Airplanes fly at around 36,000 feet in the air. One reason for that is because there’s less air up there, meaning less wind resistance. This allows planes to fly faster while using less fuel.

Contrary to popular belief, cell phones and other electronic devices don’t pose a risk to safe operation of airplanes. The European Aviation Safety Agency announced as much in 2014. Even when the regulations were originally put in place, they were more over concerns about interference with cellular networks on the ground. However, other regulatory agencies have kept limitations on use of electronic devices aboard aircrafts in place, because…well, it's not actually clear. One statement from the chairman of the FCC said he “value[d] a moment of quiet at 30,000 feet.” As for whether the FCC will limit loud conversations on airplanes, that remains to be seen.

The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is the fastest airplane of all time, with a speed of 2,190 mph (3,530 km/h), set on July 28, 1976.

The smallest aircraft ever flown is a biplane called the Starr Bumble Bee II. It’s wingspan is only 5 ft, 6 inches - smaller than many adults, and it weighs just 396 lbs (179 kg).

The world’s largest airplane, the Antonov AN-225, was destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It was a massive cargo plane originally built to launch the Soviet Space Shuttle.

The atmosphere on Mars is much thinner than Earth’s, which would make flying an airplane much, much harder. NASA has designed several airplane concepts which have flown on Earth at very high altitudes, but still with more air pressure than exists on Mars. Flight on Mars has been achieved, though, by the Ingenuity helicopter, a small unmanned helicopter than arrived on Mars in 2021 with the Perseverance rover and completed its first successful flight on April 19, 2022.

Yes! Some airplanes can fly upside-down. However, large commercial airplanes most likely cannot fly upside down, due to a lack of engine power relative to their size. That said, there is at least one recorded instance of a commercial airliner flying upside down - in 1955, the Boeing “Dash 80” performed two barrel rolls during a demonstration flight.

Yes! It was first completed in 1949 by the US Air Force B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II, and took 94 hours and 1 minute, with 4 in-flight refuelings. It wouldn’t be until 1986 that an airplane would fly around the world without being refueled in flight, taking 9 days, 3 minutes, and 44 seconds. The fastest trip around the world by plane? 46 hours, 40 minutes, and 22 seconds.