I just want to know why most planes don't have parachute so that passengers can jump off a plane in case of an emergency. Abi na for only film dem dey use parachute? I think i'll have to purchase my own parachute and wear it whenever i'm travelling by air.

[size=13pt]@chaircover
Which do you work with, JAMB or WAEC?[/size]

superior1: [size=13pt]@chaircover
Which do you work with, JAMB or WAEC?[/size]

Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha

100000 LIKES

By the time you get the answers to all these questions, you'd only need to get your Private Pilot Licence without further training. Congrats to the e-pilot!

afam4eva: I just want to know why most planes don't have parachute so that passengers can jump off a plane in case of an emergency. Abi na for only film dem dey use parachute? I think i'll have to purchase my own parachute and wear it whenever i'm travelling by air.

I think its cause the average air traveler isn't trained to jumped off a plane. Even if this option were in place, a lot of people would still hang on for fear of jumping into empty space where its not 100% certain that they'd survive.

I also think that commercial airplanes are just not built for this as the cabin rapidly depressurises once the door is opened mid air. This alone could cause death to people. I.e. You can't breathe well under such circumstances.

NO Experience yet! Just hoping to board one soonest, may be I will answer some of these questions someday. Curious though!

Iolo:

I think its cause the average air traveler isn't trained to jumped off a plane. Even if this option were in place, a lot of people would still hang on for fear of jumping into empty space where its not 100% certain that they'd survive.

I also think that commercial airplanes are just not built for this as the cabin rapidly depressurises once the door is opened mid air. This alone could cause death to people. I.e. You can't breathe well under such circumstances.

I think should allow the passengers decide whether or not they want to jump off the plane. I'll rather take that risk than be roasted with Jonathan condoling my family.

nigerian airplanes are old...like 1985,datz y u hear those noise........i want to be a pilot sha...ah no go fly wit TARABA state . Suntai.......vulcunizer no pump suntai plane tire wel.....naija eh.....STEER LEFT craft goes right

I've never travel by air. But is this what u truely encounter in the air? Oh my God!

chaircover: I have a couple of questions for the pilots in the house. I hate flying so the more I know about how things work up there, should hopefully help kill this fear

If anyone has further questions feel free to ask too.

1.What causes turbulence and do some routes suffer more than others? It seems to me that the Abuja-London route suffers more turbulence than the London-Lagos route.

2.Do some airlines absorb the turbulence better? From my experience Virgin doesn’t seem to be as bumpy as ARIK and BA

3.Why do your ears pop on some flights and not on others?

4.Why does the plane dramatically slow down when the Wheels come out for landing

5.And why does it make such a loud thud/bang when the wheels come out. I thought it was to do with hydraulics so why is it so noisy?

6.What maintenance do the ground engineers do when the plane comes in and before take off again

7.How many trips does a plane make say for example London to Lagos before it is taken out of service?

8.What is the average pay for a pilot and crew?

9.Do pilots sleep when the plane is on autopilot? And do the number of pilots increase with the lenght of the flight so eg are there more pilots on the UK-Australia route than there would be on the london-lagos route?

10.Do mobile phones really affect electronics on the flight?

11.When the plane comes to land how do the back wheels drop down so gently without slamming into the runway considering the weight of the plane?

12.When a flight departs late, most times the pilots try and make up time. If the plane therefore can safely travel that fast, then why not just use that speed anyway and reduce the flight times of all flights?

13.Why do the crew insist on switching the cabin lights off when departing or landing at night/its dark?

14.Why are suitcases sometimes damp when they come out of the hold?

15.Is it me or does anyone else suddenly notice the increase in heat in the cabin during day flights over the desert?

16.I know that the engines “drive” the planes, but how does the plane go up in the air and not down at ground level like a car or boat will?


. . . . . . . And last of all why is airline food sooooooo crap?

And before the smart alecs ask me to ask google. I have and not all the answers are there

The questions are too numerous to answer, i could have given you some valid answeres, but the questions are too vast. Anyway, read some article on this link:
https://www.nairaland.com/140929/facts-air-travel-read-youre

Lemme answer dis

10.Do mobile phones really
affect electronics on the flight?

Our flight was delayed for 7hrs, Nigeria factor anyway,finaly when we got inside i 4got to put off my cell, i jst remember i brought it out to put it off, d crew member shoutd on top of her voice, what are u doing? Me was jst am puting it of... But that unprofesional manner is wat i told ha, she told me sorry...mobile do affect em, Mobile Phones should be turned off during plane travel due to network interference

Wen flyin tru clouds, expect turbulence cos dos clouds ar made up of unstable air mass. Dnt knw 'bout d routes.

Heavier aircrafts ride turbulence much more better dan less heavy aircrafts.

Ears pop, cos ur vestibular sys ( hope am correct, human performance exam, quite sometime nw ) is tryin 2 balance d pressure in d ear wit d ambint pressure.

Aircrafts slow dwn cos under carriages cause drag, n mind u dat flaps ar already deployed on approach.

Its normal 4 d sound, doze wheels weigh a lot. So no vex if dey show off by makin noise. Also dose wheels take alot of poundin on impact, so hydraulic cnt dampen al dat.

Engineers dnt do any chek afta landin unless d A, B, C or D chek is due. D pilot does his pre flight walk around n shikena, bak in2 d blue skies he flies. Engineers ar called in if an abnormally was noticed durin flight. Bak in Southafrica, d starboard flaps of d PE to Jozzy A320 was vibratin like hell. Was prayin till we touchd dwn, n sharpally straight 2 d co pilot 2 tell him b4 i high tailed it.

A chek is afta 800hrs, B chek 8months, C chek 21 months, D chek 5years.

Pay no concern u, mind ur bizness. Haba!!

Sleepin on duty? No way!!! Make AIB catch u!!

Yep, 2 some extent in aircrafts wit old avionics, though u shuld off ur cellphone. Pay attention 2 instruction lest i crash nairaland. Lol..

D aircraft is stalled a few feet above d ground, sails down like a baby kite. Touche! Want 2 learn dat? Join a flight skul. Lest i 4get, there's dis tin called groundeffect. No ask me wat oo, abeg i no get time 2 xplain.

I dnt knw about d light issue shaa. Am stil diggin my cessna.

Trapped humid naija air.

Risin hot air mass, i tink so.

Goggle aerodynamics n flight principles. Cnt rememba bein a lecturer. Sorry no vex, teachin is nt jst my tin. I envy teachers.

Hmmmm insightful. . . chaircover

Let me answer the ones I can.
Turbulence is caused by clouds, so the higher the altitude of the plane the less turbulence.
Mobile phones may cause interference esp if the service provider is using another frequency not allocated to it, so the safest bet is for all phones to be off to prevent co channel interference.
The ears pop due to a change in pressure.
Your suitcases are always damp because the luggage hold isn't pressurized like the cabin, so the air out there is quite moist.

D reason a plane slows down dramatically when the wheels come out for landing is DRAG...This means as the wheels come out it opposes the airflow or simply put "stops air from flowing through the region where d wheels are" normally when the wheels come out it slows a jet down by abt 30KIAS(knots).
Secondly, Pilots don't sleep when the plane is on autopilot. Autopilot wasn't designed so that a pilot would sleep while the plane is in the air, it was designed so that a pilot would get his hands off the main controls of the plane(I.e Control column,throttle,elevator and aileron trims....e.t.c) this would give the pilot more time to inspect other flight instruments and react quickly to a fault without having to bother about the main flight controls.
Thirdly, mobile phones don't affect electronics on board. The reason why mobile phones are not allowed on board is that the radio waves from the mobile phone could interfere with the radio waves coming from the control tower to the pilot flying the plane thereby cutting off communication between those two which is extremely dangerous.
Fourthly, the reason a plane flies and cars don't is because a plane has WINGS. Its jst like asking why birds fly and dogs don't afterall they both move their bodies. A plane's wings are created in such a way that there is a slight curve on the top of the wing while the bottom is flat. Due to the curve at the top of the wing air has more surface to cover than at the bottom of the wing. This causes a difference in pressure between the top and the bottom parts of the wing with the bottom part having more pressure. Due to this phenomenom we have an upward force generated called LIFT.

chaircover: I have a couple of questions for the pilots in the house. I hate flying so the more I know about how things work up there, should hopefully help kill this fear

If anyone has further questions feel free to ask too.

1.What causes turbulence and do some routes suffer more than others? It seems to me that the Abuja-London route suffers more turbulence than the London-Lagos route.

2.Do some airlines absorb the turbulence better? From my experience Virgin doesn’t seem to be as bumpy as ARIK and BA

3.Why do your ears pop on some flights and not on others?

4.Why does the plane dramatically slow down when the Wheels come out for landing

5.And why does it make such a loud thud/bang when the wheels come out. I thought it was to do with hydraulics so why is it so noisy?

6.What maintenance do the ground engineers do when the plane comes in and before take off again

7.How many trips does a plane make say for example London to Lagos before it is taken out of service?

8.What is the average pay for a pilot and crew?

9.Do pilots sleep when the plane is on autopilot? And do the number of pilots increase with the lenght of the flight so eg are there more pilots on the UK-Australia route than there would be on the london-lagos route?

10.Do mobile phones really affect electronics on the flight?

11.When the plane comes to land how do the back wheels drop down so gently without slamming into the runway considering the weight of the plane?

12.When a flight departs late, most times the pilots try and make up time. If the plane therefore can safely travel that fast, then why not just use that speed anyway and reduce the flight times of all flights?

13.Why do the crew insist on switching the cabin lights off when departing or landing at night/its dark?

14.Why are suitcases sometimes damp when they come out of the hold?

15.Is it me or does anyone else suddenly notice the increase in heat in the cabin during day flights over the desert?

16.I know that the engines “drive” the planes, but how does the plane go up in the air and not down at ground level like a car or boat will?


. . . . . . . And last of all why is airline food sooooooo crap?

And before the smart alecs ask me to ask google. I have and not all the answers are there

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Well, I have a lot of pilots as friends here in UAE. They mostly fly planes operated by Ethihad and Emirates and believe me, I have asked most of your questions. I dread flying as well. Hope this helps.

1. Turbulence is natural. Planes are automatically suited to handle such. The plane automatically adjusts its thrust, altitude and buoyancy depending on the type of turbulence as caused by thunderstorms, clouds, etc. Some planes, depending on the model will handle turbulence better than others. From my experience, turbulence occurs more at night than during the day.

2. Ear popping has to do with pressurization/depressurization of cabins as planes attempts to alter its altitude.

3. Remember planes fly themselves and as such everything happens automatically, which means when a plane is making an approach and the wheels come out, its only natural that the plane must adjust its speed and engine thrust accordingly.

4&5. Believe me, the wheels are very huge and will definitely make some noise when it puts out, hydraulics or not. Save for routine maintenance, ground engineers don't really do much except if there are concerns as noted by the pilot in his in-flight log book. Most times, the pilot just takes a trip around his aircraft to make such there aren't any open spaces or cracks especially at the door seals and baggage compartment to avoid sudden cabin De-pressurization during flight.
6&7. skip
8. Here in the UAE, Captains of Etihad and Emirates earn between DHs60,000-80,000(N3.2m)monthly. First officers earn btw Dhs25,000- DHs 35,000 monthly. This is exclusive of extra hourly flight bonuses.

9. Depending on the route, long-haul routes can have a captain, first and second officers and or aircraft engineer on board. Captains do take some time off to relax and chat up the cabin crew. At no time will all the pilots leave the instrumentation panel simply because its on auto-pilot. When an air plane hits a severe turbulence or when the pitot tubes start sending wrong airspeed due to freezing, the autopilot most likely disengages. If the pilot is asleep, then disaster is the word. Some can even "chyke" a pretty lady. Ofcourse pilots are hot commodities...lol

10. Electronic devices especially when emitting radio signals will most certainly interfere with communications with the airport tower. So landing and take is very critical for the airplane's radio signals.

11. Hydraulics which controls the landing gear is responsible.

12. Yes pilots can speed up the plane to meet up. However, a combination of factors are responsible in determining how fast a plane can travel e.g air speed, atmospheric pressure, turbulence, to mention a few.

13. skip

14. The air within the cabin is pressurized and thus dry. Your suitcase is inside a compartment apparently saved from the dry air within the cabin. The difference between the air within the cabin and the compartment thus leaves the suitcase slightly moist.

15. skip

16. skip

17. Airplanes are not gourmet restaurants. If you want to eat great food. Visit those restaurants.

chaircover: I have a couple of questions for the pilots in the house. I hate flying so the more I know about how things work up there, should hopefully help kill this fear

If anyone has further questions feel free to ask too.

1.What causes turbulence and do some routes suffer more than others? It seems to me that the Abuja-London route suffers more turbulence than the London-Lagos route.

2.Do some airlines absorb the turbulence better? From my experience Virgin doesn’t seem to be as bumpy as ARIK and BA

3.Why do your ears pop on some flights and not on others?

4.Why does the plane dramatically slow down when the Wheels come out for landing

5.And why does it make such a loud thud/bang when the wheels come out. I thought it was to do with hydraulics so why is it so noisy?

6.What maintenance do the ground engineers do when the plane comes in and before take off again

7.How many trips does a plane make say for example London to Lagos before it is taken out of service?

8.What is the average pay for a pilot and crew?

9.Do pilots sleep when the plane is on autopilot? And do the number of pilots increase with the lenght of the flight so eg are there more pilots on the UK-Australia route than there would be on the london-lagos route?

10.Do mobile phones really affect electronics on the flight?

11.When the plane comes to land how do the back wheels drop down so gently without slamming into the runway considering the weight of the plane?

12.When a flight departs late, most times the pilots try and make up time. If the plane therefore can safely travel that fast, then why not just use that speed anyway and reduce the flight times of all flights?

13.Why do the crew insist on switching the cabin lights off when departing or landing at night/its dark?

14.Why are suitcases sometimes damp when they come out of the hold?

15.Is it me or does anyone else suddenly notice the increase in heat in the cabin during day flights over the desert?

16.I know that the engines “drive” the planes, but how does the plane go up in the air and not down at ground level like a car or boat will?


. . . . . . . And last of all why is airline food sooooooo crap?

And before the smart alecs ask me to ask google. I have and not all the answers are there

Don't agree with the cold and flight over the desert however. You need to fly over the Atlantic and Pacific to see that the temperature over the desert isn't so much different. Although I think the cabins seem to be ironically colder in day flights than night flights

chaircover: I have a couple of questions for the pilots in the house. I hate flying so the more I know about how things work up there, should hopefully help kill this fear

If anyone has further questions feel free to ask too.

1.What causes turbulence and do some routes suffer more than others? It seems to me that the Abuja-London route suffers more turbulence than the London-Lagos route.

usually, turbulence is caused by wind systems that the aircraft flies through. some are favourable (tailwind), while some are not (headwind and crosswind). Tailwind will get the aircraft there faster than normal if it continues through the route since it blows from behind. Headwind will reduce the speed of the aircraft since it blows against the aircraft direction. Crosswind blows across and this along with head wind may cause turbulence depending on intensity. some winds are cyclic systems that can comprise of all three as the plane goes through them and these ones will cause most of the turbulence at altitude as the airflow across the wing is disturbed(turbulent)
At lower altitude though, flying through a storm or cloud will cause turbulence

chaircover:
2.Do some airlines absorb the turbulence better? From my experience Virgin doesn’t seem to be as bumpy as ARIK and BA

well, different aircraft are designed differently so it has nothing to do with the airline but more to do with the particular plane. Airbus and boeings have similar structures so will behave basically the same. Having said that, the size of the aircraft will make all the difference as well as the wing arrangement. Some wings are for higher speed (as in private jets)while others are for better lift. Mostlikely the routes might be different hence going through different wind systems and thus different turbulent characteristics. I can elaborate more on this if you need

chaircover:
3.Why do your ears pop on some flights and not on others?

The cabin is pressurized for your comfort during flight and is kept at around 85kpa (kilo pascals), for a flight altitude of 30,000 feet. To give you a perspective, atmospheric pressure at sea level is 101kpa. At 30,000 feet, the real pressure should be at about 30.1kpa(way below what we can survive for sustained flights). So the aircraft pressurizes the cabin from 30.1 up to 85kpa. However different aircraft perform differently in the business of presurrization.

Below are typical high altitude presures for different aircrafts
Boeing averages 83kpa
Airbus at around 86kpa
Bombadier at around 88kpa

This slight difference makes one more comfortable than the other. This is a simplistic look at it, there are so many factors at play here cuasing your ear to pop on some while others it wouldnt.

chaircover:
4.Why does the plane dramatically slow down when the Wheels come out for landing

That's cause they deployed the air brakes and reduce engine thrust to slow the aircraft down to landing speed. This landing speed varies from size to size of plane.

chaircover:
5.And why does it make such a loud thud/bang when the wheels come out. I thought it was to do with hydraulics so why is it so noisy?

the wheel bay area opens and usually the tires deploy with hydraulic levers. The thud you hear is the tire locking into place. if you sit in the mid region of the aircraft you will feel this more.

chaircover:
6.What maintenance do the ground engineers do when the plane comes in and before take off again

less of maintenance more of routine inspection. all maintenance work will be done in the hangers. The pilot will also visually inspect the craft for any visible anomaly.

chaircover:
7.How many trips does a plane make say for example London to Lagos before it is taken out of service?

this also depends on the age of the aircraft, and the route. The most routine maint has to happen somewhere between 500 to 800 flying hours. SO just like your car needs to do between 3000-5000miles before oil change, so does an aircraft needs similar maintenance. flight time from london to lagos is 7hrs i think, So thats 500hrs/7hrs (do the maths).

chaircover:
8.What is the average pay for a pilot and crew?

Varies. Experience, Level/Rank. No one will give you a figure here

chaircover:
9.Do pilots sleep when the plane is on autopilot? And do the number of pilots increase with the lenght of the flight so eg are there more pilots on the UK-Australia route than there would be on the london-lagos route?

Yes pilots sleep a lot. They have to, but usually take turns at power naps. Depending on how the pilot and co-pilot choose.

Back in the days, they used to have about 4 guys in the cockpit. Pilot, co- pilot, flight engineer, and some other guy duno his role . But these days, fly-by-wire makes flying a walk in the park and usually will need only two regardless of the route.

chaircover:
10.Do mobile phones really affect electronics on the flight?

Well, a number of crashes have been attributed to this. it has a chance of causing interference with the avionics (just like when your phone causes a humming sound on a radio). Better be safe than sorry is the watch word here.

chaircover:
11.When the plane comes to land how do the back wheels drop down so gently without slamming into the runway considering the weight of the plane?

Well, that's because the aircraft is basically still flying at initial touch down. Some pilots are better than others while the wind condition makes the rest of the difference. Sometimes you land perfect with hardly anyone noticing the touch down, while other times you land with a thud that shudders all through the cabin. So they do slam sometimes.

chaircover:
12.When a flight departs late, most times the pilots try and make up time. If the plane therefore can safely travel that fast, then why not just use that speed anyway and reduce the flight times of all flights?

More speed = more fuel burnt. That's what we call "cruising speed". That is the optimum design speed for the aircraft to give the best comfort and flying efficiency. The pilot can exceed this on different occasions. Maybe deliberately increasing engine speed, or catching a tailwind and ridding on it all the way to destination.

chaircover:
13.Why do the crew insist on switching the cabin lights off when departing or landing at night/its dark?

Two things, reduce the load on the engines, and the ability to see out the window just in case. The latter is more the case so your eyes can adjust to the dark cabin just in case there is a need for an emergency evacuation. Similar to the Purkinje effect

chaircover:
14.Why are suitcases sometimes damp when they come out of the hold?

Mostly for very long-haul flights. At altitude, there is no warm air or pressurization for your luggage. So if the outside temperature is at -20 degrees, chances are your luggage will be slightly cold at some point. But I haven't noticed this on shorter flights neither have I noticed this all the time.

chaircover:
15.Is it me or does anyone else suddenly notice the increase in heat in the cabin during day flights over the desert?

LOL! maybe just you. haha but seriously though, when flying over deserts there is hardly any cloud so the sun beam hits directly on the aircraft. Consequently, if you are near the window you'll feel the heat

chaircover:
16.I know that the engines “drive” the planes, but how does the plane go up in the air and not down at ground level like a car or boat will?

I'm not sure I quite understand this last question. The aircraft is designed to fly. If you attach a tow to a plane with no engine and drag it down the run way, at some speed the aircraft will attempt to take off and then crash right after. The engines give it continous thrust even in the air. Unlike your car that depends on the road to move forward, an aircraft only need the presence of air to move forward. This forward movement is what encourages airflow across the wings and causes lift (usually due to the aerofoil shape of the wings). We are now going into fluid dynamics and aerofoils. If you need more information on this i will be glad to put you through

chaircover:
. . . . . . . And last of all why is airline food sooooooo crap?

cos its cheap LMAO . But business class is okay to say the least, I fly business class on Air France and it is nae bad at all.

chaircover:
And before the smart alecs ask me to ask google. I have and not all the answers are there

chaircover:
18. When is the plane most at risk of crashing? Some people say when it’s coming in for landing.

Landing and takeoff basically, but other things can happen at any time

chaircover:
19. What speed does the plane travel when taxing down the runway to take off? MPH please.

161 - 180mph depending on aircraft size

chaircover:
20. How does one become a pilot?

Aviation school, Private pilots license, commercial pilots licence , instruments rating , plenty exams in between. and hey presto, you are a cargo pilot

chaircover:
21. Do planes fly lower when crossing the sea? – something else I’ve noticed but I could be wrong.

not if they have to. so NO. just an optical illusion

Hope i answered all clearly enough.

See questions o! lol...

I have learnt some things from the answers sha. Kudos to our pilots here!

afam4eva:
I think should allow the passengers decide whether or not they want to jump off the plane. I'll rather take that risk than be roasted with Jonathan condoling my family.

Lol. You have a point.

@op.. thnx for creatn dis thread. Hv bn wanting to ask a particular question for a wyl now.
What is the essence of all the safety lessons in case of an emergency if it wont be put into use when the time comes? unlyk a car accident which happens within a twinkle of an eye with usually no tym to think, the pilots are usually aware of an impending air crash mins b4 it eventually occurs (correct me if am wrong) atleast i read some excerpts from recorded conversations btw pilots just before the crash on the internet. and i kp asking myself why dint dey open all d emergency exits and hv pple jump down before d plane eventually crashed. D recording from d illfated Dana airline for instance showed d pilots were aware of dual engine failure n were planning on crashlandn at the MMA just before d plane crashed killing everyone aboard( may deir souls RIP)..why dint dey just open d emergency exits and let people jump down with their parachutes ?...
or why put them there or bother with lessons on how to use them or even how to open d emergency exits in the 1st place if dey wud all be useless wen needed.

See as the question long.. I no sure say d op want answer.. She just wan keep us busy..

afam4eva: I just want to know why most planes don't have parachute so that passengers can jump off a plane in case of an emergency. Abi na for only film dem dey use parachute? I think i'll have to purchase my own parachute and wear it whenever i'm travelling by air.

Parachute? Are you serious? from what level will you be jumping from 35,000 ft? Airplanes become pressurized at a certain flight level, the moment a hatch is opened to let passengers off the plane, say at FL300, it automatically depressurizes the plane. Did I forget to tell you that passengers will pass out due to lack of oxygen by the time they're reaching the ground surface. So even an aircraft aggressively descending at dangerous speeds of almost 5000ft/m, will need abt 7mins to reach the ground. 5mins without oxygen is enough to kill you...So it's not possible.

13.Why do the crew insist on switching the cabin lights off when departing or landing at night/its dark?

this is done to improve visibility of the floor proximity lightning in event of cabin evacuation. the floor proximity lights will guide you to aircraft exit in situation of poor visibility like smoke in the cabin.

manny4life:

Parachute? Are you serious? from what level will you be jumping from 35,000 ft? Airplanes become pressurized at a certain flight level, the moment a hatch is opened to let passengers off the plane, say at FL300, it automatically depressurizes the plane. Did I forget to tell you that passengers will pass out due to lack of oxygen by the time they're reaching the ground surface. So even an aircraft aggressively descending at dangerous speeds of almost 5000ft/m, will need abt 7mins to reach the ground. 5mins without oxygen is enough to kill you...So it's not possible.

So, it seems there no escape route? I think i have to start looking for another mode of transportation. Witchcrafttransportation might be a sure bet.

manny4life:

Parachute? Are you serious? from what level will you be jumping from 35,000 ft? Airplanes become pressurized at a certain flight level, the moment a hatch is opened to let passengers off the plane, say at FL300, it automatically depressurizes the plane. Did I forget to tell you that passengers will pass out due to lack of oxygen by the time they're reaching the ground surface. So even an aircraft aggressively descending at dangerous speeds of almost 5000ft/m, will need abt 7mins to reach the ground. 5mins without oxygen is enough to kill you...So it's not possible.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

I agree with you. Parachutes on planes are useless. At 10,000ft, the air becomes thin and lack oxygen. So when a passenger jumps off, he likely dies of asphyxiation (lack of oxygen)under 60secs. So whats the need to jump out of an airplane at say 30,000ft? Pilots will never inform passengers of an impending doom until it happens to avoid unnecessary panic or stampede. They try all they can to save an aircraft until it eventually gets saved or doomed.

@Kaneri has answered most of your questions quite accurately, though...

16.I know that the engines “drive” the planes, but how does the plane go up in the air and not down at ground level like a car or boat will?

Ok, this question is kinda funny though. Planes are aerodynamically built to fly, through it's wings. Let me state that I'm not an Aeronautical engineer but at ERAU where I went for my flight school, they teach you Basic of Aerodynamics and Aeronautics.

The plane goes up through by using the wings. Like I was thouhgt, there are FOUR aerodynamic factors affecting flight - Weight, Lift, Thrust, and Drag. Weight opposes Lift, while Drag opposes Thrust. When an airplane reaches it's Maximum roll-out speed, it means that it has enough power to generate lift on it's wing, when the pilot pulls back on the yoke, the air flowing over the wings makes creates lift, but if there's too much weight on it, drag may come in. Keep in mind, this is how I was thought @ ERAU.

However, you get the idea. It goes up in the air through the engines generating thrust "POWER" that in turn generates lift.

chaircover: I have a couple of questions for the pilots in the house. I hate flying so the more I know about how things work up there, should hopefully help kill this fear

If anyone has further questions feel free to ask too.

1.What causes turbulence and do some routes suffer more than others? It seems to me that the Abuja-London route suffers more turbulence than the London-Lagos route.

2.Do some airlines absorb the turbulence better? From my experience Virgin doesn’t seem to be as bumpy as ARIK and BA

3.Why do your ears pop on some flights and not on others?

4.Why does the plane dramatically slow down when the Wheels come out for landing

5.And why does it make such a loud thud/bang when the wheels come out. I thought it was to do with hydraulics so why is it so noisy?

6.What maintenance do the ground engineers do when the plane comes in and before take off again

7.How many trips does a plane make say for example London to Lagos before it is taken out of service?

8.What is the average pay for a pilot and crew?

9.Do pilots sleep when the plane is on autopilot? And do the number of pilots increase with the lenght of the flight so eg are there more pilots on the UK-Australia route than there would be on the london-lagos route?

10.Do mobile phones really affect electronics on the flight?

11.When the plane comes to land how do the back wheels drop down so gently without slamming into the runway considering the weight of the plane?

12.When a flight departs late, most times the pilots try and make up time. If the plane therefore can safely travel that fast, then why not just use that speed anyway and reduce the flight times of all flights?

13.Why do the crew insist on switching the cabin lights off when departing or landing at night/its dark?

14.Why are suitcases sometimes damp when they come out of the hold?

15.Is it me or does anyone else suddenly notice the increase in heat in the cabin during day flights over the desert?

16.I know that the engines “drive” the planes, but how does the plane go up in the air and not down at ground level like a car or boat will?


. . . . . . . And last of all why is airline food sooooooo crap?

And before the smart alecs ask me to ask google. I have and not all the answers are there

Am typing this in a hurry so pardon typographic errors.
1. Turbulance is due to the weather. Yes some routes tend to suffer more, espectially hot regions, however at higher altitudes it shouldnt matter that much.
2. Yes, depends on the Aircraft type the airline is using.
3. Eustachian tube trying to balance the pressure difference.
4. There is a certain speed at which flaps (flaps operating speed) and undercarriage are lowered (at a lower speed than cruising speed) also undercarriages create drag.
5. Am surprised you noticed that, the sound is not suppose to be as loud as ur describing it.
6. Hydraulics, Pitot-static tube etc, pre-flight checks are done by the captain and with the help of others.
7. Depends on management, MPI dates etc.
8. Depends on airline, Captain (over a million), 1st officer (N800k) and 2nd makes different pay. co-operate airline pilots makes $10k
9. Even when the plane is on auto-pilot you still have to monitor it, Captain can take a break and let 2nd officer do the monitoring.
10. Yes it does, espectially during take-off and landing.
11. its called flare, thats how you bring it down slow and steady, sometimes it bounce, but you wont notice it as the shock is absorbed.
12. dont understand your statement, but you cant fly outside the envelope
13. Same reason you off the light inside ur car when driving at night, it can be a problem for pilots, pilots need their eyes to adapt to darkness for atleast 30minutes during a night flight, even illumination on control panels are dimmed if possible.
14. Its colder the higher you fly, lapse rate of 1.98C/1000ft
15. Possible
16. Rephrase please
FOOD. talk to management lolz.

afam4eva:
So, it seems there no escape route? I think i have to start looking for another mode of transportation. Witchcrafttransportation might be a sure bet.

Nope. There's no escape route. Unless a plane reaches below FL100, OR 10,000FT, it's useless. You will dies before reaching the ground. It's up to experienced pilots to save you, if not,... You're gone.