Hours of research by our editors, distilled into minutes of clarity.
The bending of air around a surface causes it to flow more quickly, reducing the pressure exerted by the airflow. In a commercial airplane, the pressure difference between air diverted above the wing and air flowing undiverted below it creates enough lift to overcome gravity.
This interactive timeline covers the first 100 years of passenger air travel, which was created in 1925 when the U.S. Post Office allowed private airlines to start delivering mail.
Rarely are there survivors when airplanes explode in air or crash due to the extreme speeds and elevation of the craft. Sometimes, though, people survive. Here are six stories of people who defied the odds and lived after falling from a plane.
Boarding an airplane takes time, but it doesn't have to. The Steffen perfect method goes like this: first, passengers with window seats in even-numbered rows board, then those in odd-numbered window seats, followed by middle seats in alternate rows, and lastly all aisle seats, reducing bottlenecks.
This infographic details nine airplane models that transformed aviation. This visual guide jumps over the dawn of modern air travel and begins with the open-cockpit biplane flown by the first scheduled airline, the St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line.
One of the most complex pieces of equipment in a fighter jet is the pilot's ejection apparatus, and the process of ejecting is far more challenging and violent than its depicted in film. This six-minute video breaks down the protocol step-by-step.
When farther from cell towers, these devices expend more energy to emit more powerful signals, which can overwhelm any ground-based tower or radio telescope they fly past. Rather than protecting the flight, airplane mode conserves a cell phone's battery.
B-2 Bombers are the world's most expensive plane, coming in at a cost of $2B per aircraft. There are roughly 20 in the world, all in use by the United States Air Force. They are known for their single-wing profile, allowing for stealth and the ability to transport some of the world's largest bombs.
In the early days of commercial air travel, flights were short, cold, depressurized, and generally comfortable. After World War II, airlines competed for their high-end passengers by offering cocktails, meals, and plush seats, cultivating the image of the elite "Jet Set." By the 1960s, air transport was completely changing global trade and offering big profits to companies able to ship via plane. Read about the era here.
This illustrated and interactive guide shows the evolution of Boeing's aircraft, from its 1916 seaplane to its 2020 777-9 model. The latter craft is a reiteration of the aircraft manufacturer's earlier 777 plane, which was the first commercial passenger airliner designed entirely on computers. Within a few years of the company's official launch in 1916, Boeing would supply the US with naval training planes during the Great War. When the war ended, surplus planes undermined the market, leading many manufacturers to collapse. Boeing stayed afloat by manufacturing other products, including furniture and boats.