Did you know......?

• In the 1920's, you could buy a plane ticket for $5.
• At the Chicago airport, an airplane is landing every 37 seconds.
• The box that records conditions and other things having to do with the plane, known as a "black box", is actually orange.
• A 747-400 is made with 6 million parts that have been made in 33 different countries.
• The layers of skin between the inside of a plane, and outside is only 7.5 inches thick.
• The first coast to coast flight for America was in 1911 and took a total of 49 days to complete.
• The miles traveled by the Boeing 747 is equal to at least 75,000 round trips to the moon.
• The KC-135 contains 500,000 rivets costing 14 cents to $1.50 each.
• The AN-225 can carry 1.3 million pounds while taking off.
• American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each first-class passenger's salad.
• On average, 61,000 people are airborne in the U.S. every hour.

Materials Used In Planes

Aluminum Nose of an Airplane

Have you ever been flying around and wondered what exactly the plane you are in is made of? I was wondering the exact same thing, so I decided to do some researching and found some things I have never thought of.

Planes are made out of lighter materials so it is easier to stay in the air. For example, commercial planes are made out of aluminum, but newer ones are made out of a composite material similar to aluminum or even plastic. Another material, known as titanium, used for some military planes. These materials are not only light but are also extremely strong, giving planes the ability to carry more weight. In the end, what the plane is going to be used for really determines what the plane or jet needs to be made of. The more that is being put into your plane, the less it should weigh.

Titanium

Aircraft in the MIlitary

Did you know planes are not only used for travel and recreation? They are also used in the military as part of the Air Force, Army and Navy. Airplanes or jets are very useful in many ways.  They transport goods, weapons, soldiers, and can also be used for staging an attack. 

 The engines in the jet fighters today have a thrust that is so large that the plane is able to go fast enough to break the sound barrier.  Today's military aircraft are much larger, and have more weapons, controls, and are a lot better at navigating the enemy.  They can also carry a lot more than they could when they were first starting to be used.

One of these high-tech jets is known as the F-15 Eagle. This jet can travel at 1,875 mph. and has a thrust of 23,450 pounds per engine!  The thrust-to-weight of the engine is high, making the acceleration and maneuverability high.  The navigation systems, weaponry, and other technology is very complicated, making this jet extremely deadly.

You can learn more about aircraft in the military at http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/index.asp.

Airplanes Used for Transportation

Modern Airplane

The most common type of airplane is a commercial transport plane.  They give people a way to get somewhere a lot quicker than if they were to drive or travel by boat.  One of the first passenger planes was known as the "Tin Goose," and was flown by United Airlines.  It could hold 12 people and only travel at 110 mph.  Planes today hold many more people and our flight has accommodations to make our journey as comfortable and safe as possible, as well as a lot quicker.  If you would like to find tickets to experience this for yourself you can find some links on the side of the page



"Tin Goose"

The Basics of a Successful Flight

A lot of math and physics goes into getting a plan to fly.  To get it in the air, you must make sure that your lift while taking off will be greater than the gravity pushing it down.  You must also make sure the thrust will be strong enough to resist the drag.  The elevators are also a big part and need to be upward to take off.

Once it is in the air, you must know how to work the ailerons.   If you don't know how to do this you will run into a major problem because you won't be able to tip the airplane, helping it turn.  The rudders are help keep your plane under control.  The direction of the end of the rudder is the direction the nose of the plane will go (i.e. left rudder causes nose to head to the left).

When you are ready to land the airliner or slow it down you need to know how the elevators operate.  You need to point the elevators downwards.  This will cause the plane to be pointed down and you will be headed towards earth.  Obviously, you cannot land and continue at the speed you were traveling at once airborne.  This is where the flaps come in handy.  They add surface area and resistance to the drag, slowing you down.

As you can see, flying a plane is not as easy as a lot of people think it is.  These are not the only things you need to know to fly an airplane but they are some of the basics. Physics and planning go into because without extensive training, you could get into a serious accident.  For more detailed information click here.

Plane Vocabulary

For those of you who are not familiar with planes, there are some words you need to know in order to understand how a plane works.  I have included a few words below to help you understand what I will be talking about while describing what is needed for a successful flight.

Lift: The lift of an air plane is the upward force applied to the plane.
Gravity: Gravity is the force pushing downward, trying to keep the plane on the ground.
Thrust: The thrust is the engine's ability to keep the plane moving forward; also know as the forward force.
Drag: the drag is the resisting force that stops the plane from moving forward.
Wing: Helps the lift the airplane up, by giving surface area to act upon.
Airfoil: Shaped profile of the wing,= that causes more lift than drag.

The Wright Brothers and Their Plane

The Wright Brothers, Orville and Wilbur, invented and flew the first airplane.  Orville was born in 1871 and died in 1948.  He completed 57 circles at 120 feet in the air on September 9, 1908.  Wilbur, Orville's older brother, was born 1867 and died in 1912.  He was also a successful pilot and reached an altitude of 300 feet while he was in France.

The plane that the brothers created was 750 pounds and 40.5 feet long.  The plane's first four flights were on December 17, 1903 with 25 mph. winds.  The first flight, made by Orville, reached 120 feet in 12 seconds.  The second flight, with Wilbur as the pilot, was just as successful and reached 195 feet in the air.  The last two flights reached 200 feet and 852 feet in 59 seconds.  The plane however, was ruined when John Daniels tried to retrieve it when it was caught by a strong gust of wind.

The brothers continued to make planes and set records, including flying them over seas.  If Orville and Wilbur would not have built that plane, it would have taken longer to get where we are today and develop the different types of planes we use.

The First Airplane