How do airplanes land

The upwind main landing gear will touch down first, then the downwind main landing gear, followed by the nosewheel. This is a maneuver not recommended by Airbus because excessive bank angles have led to contacted wingtips or engines when the wind gust happened at just the wrong moment! Here is a flight simulation of how the slip approach works:. Yes they do! Every aircraft manufacturer will issue maximum crosswind speeds that the airplane can land and takeoff in.

Once the wind speed passes this limitation, the aircraft is not allowed to operate. Crosswind limits also change depending on the runway surface conditions. Dry runways provide the maximum amount of grip when landing and so airplanes will have a higher crosswind limit. When a runway is under heavy standing water or covered in snow and ice the maximum crosswind limitation begins to drop because the friction on the tires also reduces.

Once an airport begins to see sustained winds reaching 35 knots they can start to delay takeoffs and possibly divert aircraft to other airports. When airplanes appear to be landing sideways it is to keep the aircraft lined up with the runway centerline during their final approach.

Sometimes pilots may even use a mix of various techniques to try and keep the approach and landing as smooth and safe as possible. Crosswind landings are a daily occurrence for professional pilots but when your are first learning them, boy do they make you sweat and pucker!!

An autopilot system is just what it sounds like, a computer that automates many of the processes associated with flying. However, landing a plane involves many different variables, including accounting for crosswinds, the speed of descent, weather conditions , and more, all of which make it impossible for a computer to handle things on its own.

A flock of Canadian geese flew into the engines , costing the plane all its engine power. Faced with the prospect of crashing into New York streets or ditching into the Hudson River, Sullenberger chose the latter, saved everyone onboard, and went on to be portrayed by Tom Hanks in a movie about the plane incident. At cruising altitude, most commercial airplanes fly at a speed of roughly to mph.

When landing, however, they must reduce their speed. A typical , for instance, has a landing speed of about to mph. And upon touching the runway, airplanes must quickly brake until they come to a complete stop.

How do airplanes brake when landing exactly? Many airplanes use wing spoilers to assist with braking when landing. Pilots can raise the spoilers to decelerate the airplane as it approaches the runway.

And even while on the runway, pilots will typically leave the wing spoilers raised. In addition to wing spoilers, airplanes use disc brakes.

They are designed to generate more lift, which allows the aircraft to land at slower and safer speeds. These are 4 lights which show a combination of white and red to indicate whether the aircraft is on, above or below the ideal glide slope. The aim of an approach is to become stabilised, that is, closely following the ideal glide slope with speed properly controlled and the aircraft correctly configured.

If at any point during the approach or landing either pilot considers that it is not safe to continue such as poor positioning, an occupied runway or unstable approach , they will call for a go-around.

The crew will then apply full power and climb away from the airport on a prescribed path to either set up another approach or divert to another airport. With the aircraft stable and correctly positioned, the approach phase can transition to the landing. As the aircraft arrives over the runway threshold, automatic callouts tell the pilots the height above the runway.

At around 20ft the pilot will close the throttles and start to flare lift the nose of the aircraft allowing the main landing gear to touch down, followed by touching down the nose gear.