How Planes Are Tested to Keep Us Safe at 37,000 Feet

Bright Side

Ever wonder how planes are tested to keep us safe way up at 37,000 feet? It’s actually pretty wild! Engineers put planes through insane tests, like bending their wings almost to the breaking point to make sure they can handle turbulence. They also simulate extreme weather—think freezing temperatures, scorching heat, and even fake lightning strikes—to ensure nothing goes wrong in real-life conditions. Planes are tested in wind tunnels at crazy speeds to see how they’ll handle in the air. Even the seats and seat belts get tested for crash scenarios to keep passengers protected. All these tests make flying one of the safest ways to travel!  Animation is created by Bright Side. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music by Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com   Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV   Subscribe to Bright Side: https://goo.gl/rQTJZz  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brightside  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en   Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me

Transcript

00:00You may take a look through the window when in the sky and see the engines right under the wing.

00:05The thought may go through your head something like,

00:08oh, how fascinating, that little thing is what keeps us in the air at 37,000 feet.

00:13And after that, you go back to your movie, book, or iPad.

00:17Sure, it's cool, but we kind of expect it to work.

00:20Take it for granted and don't pay much attention to it.

00:23And at the same time, there's so much work going on behind the scenes.

00:28Fasten your seatbelts.

00:30Today, we're going to find out what it takes for a plane engine to be ready to go.

00:34Before you set foot on a plane or before its engine even starts operating,

00:39it must undergo many tests to prove it's safe.

00:42In one test, for example, they shoot water in the engine at very high pressure.

00:48Most engines change through time.

00:50Engineers tend to always build something new, improve some features,

00:54and generally upgrade engines to make sure they work the best they can.

00:59This part is certainly fun, or at least it is until the engine meets Mother Nature.

01:04To make sure it will remain efficient,

01:06experts need to create an engine that will be able to withstand insane storms,

01:11rain, ice, snow, extreme heat, and so much more.

01:15An engine needs to be ready for all that even before it gets into production.

01:21Engines can take enormous amounts of water.

01:23There are special tests for water ingestion.

01:26During such a test, a team forces a stream of water into a running engine.

01:31What's amazing is that they shoot nearly 800 gallons of water per single minute directly into it.

01:39These tests confirm you'll be safe on the plane,

01:41even during a heavy rain or insanely powerful storm.

01:45If the engine is designed properly and meets safety standards,

01:48the water will come out without damaging it.

01:52Moving on, when the temperatures are really low and the weather gets colder,

01:56everything gets icy, and that can damage an engine and cause big problems for a plane.

02:02Such tests are especially tricky.

02:05Experts need to fire all kinds of ice particles into a running engine

02:09because you never know what you'll stumble upon up there in the air.

02:13By particles, I mean enormous balls of ice they throw into the engine.

02:18Not only do they want to see if the engine can take all that ice,

02:22but they also need to figure out how quickly it can recover after this.

02:27Hot and cold tests are fun too.

02:29To test if the engine is going to work in extreme heat,

02:33manufacturers will run it at maximum temperature and keep it like that for an extended period of time.

02:39During the flight, temperatures might get extremely high, but also very, very low.

02:46And when you want to test an engine in freezing temperatures,

02:49you need to go to a place where you'll have such conditions.

02:52For example, Canada's Arctic area of Nunavut.

02:56But dress well because temperatures over there are not pleasant.

03:00They go down to negative 18 degrees Fahrenheit.

03:03Then you leave the engine there for a week to test it both in the air and on the ground.

03:10You know how cool it is to watch through the window as the plane's going up?

03:14Well, the reason it can even lift off the ground is these rotating blades.

03:19They're the most important part as they move at speeds of nearly 3,000 revolutions per minute.

03:24The engine reaches full thrust as they rotate.

03:28These blades just have to be secure.

03:31But things happen, so one of the blades might still fall off.

03:35That's why tests are an essential part of the process.

03:38You can see if some of the blades are not attached firmly enough and fix it.

03:42So there's no chance they break off, especially while the plane is flying.

03:46If a blade falls off, it might hit other moving parts.

03:49It has happened in the past with some planes, so now tests are very strict.

03:55They allow specialists to understand if blades are set well before they get attached to the plane.

04:02During the test, engineers put a small explosive at the base of one of those blades.

04:07At the moment when someone starts the engine, bam!

04:11Oh wow, that's how you see if the blade will stay inside the chamber of the engine.

04:15If it breaks off, the team goes back to the drawing stage.

04:19They know they need to redesign it and repeat the test.

04:22Even if a blade is as small as your finger, it can cause lots of trouble to the engine and, by that, the entire airplane.

04:32Speaking of blades, have you noticed those little white spirals you can see here in the center of an engine?

04:38They look cool, but they're definitely more than that.

04:41They're primarily there for the safety of the crew on the ground.

04:45Crew members usually can't hear it when the engine is running because they're mostly wearing hearing protection.

04:50Thanks to these spirals, they can see when the engines are on, so they can stay at a safe distance.

04:56Another reason why they might be important, although this hasn't been proven yet,

05:00is that they scare away birds when they're in the air and prevent them from getting up too close to the plane's engines.

05:08So, you're up there in the air relaxing and reading your favorite book that keeps you calm.

05:12You're not a fan of flying, especially...

05:15Oh no, the captain's speaking, saying you might go through some turbulence because you just got caught in the middle of a storm.

05:22He says there's nothing to be afraid of.

05:24It's normal, even though the chances of lightning hitting your plane are very high at such altitudes.

05:31An average commercial airplane gets struck by lightning approximately once a year,

05:36and it can be very tricky to deal with this.

05:38In the past, some planes experienced that and even had to make an emergency landing.

05:43So, engineers needed to create a test to make sure a lightning strike wouldn't shut the engine down.

05:49They use lighter materials, like carbon fiber.

05:53These materials don't conduct electricity well, so they end up in both engines and the basic structure of the plane.

06:00Manufacturers also add a layer of foil or metal mesh, which makes the airplane even more protected from lightning strikes.

06:08So, when the captain asks you not to worry, it's not about giving false hopes or anything like that.

06:14With the existing system, you most likely won't even feel when lightning hits your plane.

06:19There are three stages of testing a finished airplane.

06:23During the first one, you check the system without the engine running.

06:27During the second one, the engine is running while mounted on a special stand.

06:32And the ultimate stage, and kind of best part, where you want to check if everything works right, is the in-flight test.

06:38You put the engine in a couple of different situations.

06:41Once the plane is in the air, the engine needs to show it can produce thrust.

06:46Remember those blades?

06:48It takes approximately two years to build an engine and set it for testing.

06:53Tests seem like something you can do within a short time.

06:56But in reality, this process can last for up to five years for a single model.

07:02When manufacturers launch a new design, they will use the first engine they built just for testing.

07:08That means that this particular model will never fly commercially.

07:14There are many, many more tests there, of course.

07:17Like wing flex testing, for example.

07:20Wings flex during turbulence.

07:22This is the reason you have a smoother run.

07:25They test wing flex to nearly 150% of the maximum flex a plane will experience during a regular flight.

07:34Then there's an acceleration test.

07:36Different parts of a plane go through really big stress and pressure throughout the flight.

07:42Just picture racing down the runway for takeoff and then having to suddenly stop the flight and the plane itself.

07:49Acceleration tests basically apply strong forces to the components, or even the whole frame of an aircraft,

07:55just to make sure it will withstand all that stress.

08:02That's it for today.

08:03So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

08:08Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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