what if stories are not real, what if they are just typical airplanes that get stuck in the air because they ran out of gas?
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Answer:
If a plane runs out of fuel, or you chop power to the engines, it becomes a glider. The glide ratio of a Boeing 747 is averaged at 17:1. This means that for every 1,000 feet of altitude lost the plane will travel 17,000 feet. Considering there are 5,280 feet in a mile, you can figure on traveling roughly three miles before you complete your descent from 1,000 feet - runway or no runway. At 10,000 feet you have about 30 miles to play with. As you get higher, your glide ratio will decrease. So your mileage - and your life expectancy - truly will vary.
At the other end of the glide ratio spectrum you'll find something like the high wing, single engine Cessna 150. Which, if it could actually make 10,000 feet, would likely need a surface-to-air missile to bring it down. And that’s with or without fuel. The old Piper Cub is even better. And, considering there are no doors worth mentioning, eliminating any excess passenger weight is a snap.
It was, in fact, once trendy to teach dead stick landings - nothing but dead stick landings. And the higher the price of aviation fuel, the more trendy these landings seemed to become. Go figure. But power off landings are perfectly safe, and they do mimic landing a plane with zero fuel. Which is really handy if the flight school’s too cheap to include gas with the lesson. And your instructor routinely declares an emergency prior to takeoff.
Presuming there’s an adequate runway in range, and presuming there’s enough air between you and the ground, a dead stick landing is something all pilots are trained to do. So next time all four engines flame out, just sit back, order a few more drinks and continue to enjoy the on board movie. With, of course, your head anchored securely between your knees.
Step-by-step explanation:
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