Can aeroplane reverse when on the ground or air?

Question

Can aeroplane reverse when on the ground or air?

Answer 1

Some aircraft can move in a reverse direction in the air and on the ground.

The Harrier VSTOL aircraft and rotary winged aircraft can fly backwards.

The C130 Hercules can taxi backwards by varying the pitch of the propeller blades.

Answer 2

most modern jets can reverse on the ground but they will still use a vehicle to 'push back' as this is a lot safer as the people outside the aircraft can see where they are going a lot easier... as for your 2nd question, as far as i am there are only a few aircraft which can move backwards in the air such as a harrier jumpjet which can also hover in the one place as well.

Answer 3

No, they don't need to in the air. The only way for most aircraft to move backwards is if they're on the ground and pushed by human power, a tractor, or something.

I'm really likin' your "aeroplane" questions......

Answer 4

I believe that you cannot put an aircraft in reverse during in the air.

but on the ground some aircraft an be put in reverse during pushback and landing.

But i'm not sure about reversing an aircraft in the air

Answer 5

Some propeller aircraft can adjust the pitch of the blades to go in reverse on the ground.

I once saw a hercules transport plane do this

Answer 6

not in the air-they need to turn the whole plane around, i dont think its possible to reverse on ground either-ive never seen that-only turning around

Answer 7

you are into areoplanes alot because you ask alot about them

Answer 8

newer models of planes can probably reverse but the older planes turned around on runways and where pulled inside hangers and enginering techniques.In the air planes must turn the complete way around not really a problem with all that open space :P.Military aircraft can stall where thrust comes to a shut off and sort of drift slowly but as far as i know that still isnt reversing.Helicopters do however have the ability to reverse in the air so i suppose in theory the jet engines where reversed it could reverse on the ground and in the air.For Example a fan in an office obviusly it isnt a plane but just go with it you press the fan speed and air comes out one way now imagine you could press a button that made the blades spin the other way the air should come out the other side in theory it would be the same with a plane again its just theory you would have to ask a pilot when your on a plane sometime

Answer 9

No. The only time a plane can ever move backwards is when they are being pushed backwards on the ground. This is due to thrust and drag.

Answer 10

Nope they cannot, the RAF harrier can i believe... however when the land has landed, the pilots can use reverse thrust to slow the plane down when they have the nose gear down.

Happy flying! :D

Answer 11

Many jets can backup, under their own power, while on the ground, although it's usually never done because the pilots can't see behind them.  It's because of the thrust reversers.  Anytime a plane needs to back-up, a tug usually pushes it back.

Answer 12

What's the big interest in planes?

My suggestion, GOOGLE!! Make it a ton more easier =]

But no, unless there was another force acting on the plane it will continue in motion of a straight line.

Oh hey! Newtons law! =] Pretty nifty hehe

Answer 13

ground yes, in the air depends on the aircraft.

the VTOL system that is used by harriers can make the aircraft go fowards, backwoods and hover.

Answer 14

Some aircraft, such as the B-24, can back up on the ground without using reverse thrust.  

Reverse pitch was originally designed for use in emergency (gasoline-fire-in-flght) descents.

Beta is when a power lever controls propeller blade pitch; the  propeller blade pitch is not necessarily  reversed.

Answer 15

Propeller planes with reversible props and jets with thrust reversers can "reverse" on the ground. Only a couple of military jets can accomplish this in the air.

Answer 16

Aircraft generally do not use thrust reversers or "reverse props in flight.  However, when landing on a short field some planes such as a Cessna caravan 208 will use reverse prop before touch down to shorten the landing roll out.  But generally deploying thrust reversers in flight can lead to you having a very, very bad day.  

Additionally the Gulfstream GII that NASA uses as a simulator for the shuttle does deploy its thrust reversers in flight to simulate the glide characteristics of the space shuttle.  I'm not sure that they are deployed at full power but, after talking to several shuttle pilot candidates I do know that it is used.  You can probably google it if you want more specific details

Answer 17

The Harrier can fly backwards in the air and the Hercules can travel backwards on the ground.

Answer 18

On the ground NO.

On the air, it is theoretically fly backwards, if the headwind is strong enough.

Good Luck...

Answer 19

In the air I've never seen it done but on the ground I believe at least some can.

Answer 20

Military Planes can fly backwards, the latest ones. but only as an escape maneuver.

On the ground planes can reverse if not when then get into hangars they will have problems coming out.

Answer 21

Sure they can... anyone that has been to an airshow has seen a aerobatic manueuver called a "tail slide" where the plane goes up vertically and hangs on the prop and then starts back down vertically tail first. It is something of a trick to see how long you can hold the slide going backwards.

On the ground, again... sure they can...  DC--9s and 727's did it for years off the gate, it was called a "power back" and you would be required to clear it with ramp/ground before doing it because you were going to blow everything (and everyone) off the ramp moving 100,000 lbs of airplane with reverse thrust. Techically... any jet with reverse thrust is capable.. as is any turbo-prop, but as mentioned the engines heat up quickly... but more importantly... you are very likely to suck in FoD known as "foreign object damage" which will eat an engine up quickly.  Rocks, pebbles, screws c**p on the ramp can really tear up an engine in short order.  

A C-130 (or Civilian L-100)  can throw you right through the windscreen if you are not belted in.... by nailing full reverse and yes... you can go into reverse inflight. Normally, there is a "gate" that you lift the throttles up and over before going into reverse, and there is a mechanical lockout to prevent it from happening in flight.. but they wear down, and may not work. In the L-1011 we went into reverse as soon as the mains touched, long before the nosewheel was down. If you do that with a turboprop, you will SLAM the nose down.

Inflight deployent of reverse is pretty ugly... One of the first 767  Fatal crashes was the Lauda Air B-767 that suffered uncommanded reverse about 15 minutes after takeoff.  I had a guy try and impress me one time how short he could make an approach in a Be-99 and he didn't quite make it.. and had too much speed over the runway and was eating it up fast... so he went into reverse while we were still about 8' in the air, and it slammed that thing down so hard it hurt my back. I never flew with that idiot again.

We had a tight ramp in Dallas, and would "parallel park" the Metroliners on the edge of the ramp, and when they are empty, you can do it easily... but there are specific limitation on the engines and you have watch the temps anytime you use reverse even just slowing down on the runway. That is one fact in favor of turbo props, because you never need to even touch the brakes, it's all done with the engines.

Answer 22

In the air, no (unless it's some bizarre aerobatic maneuver)

on the ground, yes, most jets can, (but don't) and most turboprops can (but don't.)

A few airplanes, particularly ones that are designed for remote operation routinely operate in reverse on airport ramps. Probably the most common is the DC9. Northwest airlines operates them in the snow, and it's very nice to be able to back them up. It makes it so even if the ramps are very slippery they can back the airplane up without difficulty.

Answer 23

Lots of interesting answers, and a lot of wrong information.

On the ground, most jet airliners and many propeller airplanes can produce reverse thrust.  In most cases it is enough to enable the airplane to taxi backward.  Also in most cases company policy prohibits doing it.  Rocks and debris from the tarmac can be dangerous, and the pilot cannot see behind.

Some radical propeller aircraft can reverse thrust in flight, but it is for reducing speed and descending very steeply, and not for flying backward.  All aircraft wings must be moving forward to produce lift.

Answer 24

Transport (airliners)and small business aircraft (Lear Jets,King Air's) can backup on the ground but usually don't due to safety reasons. They use what is called a tug or tow truck to push the aircraft backward on the ground in most cases. If the aircraft wanted to backup on the ground they would do it using their reverse thrust on jets and on propeller aircraft they change the pitch of their propellers to move the air forward to push the aircraft backward.

Aircraft can appear to fly backward in the air (small single engine aircraft) with a very strong headwind but are really not "flying backward" the wind is blowing them backward, they are still flying forward.

Answer 25

On the ground, the C 130 Hercules is allowed to reverse. This allows the aeroplane to land on rough unprepared strips, turn round, taxi back to the end of the "runway" turn again, line up and take off.This capability is very important in allowing the aerop[lane to land troops to capture and secure the landing ground. I believe that the C 17 Globemaster 3 is also capable.

In the air, I believe that only the Harrier is able to move backwards, although this is not normally done. It is for the most part a show trick, as the aeroplane needs to inject water into the engine for cooling whilst in the hover. Moving backwards extends the hover time quite considerably, thus display airframes are fitted with larger water tanks.

I trust this answers your question in a suitable manner, as I have tried to keep a complex issue as simple as possible.

Answer 26

on the ground -no,with the exception of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules as stated above.

In the air -only one-and its the British Aerospace Harrier,using a manouvre called VIFF-vectoring in forward flight.only used under extreme emergencies,due to the stress it places on the airframe.

I know because we used to build them at Dunsfold.Brilliant design,brilliant aeroplane-not aircraft;an example of Britain getting it right for a change-not like the TSR-2

Answer 27

On the ground:

Yes, some can reverse by using reverse thrust. An example is the C130 Hercules, which I used to fly. We used to regularly reverse on the ground to get in and out of strange and tight parking spots, using the reverse pitch of the propellers. You couldn't do this for too long, as the engines heated up too much without the air flowing forward through the oil coolers.

Many modern jets generally are not permitted to use reverse thrust on the ground unless it is the normal part of the landing roll. It is technically "possible" but can cause damage to the engines or be dangerous for various reasons, and I know of at least one airline Captain who tried to do it to back out of a parking spot and it resulted in an engine replacement. Very expensive, and the airline was not amused!

In the Air:

On some planes, reverse thrust can be selected in the air. On propeller aircraft which are capable of this, they use it to perform a very steep approach, called a "Beta" approach ("Beta" is the term for the propeller blade range when it is in reverse pitch).

However on many aeroplanes, like modern jets, selection of reverse thrust in the air can be extremely dangerous and may cause them to go out of control, and they are usually designed to make selection of reverse thrust in the air very difficult, if not impossible.

One exception is NASA's Gulfstream which is used to train Space Shuttle pilots. This can select reverse thrust in the air to perform a very steep approach to simulate the Shuttle approach.

There are no planes which can fly backwards unless they are performing a fancy manoeuvre, like in aerobatics, or unless they are a vertical takeoff/landing plane like the Harrier (in which case they would still be performing a fancy manoeuvre!).

Edited for clarification on a couple of points. And there are STILL people saying aeroplanes can't do it. I give up.

Answer 28

In the air, sort of, but highly unrealistic. You'd have to have an oncoming wind speed faster than your aircraft could fly.

On the ground, many aircraft are capable or reversing under their own power, but it's somewhat dangerous. Can't see behind you. This includes obstacles, but also debris on the ramp, which can hit the propellers. Or in the case of a jet, hit something forward of the engines.

I've personally seen DC-9's, Beech 1900's, & King Air 200's reverse themselves out a parking spot though.

Answer 29

Just to clear up a couple of the answers here:

On the ground, some airplanes can use reverse thrust to back up and some are not able to.  I am a captain on several corporate jets, and only one of them is certified for it.

Learjets are not certified to use reverse thrust to backup the airplane.  The thrust reversers must be either stowed or at idle (depending on the model) by 60 knots when used during landing.  For the learjet this is so that the exhaust gas is not re-ingested into the engine where the hot air combined with the lack of oxygen would cause problems.  As long as you are moving forward, this is not likely to happen, but becomes more likely as you slow, and MUCH more likely if you are trying to back up.  There are also center of gravity issues (particularlly with the older 20 series lears and the 31A) that could cause the airplane to tip over if you were to attempt this.

On the other hand, the Falcon 900 which I also am a captain on IS certified for the user of reverse thrust to backup the airplane.  There are limitations which must be adhered to when performing this:  You must have ground personel present in order to make sure that you don't hit anything behind you, and  you can not hit the brakes to stop the airplane when moving in reverse (as this could cause the CG problems mentioned above).  In order to stop, you would stow the thrust reverser and use forward thrust from the operating engine(s).  The issue of exhaust being re-ingested is not a problem because the center engine (where the only thrust reverser is) has the inlet far away from the exhaust of the engine because it is an 'S-Duct' like what the 727 has.  This puts the inlet in the center of the tail and the exhaust comes out the back.

The rest of the issues, I don't have as much experience with, but I know for a fact that SOME airliners can "power back" as was previously mentioned, and most jets are not able to use reverse thrust in the air, although some turbo-props are.  

I hope that this helps!

Answer 30

I was lucky enough to be in the RAF when the HARRIER came into service, it can fly in ALL directions, many aircraft can manover backwards on the ground by using reverse thrust on jet engines, or even on propeller powered aircraft by reversing the 'pitch' of the propellers.

Answer 31

Just to summarise, most jets and turboprops have a reverse thrust/pitch facility which is intended to slow the landing roll and help preserve the brakes. In SOME cases this facility can be used to back the aircraft up on the ground but not all by any means. It is often forbidden for technical and damage reasons and most airports do not permit it.

I was once on board a C130 when the display pilot handling it frankly got it completely wrong and had to keep full reverse in force all the way down to the aircraft stopping on the grass at the far end of the runway.  There was a terrible smell of burning ingested grass and all four engines had to be changed, they were full of grass, stones, dust etc . . .