About 1 in 5 people have some form of fear of flying or “aviophobia.” 1)
The Boeing 747 is the most famous commercial and cargo transportation aircraft in the world. It is nicknamed the “Jumbo Jet” and is made up of 6 million parts! 2)
South Korea's Seoul-Jeju air corridor is the busiest airplane flight route in the world. In 2018, there were 250 daily scheduled flights on this 449-kilometer route, carrying more than 14 million passengers a year. The route was so popular that each new plane departed every 15 minutes. 3)
The captain and first officer are required to eat different meals during flights. This is necessary in case of food poisoning. 4)
The first airplane in the world was invented and built by the Wright brothers. On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright made four brief flights with their first powered aircraft. 5)
Currently, the longest regular passenger flight is the 9,534 mi (15,344 km) Singapore Airlines flight SQ 21 from Newark to Singapore, with a duration of 18h30m. The flight is performed on an Airbus A350-900ULR. 6)
The Antonov AN-225 cargo plane was the largest aircraft in the world. It was almost as big as a soccer field. It was originally built to transport a spacecraft. 7)
The shortest scheduled regular commercial flight is Loganair's 1.7 miles (2.7 km) flight between the Scottish islands of Westray and Papa Westray. It can take under 60 seconds. 8)
Cincinnati's Flamingo Air was providing a private 1-hour long “Romantic Flight” with curtains, champagne, chocolates, and a discreet pilot for $425. 9)
The pressurized air in the cabin is kept below 20% humidity - about the average humidity of the Sahara desert. 10)
English is the international language of aviation. All flight controllers and all commercial pilots who fly internationally must speak English. 11)
As of 2021, the world's oldest airworthy aircraft is a Blériot XI from 1909. It's registered in the UK as G-AANG by the Shuttleworth Collection and still flies regularly. The first plane of this type was used in the first aerial crossing of the English Channel in 1909 by aviation pioneer Louis Blériot. 12).
The Stratofortress is a long-range, jet-powered strategic bomber designed just after the Second World War as a nuclear weapons carrier and produced in the years 1952–1962. The B-52, called BUFF (Big Ugly Fat F***), is able to carry 70,000 pounds of weapons for 8,800 miles (without aerial refueling), and was used in almost all significant conflicts since the 1950s. Thanks to continuous modifications and a versatile design, the B-52 is still in active service with the USAF and is planned to serve into the 2050s, which would make over 100 years of active military service. 13)
Aircraft have the same navigation lights as water vessels, from small fishing boats to large container ships. There is a red light on the left wing (portside on a ship) and a green light (starboard) on the right wing. Its function is to signal the direction of the aircraft's flight. 14)
The first regular passenger aircraft made its maiden flight on New Year's Day 1914. The route included a 34-mile flight over Tampa Bay, Florida, and the first passenger aboard the hydroplane was St. Petersburg Mayor Abram C. Pheil. 15)
On 7th February 1996 a masterpiece of engineering, the supersonic Concorde aircraft set a record flying time between London and New York City of 2 hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds. 16)
The Antonov An-225 is the biggest plane in the world. It is also the heaviest aircraft ever built, with a maximum takeoff weight of 710 tons. 17)
A Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber named the Enola Gay was the first aircraft to carry and drop an atomic bomb. 18)