The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plane. That’s because in the olden days of air
travel, a conductor would walk down the aisles collecting tickets. And to lady passengers he would ask: Where’s
My Fare, Lady? Actually none of that is true, but we’re
talking about airplanes today, so if the rain in Spain does stay mainly in the plane, well
then you’d have a pretty soggy trip. Meanwhile -- have you ever wondered if there
are things an airplane simply can’t or won’t do? It turns out that airplanes have strict rules
regarding their pathways in the sky – for safety reasons, and for the sake of staying
friendly with continental neighbors. Some of the places they’re not allowed to
fly over might surprise you! Planes Won’t Fly Over Antarctica
Due to the windy and snowy conditions of the Antarctic mountains, this area is more prone
to white-outs; the pilot wouldn’t be able to see at all! Also, in the event of an emergency, landing
in Antarctica or its mountains would expose passengers to some pretty harsh, freezing
conditions and rough terrain. That mountain terrain isn’t exactly landing-friendly,
either! Plus the Penguins won’t like it. Planes Won’t Fly Directly Over The Earth’s
Poles. The Earth’s north pole has super strong
magnetic fields that are constantly changing – their reach and direction can change by
miles a year! Why is this such a big deal for pilots? If the magnetic field has moved, true North
might look different to the pilot than what it actually is, making it difficult for them
to find the correct runway. The rules for navigation might fly completely
out the window! Airports name their runways according to how
far off true North they are. If a strong magnetic field, like the one that
the north pole has, has made a big movement and causes the pilot to adjust his navigation
from true North, he may not know if he’s headed to land on the correct runway! Sounds like a recipe for flight delays! And it gets better. Because airports name their runways according
to how far off true North they are in the number of degrees, reports from pilots of
movements in a magnetic field may cause the airport to re-name the runway. The difference of a couple degrees isn’t
a big deal. But incorrectly re-naming a runway has had
disastrous consequences before, like incorrect or unsafe landings. Situations like this are very rare, but it’s
a good idea for pilots to just avoid those poles and magnetic fields! Airplanes Won’t Fly Over the Pacific Ocean
Well, it’s not really that they won’t, per say…it’s because there’s a shorter
route! Say you’re flying from North America to
Asia. Due to the Earth’s spherical shape, the
shortest route between Point A and Point B is actually in a North to South direction,
instead of East to West. If you’re traveling from North America to
Asia, it’s generally faster to fly over our European and Middle Eastern friends, rather
than cross over the entire Pacific Ocean. Planes Won’t Fly Over Tibet
This is largely due to the Himalayan Mountains. First of all, if a plane has to land in an
emergency situation, mountains aren’t exactly the ideal impromptu runway. Know what I mean? Secondly, if a plane did manage to land in
the mountains, there’s no doubt that it’s a pretty rough terrain for passengers to cope
with while waiting for help, and the mountains would, no doubt, cause serious damage to the
aircraft. Most importantly, it has to do with altitude. The Himalayas reaches one of the highest altitudes
in the world. If a plane starts losing cabin pressure, the
pilot is supposed to descend to an altitude where the air in the cabin becomes breathable
again. This might be hard to do if you’re flying
among super high-altitude, unforgiving mountains like the Himalayas! They Won’t Fly Over the City of Mecca
The simplest reason here is that there’s no airport in Mecca! The next city over isn’t that far away,
so there’s no need to spend the millions of dollars it would take to construct an airport. Secondly, there’s a strong magnetic field
in Makkah. As mentioned earlier, a magnetic field can
cause navigational problems for pilots. They Can’t Take Off When It’s Too Hot
Recently, in Phoenix, Arizona, more than 40 flights were canceled because it was too hot! Arizona is already a pretty hot place, but
it’s too hot, the plane simply can’t get enough lift! Quick science lesson: Airplane wings are shaped
to make air move faster over the top of the wing, so the pressure of the air decreases. When the pressure on the top of the wing is
less than the pressure on the bottom of the wing, it creates a force call “lift” on
the wing that pulls it (and the plane) up into the air. But when it’s too hot, the air density is
lower which increases the needed runway speed to get air flowing over the wings to create
enough lift for takeoff. So we’ll just sit this one out. Planes Can’t Fly Over George Washington’s
House! Located in Mt. Vernon, Virginia, the house
of the first president of the United States is still standing – although it’s seen
a lot of wear and tear over a few centuries; it was built in the late 1700s, after all. It’s considered a National Historic Landmark,
so to prevent further damage to the historic home, even from air vibrations in the sky,
the airspace above George and Martha’s house was declared a no-fly zone. Disney World and Disneyland
For safety reasons, temporary airspace restrictions are sometimes put in place above areas where
there’s going to be a ton of people, so no one would get hurt in case a plane needs
to make a surprise landing. For instance, temporary air restrictions are
placed every year over the Super Bowl. But what place draws bigger crowds than the
Happiest Place on Earth?? In 2003, the Disney Corporation put “temporary”
no-fly zones over both their parks (which costs a ton of money, by the way), but somehow,
they just stuck. To this day, the airspace over Walt Disney
World and Disneyland is a no-fly zone. Pantex Nuclear Facility
This nuclear plant is located in Amarillo, Texas, and it basically keeps all of the U.S.’s
nuclear materials safe. But they also have some old “you probably
don’t want to move it around too much” type of materials left over from past conflicts. Therefore, there’s a wide no-fly zone around
and above the facility. We don’t want any accidental booms! Camp David
Sounds ordinary, right? Well, don’t let the simple name fool you! Formerly known as the Naval Support Facility
Thurmont, it’s a retreat for U.S. Presidents. A LOT of important people have come, and still
come, to visit this place and have meetings where many international agreements have been
signed. Located in Thurmont, Maryland, President Franklin
D. Roosevelt started the tradition of holding important meetings here. In the 1950s, President Dwight Eisenhower
renamed the retreat Camp David, after his grandson. Due to the many presidents and world-wide
VIPs that visit Camp David, the airspace above the whole compound is a no-fly zone for safety
reasons. Kennedy Space Center
Of course you can’t fly over the Space Center, unless you want to collide with a rocket! Just kidding, but there are some pretty obvious
reasons why the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is a no-fly zone. One reason is the “big crowds” – space
fanatics all over the U.S., and even the world, come to the Kennedy Space Center to watch
rockets launch into space. The other reason is that there’s a lot of
NASA and U.S. Airforce activity that goes on here – pretty important work. So safety for all parties is the top priority. Area 51
Everyone knows about this mysterious and fabled place right? Aliens, UFOs, unexplainable events…but that’s
a whole other video! The interesting thing about the restrictions
on the airspace above the whole area is that it’s a no-fly zone for civilian aircrafts
– and military ones! Where the actual “Area 51” is, isn’t
really known, so it’s attributed to a pretty big stretch of Nevada desert. The fascinating point here is that the whole
area is a no-fly zone – but we don’t know why! Ooooh! Buckingham Palace
Located in London, England, Buckingham Palace is known as one of the most important and
recognizable historical landmarks in the world. Home to the Queen of England and all of her
administration and staff, it’s obviously an important building to the British public
and British government to protect. There are also many frequent important visitors
to the palace whose safety should be considered. Buckingham Palace is meant to protect the
Queen and the royal family, so of course a no-fly zone was established above it. The Taj Mahal
It’s one of India’s most beautiful and recognizable pieces of architecture. Completed in 1653, the Taj Mahal draws thousands
of tourists each year. In 1983 it was recognized as a World Heritage
site. The Indian government place a no-fly zone
above the area of the Taj Mahal in 2006 to safeguard this important historical building
and the many tourists who come to witness its majesty. Do you know of any interesting facts about
what airplanes can’t or won’t do? If so, let me know down in the comments! If you learned something today, give this
video a like and share it with a friend! But hey --don’t go refuse to fly over something
just yet – we’ve got over 2,000 cool videos for you to land on; just click to the left
or right. Remember: Stay on the Bright Side of life!
