Why was smoking on airplanes acceptable in the past but not today?

 On July 11, 1973, Varig flight 820 The plane, which departed from Galeão Airport bound for London with a stopover at Orly Airport (Paris), crashed moments before landing in a field near that airport.

From Wikipedia, a photo of the plane after the crash.

Minutes before arrival, a fire broke out in the bathroom. Attempts to extinguish the fire were ineffective, and it spread throughout the aircraft. Smoke even entered the cockpit, forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing. Of the 134 occupants, 123 died, with only one passenger among the survivors.

Interesting story number 1 - The flight commander was decorated for managing to divert the aircraft away from populated areas around the airport.

Interesting story number 2 - The surviving passenger, after about a year, complained about the incident at a Varig store and requested another ticket to reach his destination (claiming he was entitled to it, given that the plane did not arrive). This ticket was provided by Varig.

Later, it was understood that the most likely cause of the fire was a cigarette butt thrown into the trash can in one of the bathrooms. As a safety recommendation, smoking was prohibited in airplane bathrooms, and the installation of ashtrays in certain areas of the cabin became mandatory. These ashtrays are still mandatory today, providing a safe place to dispose of the fire hazard should someone manage to light a cigarette.

Back then (1970), smoking was more glamorous than it is today, so this accident probably already raised some concerns about the risks of smoking on board an aircraft. For a while, there were only a few isolated initiatives (apparently United implemented a no-smoking section in 1971), until in 1988 smoking began to be phased out until a general ban in 2000 (that is, well after the accident).

One of the main reasons for the smoking ban was health concerns. Secondhand smoke unfortunately exists and is a problem (which is probably why smokers can only smoke outdoors nowadays).

Another problem with allowing smoking on board, which I remember hearing about in a video from Aviões e Músicas (an excellent channel for aviation topics, by the way), is that the nicotine ends up impregnating components of the air conditioning system. It was probably something similar to a smoker's car – it's difficult to get rid of the cigarette smell. Perhaps this was taken into consideration.

Which airplane myths are totally false?

 All these myths are related to giving birth on an airplane.

Myth 1) The child will obtain world citizenship.

Myth 2) The child obtains citizenship of the country the plane is flying over.

Myth 3) The child automatically becomes a citizen of the country in which the airline is registered.

Fact - In 99% of cases a newborn obtains the citizenship of his parents.

Myth 4) Most airlines give a child a free lifetime ticket if he or she is born on their plane.

Fact - No airline has confirmed that it is a hard and fast rule to give away free tickets for life, although this is an individual decision by the airline and not a consensus.

Another fact: Births on airplanes are very rare, especially since pregnant women cannot fly after a certain week (mostly 36). However, there are some cases of premature births on board.

Don't even think about giving birth on a plane with free tickets, because the crew isn't fully trained in childbirth. You'll have unnecessary complications during delivery and probably won't get free plane tickets. And forget about citizenship.

What is the highest elevation an airplane can travel?

 Would you believe that the altitude record for a winged aircraft was electric? At 96,863 feet or 29,524 meters the propeller aircraft NASA Helios hold that record for level flight “not a zoom climb”. This was an unmaned aircraft.

I used to love getting National Geographic in the 1950’s and 60’s because so many records were being broken. The images of the early high altitude ballon acesions were amazing to a young man who wanted to be a pilot.

There are a few catigories that are worth mentioning. Lets start with an aircraft that has taken off from the earth under it own power. That record belongs to Alexandr Fedotov flying a MiG E-266M. Flying at 123,523 feet in 1977 and still holds “”Offically”” the highest flight from ground.

His Mig E-266m with modified engines taking off on August 31, 1977 and still offically stands today.

The absolute record for a manned flight dropped from an airplane belongs to American test pilot Robert White who when dropped from a B-52 took the X-15 to an altitude of 314,688 feet or 95,916 meters on July 17, 1962.

Michael Melvill who on June 21, 2004 Space Ship One at 170,544 or over 32 miles up set the higest altitude for passanger carrying aircraft.

Some famous people that set altitude records.

Wiley Post in his pressurized suit

Why are flaps needed to safely land an airplane?

 They are not needed. Even an aircraft designed to land with flaps can usually still land safely without them, albeit faster. What flaps do is enable aircraft to reconfigure the wings to allow them to land at lower speeds than they would otherwise be able to do. The shape and size of an airfoil (wing) determines how much lift (and drag) it produces in flight.

Flaps and slats change the wing's "aerodynamic shape", which enable the same wing to fly at lower speeds, for both landing and becoming airborne after take off, at a slower, but controllable speed.

Extending wing flaps for landing serves the function of lowering the stall speed of the wing, the speed at which the wing does not provide enough lift to sustain flight. This allows for a slower approach speed and facilitates the transition from flying to landing. As kinetic energy, which must be depleted on landing, is proportional to the square of velocity, small decreases in approach/touchdown speeds can make big differences in landing rollout.

The curvature of the wing is gradually increased with flaps, allowing the wing to fly slower, without stalling, increased in intervals, until it has reached a suitable speed for landing. The more flap increment, the greater the lift, the slower the speed for landing. On some airplanes, extending the flaps allows the nose to point further down and can improve forward visibility over the instrument panel or the engine/propellor.

On the other hand, retracting the flaps allows an aircraft to fly more economically, faster and with less drag when not landing. A wing in "clean" configuration can reach speeds near the speed of sound, but that would take a huge runway to either speed up, or slow down and the brakes would burn up each landing.

Flaps give additional lift at low speed, and the drag also helps to lower the speed. If the flaps are not activated, there would be much more wear on the tires and brakes, and the runway might be overshot.

Why does an airplane need full throttle for takeoff but right after it the pilot "slows" it down?

 Most people assume a plane thunders off the runway at full power every time, but that is rarely what actually happens. Commercial airliners never use full power on takeoff.

The takeoff thrust is calculated knowing the weight of the aircraft and fuel, plus an estimation of the weight of the passengers and the measured weight of their checked-in luggage, and also takes into account the temperature, air pressure and altitude of the airport.

The engines are the single most expensive part of a commercial airliner, many millions of dollars for each. Eighty percent of a jet engine's wear occurs in the takeoff phase of flight. Engine maintenance is a significant cost to airlines, so power settings are carefully designed to reduce engine wear. By not using full power, engine life is extended which results in lower operating costs.

Once the aircraft is off the ground and the gear can be safely retracted, the pilot can reduce the takeoff power to a more efficient climb speed. With the gear up and flaps retracted, the aircraft is in a clean configuration and can climb and cruise at a much lower power setting than takeoff. When the aircraft reaches cruise altitude, the power is set for cruise, where power can be reduced further to conserve fuel.

There is also a 250 knot limit below 10,000 feet, which means the pilot has no reason to maintain high thrust once airborne in controlled airspace. Some airports also require the pilot to throttle back for noise abatement until the aircraft is over less densely populated areas or has reached a certain altitude.

The takeoff power setting is often time limited. Pilots can only use that setting for five or ten minutes, and that is done to limit wear on the engine. If needed the pilots can continue at the higher power setting in any emergency situation.

Where is the "secret room" located in an airplane?

You will see it, but you will not know it. This is the space hidden from your eyes.

Okay. The hidden compartment is a secret rest area for the crew. It's usually located on wide-body aircraft. On Boeing planes, it's in the nose section. To passengers, it looks like a small closet, but a staircase might be hidden behind it.

These rooms may contain 5 or 6 bunk beds and basic amenities. On long-haul flights, the crew may need rest.