Every time I see a large plane in the sky, or even riding in one, it seems like it just flies more slowly. I wonder if it’s an illusion or do they actually fly more slowly?
In: Physics
Humans pretty much use the moving object’s size as a rule stick. In other words, we measure the speed of an object relative to its size. Ants look like they’re speeding around, because they move very quickly compared to their size.
When it comes to aircraft, all passenger jets fly at a rather similar speed, regardless of their size. For example, a Boeing 737 has a take-off speed of around 250 km/h, while the MUCH larger Airbus A380 only needs to go 20km/h faster to take off. In general, this means that a larger aircraft looks like it’s flying slower because it’s much bigger but only slightly faster, so its speed relative to its size is lower.
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