# Tags

How Aircraft Refuel in the Air?

When your car runs out of fuel, the first thought that comes to your mind is to rush to the nearest gas station. But if you’re an F-22 Raptor, who was running low on fuel at 40,000ft, what do you do? Obviously, you would not nose-dive the jet 90 degrees and try to glide it […]

How Did NASA Capture This Image?

“We never dreamt that it would be this clear, this beautiful.” – said J.T. Heineck of NASA’s Ames Research Center upon taking a first glimpse at the first air-to-air images of the supersonic shockwave interaction in flight. As cool as the images look, capturing them is not easy and took about a decade in the […]

Why do Airplanes Leave a White Trail of Smoke?

Is that a rocket or an aircraft? In most instances, it is an aircraft cruising between 28,000 – 45,000 feet in the air, with extremely low temperatures heading towards its scheduled destination. So, what is the white trailing smoke behind an aircraft – and should we be paying them more attention? This white trailing smoke […]

Life-Saving Technology: The F-35B’s Automatic Ejection System

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is arguably the most advanced jet ever. With countless systems to sensors onboard, the F-35 is alone at the top and usually gets lonely at the top. The F-35B variant is the most advanced of the F-35 lineup. The F-35B type, explicitly built for the Marine Corps, could break […]

Rolls-Royce Tests The First Hydrogen Jet Engine

As the industry grows, the rising concern for safer and cleaner travel also rises. With the number of airplanes flying around the globe at the moment, they single-handedly contribute to damaging the ozone layer alone than any other thing. Aviation is an essential element of the world economy. Still, it also contributes significantly to releasing […]

Why Does The Airbus A340 Have 4 Smaller Engines?

There is not much difference between the Airbus A330 and the A340 in terms of structure, systems, and wings. The biggest difference is the engines. The A330 is a dual-engine aircraft, while the A340, its longer sibling, is a quad-engine aircraft. But why did Airbus need to launch two identical aircraft, with the longer one […]

What Makes Formula 1 Cars Similar to Aircraft

Formula 1 (F1) seems to be on the rise in terms of audiences around the globe. People love to watch the rivalry, the drivers, the tracks, and the cars. But little do they know is the amount of aerodynamics and physics that go behind an F1 car. To put it simply, an F1 is an […]

PIA – The Golden Era

Once upon a time, Pakistan International Airlines was one of the greatest airlines. They would be everywhere—in the media, around the globe, and in every airport. Starting a list of PIA’s accomplishments would take an eternity. The airline relocated to Pakistan after the 1947 Partition and created a crucial connection between Dhaka and Karachi. Pakistan’s […]

How SpaceX lands their Falcon 9 rockets with incredible accuracy

SpaceX is now quite used to landing their rebuilt rockets with ease. The 23rd of July 2022, marked their 56th first stage landing of the Falcon 9 successfully. Gone are the days of building new boosters for each new mission and here are the days when it just takes days for SpaceX to refurbish and […]

Here’s Why Airplane Tires Don’t Explode On Impact

The chances of a baby landing an airplane is higher than tires exploding on impact. It does make sense in expecting the tires to explode when an airplane touches the runway with the sheer amount of speed and momentum, but why don’t the tires burst like a balloon? Well, there are a lot of reasons […]

Can Two Airplanes Collide in Mid-Air?

Accidents involving vehicles of all sizes from bikes to trucks are something that we’ve all heard and seen. Whether it is two bikes crashing into one another or two trucks, the chances of such accidents on the road are extremely high. But when talking about airplanes, can two airplanes collide in mid-air? Well, simply consider […]

A Battle Of Stealth: F-22 vs F-35

On one hand, you’ve got the world’s premier aircraft in air dominance, and on the other hand, you’ve got the most expensive weapons procurement program in world history. Even though the two jets have many things in common, both are still very different. The sole reason for the F-35 was to fill the void left […]

Aircraft Exterior Lighting – Explained

Every component on an aircraft holds vital importance whether it is a small landing light or a vertical stabilizer. Lights are often shadowed by the sheer brilliance of other parts of an aircraft but do not be mistaken. Without lights, an aircraft would barely be recognizable. Recognizable in the sense that it would be difficult […]

What Are The North Atlantic Tracks?

The North Atlantic Ocean is one of the busiest airspaces in the entire world. On average, about 1,800 flights cross the eerie ocean every day. The ocean connects two major markets, Europe and North America. Flights range from commercial to cargo to military personnel. Considering that there is minimal radar coverage above the ocean, how […]

The Checks Required To Perform Aircraft Maintenance

Airplanes are one of the most complicated machines ever built by humans. People often overlook the sheer level of engineering that goes into manufacturing a metal machine that can sustain flight for several hours, cross oceans, land countless times and repeat the same procedures the next day. When boarding a modern jet airplane, it’s easy […]

Why Were The SR-71 Engines’ So Far Apart From Each Other?

The SR-71 was a marvel, a super plane that marked an era. The technology it had on it is still unmatched. One of the most impressive things about the jet was its engines. Not only the sheer power of them but their placement of them. Two Pratt & Whitney J58 axial-flow turbojet engines powered the […]

Qatar Airways Having Paint Issues With Airbus

A paint issue on an airplane? That is rarely ever heard of. But recently, Qatar Airways is facing a paint issue with their Airbus A350 fleet. A fault with fast deteriorating surface paint that caused the grounding of 16 of Qatar Airways’ Airbus SE A350 jets has also compromised lightning protection on the model’s fuselage […]

Onboard the Concorde: Luxury at 60,000 feet

Concorde wasn’t just a jet; it was an exclusive club. Imagine having the ability to get caviar on board an airplane while flying at 60,000 feet in the air. As special as Concorde was, it was limited for the elite to fly in. Concorde still has the distinction of being the only commercial supersonic aircraft, […]

Why Doesn’t The Boeing 737 Have Landing Gear Doors?

The main landing gear wheels in the Boeing 737s sit uncovered after folding into their housing. On most other planes, it’s hidden behind closed doors. Since the introduction of the first 737, this has been the case. In this article, we will discuss why doesn’t the Boeing 737 have landing gear doors like other aircraft. […]

Why Don’t Airplanes Fly Over Tibet?

Aeronautics has progressed to the point where we can now fly at double the speed of sound and scientists want to fly to Mars, but there are a few areas on Earth where planes aren’t allowed to go. Such a place is Tibet. But why Tibet? When it comes to planes flying over this portion […]

The Boeing 747 Type That Failed

The majestic four-engine Boeing 747 is known as the “Queen of the Skies” by many all around the world. But did you ever know there was a tri-jet version of the 747? Yes, a trijet! Just like a DC-10, Boeing 727, or an MD-11. It’s strange to conceive of the Boeing 747 as anything other […]

The Saturn V: A Rocket 15 Times Faster Than A Rifle Bullet

Rockets are arguably the greatest engineering feat accomplished by man. The capabilities of these machines are unmatched and nothing like any other machine. Such a machine is the Saturn V (5), the most powerful rocket ever flown. The Saturn V rocket is the most complicated piece of engineering ever created. It was used by NASA […]

Antonov An-225 Mriya: The Plane With 32 Wheels

The Antonov 225 “Mriya” is the world’s biggest cargo plane that weighs around 285 tons when empty and is even bigger than the Airbus A380 airliner, the An-124, and the Boeing 747 Freighter. The sole purpose of the Myria is to carry cargo for large distances. It is powered by six Ivchenko Progress Lotarev D-18T […]

SR-71 Blackbird: The jet that could outfly a bullet and a missile

The Lockheed SR-71 “Blackbird” is a long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, which has a hard-earned reputation for making the impossible happen. The SR-71 operates at extremely high speeds of about Mach 3.2 and altitudes of up to 85,000 ft (25,900 m) to allow it to […]

What Is an ILS Approach?

Decades ago, airplanes started to get more and more automated than ever. The result is a rise in safety on and off the ground. Autopilot was a system that was already installed on several large airplanes over the years but the introduction of ILS has changed how many see airports and landings. What exactly is […]

Science behind shockwaves and a sonic boom

Ever seen a fighter jet rush past you so fast that you hear a loud bang? Well, that loud bang is called a sonic boom. Now, what exactly is a sonic boom? A sonic boom is a thunder-like noise a person on the ground hears that is associated with shock waves created when an object […]

What happens when lightning strikes an airplane?

Lightning is an extremely dangerous phenomenon that takes place on earth. About 100 lightning bolts strike the Earth’s surface every second which is about 8 million per day and 3 billion each year. These numbers may sound frightening for things on the ground, but are these numbers as dangerous for things in the air? Let’s […]

What It Takes to Land the U-2?

Ever thought of an aircraft that lands on two wheels? Well, look no further than the U-2. The Lockheed U-2 is a high altitude reconnaissance aircraft and arguably the most well-known of them. Built for one sole reason that is to fly so high that it can barely get identified on the radar. Its natural […]

The RAVN X: The World’s Largest Drone

For years NASA has dominated delivering cargo and satellites to space, and now SpaceX seems to be doing the same almost every week. Sending cargo to space or delivering a satellite isn’t exactly cutting-edge tech these days. Liftoff usually starts with a ground-based rocket, which is expensive and time-consuming to launch. Aevum, a company launched […]

The Defiant X: Faster than a Black Hawk

Lockheed Martin owned Sikorsky and Boeing unveiled their brand-new assault helicopter to the world this month. It is called the Defiant X, taking the same surname as little brother Raider X, which aims to replace the aging fleet of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters as the army’s long-range assault aircraft of the future, and as part […]

The Ultimate Airbus which Failed to Deliver

The pinnacle of excellence, and an eye-catcher; the Airbus A380 is truly a marvel. When Singapore Airlines took the A380 for its first commercial flight in 2007, there was huge excitement and noise around the world that the future of air travel had finally arrived. From hotel suites to bars in business class, all seemed […]

Aircraft Cemetery

When your car coughs up its last mile, it is either sold away or it ends up in a scrapyard. But have you ever wondered what happens to an aircraft after it has delivered its last passenger? Around the globe, at any given moment, thousands of airplanes are either soaring in the skies or sitting […]

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 finally returns.

The 737 variant everybody feared, finally makes its return to the skies. Will it win the trust of airlines and the people back? Or will it still leave a trail of uncertainty? Let’s go through what happened and why things turned out the way they did. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 made its debut in […]

The B-2 Spirit: A spaceship made on earth.

‘Is that a UFO?’ or ‘That surely is not a plane!’ are the words coming out of almost everyone when the B-2 flew past them. Although the B-2 was not a UFO, it could disappear like one in a blink of an eye. A plane, so unmatched and different that people still do date is […]