Airplanes - Page 8

Airlines still flying the A380 in 2026 number just 10, out of the 14 that took delivery. Here is who kept the superjumbo and who walked away from it.

How do gliders fly without an engine? They are always descending. Glide ratio, thermals, ridge lift and mountain wave explain how they stay up.

How does a jet engine work? Suck, squeeze, bang, blow is only the start. Inside the compressor, the bypass fan, and blades hotter than their melting point.

A fuselage is an airplane’s body, and it is a tube for one reason: only a circle carries cabin pressure in pure tension. Here is the engineering.

The most dangerous commercial aircraft, ranked by hull loss rate per million departures using Boeing’s own data. The worst safety records still flying.

Can planes fly in rain? Yes, routinely: engines are certified for it. The weather that actually grounds flights is thunderstorms, ice, wind and fog.

How much does a fighter jet cost? An F-35A runs close to $100 million with its engine fitted, but the sticker price hides where the money really goes.

Military planes split into 12 types by mission: fighter, attack, bomber, multirole, transport, tanker, patrol, ISR, AEW&C, EW, trainer, and drone.

Tennis players with private jets: almost none own one. Nadal’s Citation CJ2+, Federer’s NetJets share, Djokovic’s Learjet, and why Alcaraz flies commercial.

How often do planes crash? Airlines flew 38.7 million times in 2025 and had 51 accidents. The real odds, and why general aviation carries most of the risk.