2006-09-11 02:54:37 · 21 answers · asked by yacks 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Engineering
Well, they can, that's how they take off and land. Why don't they though? The higher you go the less air resistance you get. So they fly at high altitude to get the best balance between fuel economy and speed. Also, there are FAA regulations that prohibit even small aircraft from flying close to the ground.
2006-09-11 02:57:02 · answer #1 · answered by rcktpilot 1 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Jumbo jets can fly close to the ground although there are quite a lot of reasons for not doing so.
A jumbo jet makes a LOT of noise so anyone near the plane as it flies low over the ground (below one thousand feet) will experience a lot of pain in their ears.
A jumbo jet needs a lot of room to maneuver. Flying very low to the ground puts the plane, its passengers and crew and anyone on the ground below them at risk of an accident. Just like a cruise ship can't turn around very quickly, neither can a jumbo jet.
A jumbo jet needs a lot of air moving over its wings to be able to maneuver. The lower you are to the ground, the more chance you have of violent changes in the wind direction and speed due to heating effects of the ground and wind flow over the landscape (trees, hills, rivers, houses, buildings). The higher you are in the air, the less chance you have of these accident causing changes in wind flow.
So the answer to your question is that they CAN fly low... the question back to you is "Why should they?" Hope this helps!
2006-09-11 03:00:32 · answer #2 · answered by djboca 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
They can....they do it for short periods when they are taking off and landing.
They don't because
1. It's too noisy for people who live in their flight path.
2. It's more fuel efficient to fly higher
3. It's easier to maneuver the plane at a higher altitude
4. There's more air disturbace close to the ground.
5. There's less chance of birds being sucked into their engines (don't laugh, it's dangerous) or hitting tall objects.
2006-09-11 03:36:44 · answer #3 · answered by Bobbie 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi. Jumbo jets fly close to the ground on every take off and landing. I think you mean at a high rate of speed. The air density at lower altitudes make them very fuel inefficient. Also the engines take many seconds to spool up after the throttles are pushed forward so this make low level flight risky.
2006-09-11 02:57:19 · answer #4 · answered by Cirric 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Most people have answered as if you said "don't" rather than "can't". Your inference is right, large planes cannot maintain flight close to the ground
ground effect, the air that gets pulled over the wing and through the engines is pulled from in front of the plane, creating a vacuum which makes it fall.
When in flight the air in front on the wing would normally be replaced with air below it, allowing the wing to work against that air.
Thats why planes "rotate" quite sharply, even when there is nothing beyond the airfield,it reduces the risk of stall.
And when they land, the engines and lift are not working so hard but its generally uncontrolled for the last few feet.
2006-09-11 02:57:19 · answer #5 · answered by Michael H 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Since le_coupe and djboca have correctly answered your question. In a summary statement "larger jets should not fly close to the ground".
2006-09-11 03:40:44 · answer #6 · answered by mdjarhead 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Presumably you mean flying close to the ground in situations other than takeoff and landing? The tradeoff between fuel consumption, oxygen availability/engine efficiency and air resistance/speed starts to favor flying at altitude - you get more miles for your buck. In addition FAA guidelines stipulate a minimum altitude for commercial aircraft over populated areas, and over unpopulated areas.
2006-09-11 03:10:41 · answer #7 · answered by Sarah H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sounds like flights that have an incident on board, and if the flight does not have a sky marshal on it to be certain that the airplane is maintain from threat, the alternative is to escort it in with fighters. protection stress fighters can not fly as sluggish as commercial jets configured for landing, so i could postulate the jets ought to fly in "warm" (swifter) to maintain the fighters from overtaking and leaving them at the back of. So, landing at a swifter speed skill the financial jet will prefer to get wheels on the floor as close to the beginning up of the runway as achieveable for extra time to apply engine thrust reversers and brakes to provide up the jet. no longer something to get your feathers ruffled approximately.
2016-11-07 02:29:28 · answer #8 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because people on the ground would not like that. Besides the air resistance is much less the higher you go, so the amount of fuel needed is much less when you're flying up high.
2006-09-11 02:56:58 · answer #9 · answered by Michael R 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The forces of air turbulence prevent stable flight
2006-09-11 03:01:43 · answer #10 · answered by lxdrain123 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋