Mildly Interesting

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Two airplanes landing at the same time with close proximity (i.imgur.com)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 213 points 10 months ago (3 children)

It's an optical illusion. The planes aren't really that close together. The person who shot the video is using a telephoto lens and is zoomed way in. This compresses the space and flattens it out so it's hard to judge distance. Also the plane in front is smaller than the one in the back which heightens the illusion. It's a really cool shot!

[–] [email protected] 51 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Comparing the engine sizes or counting the windows really shows that the back plane is probably double the size of the front plane.

Cool illusion.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The one in back is a larger 737, the other is a smaller Embraer.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

This is what I came here for. Thank you.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

And this is what I came here for. So thank you too

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago

Definitely the windows, but recent planes have gone with huge turbines so it's not the most reliable tell. I don't know Airbus well but the turbines on a 737-800 or Mac are pretty big compared to a - 300 or A320

[–] [email protected] 35 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Wait a minute, are you telling me that the hobbit actors weren't really that small?

[–] [email protected] 24 points 10 months ago (1 children)

No they were, Peter Jackson just had his actor's legs cut off for the movie

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago

Guy heard the stage expression "break a leg" and kept thinking about it for too long.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I mean, it's rare enough that 2 planes land at the same time. They are definitely "close" but probably some 200m apart.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It’s not as rare as you may think. I used to work at a weather service office located right near the end of one of the runways at IAD and it would happen a few times a day if the airport was busy and the winds were such that they were coming in from our side.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Interesting. Thank you for correcting me. TIL