How fast do southwest planes fly

The British Aerospace , BAe for short, is a short-haul regional airliner. The BAe features a large airbrake with two petals at the rear of the fuselage below the tail rudder instead of thrust reversers. The advantage of the airbrake over thrust reversers is that they can be used during flight and allow for steep descents if needed. The BAe had a cruise speed of Mach 0.

One of the notable features of this aircraft, and its engines, is that it had a very low level of operational noise. This was because of the geared turbofan ALF — the gearbox allows the fan speed to stay below the speed of sound, which greatly reduces the noise emitted from the engines.

Having equipped four engines on the BAe meant that it had superior takeoff performance on short runways and in hot and high-altitude conditions. This aircraft was the second-ever short-haul jetliner to enter service, following the French Sud Aviation Caravelle. The One-Eleven was designed and built to replace the turboprop Vickers Viscount on short-haul routes, though it proved to be quite popular with domestic airlines and various international operators.

It is one of the most successful British designed airliners. The BAC had a cruise speed of Mach 0. Compared to its predecessor iterations of the One-Eleven, the Series was longer by 8ft 4in ahead of the wing and 5ft 2in behind the wing and Rolls Royce Spey turbofan engines. The aircraft also featured a modified cockpit that incorporated avionics systems and instrumentation which included a more sophisticated autoflight system. Special VIP conversions of the aircraft layout were developed to be used as head-of-state transport by 14 countries.

The ILM has a cruise speed of Mach 0. It also features simple, light single-slotted flaps and incremental aerodynamic improvements over its predecessor models.

Most notable of these improvements is the addition of spoilerons wing-mounted air brakes and the ability to use idle reverse thrust in flight to shorten the landing run required for the aircraft. First introduced in June , the fifth fastest passenger plane on our list is the long-range, wide-body, twin-engine Boeing It has a maximum capacity of passengers and completes long-haul flights with ease. Flying in this area has many benefits that make flying one of the leading ways for travelers to get from one place to another.

The biggest reason for this altitude lies with fuel efficiency. The thin air creates less drag on the aircraft, which means the plane can use less fuel in order to maintain speed. Less wind resistance, more power, less effort, so to speak. Spending less on fuel is also great for airlines, for obvious reasons. So, flying too high can also cause problems. Plus, the higher a plane goes, the more fuel it has to burn in order to get there so there are some drawbacks with certain altitudes as well.

When the landing gear comes into contact with the runway, it compresses and this compression triggers the autobrake and spoiler deployment on approach, spoilers are "armed" by the pilots, for actuation by the contact of the gears with the ground. In effect, when performing a perfectly smooth landing with little noticeable transition from flight to ground other than surface rumbling! Aircraft manufacturers all recommend a "firm" contact with the runway, ensuring optimal deployment of the braking systems, so as a passenger, you should not be surprised if you come back to earth with a small bump.

But sometimes, if the weather's good, the runway is long, and the optimal turnoff taxiway is at the other end of the runway, you may get the benefit of a perfectly smooth landing, soft braking and no reverse thrust Ray, What is your favorite airport to take off from to? OR your favorite airport to land?

I love landing in San Diego because you can see the bay on the right hand side and you can see my ship CVN 68 and i enjoy landing in ABQ because its my home. It would seem like a pain to land in SAN because of the short runway Ray: Any idea how long it takes for the turbulence of a heavy jet dissapate?

Is it like the wake from a ship spreading out from either side or is it more like a confused sea? Capt [sea] Bob. Raphael, Are you a pilot with SWA or another airline? Kudos to you and Ray for all the knowledge you've dropped on us! I guess everyone was greatful he didn't screw up! Oh yeah, takeoffs AND landings make my stomach turn!

No Inflight for me! I can handle the rest though. Hi Bob! Ref wake vortex, behind the heaviest aircraft in commercial service today, current separation on landing is 6 nm, and on departure, 2 minutes.

That would apply for example for a followed by a Cessna , so it is fairly representative of how long it takes for wake turbulence to dissipate. They are therefore encountered behind and below an aircraft. As Ray mentions, he climbs steeply to stay "over" the wake turbulence of the preceeding aircraft!

Paco, I am nothing but an enthousiastic Southwest customer! I am also a very keen private pilot, flying light aircraft, a passion I have had since I was a kid! The great thing about Southwest is that everybody there is passionate about flying, and they know how to share it!

Wake turbulence dissipates at different speeds depending on conditions, for example if there is a lot of wind or not bearing in mind wind may "push" the turbulence to the left or right of an aircraft. It is pretty similar to the wake of a ship, depending on wether the sea is heavy or not, on a calm lake, the wake of a ship may ripple all the way across the surface!

Wake is actually a vortex, with air spinning in an opening cone shape. Hence, when you initially encounter it, the aircraft will "drop" one wing, as the aircraft is induced into a slight spin movement inside this rolling mass of air in the direction of the vortex. When you see aircraft flying in close formation for example, the US Navy Blue Angels or the US Air Force Thunderbirds , not only do they have to keep in position with each other at high speed and close range, but they also have to avoid each other's wake turbulence!

That requires extreme skills, and a level of precision that has me in awe! I will be flying to MCO in July! If they do, there aren't many, based on my own non-scientific observations over the last few years, so your chances of taking off or landing backwards are reduced to your ability to convince the FAs that your reversed sitting posture is the way you always sit.

Good luck with that! It did feel "backwards" to face the rear of the aircraft on those SWA planes, and as I mentioned to you before, I had the same sensation at times on the private jet of my former employer. What really DID unnerve me was on the occasions when I got stuck flying on the couch of our corporate jet. It was oriented front-to-back along the length of the cabin, as opposed to side-to-side, which meant that you sat facing the center aisle and looking straight out the left-side windows.

During takeoff, your body would lean to the left, and landings would reverse that with your body being pulled to the right. Neither of those movements "feel" right on a plane! A good friend of mine who was a career Air Force pilot summarized flying into these layman's terms for folks who asked about the intricacies of driving complex jet aircraft: "pull back on the stick, houses get smaller; push forward on the stick, houses get bigger.

Favorite airport? Because, unless I am just passing through, it means I am home! Second favorite: San Diego because of the fantastic view ahead. The runway is not all that short and I cannot remember ever having used the whole runway on landing. Reno is another challenging approach with a nice view.

Lots of winds and a steep descent so energy management is fun. ABQ is fun in the summer because it is a high density-altitude airport and that means the air is thin making the plane hard to slow down. More energy management fun there too. My all-time favorite has to be the visual approach into Honolulu. Passing over Diamond Head at about 14, feet we would coast down to around 10, abeam the runway where they would usually clear us for a visual approach.

After droning across the longest no-alternate stretch of water in the world, seeing land was good but seeing Hawaii was literally like seeing paradise. Knowing we had a day and a half on the ground made it even better! Maybe HNL will show up in our schedule one of these days! Thanks to all the pilots for all the great info. It's amazing how big that thing is.

Mine has to be BWI Yea, Kim, I've noticed that, too. I'm just happy to be on the plane! That's a good idea, Francisco! I wonder who we could talk to about that?

The child cried quite a while! I admit, I'm glad I wasn't sitting next to or right across from them! Leah, I am sure Brian can call Gary for us to let him know that we want those seats back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I even miss those dividers I know, I know it saves gas. The more weight on a plane the more gas it burns I think children should have their own section on a plane. I should stop complaining because one day i might have 10 kids of my own.. There are two major reasons for this, and they have to do with safety and security: At about the time we began accepting deliveries of the , the FAA changed the impact requirements for seating.

Previously, seats had been designed to withstand a force of 9g, but with the new rule the requirement was changed to g.

There were no rear-facing seats that met that requirement, so all s were delivered with forward-facing seats, and we began to reequip our existing s and s. The s were allowed to keep their lounge areas until the were phased out two years ago. Also, at the same time the was being introduced, the FAA mandated that Flight Attendants be able to see the entire cabin, and the high bulkheads of the lounge areas prevented this.

Bottomline, the lounges and their rear-facing seats are history, along with hot pants. Darn on both! But don't tell External Blog Boy. Brian, Thanks for the story I am sure the FAA could make an exception.. See you on Thursday in ABQ As far as Leah goes well I am sure the country gal has plenty of choices when she flies and i am not sure if i am the airline for her I'm disappointed about the rear-facing seats! That's funny. Let's send a letter to Gary about that. Can you guess which one? Ha, ha.

Well, next time I go there I can. Captain Stark's postings are my favorites - I love the technical "stuff" about aircraft and flying in general. I am curious about the departure from ELP when the plane is pointing west. Two of the fastest private jets — the Gulfstream G and the Cessna Citation X — can fly at speeds of more than miles per hour, which proves that private jets do an amazing job of getting you from Point A to Point B quickly and safely.

There are so many different types of military planes that it is difficult to determine an estimated speed, but here are a few facts. The SR set a record in when it flew at a very impressive speed of more than 2, miles per hour. In between these extremes, however, are military planes that fly at , , and several thousand miles per hour.

Of course, there are also single-engine planes, which on average can travel at around miles per hour. Although they are small, their speeds are not high because they are single-engine planes that are also affected by things such as wind resistance and other factors.