November is National Aviation Month! To celebrate here are a few interesting tidbits you might not know about the industry we love:
1. The pilot and co-pilot eat different meals, just in case one of them has food poisoning and can’t operate the plane.
2. Chicago’s O’Hare Airport is one of the world’s busiest, with one plane taking off every 37 seconds.
3. Airplanes are frequently hit by lighting, but are designed to be lighting-proof.
4. The average age of an American commercial aircraft is 19 years.
5. Alaska Airlines was the first to get digital, offering online check-ins starting in 1999.
6. The Boeing 747 fleet has flown 5.6 billion people in the line’s history, or 80% of the total current population of the world.
7. You know the Wright Brothers, but they idolized George Cayley, who in the 19th century built the first glider the Brothers would model in Kitty Hawk.
8. Royal Dutch Airlines is the oldest, established in May, 1920.
9. The reason why airplane food has a bad reputation is because the atmosphere in the airplane alters the senses of smell and taste. It’s estimated you lose 1/3 of your taste buds on a flight.
10. All commercial pilots throughout the world who fly international flights are required to be fluent in English.
11. The maximum speed of a Boeing 747 is 955 km/hr.
12. Traveling by air can shed 1.5 liters of water in the average human’s body during a three hour flight. So drink plenty to stay hydrated!
13. Tom Stuker is the world’s most frequent flyer. The New Jersey resident has logged over 10 million miles in the skies, all on United. His profession is as a consultant and sales trainer for auto dealerships.
14. The oxygen masks in commercial airplanes hold enough oxygen to last for 15 minutes, enough time for the plane to reach an altitude with breathable air.
15. There are over 30,000 daily flights in the United States, boarded by around 2 million passengers.
16. Only 5 percent of the world’s population has been on a commercial flight.
17. Lights are turned off during takeoff for your safety. It allows your eyes to adjust to lower levels of light, and studies have shown will help you evacuate faster in the event of an accident.
18. The aircraft today are 70% more fuel-efficient than the jets of the 1960s.
19. “Mayday” comes from the French m’aidez, or “help me!”
20. Airplanes may have bedrooms for the crews. Longer flights of 15+ hours mean the crew can escape to the secret rooms with 5-10 beds to get some rest.
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Travel Tips by Travel Care Air 