Air Travel

Airplanes have changed a lot since the time Wright brothers invented it.

Those bulky wood and cloth aircrafts have transformed into sleek Boeing Dreamliners, thanks to modern technology.

Airplanes today are designed in a very unique way and everything you see inside has a specific purpose.

To help you understand the inner workings of air travel, here are a few interesting facts about airplanes that you must know.

1.Some Airplanes Have Secret Bedrooms

On long haul flights, a cabin crew can work for up to 16 hours a day!

To help them combat fatigue some aircrafts, such as the Boeing 777 & 778 Dreamliners, have tiny bedrooms where the cabin crew can rest and relax.

These bedrooms can be accessed via a hidden staircase that lead up to the room which has facilities such as beds, a bathroom and in-flight entertainment.

2.Airplane Cabins Are Deliberately kept Cold

While boarding an airplane you must have felt a sudden change in temperature as soon as you enter the cabin.

As it turns out, there is a pretty good reason why they are kept bone-chilling cold.

According to a study conducted by the American Society for Testing and Materials, travellers are more likely to faint inside an airplane than on the ground due to ‘Hypoxia’.

This is a medical condition where the body tissue does not receive enough oxygen and can be triggered inside a warm airplane cabin.

Plus, we as humans have different internal body temperatures, but airlines can’t really adapt to everyone’s internal system.

This is why, they regulate the temperature based on the average population and keep the cabin on the cold side.

3.Airplane Seats Don’t Face Backwards

Many researchers suggest that backward facing seats on an airplane are safer because during an emergency landing, they provide more support for the head, neck and back.

However, it’s unlikely that passengers will walk into an airplane and see rows facing the tail of an airplane.

The reason is simple! Airlines want to save money.

During an impact, the passenger’s centre of gravity will be higher on a backwards facing seat, causing it to take more strain. The seat itself, the fittings and the floor of the aircraft will need to be strengthened.

That would increase the weight of the aircraft, which would increase fuel consumption. With oil prices rising each day, airlines can’t take that chance and cut costs.

International airlines such as British Airways, American Airlines and Etihad feature backward facing seats but they are rare and only available in the First-Class or Premium cabin.

4.Airplanes Tyres Are Burst Proof

The tyres of an airplane are designed to withstand a weight of more than 35 tons.

These tyres are so strong that airplanes can land at 170 Miles per hour for more than 500 times.

Additionally, airplane tyres are inflated to 200 pounds per square inch, which is about six times the pressure used in a car tyre.

If the ground crew needs to change the tyre, they simply use the technique applied in changing car tyres, however the tools used are much bigger.

5.Airplane Lights Set Your Mood

According to researchers, lighting in an area has a direct effect on our mood. The more intense a light is, the more intense human emotions will be.

For instance, Virgin Atlantic uses LED cabin lights which create more than 16 million different colour combinations. They use it not only to calm down, but also refresh passengers.

If you’ve travelled on a Virgin Atlantic flight, you may have noticed colour changes throughout the flight. Each colour has a different purpose: to induce deep sleep, to gradually wake passengers up and to energize them.

This is one reason why the crew dims the cabin lights during landing at night. In the unlikely event that the airplane landing goes badly and passengers need to evacuate, airlines want passengers to be calm. The dim lighting also helps passengers adjust their eyes to the darkness.

6.Airplanes Don’t Need Both Engines To Fly

The idea of an engine failing mid flight can be a frightening one, but don’t worry. Your airline has you covered!

Airplanes usually use both engines, but in case of emergencies, pilots sometimes switch off one engine.

Any airplane must be certified by authorities for Extended-range Twin Operations (ETOPS), which basically means how long it can fly with one engine.

You’d be surprised to know that an aircraft can fly for almost 5 and a half hours with just one engine functioning.

7.Airplane Windows Have Tiny Holes

We constantly look outside the airplane window while flying, but hardly do we notice the tiny hole at the bottom of it.

An airplane window has 3 layers of special glass known as ‘Acrylic’.

The exterior window is used to prevent things from coming inside the airplane and maintain cabin pressure.

In the unlikely event that something happens to the exterior window pane, the second layer of acrylic acts as a fail-safe option.

The tiny hole in the interior window is there to regulate air pressure so that the middle pane remains intact.

8.Airplane Oxygen Masks Are Functional For A Short Time

Safety instructions on a flight include how to use oxygen masks.

But one thing that flight attendants don’t tell you is that oxygen masks only have about 15 mins worth of oxygen.

It sound like a short amount of time, but in reality, its more than sufficient.

Oxygen masks drop when the airplane cabin loses pressure, which means the aircraft is also losing altitude.

A pilot responds to this situation by moving the airplane to an altitude below 10,000 feet, where passengers can breathe normally.

That rapid descent usually takes way less than 15 minutes, meaning those oxygen masks have more than enough air to protect you.

9.Why Airplanes Leave Trails In The Sky

Most of us love watching how airplanes paint the blue sky with their white trails!

But, have you ever wondered what those white lines are?

When airplane engines run, the exhaust releases hot water vapor which condenses when it hits the cool air outside, leaving a cloud of white puffy lines in the sky.

That is why these lines are called ‘Contrails’.

So the next time you fly, take a moment to admire the fact that even the most insignificant details about an aircraft have a lot of thought and science behind them.

Nothing in the aviation industry is done without a good reason!