Sep
6
Why do planes do a “pirouette” when taking off and before landing?
Filed under human interest, trivia
I noticed that when planes take off, they fly the other way and then turn around to follow a straight path to the destination.
And when planes prepare to land, they fly over the destination and then turn around to begin descending to the airport.
It’s like writing the number 8. You will notice because if you sit by the window, one of the wings of the plane dips when the plane turns around. I noticed that this happens all the time.
Why is that? I am just curious, is all. Maybe it has to do with a law of physics? Or could it be just a flying technique?
I am trying to understand why.
Comments
Ooh, i know this one! (^_^)
The nature of runways and air traffic control.
There are only so many runways, each of which has a specific approach/departure trajectory. Most planes approach from an angle less than ideal, so they have to turn anyway.
Also to keep planes from colliding and other Very Bad Thngs, their approach and departure is defined by air traffic controllers. Sometimes pilots need to make a circle to buy time if the previous plane is a little late. My dad was a pilot for many years, and we talked about this sort of thing a lot when I was little.
oooh, something new for me to learn too… hehe.
di ko napansin yan..siguro kasi tuwing lilipad na at pababa ang eroplano e medyo takot pa rin ako lol!
@nakajoe
wow! you really are a genius! thanks for the answer.
@7thstranger
yeah. thanks to nakajoe.
@manilenya
umabot ka na ng canada sa kaka-travel tapos takot ka pa rin pala sa planes? lol.
it depends on the wnd direction.
there are times na lalagpas talaga sya sa runway, like you encountered then iikot sya pabalik ng runway.
minsan no need to make “lagpas” direcho na sya sa takeoff or landing process.
i encountered it in bacolod, abot talaga sya sa bacolod city ang ikot nya, pero sa city city na ang landing/takeoff. the city is 45 mins away from bacolod city..
ganun kalayo ikot nya
hey aileen.. where are u at now? =)
@eric
yung na-encounter ko kasi is sa air ang lagpas, hindi lang sa runway. ang layo ng inabot ng plane in the air tapos umikot lang pala. nasa wind direction din pala yun?
@jacq
i’m in pinas na po.
@eric:
That’s true too. You can tell if you’ve got a crosswind issue when you land because the plane won’t be pointing straight forward, it’ll be flying at an angle. Check Youtube for some examples.
pag palipad lang naman..after nun wala na,, saka papunta rito para kang nasa bakasyon sa ere e, kain tulog lang lol!
@manilenya
oo nga! lalo na pag nasa business class ka!
wind direction and/or due to instructions from air traffic controllers. planes take off/land against the wind. flying with the wind may result in overshoots like what happened in Butuan, a few weeks after i went there. short runway too
gee. what happens when there’s an overshoot?