How fast do planes fly?

That's the sweet spot most jet airliners are designed around: fast enough to cover distance efficiently, but comfortably below the point where the air starts behaving strangely as it approaches the speed of sound.

Ground speed shifts with the wind, of course: a strong tailwind can push the number well past 600 mph, while a headwind slows it down, even though the aircraft's speed through the air barely changes. Smaller propeller aircraft cruise at a few hundred mph or less, since they're built for different missions and altitudes than long-haul jets — see how high planes fly.

Whatever the number on the day, it's a speed most of us only picture rather than feel — a good reason to make the aircraft itself the thing on the wall, on a gallery-style aircraft canvas.

Written by Craig Fearn, Aviation Gift Co.