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  • Even though theyre one of the most popular ways to travel long distances, airplanes remain

  • somewhat enigmatic and evoke countless questions. Can a plane fly if one engine is out? Do the

  • wings do all the flying? But most importantly, why, after choosing a window seat, are you

  • sometimes stuck looking at a wall??? Well let’s dive into this, shall we?

  • 1. The pressurized air in the passenger cabin is as dry as the Sahara Desert - with only

  • about 20% humidity. That's why your skin may feel tight and your lips chapped during a

  • flight. It’d make sense to install humidifiers that could add some moisture. But this extra

  • load would cost airlines too much money. Plus, the plane's frame is mostly made of aluminum

  • and other metals, and humid air could lead to corrosion. So plan to wear moisturizer

  • and some lip balm instead.

  • 2. Every 37 seconds, a plane takes off or lands at Chicago’s O'Hare International

  • Airport. Um, theyve tried to stop this particular plane, but no, every 37 seconds,

  • off it goes. Nah -- just kidding. It’s a bunch of planes doing that.

  • 3. The wings are just one of the flight's crucial components. There must be 4 forces

  • for a plane to be able to fly - they have to push an aircraft forward, up, down, and

  • slow it down. These forces are thrust, lift, drag, and weight. So when someone say’s

  • flying’s a dragtheyre partially right!

  • 4. With time, there is increasingly more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. And that's why

  • turbulence is getting worse and more frequent.

  • 5. The Boeing 747-8, one of the world's largest commercial airplanes, has enough electrical

  • capacity to power almost half a million flat-screen TVs.

  • 6. Try to avoid cozying up under airplane blankets. Some airlines only wash them about

  • once a month. Better use your own travel blanket, a scarf, or a jacket.

  • 7. The Bede BD-5 Micro holds a Guinness World Record for being the smallest and lightest

  • jet. This baby can seat one person and weighs just a bit more than a giant panda.

  • 8. The Airbus A380 is the world's largest commercial aircraftit can carry up to

  • 853 passengers! And its wingspan is bigger than the airplane itself. The aircraft's body

  • is 240 ft long, while the wings stretch for 260 ft. Mind you, that’s approaching Lady

  • Liberty’s height!

  • 9. And the world's largest and heaviest aircraft is the Antonov An-225. This giant can take

  • off while carrying 640 tons of its own and cargo weight. And that's heavier than three

  • single-story houses!

  • 10. The dirtiest place on a plane isn't the bathroom - it's your tray table! It has 8

  • times more bacteria than an on-board toilet flush button.

  • 11. Voyager was the first plane to fly around the world without refueling or stopping. The

  • flight took place in 1986 and continued for 9 days, 3 minutes, and 44 seconds.

  • 12. At any moment, there are 61,000 people traveling by plane over the US, and around

  • 5,000 aircraft carrying them.

  • 13. More than a third of your taste buds don't work when you're in the air. That's why even

  • the tastiest dishes and drinks may seem bland and unappetizing.

  • 14. Only 5% of the Earth's population has ever been on a plane. Most of those who do

  • travel by plane are regular flyers.

  • 15. Inside a Boeing 747, there are around 140 miles of wiring, which is half as long

  • as the Grand Canyon. The weight of all this wiring is as heavy as a mid-sized sedan.

  • 16. While traveling by plane, you may feel like you're moving unimaginably high off the

  • ground. But, in fact, the average cruising altitude of most commercial aircraft is only

  • 7% of the distance to space.

  • 17. Airplanes not only get hit by lightning, they can also trigger it! When your aircraft

  • is flying through a cloud, its friction with the surrounding air creates static electricity

  • that can cause lightning. But even if a plane is struck, the electrical current won't do

  • any harm to a modern aircraft. On average, lightning strikes every commercial jet at

  • least once a year.

  • 18. During a 3-hour flight, your body loses 10 glasses of water, putting you at risk of

  • dehydration. And if youre dehydrated, your jet lag will probably be much worse!

  • 19. If flying first class doesn't sound so exciting anymore, you can try the Residence

  • by Etihad Airways. It's a three-room apartment with a bed, vanity, armchair, and onboard

  • shower. But the ticket will cost you tens of thousands of dollars depending on your

  • destination.

  • 20. Even though airplanes can easily handle -60°F at their cruising altitudes, it's very

  • different on the ground. If the temperature drops below -40°F, jet fuel freezes, and

  • the plane can't take off. Extra cold temperatures in the air don't affect aircraft so much because

  • once a plane starts moving, the fuel heats up while passing through the engine.

  • 21. There are planes that can fly with one engine shut down without any problems. For

  • example, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner can safely transport its passengers on one engine for

  • hours before it needs to land. However, if your plane only has one engine, like many

  • private aircraft, and it shuts down, wellthen you get to practice your gliding.

  • 22. A Boeing 767 tanker carries enough fuel to fill the tanks of 1,200 minivans. I’m

  • just guessing here, but I think the challenge is getting all those minivans to a high enough

  • altitude to do the refueling….

  • 23. Airplane windows and seats don't always match up, so choosing a window seat doesn't

  • guarantee youll have a great view of the Earth from above. In large commercial aircraft,

  • for example, Airbus or Boeing, seat placement depends on the airline. In business and first-class,

  • passengers have more legroom and overall personal space than in economy class. And if it's a

  • low-cost airline, chairs are typically crammed inside the cabin. But windows always stay

  • in a fixed position. That's why the seats sometimes match up with the windows, and sometimes

  • they don't.

  • 24. The late great Concorde, the fastest commercial airplane ever, could fly at twice the speed

  • of sound when it was in use. It held the record for the fastest transatlantic flightthe

  • trip from New York to London took the super-jet just 3 hours. (It usually takes 7!)

  • 25. The average cruising speed of a commercial airliner is 575 mph, which is almost 3 times

  • faster than the speed of a Lamborghini Gallardo and over 4 times faster than a tornado’s

  • wind gusts! How’s that for a wacky comparison?

  • 26. Mercury isn't allowed on flights because even a small amount of this liquid metal can

  • seriously damage the aluminum most planes are made of. The problem is that mercury combines

  • with aluminum all too eagerly. And when it does, this disrupts a protective layer that

  • keeps aluminum from corroding.

  • 27. While drivers can’t for obvious reasons, pilots can and do sneak in a nap! That's why

  • at some point in your flight, the plane is likely to be controlled only by the autopilot.

  • When 500 pilots were interviewed, 43% of them admitted to falling asleep "behind the wheel,"

  • and 31% said they’d woken up next to their sleeping co-pilot at least once.

  • 28. In case of an emergency, oxygen masks only have enough airflow to last for about

  • 15 minutes. Luckily, it's just the amount of time a plane needs to find a suitable landing

  • place or to at least descend to the altitude where people won't need oxygen masks anymore.

  • 29. Though it doesn’t exist yet, there is a concept of a plane with a detachable passenger

  • cabin. It would let pilots eject the cabin if one or both engines fail. After that, the

  • cabin would fall gently and safely toward the ground thanks to several massive parachutes.

  • Unfortunately, most crashes happen not because of engine failure mid-flight, but during take-off

  • and landing. And in these circumstances, the whole detachable cabin idea isnot so good.

  • 30. Even though it's not one of the FAA’s rules, a lot of airlines insist that their

  • pilots and co-pilots eat different meals. Then, if one of them gets food poisoning,

  • the other will be able to fly the plane.

  • 31. The first company that offered its customers online check-in was Alaska Airlines, and it

  • happened in 1999! At first, this system was available to a limited number of passengers

  • and worked only for select flights. Oh, how the times have changed!

  • 32. The white trails airplanes leave in the sky are nothing but condensation - that's

  • why theyre called "contrails"! As part of the combustion process, an aircraft releases

  • hot water vapor, and it gets pumped out of the exhaust and freezes in the cold air of

  • the upper atmosphere.

  • If you learned something new today, then give the video a like and share it with a friend!

  • Here are some other videos I think you'll enjoy. Just click to the left or right, and

  • stay on the Bright Side of life!

Even though theyre one of the most popular ways to travel long distances, airplanes remain

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