Right now, while you read this
aircraft in the air at this moment. And it is a floor, not a total: the number comes from a network of volunteers with antennas, and in the middle of the ocean nobody is listening. There are more.
The flight, in order
The hum is the auxiliary turbine in the tail, providing electricity and air while the engines are off. The thuds are the cargo doors closing.
The engines starting, one at a time. The whine climbs until the engine sustains itself.
That is the flap mechanism — the surfaces that extend from the wing's trailing edge — setting up for takeoff. The knocking is pavement joints.
Takeoff thrust. It is the loudest moment of the flight and it lasts less than a minute.
**That is the landing gear retracting and the doors closing.** It is the noise that frightens people most the first time and it is completely normal: it means the aircraft is clean and climbing.
**This is the moment that frightens people most, and the most normal of all.** Takeoff uses more power than climbing needs. Once airborne it is reduced to climb thrust — for noise over houses and for engine wear. Nothing shut down: it is still climbing, more slowly.
The flaps retracting into the wing, in stages. The wing changes shape and for a second it feels different.
That is the pressurisation system renewing the cabin air. It does it for the whole flight.
In the descent the engines go nearly to idle: the aircraft glides down. The quiet is what is expected, not what is odd.
Those are the speedbrakes: panels that rise on the wing to descend faster without gaining speed. They sound far bigger than they are.
The landing gear coming down and locking. The wind noise rises because the aircraft is no longer smooth.
The roar is reverse thrust: the engines pushing forward to slow down. It lasts a few seconds and then stops.
Why every number here comes with its normal range
Because more information does not always shrink the gap: given badly, it feeds it.
If the screen says “descending 1,500 feet per minute” and nothing else, someone can build a catastrophe out of a true figure. If it says “1,500 feet per minute — a normal descent runs between 1,000 and 2,000”, the same number does the opposite.
It is the rule for this whole page and for the app: no number without what is expected beside it. A number on its own can feed the fear; a number with its range shrinks it.
Turbulence, in numbers
- Normal flight, 1 g.
- Your everyday weight: what you weigh standing on the ground.
- Light turbulence, between 0.8 and 1.3 g.
- This is what you feel nearly every flight. For reference: a lift starting upwards is around 1.1 or 1.2 g.
- A normal airliner turn, 1.15 g.
- Thirty degrees of bank. It feels like more than it measures.
- The aircraft is certified to 2.5 g, and the structure is tested to 3.75 g.
- Those are the minimums required by transport aeroplane certification rules (CS-25 and FAR 25). The turbulence that makes a full cabin gasp is far below that figure.
Which is why the advice that matters is not about the aircraft — it is about you. Turbulence does not break airliners; it injures people without a seat belt. Keep it fastened whenever you are seated, even with the sign off.
And the app measures it, in your seat
Modo Avión measures the real load factor with the phone's sensor. When you feel a sharp movement you can look at the number and see it was 1.2 g — the same lift. A small number does more than any explanation.
And it answers another question few people ask out loud: where could this aircraft land right now. It carries 4,133 airports with their runway lengths inside the phone and tells you which ones are around you, sorted by distance. It is not an operational list — that needs fuel, weather and clearances the app does not have — but knowing there is one 400 km away over the Atlantic changes how alone it feels.
What this page is not
It is not treatment and it replaces nobody. Fear of flying is treatable and treatment works reasonably well; if it shapes your life — if you stop travelling, if the flight ruins the days before it — talk to a mental health professional. This is information, which helps many people and is not enough for everyone.
And it is not operational information: it is for the person sitting in the back, looking out of the window.