Ever wondered about the massive white cloud trailing behind fighter jets and what creates it?
Or ever wondered how engineers are building massive commercial planes such as the Airbus A380?
Well, it’s all SCIENCE.
Fighter Jets: Wonders of Military Engineering
Fighter jets have astonishing engineering, they are built with precision and innovations.
The white cloud seen behind the fighter jets is known as the Vapor Cloud, which is also called as the Mach Diamond.
When hot and humid air from a jet engine meets a cold atmosphere with low vapor pressure, it causes condensation and so water vapor forms.
The Vapor Cloud is formed around objects moving with very high speed; fighter jets are constructed to fly at incredible speeds, often exceeding the speed of sound, which creates the Vapor Cloud. Isn’t that interesting!
Many Fighter Jets have questionable structures such as the B-2 plane.
The plane is designed the way it is to deflect radio beams. The large, flat wings of the plane are responsible for directing the radio beams in unusual directions.
To my surprise, the engines of the plane are placed in its wings! The engineering is marvelous in this plane.
Innovations in Commercial Airplane Design
The main purpose of any commercial plane is to provide flight to passengers or transport cargo. To make this purpose more efficient; the aviation industry is constantly evolving. Just like in 2005, when the first A380 was ready for flight.
A380 is the largest passenger plane ever built with a capacity of 853 passengers. The dimension of the plane is astonishing with a wingspan of 261.8 feet (79.8 meters), a maximum take-off weight of more than 1.2 million pounds (540,000 kg) and a length of 239.5 feet (73 meters).
Knowing how heavy the aircraft is, one might assume Heavy-duty thrust reversers are essential, but surprisingly, in the A380’s braking system, thrust reversers are the least critical components. The A380 has only 2 thrust reversers on its inboard engines, while the outboard engines have none, helping to reduce the aircraft’s overall weight.
On a A380, a pilot can activate the thrust reversers only when on the ground and can adjust the level of thrust reversal from idle to maximum reverse, until the airplane has a speed below 80.5 mph where the thrust reversers should be set to idle reverse.
Many such fascinating engineering innovations contribute to making this plane one of the finest aircraft for flight.
Summary
A commercial flight and a military aircraft differ greatly in terms of speed, purpose, design, manufacturing and cost. Fighter jets are expensive to develop and maintain, while commercial planes have high initial purchase cost but lower maintenance expenses. Fighter jets comprises of compact and specialized cockpits with manual control, whereas commercial aircraft have spacious cockpits emphasizing automation and navigation.
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