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can an airplane land and strong
crosswind why do pilots sometimes make a
circle around the city before landing am
I really gonna need to use this barf bag
these are just some of the most common
questions about one of the most
interesting parts of the flight
let's get them answered why do planes
point up even when they're flying down
you can notice its weight harder to walk
to the front of the plane then to the
back and cabin crew never lets go of
those service trolleys and even when its
descent time pilots still don't point
the nose down in fact it's not the
direction of the nose but power that
makes the plane go up or down turn the
power up and it will start climbing and
vice versa the direction of the nose
speeds up or slows down the plane so in
aircraft preparing for landing is
usually nose up to slow down
why do pilots dim cabin lights during
landing seeing cabin lights go down on
descent can be unnerving but nothing's
really wrong first it helps save some
much-needed energy during this critical
part of the flight it's way more
important to control the brakes and the
generator then to let you finish your
in-flight reading right the second
reason is safety if you have to leave
the plane quickly in an emergency when
it's dark outside it will be easier for
you to see floor lights guiding to the
exit and for your eyes to adapt when
cabin lights are dimmed do runway light
patterns have a meaning well I'm just
guessing here but I think it means land
here dummy actually pay start long
before the runway to guide the plane
during landing and there is a whole
system of visual aids made of red and
white light patterns they let the pilot
know if the plane is on a perfect path
to the runway the ideal position is two
red and two white lights for white
lights or a three wide and one red means
the plane is too high and for red lights
or three red and one white let the pilot
know they're below the perfect path why
do pilots sometimes dump fuel before
landing the landing can be really hard
if the plane weighs as much as it does
when taking off
normally there's just enough fuel in a
commercial plane so it's almost all gone
by the time it descends but in case of
emergency like when there's a technical
issue or a passenger is not feeling well
and the plane must land way sooner than
planned pilots have to get rid of the
extra fuel immediately they activate a
system of pumps and valves and it flies
out of the wings where it's mostly
stored do planes really talk to pilots
just before landing well there comes a
moment before landing when the pilot
must decide if they are ready to aim for
the runway or have to make a go-around
this point is called a decision altitude
or decision height well they are still
thinking the plane can remind them to do
it already on many planes including the
popular 747 a mechanical voice loudly
and clearly says just one word decide
I heard next year they're coming out
with a decide already I'm flying here
I'm flying here what do pilots call the
ground effect the feeling of resting on
the ground when you're still in the air
is called the ground effect when the
plane is in the air there's a lot of
space between the wings and the ground
when you're about to land though the air
becomes super compressed and feels like
a pillow it's mostly the pilots who
experience it but if you have a window
seat you can also feel as if you were
floating on a soft air pillow above the
ground for the final 15 to 20 seconds of
descent have you ever felt it perhaps
hey let me know in the comments why is
landing often bumpy at cruising altitude
pilots will normally try to avoid
turbulence by slightly changing the roof
but the runway is where it is and if
pilots have to go through rough air to
get there they'll do it in fact a rough
landing has its benefits when a plane
descends too slowly and floats above the
runway it leaves less room for braking
this can be a real problem on shorter
runways and a firm landing is always the
safest in slippery conditions with rain
slush snow or ice on the runway
why is descent so long compared to
takeoff well getting up to cruising
altitude normally the only takes about
10 or 15
minutes but when it's time to descend
the crew will often finish their service
and ask you to get ready 40 or even 50
minutes before actual landing this is
because it's not just the distance to
the airport or plane speed that matters
here in most cases air traffic control
tells pilots when to start descending
they plan it in such a way to avoid air
traffic jams especially at busy airports
to avoid any accidents planes can't just
all land in the shortest diagonal from
the same distance why do planes
sometimes make a big circle around the
city before landing well they call it an
approach or a holding pattern and any
era foe will describe it as a nightmare
there is nothing dangerous or wrong with
being on hold though try to think of the
sky is a busy highway with each plane on
its own lane when they have to merge at
some point you don't want them to
collide so it's better to wait a bit and
when it's okay to land a plane will
rarely fly right over downtown where the
buildings are super tall there are set
paths for each runway and they mostly go
around the city why do they land
sideways and strong crosswinds air
planes are built in such a way as to
withstand strong crosswinds but
passengers don't feel comfortable to say
the least when a plane starts
uncontrollably shaking approaching the
ground landing in such weather
conditions requires some serious skills
from pilots and that's a maneuver they
start practicing as soon as they begin
flight training they call it crabbing
and slipping crabbing in pilot slang
means pointing the nose of the plane
right into the wind at this moment the
aircraft is moving sideways much like a
crab the pilot has to adapt the angle of
the nose to the speed and direction of
the wind those may change in a matter of
moments in gusty conditions so the task
is really challenging when the runway
eventually appears from beneath a thick
layer of clouds it could be way off to
the left or to the right of the notes so
when the plane approaches the ground
they have to change technique from
crabbing to slipping that means
adjusting the plane parallel to the
runway tipping the wings into the wind
the way it should be in normal
conditions even the most experienced
pilots sometimes can't handle extreme
crosswinds and go sideways on the ground
before going back up for a second
attempt
so when winds are really too bad the
safest option is to delay the flight
altogether other planes land in zero
visibility
thunderstorms snow and fog all reduce
visibility and make safe landing a
challenge in general pilots need at
least a half a mile visibility to
complete the flight when it's lower than
that the airport must have special
equipment to guide the plane to the
ground it includes special lighting
along the runway visibility measurement
gear and radio navigation called the
instrument landing system when it's
foggy air traffic controllers basically
become the extra eyes for the pilot and
guide them through every tiny step of
landing and finally about using that
barf bag well it's there for your
convenience but I don't think you'll
really need it on the other hand I get
it wrong a lot so be prepared hey if you
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