I hate that everybody's like, it's not that big a deal.

We only started doing it 124 years ago! Prior to that it was a very big deal indeed.

Everyone's so fucking smart these days, there's no room for a sense of wonder. It's like being blasé and knowledgeable is cool. It's really not.

You keep flying with your beautiful sense of wonder, Buttflapper!

it works because we believe in it. if everyone would lose faith in airplanes, they'd drop out of the sky.

You think that's crazy? The ship that blocked the Suez Canal, the Ever Given, has a ship displacement (how much water is displaced when it sits in the ocean) of 265,000 Tons.

That's 240 million kilograms.

And that shit just floats on fucking water maaaaan...

Wait until you find out about electricity! 🤯

I used to think so until I realised that air and water are both fluids, except air is thinner.

I'm a mechanical engineer and have a general understanding of how wings work. I've flown many times. That shit still feels like magic to me.

Airplane engines have deceptively high thrust, imagine each one as a rocket and it'll start to make sense. The a380 (the big double decker) each engine produces around 350KN. When that thrust is applied to an 80kg human they'll experience almost 450Gs of force

In an extreme sense, imagine putting a little rocket engine on a paper airplane which will represent a high thrust to weight ratio

The 777 is 375-ish tons, and the A380 is 630-ish tons.

I know right.... the wings dont even flap!

Don't forget how high you get.

I find it equally neat how displacement allows a 100,000 ton ship to float.

As I'm sure most know, planes fly because of the angle of their wings and airframe shape (also known as an airfoil). As moving air flows over the wing it creates downward pressure, which, as a result of Newton's 3rd law (reaction to a force), allows moving air below to create lift. And upsy daisy she goes.

Science.

"It's just always exciting! That amazing moment when twelve tonnes of metal leaves the earth... and no-one knows why!"

"Yes, we do."

"Yeah, but, you know, not really. I mean, we know you need wings, and engines, and a sticky-up bit on the end for some reason, but it's not like we actually know why a plane stays in the air."

"No. No, Arthur, we really do! We- we do, we do know that!"

Consider the amount of air its wings must displace in order to stay aloft. An equal quantity of mass at least. It's passing through that air and, partly pushing it down, but also partially scraping it thin over the bowed top surface of the wing (the Bernoulli principle) which creates a pressure differential that lifts the wing, pulling it upward through suction, and thus the plane. That's why the plane must go fast to fly, and why it "stalls" and falls if it isn't moving through enough air. It's also how turbulence affects a plane. Differences in air pressure mean that in pockets of low pressure there isn't as much mass being displaced by the wings, not enough lift so it falls.

Now, it's quite likely that my layman's comprehension of this is flawed. But I'm sure it's entirely possible that someone will correct me soon :3

I still look up whenever u hear a plane fly over. Heavier than air travel is treated way to casually

The wings are crazy ! They look way too flimsy for what they do.

Next time you see an airplane, imagine a crane picking it up by the wings, around the middle of the wing length, and then start shaking it up.

It does not look like the wing will be able to hold that much weight.

An a380 is so big when it takes off it looks like it's moving slow, just kind of hanging in the air

It's simple. You just need 60 tons of lift and thrust. Aerodynamics help but you can make a brick fly.

It’s magical, right? It’s what got me interested in aviation - the physics, the science, the engineering to make it work. And we’ve gotten so good at it, air travel is now available to most people, it’s safe and convenient.

I’ve flown exactly three times in my life: a hot air balloon, a helicopter and a DC3. Each was magical in its own way. I’ve also done a fair bit of plane spotting. Seeing an Airbus A380 landing right in front of you is amazing. It really is the size of a large apartment block with wings. Truly awe inspiring.

Aviation is fucking awesome!

Glitch that's going to be patched out eventually

I'm even more impressed by aircraft carriers. Just one of those things weigh as much as 250 fully loaded Boeing 747s. And it just floats. :)

"I flew for my first time on a plane"

Now I just feel old.

Crazier to think 60tons of air being pushed down 10m/s^2 (or whatever equivalent mass/acc you want to think with) to keep it up there.

Crazier still when you consider it's pushed into the sky by its own farts.

Relevant Louis CK video.

https://youtu.be/PdFB7q89_3U?si=QUrz5uDVppib6gSm