Why Pilots Never Use Wipers and Other Plane Secrets

so it's pouring outside when you get on a plane if you were in a car you'd simply switch on the windshield wipers and the headlights after turning the key in the ignition do pilots do that airplanes spark so many questions and it's time for some answers do planes have windshield wipers yes commercial planes do but they're only used during taxiing takeoff and landing once a plane reaches its cruising altitude pilots turn them off the plane's speed is fast enough to clear the windshields from rain wipers might be absent on single engine airplanes because the propeller airstream blows strong enough to keep the water away what happens when a plane loses one engine in flight actually it goes hey has anybody seen my engine it was just here a second ago no nothing special the plane actually just keeps flying there are certificates for planes flying over oceans or long distances that state how long they can do it for example the boeing 787 can fly for more than five hours without the second engine it's enough for pilots to plan a safe landing well why is it so cold on a plane the temperature on board averages 74 degrees fahrenheit about the same as in most office buildings but you feel so cold because your body doesn't move much producing less heat to worm itself the crew doesn't turn the heat up because hot air can cause some passengers to faint during the flight do airplanes have horns yeah and some of them have a whole trumpet section actually yes they do have horns but pilots don't use it to scare away birds or get other aircraft's attention in the sky hey move over buddy actually you can hear that high-pitched chime only on the ground when the plane isn't moving like when an engineer checks something in the cockpit and wants to get the attention of a ground crew member why do planes leave white trails in the sky it happens when the engine burns fuel it ejects water and carbon dioxide that gets mixed with the atmosphere and since the air is cold at high altitude and this exhaust is hot the water condenses and may freeze creating those white tails do airplanes have brakes yes there are multiple disc brakes made of carbon steel material similar to the ones in your car but using them only isn't enough to stop the plane when it touches the ground the braking system also includes different surfaces that slide out of the wings and disrupt the airflow can a plane door open mid-flight the cabin pressure is the force that won't let that happen if someone tried to do it they would have to overcome more than 24 000 pounds of pressure the weight of a ship anchor plus there are lock bolts deep inside the aircraft structure that hold the door in place what happens when lightning hits a plane now statistics say this happens to every commercial plane about once a year but the aircraft's metal parts and lightning protection systems prevent electrical buildup so in most cases this leaves a plane with only a scorch mark on its surface why don't the seats and windows always line up good question all commercial planes are designed with seats and windows perfectly aligned but when an airline buys a jet it often chooses to add extra seats more seats mean more passengers and more tickets sold and less of a view and less leg room for you see how that works why do flight attendants touch the overhead compartment you think that they're checking to see if it's closed tightly but nope they use a scalloped handrail hidden at the bottom of the overhead compartment for a steadier walk along the aisle what are those white spiral marks on engines for well since the ground staff wear hearing protection they can't rely on their ears to decide if it's safe to approach the plane seeing that moving swirl on jet engines prompts them to stay away from the area why are there holes in airplane windows those windows actually have three panes of plexiglas the tiny hole is in the middle one it helps regulate the huge pressure difference inside and outside the cabin so the outer pane can handle the load if the outer pane happened to break the middle one even with a hole in it would still be enough to keep the window intact that hole also keeps the windows from fogging up why are there hooks on the wings if there is an emergency landing on water passengers have to step on the slippery wings to use some emergency exits that's why crew members secure one end of a rope to the door frame and the other to the wing through the hook another rope is secured in the second hole safely leading passengers along the wing to the inflatable slide why do the wings have different colored lights it's for christmas now that red light on the left wing tip the green one on the right and the white one on the tail make up the plane's navigational lights they let other pilots know the plane's position and the direction it's moving in toward them or away do planes have ignition keys well since ignition keys are usually a security measure most commercial planes don't need them they're locked in hangers under 24 7 surveillance to start the engine a pilot just pushes buttons and turns switches but smaller private planes like a cessna have ignition keys to start the engine and even locks on the doors why are there triangles above the windows these black and sometimes red stickers let the crew know which window is best to look out when they want to check the moving parts of the wing if you get motion sickness during the flight try to choose a seat between the triangles for a more comfortable trip how can you get extra space on a plane well if you're lucky enough to get an aisle seat there's a magic button near the hinge under the armrest closest to the aisle press it and the arm rest will swing up to the back of your seat why are most planes white well this color reflects the sun better than any other so it helps keep a plane cool it's also much easier to spot any cracks dense leaks and other faults on the white surface and paint makes a plane 1200 pounds heavier causing it to burn more fuel airlines save money by not painting them why don't airplanes have parachutes for passengers well like paint parachutes would also add extra weight around 8 000 pounds plus skydivers must go through at least 4 hours of training to learn how to handle a parachute lastly jumping out of a plane at 35 000 feet in the air is simply not safe because temperatures at that altitude are colder than the arctic minus 65 degrees why can't planes fly when it's hot well the molecules in hot air are much more spread out to lift a plane you need dense air that's why it gets harder for a plane to take off as the temperature increases besides scorching weather can overheat the internal machinery or even melt some of its parts so if it gets 104 degrees fahrenheit outside your flight might be delayed why do planes have round windows the very first commercial planes had square ones but after some time they started flying at a higher altitude that demanded the cabin be pressurized frequent pressurization and depressurization deformed and even broke windows with corners they were replaced with round ones since they withstand the pressure much better how do the oxygen masks work very well actually if the cabin is depressurized at cruising altitude it loses oxygen the masks provide that but only for 15 minutes it's okay though that's long enough for the pilot to descend lower than ten thousand feet where the air has more oxygen and people can breathe normally what causes turbulence your trip gets bumpy because of three main reasons storms mountains and jet streams just like an ocean air creates waves when it meets a mountain and sometimes it has nowhere to go but up in strong currents affecting a plane jet streams are bands of swift winds that appear when warm air masses collide with cold ones storm clouds push air away creating unpredictable waves why do planes sometimes dump fuel if there is an emergency landing pilots must quickly get rid of excess weight since they didn't burn it and get to the destination runway as light as they should be the lighter the plane the softer it'll touch the ground so no blown tires or fire why are the doors on the left side well the captain usually sits on that side so aligning the plane with the terminal jet bridge is easier they fuel the aircraft and load baggage on the right side if passengers are coming in on the left it doesn't disturb those crews why do they dim the lights during takeoff and landing it takes your eyes up to 30 minutes to fully adjust to a dark setting dimming the lights at night or dusk prepares them in case passengers need to make an emergency exit they fade the lights during the day to save some engine power why are most plane seats blue this color is psychologically associated with safety and reliability so flight weary passengers feel less anxious besides stains and dirt are less visible on blue seats now we know

Channel: BRIGHT SIDE

Views: 1,077,837

Rating: 4.8674421 out of 5

Keywords: bright side, brightside, air travel, being a passenger, travel, planes, airplane, airports, onboard, traveling by plane, flight rules, plane lovers, aircraft, civil aviation, travelling, traveling, aviation, airliners, airplane travel, commercial air travel, emergency landings, airplane seat belts, airplane windows, oxygen masks, turbulence, airplane facts, why planes are white, trails in the sky, what if lightning hits a plane, holes in airplane windows

Id: HfAQhaXqLjw

Length: 10min 2sec (602 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 07 2020