5 Surprising Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Aircrafts
Air travel is something we are all somewhat familiar with. You check in, squeeze into your seat, maybe snooze a little, and then, you’re somewhere else. But the machines that carry us have some genuinely surprising secrets. Below are five facts about aircraft that most passengers don’t know. The last one is genuinely wild.
1) Planes are painted white for good reasons (not just style)
You’ve probably noticed most airliners wear white fuselages. That’s not just an aesthetic choice, it’s practical. White paint reflects sunlight and heat better than darker colors, which helps reduce thermal stress on the airframe and lowers cooling loads when a plane sits on the ground. White also makes it easier to spot cracks, oil leaks, or other maintenance issues during inspections, and it’s cheaper in the long run (lighter paint jobs and easier repainting).
2) Aircraft are designed to survive lightning strikes, and are tested for it
Lightning hits airplanes more often than you might think, but modern airliners are engineered to handle it. The aircraft skin, bonding straps, static discharge wicks and design standards channel the electrical energy safely around sensitive systems and away from fuel tanks and controls. Newer composite airframes (like some modern widebodies) use special lightning protection measures to compensate for lower electrical conductivity. Engineers test these protections extensively so that when nature throws lightning at a wing, the airplane walks away with only minor, inspectable damage.
3) Your oxygen mask only needs to work long enough to get you down safely
If the cabin loses pressure, masks deploy which are intended to provide oxygen for the descent to a safe altitude and not for hours of breathing at cruise. Regulations and system designs ensure there’s enough oxygen for an emergency descent (commonly designed around the time needed to get the aircraft down to 10,000 ft), and many emergency systems produce oxygen for roughly the period required to reach that safe altitude (often for a few minutes rather than hours).
4) Airline food “tastes bad” but your taste buds are partly to blame
It’s not always the caterer. Cabin altitude, lower humidity, and reduced cabin pressure blunt our taste and smell: studies and sensory experts show that at typical cruising cabin conditions people lose sensitivity to saltiness and sweetness, sometimes up to around 30%, which makes otherwise-flavorful meals taste muted. That’s why airlines often over-season dishes and why spicy or sour flavors come through better at altitude. So when you think it’s the catering, your taste buds did get a little changed by the flight conditions.
5) (The wild one) Engineers fire chicken carcasses at aircraft
This is real, and it’s as bizarre as it sounds: to certify engines, windshields and other components against bird strikes, engineers use a device called a “chicken gun” or flight-impact simulator to launch bird carcasses (or gelatin bird dummies) at high speed at parts of an aircraft. The tests simulate what happens when real birds strike engines or windshields in flight and help manufacturers design structures that won’t catastrophically fail if that happens.
Why this matters?
Aircraft safety doesn’t happen by chance, it’s the result of thousands of hours of engineering precision, testing, and maintenance discipline. At MHC Aviation, we take pride in recruiting and placing highly skilled engineers and licensed technicians who ensure every aircraft is safe, compliant, and ready to perform under the most demanding conditions. From line maintenance to heavy checks, our professionals keep fleets operating smoothly, reliably, and to the highest safety standards, because behind every safe flight, there’s an expert team making it possible.