on a hot day!

The first airplane to fly around the world took 175 days in 1924, while today a passenger jet can circle the globe in about 42 hours!

A big commercial jet packs 109–149 miles of wiring — enough to span from New York City to Philadelphia and then some!

The airplane that made the emergency landing on the Hudson River in 2009 is now in a museum in Charlotte, North Carolina — visitors can see exactly how it looked after landing on water!

If you fly between sunset and sunrise, your body might think you’ve traveled through time because you can see two sunsets or sunrises in one day!

Many airplane seats float and can be used as flotation devices in case of a water landing — that’s why flight attendants point them out during safety demonstrations!

The world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, handles over 2,500 flights and 275,000 passengers every day!

The first plane-to-plane aerial refueling happened in 1923 when Army pilots passed fuel through a hose — no climbing involved! Now, planes use a special extending fuel hose to refuel mid-air!

During World War II, the B-17 bomber was so strong that it could keep flying even after taking serious damage! Pilots called it the ‘Flying Fortress’ because it was tough and had powerful defenses to protect its crew.

A Boeing 777 engine cranks out about 50,000 horsepower — enough to light up a small town or power the electrics of 25,000 cars!

The first jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet, was introduced in 1952 but had to be redesigned after several crashes due to metal fatigue — teaching engineers important lessons about high-altitude flight!

Supersonic airplanes create a “sonic boom” when they break the sound barrier because they’re moving faster than the sound waves they produce!

The emergency evacuation slides on large aircraft must allow all passengers to exit in 90 seconds — and they can also function as life rafts if the plane lands on water!

The longest domestic flight in the United States is from Boston to Honolulu, covering about 5,100 miles (8,208 km) and taking more than 11 hours!

Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927 using just a compass, a special speed clock, and a small window to check his direction — no GPS or radio, just his skills and careful planning!

Airplane food often has extra seasoning because your sense of taste decreases by about 30% at high altitudes due to the dry air and cabin pressure!

A large passenger plane uses enough fuel for takeoff to drive an average car around the world four times!

Some airplanes have a small hole in their windows to equalize pressure between the layers of glass — like a tiny breathing hole for the window!

The first woman to receive a pilot’s license was Raymonde de Laroche of France in 1910, just seven years after the Wright brothers’ first flight!

Airplane contrails (those white lines in the sky) are made of water vapor that freezes at high altitudes — like making your own clouds!

Pilots and co-pilots usually eat different meals during flights to reduce the risk of both getting food poisoning!

There are about 20,000 airports in the United States, but only 500 of them have commercial airline service!

The world’s shortest commercial flight is between the Scottish islands of Westray and Papa Westray, taking just under two minutes — shorter than most TV commercials!

Airlines can save fuel by adding more seats to a plane, sometimes by moving them closer together or using lighter seat designs. More passengers per flight mean better fuel efficiency per person, helping airlines use less fuel overall!

Many airplane seats float and can be used as flotation devices in case of a water landing — that’s why flight attendants point them out during safety demonstrations!

The world’s smallest jet plane, the BD-5J, is just 12 feet (4 meters) long and has a wingspan of 17 feet (5 meters) — small enough to fit in some home garages!

The seaplane used in the famous movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark” had the registration “OB-CPO” — a reference to Star Wars characters Obi-Wan Kenobi and C-3PO!

Airplane tires are inflated to about 200 psi, which is about six times more pressure than car tires — and they can handle landings at 170 mph (274 km/h)!

The Antonov An-225 Mriya was the largest airplane ever built, with a wingspan of 290 feet (88 meters) — nearly the length of a football field!

The average cloud weighs 1.1 million pounds (about 500,000 kilograms) — yet airplanes can fly right through them because the water droplets are spread out over a large area!

Modern airplane windshields are made of multiple layers of glass and plastic that can withstand strikes from four-pound birds at cruise speed!

The Air Force One U.S. presidential airplane has 4,000 square feet (372 m²) of interior floor space on three levels, including a medical suite that can function as an operating room!

The Wright brothers flipped a coin to decide who would pilot their first airplane — Wilbur won but crashed during a test run, so Orville made the famous first flight!

Some airplanes have special paint that can change color depending on the temperature, helping engineers spot areas that might be overheating!