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Do the pilots of the plane simply reverse thrust of the engines after touchdown or are there brakes on the landing wheels that slow the plane just like a car? Or a combination of both?

What about prop-planes?

bradvido
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    I think what you're really asking is how an aircraft is brought to a slow enough speed to safely exit the runway onto a taxiway. That's generally accomplished by both brakes and reverse thrust. Stops on the runway are to be avoided as it ties up the runway. Stopping at a parking gate/place is done by brakes. There are brakes on the main landing gear. Some aircraft have nose wheel brakes as well.

    Turboprops typically have reverse thrust capability. Piston engine prop planes typically do not.

     – Terry Jan 20 '15 at 23:46
  • @Terry or the tug breaks for them while it's attached. – ratchet freak Jan 21 '15 at 00:01
  • @ratchetfreak True, however I was thinking of the initial stop that would have been necessary to attach the tug, for which I should have noted. – Terry Jan 21 '15 at 06:03

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The main components that stops the aircraft are the brakes and spoilers and secondary would be the reverse thrust and flaps. When a airplane lands it still has some velocity and that velocity still creates lift. When the spoiler goes up it stops the wing from create lift and sits the plane on the ground, so the brakes have more efficiency. Some aircrafts would need twice or three times longer runways to stop with the spoiler inop. As a secondary resource there are the reverse thrust and the flaps, witch when is full down creates more drag than lift and helps the aircraft to stop.

diego182
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