How Fast Do Airplanes Fly? A Kid’s Guide to Aviation
Have you ever looked up at the sky, seen a giant airplane zooming overhead, and wondered, “How fast do airplanes fly?” You’re not alone! Airplanes seem like magic, and there’s no way of knowing how fast they move from the ground.
Buckle up, junior pilots, because we’re about to learn some out-of-this-world facts about aviation!
How Fast do airplanes fly?
Cruising speed for a commercial airplane is between 500-600 miles per hour. That’s more than ten times faster than a car! When a plane takes off or lands on the runway, it goes a little slower, between 150-180 miles per hour. Some race cars can go that fast, but a plane is still faster than any car on the road!
How high can an airplane fly?
Commercial airplanes typically fly between 30,000 and 40,000 feet up in the air. If you compare that to the tallest building in the world, you would need 14 skyscrappers just to reach the plane.
It might not look like it, way up there in the sky, but they’re far away and moving really fast. Do you know how airplanes fly so fast and stay so high? Keep reading to find out!
The Four Forces of Flight
To understand how airplanes fly, you need to know about the four forces of flight. Think of them as invisible hands pushing and pulling the plane through the sky.
- Lift – This is what makes the airplane go UP! The wings are designed in a special shape called an airfoil. When air moves over and under the wings, it creates a force that lifts the plane into the air.
- Thrust – This is what makes the airplane go FORWARD! The engines provide thrust, pushing the plane ahead like when you pedal a bike to move forward.
- Drag – This is the force that SLOWS the airplane down. Air pushes against the plane as it moves forward, creating resistance (like riding a bike against the wind).
- Gravity – This is the force that pulls the airplane DOWN! Gravity is always trying to bring the plane back to the ground.
For an airplane to take off and stay in the sky, lift has to be stronger than gravity, and thrust has to be stronger than drag. When these forces work together just right, the plane flies smoothly!
How Do Wings Create Lift?
The secret to an airplane’s lift is all in the shape of the wings. Wings are curved on the top and flatter on the bottom. This shape makes the air move faster over the top of the wing and slower underneath. When air moves faster, it creates lower pressure, and when air moves slower, it creates higher pressure. The higher pressure under the wing pushes the plane up. TAKEOFF!
What About the Pilot?
Pilots do a lot more than just wear cool uniforms and talk on the radio. They use controls inside the cockpit to steer the plane, speed up, slow down, and adjust the wing flaps to help the plane take off, turn, and land safely. They make sure the lift and thrust keep the plane in the air.
Fun Airplane Facts!
- The Wright brothers invented the first successful airplane in 1903. It only flew for 12 seconds!
- The fastest airplane in the world, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, can fly over 2,100 miles per hour, 5x as fast as a commercial plane!
- Some airplanes are big enough to carry over 800 passengers at a time!
- The longest distance a commercial plane can travel is just under 10,000 miles, from New York to Singapore.
Ready for Takeoff!
Next time you see an airplane soaring through the sky, you’ll know how fast it’s going and exactly how it flies! Airplanes may look like magic, but they’re actually just amazing science in action. Now, go spread your wings, play with your airport playset, and keep learning about the awesome world of aviation, future pilot!
