I live by O'Haire, and i sometimes see the jumbo jets stay still. Whats going on? And please dont see i didnt see well, because it was rright above me.
2007-03-04 14:44:00 · 10 answers · asked by kid19912 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
Airplane was landing and it was no more than 300 feet above me.
2007-03-04 15:06:17 · update #1
Obviously, it's impossible for a ljumbo jet to be still in the air. What you were seeing is an optical illusion caused by two or three variables.
1] The plane is hundreds or even thousands of feet above you and therefore is smaller object in your eyesight. When seen from a moving vehicle in the opposite direction, it might appear to be still while coming at you overhead.
2] Or, it coul dbe that the plane was climbing after takeoff and at that angle, would be easier to spot but might be an illusion again, and might be seen as still.
It's a combination of physics and geometry.
Try it with a baseball.
Stand in a baseball field and have someone throw a ball high and towards you while you are running at it. Does it seem to be suspended for a few seconds?
2007-03-04 14:56:11 · answer #1 · answered by vgordon_90 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The eye often plays tricks on us like this... The landing speed of any large jumbo is going to be in the 150 - 160 mph range. Should the aircraft stop or slow below landing speed, the aircraft looses lift (it stalls) and falls out of the sky.
Because of the sheer size of the aircraft, and your proximity to the aircraft, it obviously appeared to stand still, or "float". In reality it was cooking along just fine.
2007-03-04 23:31:48 · answer #2 · answered by Klondike John 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
While it is un-nerving to see this happen,,,and even worse for a pilot to experience it,,,it is not unusual.
If the speed of the air flowing to-ward the aircraft equals the forward airspeed of the aircraft,,,then the aircraft when viewed from the ground would look like it is standing still.
And as far as the ground is concerned,,,it is.
Its even more exiting when an airplane takes off like a helicopter because of the same head winds.
2007-03-04 22:51:27 · answer #3 · answered by Thunder 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Its an illusion--while a small airplance could stay still in relation to the ground in strong headwind a jumbo could not as its stall speed is much higher
2007-03-04 22:51:21 · answer #4 · answered by NuncProTunc 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The sheer size of the jumbo is what throws your eye off. I would guess that the smaller planes look as if they're going faster, but they are not. Just a trick of the eye.
2007-03-05 01:08:07 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
You WON'T see a heavy jet airliner staying still in the air. It's as simple as that.
2007-03-05 16:34:55 · answer #6 · answered by chrisbowe82 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Airplanes dont stand still, its that simple, a 747 at minimum weight still stalls at about 120 kts. with full flaps... no chance that it was standing still... You would be dead if it was right above you and standing still...
2007-03-05 18:05:24 · answer #7 · answered by ALOPILOT 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
maybe the clouds were moving faster in the opposite direction creating the illusion that the aircraft was still
2007-03-05 04:40:38 · answer #8 · answered by c k 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
optical allusion? or maybe it was going slow and you were in a car and you were going the same speed. OR possibly there was a 300mph headwind to the airplane =D
2007-03-04 22:49:29 · answer #9 · answered by wulfgar_117 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it isnt possible. it just dosnt happern
2007-03-05 11:42:19 · answer #10 · answered by soccerknocker199 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋