I just noticed that when planes takeoff after leaving the ground, the plane steeply climbs up altitudes, however, before it touches down, the plane this time smoothly descends to the ground. Why is that the case?
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When landing, the descent has to be a careful balance between losing speed and altitude, but doing so in such a way that the plane still has enough lift to remain in the air, but then contact the ground gently enough to not damage the aircraft or its passengers. It’s pretty complicated to take something that heavy and have it safely transition from a thing flying fast through the air, to a thing that is on the ground and not flying at all, without damaging anything.
When taking off, they want to reach cruising altitude and clear the airspace around the airport as quickly as possible. That’s where the traffic is, so it’s best to clear the area quickly. There is also better fuel efficiency once they’re at altitude and cruising speed.
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