# Flying a Jetliner into a Tunnel

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-a-jetliner-into-a-tunnel/481401>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 15, 2009, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-a-jetliner-into-a-tunnel/481401 "2009-01-15T08:00:21Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 5

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**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2009, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-a-jetliner-into-a-tunnel/481401/81 "2009-01-18T00:03:40Z")

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> [@brossa](#):
>
> I’m saying that an autopilot/plane that is sophisticated enough to fly into a hole in the ground in all weather, compensating for sudden, massive differences in aircraft handling due to ground effect, cessation of headwind/crosswind, etc. etc. etc., is sophisticated enough to stall and drop gently onto a tiny landing platform without any fancy VTOL equipment.

You’re saying more than I would.

> [@](#):
>
> Build the perch at the top of a skyscraper and you could just shove the planes over the edge to launch them. If the skyscraper isn’t high enough you could just dig out a curved tunnel of the right shape so the plane could pull out of the dive while it was still underground!

Problem with _that_ is passengers aren’t going to be fond of the freefall, combined with the gee forces created by pulling out of the dive. I can’t imagine that folks would enjoy taking every flight on a [“vomit comet.”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vomit_Comet) One could suppose a large enough building with a complete runway on top of it, Of course, if you do _that_, then you _really_ have to build a structure that is _massively_ reinforced to take the weight of jetliners landing and taking off from the top of the thing all the time.

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