Related Questions
- What’s the difference between a motor and an engine?
- What are the future propulsion systems for interplanetary travel?
- Is it possible to make solar-powered airplanes?
- How can a person ride a motorcycle 100 mph but not stand up in a 100 mph wind?
- Why can’t cars run on water instead of gasoline?
- Can robotic submarines collect specimens at any ocean depth?
- How does a jet engine work?
- Will public transportation ever replace the automobile?
- Can I make my car fly?
- What is the relationship between the length of a boat and its maximum speed?
How does an airplane stop on a runway after landing?
When a Boeing 777 comes barrelling down the runway at 150-plus mph, it sometimes feels to its passengers like the plane is struggling mightily to stop. That’s only because it is…
By Deborah Halber
When a Boeing 777 comes barrelling down the runway at 150-plus mph, it sometimes feels to its passengers like the plane is struggling mightily to stop. That’s only because it is, says Steven R. Hall, professor of aeronautics and astronautics and a pilot. In an emergency, brakes alone can stop a commercial jet, but the heat produced may be enough to melt the plane’s tires, he says.
Hall says small, propeller aircraft do use brakes almost exclusively to slow down. Larger turboprop aircraft have propellers that can be adjusted to produce rearward thrust after touchdown, rapidly slowing the aircraft. Commercial jet transport aircraft come to a halt through a combination of brakes, spoilers to increase wing drag and thrust reversers on the engines.
Posted: December 16, 2008
[contact-form-7 id="442" title="Submit Question"]