What do planes do before they land?


What do planes do before they land? In large aircraft, thrust is used to control airspeed and pitch is used to control rate of descent. The airspeed is kept well above stall speed and at a constant rate of descent. A flare is performed just before landing, and the descent rate is significantly reduced, causing a light touch down.


How do planes stay in the air?

Airplane wings are shaped to make air move faster over the top of the wing. When air moves faster, the pressure of the air decreases. So the pressure on the top of the wing is less than the pressure on the bottom of the wing. The difference in pressure creates a force on the wing that lifts the wing up into the air.


What are the riskiest phases of flight?

Approach and Landing Accidents (ALA)
  • Definitions.
  • Description. Approach and landing is the highest risk phase of flight, accounting for over 50 percent of all accidents at every level of aviation. ...
  • Considerations. ...
  • Accidents and Incidents.
  • SKYclip. ...
  • Related Articles.
  • Further Reading.


What are the 7 phases of flight?

Phases of Flight
  • Phases of Flight :
  • Pre-departure. This is the preparation time for flight. ...
  • Clearance to Taxi. ...
  • Take-off. ...
  • Initial climb. ...
  • Climb to cruise altitude. ...
  • Cruise altitude. ...
  • Descent.


Is landing harder than take off?

Landing is generally considered quite a bit more hazardous (and requires a bit more exacting handling) than taking off, but both takeoffs and landings can have their challenges.


How do pilots know when to land?

Question: How do pilots know when to descend to land on the assigned runway at the correct speed? Answer: Pilots plan the descent based on the wind and air traffic flow. Working in partnership with air traffic control, the descent is executed allowing adequate distance to descend and line up with the proper runway.


Why do pilots burn fuel before landing?

Typically in the case of an emergency landing, the plane will be landing somewhere well short of its destination. If it has not been flying long enough to burn off enough fuel to get below the maximum landing weight, they need to dump fuel in order to land safely.


What are the 3 things of flight?

The four forces are lift, thrust, drag, and weight. As a Frisbee flies through the air, lift holds it up. You gave the Frisbee thrust with your arm. Drag from the air made the Frisbee slow down.


Why do pilots reject landings?

Discussion: In some cases pilots may need to reject a landing due to rapidly deteriorating weather conditions which reduce the visibility required for a safe landing.


Do more planes crash on takeoff or landing?

If anything goes wrong, the likely result is a runway accident, which can have deadly consequences. According to a study published by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, nearly half of all aviation accidents occur during the final approach or landing and 14 percent occur during takeoff or initial climb.


Why is takeoff so scary?

You are scared of all those “what ifs” which we encounter when we are nervous. There is more risk in a take-off than landing. The aircraft is heavy with fuel & has no speed or altitude, whereas, in landing the aircraft is light, has tons of speed & is already flying.


How fast do planes fly?

Understanding these speeds can provide a fascinating insight into the realm of aviation. On average, commercial planes cruise at about 575-600 mph (925-965 km/h, 500 to 521 knots, 0.78 to 0.81 Mach). Private jets typically cruise at around 500-600 mph (805-965 km/h, 435 to 521 knots, 0.68 to 0.81 Mach).


How high can a plane fly?

The maximum height that a commercial airplane is allowed to reach when they fly is 42,000 feet, as this is the universally approved maximum altitude. This max altitude for airplanes is known as the “service ceiling.” Most commercial air jets fly at such a high altitude because it is known to optimize efficiency.


Why do planes fly so high?

The biggest reason for flying at higher altitudes lies in fuel efficiency. The thin air creates less drag on the aircraft, which means the plane can use less fuel in order to maintain speed. Less wind resistance, more power, less effort, so to speak.