Please view our advertising policy page for more information. Skip to content. Advertiser Disclosure. Charlie Page. This is the wonder of flight. Takeoff appears to just be an art form… Romance vs. Reality As romantic as this all sounds, the few moments it takes for an aircraft to get airborne are actually based on pure science and maths. Airfield Performance In order to understand the part this 35 feet screen height plays in the takeoff, we first need to look at the various distances that affect the take off performance of an aircraft.
The important distances for takeoff In order to operate within the TODA, the takeoff speeds must be as slow as possible. The Engine Failure Scenario On a twin engine aircraft such as the Dreamliner, the loss of power from one engine during the takeoff run is one of the more serious events that could happen.
Accurate Performance for Every Flight The figures mentioned above vary from flight to flight, day to day and are affected by a number of variables. Aircraft Weight The most obvious element in this equation is the weight of the aircraft. Runway Slope Another fairly easy factor to understand is that if the runway is sloping upwards, it will naturally take longer for the aircraft to accelerate to the speeds required for flight.
The runway slope affects takeoff performance. The greater the upslope, the greater the engine power needed. Wind Aircraft like to takeoff into a head wind. Airfield Pressure Altitude The higher the pressure altitude, the lower the air density. Runway Condition One of the less obvious aspects, the condition of the runway can affect the drag on the wheels. Reduced Thrust Takeoffs The engines on modern jet aircraft are so powerful that very rarely is full power required to get airborne.
A Real-Life Example: Los Angeles to London So now that we know the factors that affect the takeoff performance, we can look at how the data was calculated in the flight described at the start. The Takeoff Data Depending on the aircraft, it can take a couple of minutes to calculate the data.
The final takeoff performance figures. Bottom Line Takeoff is one of the most safety-critical points of the flight. Sign up for our daily newsletter. Sign up. I would like to subscribe to The Points Guy newsletters and special email promotions. The Points Guy will not sell your email. Please enter a valid email address Please check mailing preferences. Sign-up Successful! Welcome to The Points Guy!
Charlie Page is a contributing writer for The Points Guy. Frontier is cutting 2 Northeast airports in a big competitive shake-up. Time is running out to take advantage of this JetBlue Mosaic fast-track offer. Quick Points: Maximize Priority Pass benefits by labeling your cards. Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery and at U. Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases. Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details. The APU is in the tail cone, and the pilots start it up to feed power to the plane's systems.
But an APU uses costly fuel from the jet's tanks, so many airports provide a ground power system, or there's a generator cart parked at the gate. Once the plane's access panel is opened and the connection is made with a heavy-duty cable and plug, the source of power is switched, and the engines are shut down.
Connecting the air-con. The APU also energizes the plane's climate control systems, hopefully keeping the cabin at a nice temperature while parked. Like ground power, some airports provide conditioned air through large-diameter flexible ducts that plug into a port on the belly of the plane. Or you might see a truck-mounted unit doing the job, with a duct snaking to the plane. Large, wide-body aircraft need two air connections to keep the cabin comfortable.
The passengers inside the plane have jumped up, and they're waiting impatiently in the aisle to get off -- right now.
If the gate is equipped, a passenger boarding bridge is positioned by the forward left-side doors. Otherwise, truck- or cart-mounted stairs roll up, and passengers experience the excitement of walking down the stairs and onto the ramp, being able to look back at their aircraft. Smaller regional jets and turboprops sit close to the ground, and have stairs built into the inside of the plane's doors, with just a couple of steps to the ramp.
Unloading the luggage and cargo. Pods filled with passengers' bags are handled by a purpose-built machine. On the right side of the plane, the ramp team has swung into action.
These have to be deployed from the wing before performing any maneuver. At the beginning of the climb phase, the wheels are retracted into the aircraft and the undercarriage doors are closed. This operation is audible by the passengers as a noise coming from below the floor.
Following take-off, the aircraft has to climb to a certain altitude typically 30, ft or 10 km before it can cruise at this altitude in a safe and economic way. A climb is carried out by increasing the lift of wings supporting the aircraft until their lifting force exceeds the weight of the aircraft. Once this occurs, the aircraft will climb to a higher altitude until the lifting force and weight are again in balance.
The increase in lift may be accomplished by increasing the angle of attack of the wings, by increasing the thrust of the engines to increase speed thereby increasing lift , by increasing the surface area or shape of the wing to produce greater lift, or by some combination of these techniques.
In most cases, engine thrust and angle of attack are simultaneously increased to produce a climb. Because lift diminishes with decreasing air density, a climb, once initiated, will end by itself when the diminishing lift with increasing altitude drops to a point that equals the weight of the aircraft.
At that point, the aircraft will return to level flight at a constant altitude. During climb phase, it is normal that the engine noise diminishes. This is because the engines are operated at a lower power level after the take-off. It is also possible to hear a whirring noise or a change in the tone of the noise during climb. This is the sound of the flaps that are retracting. A wing with retracted flap produces less noise.
Cruise is the level portion of aircraft travel where flight is most fuel efficient. It occurs between ascent and descent phases and is usually the majority of a journey. Technically, cruising consists of heading direction of flight changes only at a constant airspeed and altitude. It ends as the aircraft approaches the destination where the descent phase of flight commences in preparation for landing. In addition, the engines need to provide enough thrust so that, when paired with the upward push of lift, they lift off the ground.
Even before a plane makes it to those basic stages of engaging lift and thrust to beat the forces of gravity, however, it must first go through numerous preparatory pre-takeoff procedures. Among the things that happen to a plane before it is boarded and ready for takeoff include:.
For one thing, it means that planes need to be very carefully prepared before they are ready to take off. If any of the above are not able to be performed, takeoff may be delayed or scrubbed. In terms of takeoff itself, that basic principle of lift plus thrust described at the beginning is what helps get the plane off the ground.
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