that and about 223,378 pounds of jet fuel then it flies
https://www.globalair.com/aircraft-for-sale/specifications?specid=1699
you want to really bend your brain about airplanes, go looknhow the air conditioning on a big jet works. the phrase "air pack" will help in your search. I don't know which is more impressive, that it actually works or that someone thought of it.
Due to the nature of my work I've flown hundreds of passenger flights of all sizes and I still find myself in awe.
What a privilege to be able to actually see down from such a range of heights too. Where there is still lots of detail to be found, but you can also get an appreciation of scale. It's honestly really amazing.
They put quite a lot of fuel in them; there is a lot of energy in fuel.
I am a avgeek (aviation) and I love all things planes. Got my PPL and made it halfway through instrument before bailing but damn it, flying is the best thing in the world and aviation itself is absolutely fucking beautiful.
Take up paragliding. Highly recommend (unless you have an addictive personality, social commitments, other hobbies, etc).
In fitting natural conditions your house can fly too, just not whole and not for long
I mean, it's crazy, but I'm more fascinated with smaller airplanes. Imagine it, you can make something like a Piper Cub almost as easy\hard as 1000 years ago it was to make a good hauberk.
And for those mentioning computers - my feeling is the same about computers. It's nice to have a laptop with Linux or FreeBSD (not counting corporate malware), but a machine much simpler, but one that can be produced entirely in an area of 10mln people, full chain, would be much cooler for me.
I'm in awe of distributed production lines being possible and allowed by today's machinery.
I think that is something we have to rediscover. Centralization is stifling humanity's advancement. At the same time in the real world rather unpleasant people's power depends on it, so it won't be quick or easy. But I think it is happening anyway, just very slowly. Evolution, not revolution. Surely I would be glad for it to be a revolution, to see it as a (yet) young person.
Not really crazy, just high school physics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernoulli%27s_principle
racecars use it but in the opposite direction, which is why the faster they go the more they stick to the ground
It gets even crazier if you think about planes as flying metal sausages with wings.
A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The best ones are thoughts that many people can relate to and they find something funny or interesting in regular stuff.