Why is engine power cut back shortly after taking off? Takeoff is the scariest part of flying to me, and suddenly, only seconds after leaving the ground, it feels like the plane is falling.
Power is not cut back seconds after take off. I imagine what you are feeling, the sensation of falling is this:
On take off, after building up enough speed, the pilot points the nose upward and the plane lifts off the runway. Next, the pilot will lower the nose of the plane a little. Not a lot. Just enough for the plane to build up a little more speed. I imagine THIS is the moment you have that uneasy feeling. Also at that same time the flaps that were extended for takeoff are retracted. Changing the flaps setting will also contribute to “suddenly, only seconds after leaving the ground, it feels like the plane is falling.”If you lower the nose to maintain your acceleration altitude at the same time the flaps are retracting that sensation can feel like you’re dropping. But you are not. I promise. We watch the altitude very carefully.
With the limited power of an airplane you always have to balance different forces. Hypothetically, let’s say a jetliner takes off at 120 miles per hour. But ideally the jet should climb out of the airport environment at 210 mph. How can it do that? There are two ways.
1) stay on the ground until you hit 210 before liftoff. The draw backs are: you would need a MUCH longer runway, steering on the ground at 210 miles an hour would be hair raising, accidents on the ground at that speed would be exponentially more dangerous. The airplane isn’t designed for that kind of speed on the ground (you would have to reengineer the plane add more reinforced parts=more weight less efficient)
2) take off as soon as you can. Then, since you already are at full power, the only way to speed up is to lower the nose a little. If done abruptly, the passengers will have the sensation you described. If done REALLY abruptly, the passengers could feel weightless. Fortunately, when pilots are trained well enough, that doesn’t happen. After lowering the nose a little from the takeoff angle, the plane and you will speed up. Once you are faster, say 210 mph, you will be able to climb away from the ground and the airport faster. Overall, it pays off in a quicker climb time. This quickest climb time is called “Best Rate of Climb” we abbreviate it as “Vy”
Yeah, it would be cool to have enough power to just point the plane up to wherever you want and the plane would go there. But, it would take an enormous increase in power. Think of the size of the engine compared to pilot in a fighter jet, then think of engine size relative to all the passengers on an airliner.
Anyway, it’s a perfectly normal part of takeoff to feel what you described. I hope it helps you to know it’s part of the design of how the airplane works and not some kind of accident
Author – Jimmie Medows – Former Airline Pilot
