Video Capturing The ‘Real Speed Of Planes’ Shows Just How Fast They Actually Go

Every individual, at some point in their lives, must have raced against a plane flying overhead. Some of us might have even imagined winning the race- even though it is totally impossible to do so. While we know that planes are fast, we don’t really know how fast they are- since they fly so high above us. But recently, a video has come up which shows just how quickly a passenger jet moves when one is not looking at it from a great distance.

For those wondering, there is a specific name for this effect where we believe that the airplanes above our head aren’t really going too fast- even though they obviously are. This is called the Motion Parallax and is based on how fast an object breezes through one’s field of vision. This means that a car that is driving on the motorway when things are passing by quickly seems quite faster- than a plane up in the sky, which stays in our field of vision for a longer period of time. However, this TikTok video goes beyond the Motion Parallax to actually show us how quick planes can really be.

The video shows a Boeing 737, which is a normal airliner for most airlines. The plane has a cruising speed of 545 mph- which, although ridiculously fast, isn’t fast enough. There are several types of aircraft capable of achieving much faster speeds.

Read: World’s Most Experienced Pilot Reveals Truth About Why We Use Brace Position On Planes

Planes Are Really Fast- Even If It Doesn’t Feel So

Concorde, a supersonic passenger jet, had a cruising speed of around 1340 mph, which allowed it to cross the Atlantic in record time. However, the speed of the Concorde is quite minuscule when compared to the fastest air-breathing aircraft that was ever manufactured- the Lockheed Martin SR-71 Blackbird. This was first designed and built in the 1960s and was primarily used for recon. 

One wouldn’t be wrong if they found all the airplanes flying at a stupendous speed, and this video truly exemplifies that. Rather than the usual, brief glance at an aircraft from quite a distance, this video shows the airliner soaring past the clouds- looking as if it was cruising to its destination. The video can be a little alarming for people who could be watching it while inside the aircraft- as given how high the plane is flying, and the speed with which it touches the land, it almost feels surreal. It is indeed quite bizarre to think about people sitting in a bus that hurtles through the air at a speed of over 500 mph, which is powered by fossils made out of dead dinosaurs. 

But when it comes to actually understanding why planes stay up once they have gone up, there are a lot of explanations floating around- and none of them make it any clearer. Engineers are of the opinion that they have full knowledge of what makes a plane fly, but they could be simply winging it. After checking the video, the reactions from other TikTok users were quite noteworthy. One wrote, “I’m gonna refuse to believe this.” Another individual wrote, “I didn’t need to know that a few days before going on a plane.” A third comment mentioned, “Never going on a plane again.”

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