Top 12 Unanswered Questions About Airplanes You Always Wondered About!

من طرف Amanda's
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Flying had always been man’s dream. And now that it is a common phenomenon, it is time we focused on some unanswered questions that the passengers have about airplanes.

Why are the landing lights turned on?

They are turned on by the pilot several minutes after takeoff and before landing. These lights are so bright that they also make great anti-collision lights. And that is precisely why they’re left on; so that other pilots can see the plane, even from miles away.

Why do aeroplanes have a green light on one wing and a red light on the other?

Have you ever noticed this? Well, if you have, this is so each crew member can determine the other craft’s direction in a situation where the paths of two aircrafts cross each other. Ared light is mounted on the left side of the craft and a green on the right side.

Why do the wings extend during landing?

The flaps increase the off-ground lifting capacity of the aircraft without requiring a corresponding increase in angle of attack. In other words, the plane is able to achieve slower speeds for a smooth landing.

Why do airplanes have blinking lights on their wings?

These lights are called strobe lights in technical terms and serve to augment the aircraft’s visibility at nighttime. They are very bright and can cause temporary blindness, so they’re turned off when another aircraft is nearby. It is for the same reason they’re not used on the ground.

Why do airlines dim the cabin lights for take-off and landing?

This is to adjust the passengers’ vision to darkness in case of an emergency. Why do airline safety

procedures require you to avoid using the toilet during takeoff and landing?

According to Quora user Jim Gordan, “The airline wants you out of the toilet compartments to give you a better chance of surviving any accident.” He cited two reasons behind this:

  1. Toilets are not fitted with seatbelts and have hard, sharp surfaces that could injure you during an accident.
  2. Toilets are an enclosed space that could be blocked or jammed closed during an accident, and could become a death-trap in case of fire.

Why do airplanes use nautical miles instead of kilometers?

Ships and airlines use this unit of measurement because their captain wants to know how many degrees of the Earth’s circumference he/she has traveled and this also helps him/her to work out their exact geographical location at a given time. A nautical mile (symbol M, NM or nmi) is a unit of distance, set by international agreement as being exactly 1,852 meters (about 6,076 feet). Therefore, using nautical miles for length and knots (nautical mile per hour) makes common sense when navigating and traveling long distances.

Why are the tips of some airplane wings bent upward?

If you’ve ever been very observant, you might have noticed this minute detail. First of all, winglets give 3-6% fuel savings when cruising.

Secondly, the upward bent tips help stop air below the wing from ‘leaking’ to the lower pressure region above the wing without themselves presenting a tremendous obstacle to the forward movement of the wing, its sideways movement in the event of a sideslip maneuver or the rolling of the aircraft while flying through the air.


Here’s why passengers are asked to switch off all electronic devices before takeoff and landing.

This is perhaps the most debated topic regarding to aviation as of yet.

There are lots of radios fetching sensitive information from ground-controls in the flying aeroplane. This is information they can’t do without. If all the passengers in the entire start using their phones- which knowing us, we probably will- there might be an electromagnetic interference with the plane’s control signals, which may even result in a serious accident.

Hasn’t Science advanced enough to fix this? Yes, it has and the ban might be lifted pretty much. Emirates already allows onboard use of mobiles.

Why some planes leave white trails?

These are actually contrails (short form of “condensation trails”) and are formed when the water in jet exhaust mixes with wet cold air, condenses, and freezes into ice crystals. When the air is wet and cold enough the trails can stay around for a long time.

This is a rare phenomenon now, and only seen in air shows where the smoke trails are deliberate.

What’s the idea behind rising window shades?

Window shades have to be remained open during takeoff or landing of an airplane. The idea with raising the window shades has two purposes:

  1. Firstly, your eyes adjust to the same lighting conditions that exist outside the plane so that if the plane lost lighting inside and if there is a need to evacuate in a hurry, your eyes will already be adjusted to outside conditions.
  2. Secondly, if an accident occurs during takeoff or landing, there is more visual access to the outside to know what’s going on at all times.

Did you know why airplanes have headlights?

Cars and other vehicles have them to illuminate the way forward, and also warn other vehicles and obstacles on the path of their arrival.

Airplane lights work in similar ways. “Headlights” refers to the landing/ taxing lights that illuminate the runway while taxing that helps the pilots identify the gate, runway, identify hazards and obstacles on the runway etc. It is situated just near the nose landing gear.

On the other hand, landing lights are used to illuminate before the plane lands.

Word of caution, both lights are incredibly bright and prolonged exposure can cause potential retinal damage to the ground staff. So they’re used only until the plane arrives at the gate and are then promptly turned off.

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