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When the Wright brothers invented the first airplane
back in 1903, they probably couldn’t imagine what an extremely
profitable business the aircraft industry would become over a hundred
years later. Their aircraft, the Wright Flyer, flew only about 120 feet,
whereas today a typical Boeing 787 can fly more than ten thousand miles
on a single tank of gas. And this is only one little step the world of
aviation has taken since then. Nowadays, there are many companies with
thousands of employees worldwide involved in the various aspects of
designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft,
aircraft parts, and spacecraft (and this isn’t even the best part of the
most intriguing facts about the aircraft industry).
To get an idea how important aircraft manufacturing is for the
industrial sector, Russia alone employs around 355,300 people in the
field, and the United Kingdom—home to one of the largest national
aerospace industries in the world—employs more than 113,000 people
directly and around 276,000 indirectly and has an annual turnover of
more than £35 billion. Additionally, flying is considered the fastest
and safest—despite so many people being afraid to fly—way to travel but
this is common knowledge. However, the some Intriguing Facts About The
Aircraft Industry that follow are far from common knowledge. So, fasten
your seat belt and let’s fly into the exciting world of aviation.
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A Boeing 747 can carry about 60,000 gallons of jet fuel, which weighs
about 400,000 pounds.
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A study by Popular Mechanics determined
that passengers who sit near the tail of the plane are forty percent
more likely to survive a crash than those in the first few rows.
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The air on airplanes is filtered by the same technology that filters air
in hospitals, so while the tray table may harbor germs, the air is
clean.
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The air on airplanes is filtered by the same technology that filters air
in hospitals, so while the tray table may harbor germs, the air is
clean. |
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Aircraft radar cannot detect turbulence. Turbulence can occur in clear,
cloudless weather as well as in bad weather.
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The FAA requires that all airplanes be capable of being evacuated in
ninety seconds. It takes only a minute and a half for a fire to spread
and engulf a plane.
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Autopilot is usually turned on during the majority portion of a flight.
The computer can make more precise adjustments, which leads to better
fuel efficiency, except during turbulence. Autopilot is not typically
used during takeoff or landing, although it is available to use.
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Most airline pilots are paid only for their time in the air, which
doesn’t include time spent getting to and from the airport, performing
pre-flight duties, or waiting for other planes delayed in front of them
waiting to take off.
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The Antonov AN-225 cargo jet is the largest plane in
the world. It is nearly as big as a football field from nose to tail and
wing tip to wing tip. It was originally built to transport a space
shuttle.
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The world’s largest passenger plane is the Airbus
A380. It is a double-decker four-engine jetliner and made its first
flight on April 27, 2005.
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The world’s smallest jet is the BD-5 Micro. Its
wingspan is 14 to 21 feet and weighs just 358 pounds.
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Mercury is considered the greatest threat for every airplane and for
that reason it is not allowed on a flight. Even a small amount of
mercury can seriously damage aluminum, which is what most planes are
made of. Aircraft that are exposed to mercury are usually quarantined.
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The world’s fastest airplane is the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, flying at
2,193 miles per hour. It has held the record for nearly forty years.
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English is the international language of flight. All flight controllers
and all commercial pilots on international flights are required to speak
English.
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A rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased the number of
incidents of turbulence. Additionally, many experts believe that global
climate changes will produce more incidents of turbulence in the near
future. |