texts: Can a non-instrument rated safety pilot log PIC during an IFR flight?

texts:
The Scenario:
An instrument-rated private pilot files and flies IFR while accompanied by a non-instrument-rated private pilot who is otherwise fully certified and endorsed to act as PIC in that aircraft under VFR flight rules. While in VMC, the instrument rated pilot uses a view limiting device in order to practice IFR scan and procedures towards maintaining currency, while the other pilot acts as safety pilot. Both pilots meet all medical and currency requirements for the flight.
The Question:
Can the safety pilot in the previous scenario log as PIC that time during which he/she acted as safety pilot?
Note: This question differs from the question, How should time as safety pilot be logged?. This question is not answered there; this question concerns whether or not a non-instrument-rated pilot is qualified as required crew during simulated instrument flight in VMC while operating on an IFR flight plan, and whether that pilot is qualified to act as PIC in the given scenario.


texts: Why are the center tank pumps deactivated when slats are extended on the A320? I researched about this and all I can see is hints. They say it is because of regulations or certifications.


texts: What are the "Start & Acc" and "Pitch stab" circuit breakers for on the Piper Dakota?

texts:
I am learning to fly a piper dakota and I found two circuit breakers for which I can't find an explanation:

Start & Acc circuit breaker. I understand that 'Start' is for the starter. What does 'Acc' stand for?
Pitch stab circuit breaker. I would think that this is related to the electric trim control mounted on the yoke but there is another circuit breaker labeled as 'pitch trim'. So what is this one for?


texts: What are the factors that limit how long an aircraft can stay aloft?

texts:
The most obvious one is fuel. Many modern military aircraft, however, are capable of refueling in mid-air. Crew fatigue, another obvious one, can also be addressed by rotating a crew out, and is a non-issue in unmanned aircraft.

The question therefore is, what factors would prevent an aircraft from staying in mid-air indefinitely? Are there any such factors that cannot be addressed, and would make it impossible to design an aircraft that could stay up indefinitely, or at least for an exceptionally long time?


texts: If airfoils at low speed generate higher coefficient of lift, why is it not reflected in airfoil polars?

texts:
If airfoils at low speed are able to generate a higher coefficient of lift, why is this not reflected in airfoil polars?

I understand airfoils generate a higher coefficient of lift at low Re numbers.

So I entered the NACA2312 airfoil in javafoil and generated a lift polar for the airfoil from Re 5,000 to 10 million. There was no increase in lift at lower Re numbers...

Why not?


texts: What are the rules for driving at a public, uncontrolled airport in the USA?

texts: Are there any rules for driving a passenger vehicle on taxiways and/or runways at an uncontrolled airport in the USA?


texts: Why is an air intake located on the root of the tail on some aircraft?

texts: There is a small air intake on the root of the tail of some aircraft, especially those with engines near the end of the aircraft. What is it and why is it located there?


texts: What is the difference between an air carrier and a commercial operator?

texts: I am currently studying for my commercial and I've been seeing both of these terms used interchangeably. Is there a difference?


texts: What is the maximum momentary G force that a modern airliner's wing can take before it snaps in extreme turbulence?

texts:
Taken from an aviation safety pdf..
Intensity - LIGHT - Vertical acceleration (g) 0.20-0.49 - Derived Gust (fpm) 300 -1,199
Intensity - MODERATE - Vertical acceleration (g) 0.50-0.99 - Derived Gust (fpm) 1,200-2,099
Intensity - SEVERE- Vertical acceleration (g) 0.1-1.99 - Derived Gust (fpm) 2,100-2,999
Intensity - EXTREME - Vertical acceleration (g) >2 - Derived Gust (fpm) >3,000
The g's in this list is additional g's. So ''> 2'' will read as 3 total g, as there is an additional g load factor of 2.
The limit turbulence load (the worst theoretical turbulence the plane  would encounter) for modern jets is 90-100 feet per second, or around  6,000 feet per minute. (FAR Continuous turbulence criteria):
''Uσref is the reference turbulence intensity that varies linearly with altitude from 90 fps (TAS) at sea level to 79 fps (TAS) at 24,000 feet and is then constant at 79 fps (TAS) up to the altitude of 60,000 feet.''
There is a 50% safety margin, so the max  turbulence it will encounter before a wing snaps off is about 150 fps.
What (momentary!) G loads would an airliner experience if it was  cruising and suddenly encountered a patch of 100 fps intensity  turbulence? (The ''worst case'' turbulence?)


texts: What was Boeing's competitor to the C-5?

texts: Doing some of my airplane learning, I have come across a point many times that the engines for the Boeing 747 (at least partially) came from Boeing's competitor to the C-5 Galaxy. What was this plane that Boeing had made to compete with the C-5?


texts:
Why do sweptback wings stall at the wingtip first?
Is it because of ram's horn vortex generation?


texts: Why/How does the Pilatus PC6 Approach nose-down?

texts:
How is it possible, and why?
Why is the aircraft not overspeeding?
I understand it has beta thrust, so would that be an explanation? What are the advantages to such a steep approach?


texts: Can TCAS give an RA for one aircraft and a TA for another?

texts: I am an air traffic controller and I had the following situation. Traffic maintaining FL360 and below him traffic at FL350 requesting FL370. Once they crossed each other I gave clearance to climb FL370 with 5.1 nmi separation. The guy read back the clearance and said he received a TCAS RA, the guy at FL360 said he received a TCAS TA. Does this make sense?


texts: How much energy is "wasted" in an aeroplane's descent?

texts:
In descent, an aircraft must lose both potential energy (in order to get down to the ground) and kinetic energy (in order to land at a safe speed).

Weight and drag can take care of that. An unpowered plane will eventually slow down and sink. However, sometimes it won't happen fast enough without additional control input, and the pilot must act to make the plane less aerodynamically efficient, and dispose of some surplus energy that would otherwise be retained longer.

If a plane completed its descent from top to bottom without using the control surfaces to:

dump excess lift
bleed off excess speed along the way

until actually landing, that would mean no waste of this energy in descent: all of it was used productively to get the aircraft to its destination, and none of it needed to be thrown away to get the plane low enough and slow enough fast enough.

In a particular descent, would it be possible to calculate or estimate how much of that energy in practice does in fact get "wasted", i.e. needs to be deliberately thrown away?


texts: How was the "frozen wing flap grease" problem solved? (Antarctica, 2001 emergency evac)

texts:
In the June 16, 2016 Washington Post news article A rare, risky mission is underway to rescue sick scientists from the South Pole difficulties of flying in and out of the south pole in winter are discussed. The article describes an earlier emergency evacuation in April of 2001:

  The replacement doctor for the station disembarked, and the ailing Shemenski clambered onto the plane. But as they started up the engines, the crew realized they couldn't take off. The Twin Otter's skis had stuck to the ice beneath them, and the grease on the wing flaps had frozen them in the fully extended position. While the station workers hacked at the ice on the skis, the plane's mechanic jerry-rigged the controls to allow it to take off. It was one of the longest, slowest take-offs any of them had ever attempted, but eventually, they were in the air.

How did the jerry-rigging of the controls of the De Havilland Twin_Otter allow it to take off from the south pole in winter with its flaps fully extended because of the frozen wing flap grease?

Is there a better description of the problem and the actual solution that was implemented?

note 1: According to the article, the current rescue mission can be monitored at https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CGKBO
update: apparently this hasn't actually been the case.

note 2: The article also says there are actually two planes involved in the rescue mission.

  Two small bush planes are flying to the South Pole this week to evacuate workers at the Amundsen-Scott research station — a feat rarely attempted during the middle of the Antarctic winter.


texts: Why do the winglets go down on some cessnas?

texts: I understand that the purpose of winglets is to decrease the wingtip vortexes to increase performance in climbs and cruising by redirecting the air over the wing. However on some old cessnas the winglets curve downwards. What is the reason for this?


texts: In which situations can a Dual-Aircraft Platform (atmospheric satellite) remain nearly geostationary?

texts:
The Dual-Aircraft platform described by William Engblom of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on this NASA feature page and in the first half of the video of the 2016 NIAC Symposium uses the wind sheer (difference in horizontal wind velocities) between two altitudes to allow a well-programmed pair of tethered solar gliders/planes to remain in a general area (e.g. 150 km radius) above the Earth.

The analogy is kite sailing, except in this case both fluids are air.

In the simulations presented, the aircraft have propellors which can generate forward thrust using electrical power, or reverse thrust when the motor is used as a generator (analogous to regenerative braking on electric vehicles).

I'm having problems understanding the point of this system - can it do something that a single solar-electric atmospheric satellite can not do? Can the horizontal wind sheer provide some special advantage for "hovering" near a certain location on the ground? Is a small (say 10 degree) difference in wind direction at the two altitudes enough to remain roughly geostationary - or is a much larger difference needed?

The second questioner (a bit after 00:20:00) seems to pose a simple but interesting question about tacking, and the third questioner's mention of conservation is also interesting.

Below: screen shots from the 2016 NIAC Symposium


texts: What happens when an aircraft activates reverse thrust mid flight?

texts: I know that airplanes have several mechanisms in place to prevent such an occurrence from taking place, but am still curious as to what would happen if the reverse thrust activates mid flight.


texts: Do stall strips mean that wing washout is not required?

texts:
The Wikipedia page on stall strips states that AA-1 Yankee airplanes used stall strips to avoid tip stalls (and spins) because wing washout couldn't be used.

So my question is: can two stall strips placed on each tapered wing (tapered wings love tip stalling) eliminate the need for a washout?

Secondly, what does it mean for a wing to have a washout of 6°? Does it mean the angle of incidence at the root is 6x greater than the tip?


texts: How does the maintenance cost of turboprops compare to turbofans?

texts:
I was initially under the impression that the added complexity of gearing in a turboprop would lead to more maintenance. Then I found out geared turbofans are becoming fairly common so there should be no difference in maintenance on that account.
I also thought the bypass air would play a role in cooling the casing for the combustion chamber onwards, but maybe this isn't a relevant factor.
Does anyone know how the maintenance cost of these two types of engines compare?


texts: Do open propellers experience pre-entry drag (additive drag) like an engine in nacelle?

texts:
Engines in a nacelle experience pre-entry (also called additive) drag.

Do unducted propellers experience it too?


texts:
The pilot puts the cruise altitude to the FMC and the plane auto adjusts the cabin pressure. I know that but I once heard the cabin pressure is set to three thousand feet.

Is it true? Why is the cabin pressure set to 3000 feet? How does plane designers of Boeing/Airbus/Bombardier etc. choose which altitude the cabin pressure will be set to?


texts: Would a large airliner such as a 747 or an A380 survive an inversion?

texts: Could any large airliner or GA aircraft survive a horizontal roll? Or would a large aircraft break up from structural damage?


texts: Which company manufactures the air data system on the Boeing 787-9 'Dreamliner'

texts:
I'm asking specifically about the manufacturer and model of the Pitot probes/tubes that provide the pilots with current air speed readings.

Pretty sure it's either UTC or Honeywell but can't find anything definitive online.

P.S - Is there any evidence of this technology being improved? Especially since Air France flight 447, and more recently Lion Air 610, where in both cases the pilots lost control of the aircraft due to inaccurate airspeed measurements.


texts: What are the conditions under which one would normally switch on the Engine and the Wing Anti Ice?

texts: As per the title. But I would also like to know if both (Engine and Wing) are turned on at the same time or if different conditions dictate the use of each one. I am specifically interested in the case for the B737NG.


texts: Are there commercial airplanes that are still flyable without any electricity?

texts:
I have seen the first episode of Revolution yesterday and there are all kinds of airplanes just falling from the sky because of complete loss of electricity.

I know most if not all modern planes use fly-by-wire systems.

I thought about this and the the question occurred:

Are there any still commercial airplanes in use that are still flyable with complete loss of all electric systems?

Do some commercial airplanes still have mechanical backup mechanisms to manoeuvre?


texts: Generally we fly under the rule of QNH which means our IA is above mean sea level. And as we all know airpace limits are charted in MSL. Then, why the definitions of airspaces are they (class C, D and E) depiceted in AGL?


texts:
Are airspace violations (e.g. entry to class B without clearance) based on primary radar and/or Mode C transponder, or something else?

I read that Mode C altitude is based on pressure altitude, i.e., set to 29.92" ... but presumably that's adjusted at the ATC facility based on the current pressure before being used for altitude enforcement.

This begs the question, what would stop one (hypothetically), just winding back the altimeter pressure reading to appear to be at a lower altitude?

So to summarize: How are airspace violations detected:

What data input is used?
If Mode C reading is used, is it based
on pilot's altimeter?
Would winding back the altimeter make a
plane report a lower altitude?


texts: What if a commercial airline pilot misses their flight?

texts:
Pilots need to arrive at the airport 1 hour before their departure. What if one of them is not able to report on time (due to any circumstances or reason) and also misses the departure time of flight.

In that situation, will the flight get delayed?
Will the airline wait for the pilot to come or will they find some other pilot for this flight?
Are there any extra pilots always available for handling this kind of situation?
What action will be taken against the pilot for missing the flight?
Can this type of issue have any effect on a pilot's career (like any kind of ban or suspension or penalty)?


texts: Why are the B-52's vortex shedding panels angled?

texts:
Their function is here: What is the purpose of the serrated trailing edge spoilers on the B52?

While watching this video (around the 1:53 mark), I noticed a number of angled devices on the trailing edge of the spoiler.

Why are they angled like that?


texts: Is a golf ball surface a good idea for wings or fuselage?

texts:
I searched for an infamous golf ball question on this site but did not find any, so I guess it's time for one.

Would a dimpled surface like a golf ball somehow improve the aerodynamics of an airplane? (there are many planes for many purposes, so let's just go with my favorite: large commerical passenger planes, Mach 0.85 cruise, several hundred tons loaded weight).

They actually tried this for a car on myth busters and they claimed an 11% improvement in miles-per-gallon, so you can't say the question has no merit. Unfortunately, they did not try it for an airplane.


texts: Could you encode data in a Black Box ping?

texts:
Black boxes put out a sonar ping at about 32kHz. From what I've read, depending on sea conditions the ping will be audible at the surface out to about 16 km, leaving a search area of around 1024 square km.
By adding a little complexity to the ping circuit, you could encode within it the last received GPS position of the box, before it hits the water. With average sea depth and average sink angles of less than 45° that information would cut the search area down to about 10 square km.
Is there some reason this tech is not used, or is it still in the rigorous testing pipeline these devices must go through?


texts: How do aircraft rental companies charge while the plane is not flying?

texts:
I am looking for some general advice - this is specific to the UK but may be similar else where.

I know it is possible to hire a private aircraft, I see comments like this on club/rental sites all the time:

  Fly ASG members can experience affordable personal air travel for the Channel Islands, France and beyond. Fly ASG offers their services of non chartered aircraft rental to engage customers with a new streamlined approach to business and leisure travel.

Many sites mention the brakes on - brakes off fee per hour, but say you took that trip to the Channel Islands, France, or beyond: how do these companies usually charge for the bit where you will presumably be parked while you work on your sand castles at the beach for the day?

Just to be clear I'm not asking about airport parking etc. but how the owner of the aircraft will charge when it is not flying.


texts: What's the advantage of using short wings rather than long wings?

texts: To clarify the question, I mean the type of wing used on a Concorde or a fighter jet, vs a glider's long and thin ones. What is the aerodynamic reason for using a short wing when the plane is faster?


texts: What does it mean when ATC says climb maintain 7000, block 8000?

texts: I understand the climb and maintain, but what does block mean?


texts: What is the procedure for handing over controller positions to the next shift?

texts:
I'd like to know how a controller of the previous shift hands over the position to the person of the next shift.

I imagine the next person should be present at the console for at least X minutes, so he or she knows what is going on. Is X defined by some regulations (or ICAO recommendations), or is it completely up to the ATC facility to decide?

Is sitting next to the console enough? Or, should there be some sort of briefing (by the current controller / supervisor)?

(Note: I don't want to tag this to a specific country. I am interested in whatever country the answer applies to.)


texts:
Does anyone currently own or have experience flying an ICON A5 aircraft?

They claim a range of 300 NM (555.6 km). I would like to know whether this is a theoretical calculated range, or a true/actual number?


texts: Has an unauthorized civilian ever tried to land on an aircraft carrier?

texts:
Has there ever been an attempt by a civilian 'daredevil' to land a plane on a US aircraft carrier?

I came across the Red Square Landing and coupled with this video it made me wonder if there was ever a civilian who attempted - illegally, of course - to land a plane on a carrier?


texts: Are the discrete I/O considered to be part of the ARINC interface?

texts:
A typical connection used to transmit/receive ARINC data might consist of a cable and a connector similar to the one shown below. Although ARINC transmit/receive channels aren't the only thing this interface can be used for. I've noticed that several different varieties of LRU also use some of the pin connections for I/O discretes.

So, are the I/O discretes considered to be part of the ARINC interface? Or do they just coincidentally share the same connector and have nothing to do with ARINC?

Update

As one of the answers commented on... I am not talking about the discrete bits within an ARINC word but the physical discrete I/O voltage signals that you'd see on an avionics bus.


texts: I'm curious to know if planes have distance counters similar to the ones in cars indicating how many kilometres/miles the plane has flown since being put in service.


texts: Where can I find reliable data on maximum turn rates for jet fighters?

texts:
I'm looking for reliable data on maximum instantaneous turn rates for jet fighters, something coming from reliable sources, ideally official flight manuals or specifications. I can't seem to find anything. I've seen reports of turn rates around 35°/s for some fighters (F-22, Typhoon, Rafale) but I don't know whether those can be trusted: https://defenseissues.wordpress.com/2014/01/11/comparing-modern-western-fighters/

If possible I'd like to have data on fighters with exceptionally high maximum turn rates, but really, anything would be welcome. Even information on old, retired fighters would be nice, and I guess that's more likely to be declassified. Failing that, a lower bound would be useful.

I don't know if turn rates make much sense for helicopters, but that information would also have some value.


texts: Low visibility spins and spirals: difficult-to-understand explanation of false perception

texts:
I'm not a pilot.
In the following excellent explanatory video I understand everything except for a single point.
The presenter says that in cloud, if the instruments tell the pilot to level the wings when the plane is tilting to the left, the pilot's reaction will be to bank even more steeply to the left, because they will believe they are in a severe right-hand bank.
Spin, Spin, Spin!  2:00  (Video)
Given that, according to the presenter, the inner ear is telling the pilot that they are currently horizontal, why would the pilot assume or feel anything about which way they should correct?  Isn't it 50/50 whether they choose to roll in the right sense or the wrong sense?


texts: What's that "frame" in the windshield of some piper aircraft for?

texts:
I often asked myself what that "frame" on/in the windshield of some Piper Aircraft is. Below is a photo:

What I thought it could be, is a "runway alignment help" for the pilot. But I have no idea.

Thanks for all answers.


texts: Instrumented landing: why switching *everything* off

texts:
Few days ago I took a flight to go back to my town. Towards the end of the journey, the captain demanded us to shut down any electronic device that we had on board, including iPods, CD players, phones and so on. Reason: there was very low visibility and we had to start the instrumented landing.

From what I could understand, an instrumented landing system allows and aircraft to be centred on the lane assisted by signals delivered by an ILS (a localiser and a glide slope), so to arrange the maneuver without visibility. This signals are in the  110 MHz (LOC) and 330 MHz (GS) frequency range.

Given that for the take off, "manual" landing and the journey itself, shutting off the devices is not required any longer (and there are signals travelling even there I would guess, at least for what concern communication with the base and all the ariplane intra-components communications), why is that instead required for an assisted landing? What interferences could a CD Player possibly produce on the instrumentation to an extent that it's more dangerous than with the usual take off - flying - landing phases?

On a side note: as you probably understood, my level of expertise is very low, so forgive any dumb mistake or oversight.


texts: What is this plane, based on its inside shape?

texts:
I'm not sure my question is valid here but would be very helpful to me.

Here is the picture of the inside of a plane (don't mind the ostrich). Does anyone know which plane it is? The flight number was 4357 going from Marseille to Frankfurt in 2006. I think the plane was from Lufthansa but not 100% sure. Can't find any public database for consulting historic flights.


texts: Why is cabin pressure increased above ambient pressure on the ground?

texts:
As far as I know at least some (e.g. some Bombardier Dash-8 series) airplanes during takeoff may increase cabin pressure above air pressure on the ground, before starting to decrease it. In one case pressure was increased to around 760 mm Hg (1013 hPa) when pressure on ground was around 730 mm Hg (973 hPa).

Is this increase of cabin pressure desired for some reason or is it just a side effect of something? And why does it happen?


texts: Should head stay level or inclined in a bank?

texts:
I just started to receive instructions to become a glider pilot, yay me! :)
I (and my instructor) have noticed that I have the tendency to keep the head level (eye-line parallel to horizon) in turns and my instructor says that wouldn't be a good idea, because at some point I won't be able to keep the head level anymore, so I should practice with keeping my head level to the lateral axis of the plane, i.e. inclined together with the bank and eye-line parallel with the wings.

What do professional or experienced glider pilots do? Is it maybe a matter of taste? Or should I let go of this tendency because at some point I just can't use horizon and gravity-sensation to orient myself (due to g-forces, spinning, etc.)?


texts:
For fun I want to build a flight simulator at home.

What are my options from most basic toy environment to more realistic set-up.
Great if you can give for each solution a basic indication of cost (software / hardware), and if appropriate the space needed.


texts: Why isn't landing in the water a good option in an emergency?

texts:
Some people say that landing on water should be considered as a last resort because it is dangerous. But why exactly is it dangerous to land an airplane in the water? Wouldn't it be safer since theoretically, water would reduce the impact?

Note: I am referring to all planes (small and large).


texts: From which ATC station is push-back clearance requested?

texts: When parked at the gate that requires a push-back onto the taxiway, from which ATC station is the push-back clearance requested? Is this the ground or apron station, or is that still departure clearance delivery station (as they better know the slot times, etc.)?


texts: Is flow attached at fixed propeller blade at every RPM / speed conditions?

texts:
Propeller blade AoA depends on tangential veloctiy caused by rotation and forward speed "head wind".
If propeller has fixed pitch is flow attached  on blade at every RPM / speed conditions?
For example when plane has full throttle when staying on ground at same place,forward veloctiy is very small,that mean AoA is higher,does this cause flow separation at low pressure side of  blade  at this RPM/speed condition..etc


texts: May a commercial pilot transport an owner in the latter’s experimental aircraft for compensation?

texts:
Say Olive Oyl owns an RV and wants to hire Popeye, a commercial pilot, to fly her to the beach in her aircraft, which has an experimental certificate. May Popeye legally accept compensation for this flight?
One might hastily conclude that the prohibition in FAR 91.319(a)(2) applies

§ 91.319 Aircraft having experimental certificates: Operating limitations.
(a) No person may operate an aircraft that has an experimental certificate —
     (1) For other than the purpose for which the certificate was issued; or
     (2) Carrying persons or property for compensation or hire.

but at least paragraphs (e), (f), (g), and (h) of the same section make exceptions that allow for-hire use. Well known for-hire uses in experimentals include ferry flights, instruction, test flights, aerial survey, and acceptance flights.
“Operate” and related terms have technical definitions in this context, provided in FAR 1.1.

Commercial operator means a person who, for compensation or hire, engages in the carriage by aircraft in air commerce of persons or property, other than as an air carrier or foreign air carrier or under the authority of Part 375 of this title. Where it is doubtful that an operation is for “compensation or hire,” the test applied is whether the carriage by air is merely incidental to the person's other business or is, in itself, a major enterprise for profit.
Operate, with respect to aircraft, means use, cause to use or
authorize to use aircraft, for the purpose (except as provided in
§ 91.13 of this chapter) of air navigation including the piloting of aircraft, with or without the right of legal control (as owner,
lessee, or otherwise).
Operational control, with respect to a flight, means the exercise of
authority over initiating, conducting or terminating a flight.

In the scenario above, are both Olive Oyl and Popeye operating the aircraft simultaneously? Who has operational control?
Interpretation of FAA regulations seems heavily weighted in favor of protecting the ignorant public from the general risks of flying and especially from unseemly outfits who may find irresistible the temptation to cut corners. Owners and those who otherwise provide the aircraft that will carry them or their property have different incentives and receive different treatment, cf. FAR 91.319(e)(2) and FAR 91.319(g).
If Olive Oyl asserts that she is not running a commercial operation and is paying Popeye for his services, do they have a legal leg to stand on?


texts: Does the wing always have an adverse pressure gradient along the chord?

texts:
I know that there is an adverse pressure gradient on the upper surface of the wing, which leads to boundary layer separation.

Is there any condition under which there is no such adverse pressure gradient on the wing?


texts: What vertical speed at touchdown makes a 'perfect' landing?

texts: Is there a general vertical speed that pilots shoot for, or is it entirely by feel/trial-and-error?


texts: How is engine management being done without auto throttle during a VNAV approach?

texts:
I am wondering how the engine power is controlled if Auto-pilot in a coupled approach mode with VNAV capability, and the aircraft is not equipped with Auto-Throttle?

Is the pilot continuously adjusting thrust levers (or power levers in the case of turbo prop) to maintain appropriate angle of attack, as the speed, decent rate and heading is controlled by the auto-pilot...?!!

Or...there is no such thing as auto-pilot with VNAV capability and no Auto-Throttle.


texts: Why is the main landing gear of the Cessna Caravan placed so far forward?

texts:
Why is it that the rear landing gear of the Caravan is placed so far forward?
I understand that the center of gravity must lie somewhere in the middle between the nose gear and the  rear gear but wouldn't it be more convenient to have positioned it a little more towards the rear, giving it (to my opinion) more stability?

This would avoid the need of placing the support on the the tail of the aircraft when it is parked.

Image shows clearly the support.

I suppose that this would not compromise stability during flight.


texts: What does "leave clear on its left" mean in UK regulations relating to collision avoidance on non-runway landings?

texts:
This doesn't seem to be plain English, could someone explain this with a simple example for me please? I'm not sure what 'Leave clear on it's left' means, and it's not clear whether the subject of the sentence is 'A flying machine [etc.]' or 'An aircraft that has landed' (i.e. who's left are we talking about)

  Landing and take-off

  (2) If take-offs and landings are not confined to a runway—

  (a) when landing, a flying machine or glider must leave clear on its
  left any aircraft which has landed, is already landing or is about to
  take off;

  (b) a flying machine or glider which is about to turn must
  turn to the left if the commander of the aircraft is satisfied that
  such action will not interfere with other traffic movements; and

  (c) a
  flying machine which is about to take off must take up position and
  manoeuvre in such a way as to leave clear on its left any aircraft
  which has already taken off or is about to take off.

(CAA:"The Rules of the Air Regulations 2015 ")

I've tried searching for the term online but only seem to be able to find excerpts from the legislation.


texts: What are the variables of the induced drag formula and where does this force apply?

texts:
I want to understand a little bit more the induced drag force, therefore in analyzing the formula:
$$
F_D = C_DA\frac{⍴V^2}{2}
$$

what do the following variables actually mean?

$ F_D $ Is the 3D induced drag. If we take this force as a vector, where should I place it? I've read in another post about the drag center, how can I calculate it if needed?

In addition, I would have to calculate the induced drag force taking only 1 wing's half, should I take the area of the wing's half


texts: How feasible is it to sell a plane with an expiring annual?

texts:
I'm preparing to sell my plane, an IFR-equipped, low-time, C150E, but the annual expires at the end of this month.

What's the best course of action?  I know that if I was buying a plane, I would love it if the annual was just expiring - I'd just to a full annual as a pre-buy inspection on the condition that the seller paid for anything non-airworthy.  I also know that a lot of people prefer to sell planes with fresh annuals.

What's the best approach here?  And what happens if the annual expires?  Will that hurt my chances of selling the plane?


texts: Why didn’t the Captain of Cathay Pacific flight 780 shut down engine 1 and land with a more reasonable speed?

texts:
In the approach phase, engine 1 of Cathay Pacific flight 780 got stuck at about 70% N1 and it forced the crew to do an overspeed landing (230knots).

Why didn't they shut it off by turning the fuel pumps off? Is there a backup mechanism if the fuel valve fails like in this scenario?


texts: Are there any airliners and or aircraft that use bleed air and excess heat from the engine to prevent icing

texts: are there any airliners and or aircraft that use bleed air and excess heat from the engine to prevent icing.  Rather than use battery power or alternators, this would make sense from an energy efficiency point of view because the use of alternators and batteries would use more fuels if providing electricity for heaters and recharging the batteries


texts: Why does this regional jet have its air brakes wide open before touchdown?

texts:
I was looking at a detailed picture of a plane while following its path on Flightradar24.com. Here is the Avro RJ45 I am talking about:

I wonder why its aerobrakes at the empennage seems wide opened before touchdown. What I remember from all the planes I took is flaps are at maximum before touchdown and aerobrakes (sometimes automatically) opens when landing gears touch the runway.

Is it due to special constraints for this particular aircraft?


texts: Does radar altimeter work over the ocean?

texts:
I'm wondering if radio waves are reflected by the sea. If so then the usual radar altimeter would work. If not, then is there any other fallback besides barometric altimeter?

According to the wiki article, for some reason radar altimeter uses radio waves (instead of microwaves like usual radar). This is why I put in the radio tag.


texts: Is there a website with a list of all commercial airline incidents?

texts:
I am looking for a website that contains a listing of all commercial airline incidents (under a sufficiently large definition of "incident"), by airline company.
I assume that incidents that happen are logged automatically somewhere, and I presume that this information may be further relayed to a public website.

Here's my finding so far:

I know of the ASRS database, https://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/search/dbol/strategies.html, but this doesn't list airline names, as far as I could see (and is also tricky to navigate).

The 3 other more usable website, that don't report just accidents, but also incidents (whatever they define as "incident"... meaning sites like http://aviation.globalincidentmap.com/ are excluded) are

https://aviation-safety.net/

http://avherald.com/

https://www.aeroinside.com/

Are these sources credible?

E.g. http://avherald.com/ states in their FAQ that they compile their report based on "own sources". https://www.aeroinside.com/ says, after some looking, that it's information is compiled from multiple other databases, but doesn't specify which. https://aviation-safety.net/ seems the most legit of these (excepting ASRS), but again, official assurances are missing.

I'm asking this, because I'd like to compile for myself some flights statistics (I'm a statistician by profession) and I'd like some site sthat are easier to navigate than ASRS (recompiling their data in a form amenable to statistics would be very time-consuming).


texts: How fast is it safe to eject from an F-16?

texts:
What is the limit of the ACES II for the F-16, in terms of altitude and airspeed for safe ejection?

The following video tells the story of an F-15 pilot who ejected at supersonic speed and barely survived.

In general, it also seems that ejection, even under controlled circumstances is not a trivial matter:

I'm curious what the safe ejection speed and altitude is for an F-16, with the ACES II ejection seat.

I've read about the ACES II here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACES_II and watched a documentary about ejection seats in general.

It seems to me that supersonic ejections should be done with some form of capsule to protect the pilot, and not allow the pilot to be exposed directly to the atmosphere.

I can imagine that the manual for the F-16/ACES II provides some kind of graph that describes the safety of ejection as a function of airspeed and altitude, assuming the same orientation of the plane (although the ACES II is known for being able to eject safely with the plane inverted, with a certain minimum altitude).

As a bonus question: What does the F-16 manual specify as a procedure, if ejection is not safe? Does the manual call for the pilot to eject anyway, at any speed, and pray for the best? Or does it call for trying to mitigate the situation without ejection, when this is not safe?


texts: If I need to do a course reversal before initiating an approach, do I need to notify ATC that I'm doing it?

texts:
If I need to do a course reversal before initiating an approach, do I need to notify ATC that I'm going to do the course reversal, or is it implied that I'm going to do it?

For example:

If I'm approaching the VIR VOR with a course of 230, I would need to do a course reversal to get established on the outbound course. Should I notify ATC that I'm going to do the course reversal?


texts: Determining the total drag of a propeller driven aircraft while turning with a load factor of n = 2?

texts:
I understand that the total drag includes the parasitic and induced component, with the parasitic component being the same as with straight and level flight.
How do I calculate the induced component?
The end goal is to produce a graph of drag versus airspeed.


texts: Will ICAO 24 bit addresses suffer the same fate of IPv4?

texts:
As we know; both IP addresses and Mode S (ICAO) addresses are relatively short. With local networks and NAT (Network Address Translation), there is not an urgent need for transition to IPv6.

But how about Mode S addresses? With the increasing number of drones, I am assuming ADS-B Out would be mandatory in the near future for them too. Is there any discussion about the relatively short length of ICAO addresses and the problem of unique address assignment for every flying aircraft?


texts: Is it possible to buy a retired Boeing 747 aircraft?

texts:
American airline companies landed their last passenger 747 jet into retirement last year citing higher costs of flying this aircraft in comparison to modern widebody twin-engine aircraft designed for the same purpose.

Is it possible to buy a passenger version of the Queen of the Skies (747-8) for use elsewhere if the costs of flying are not a problem and profitability in light of buying second hand compared to much expensive new aircraft? Will the FAA allow this if the aircraft is airworthy and for how long will Boeing keep maintaining its aircraft in terms of manufacturing spare parts and supporting it?


texts: Why is landing on a carrier not handled by a computer?

texts:
Landing on a carrier seems like a difficult and risky task for military pilots, especially at night when the carrier should keep low profile and is practically unlit.

It seems exactly like a problem which can better be performed by a computer rather than a human being. A machine can take in account exactly the motion of the carrier and other parameters and land the aircraft precisely where it should. The fact that there should be no enemy aircraft nearby also means that the initiative of a pilot is not needed.

The system can:

Either be exclusively inside the aircraft (doing image recognition of a carrier and trying to determine where to land; not sure how easy and reliable this can get),
Or be presented as a subsystem within the carrier which sends the encrypted information to the authenticated aircraft about the exact position of given points of the carrier and a second subsystem inside the aircraft which relies on this information to make the controlled landing.

Why isn't it handled (yet) by a computer? Are there projects of implementing such system?


texts:
What aircraft is this twin prop?
Sorry it's the only picture I have.


texts: How can I use a magnetic declination chart to calculate true track, magnetic track and magnetic variation?

texts:
If I am given values such as 30 degrees south and 75 degrees east with a true track value such as 70 degrees, how would I calculate the magnetic track?

I understand that True track = Magnetic + Variation. But I'm not sure how to use the magnetic declination chart.

This is my attempt at such values:


texts: Why do countries place limits on what foreign-registered aircraft can do?

texts:
Just read in local news Israeli regulator is giving a hard time on a company operating regularly out of Israel a plane with foreign (US) registration.
The company wants US registration to get better freedom to fly to various countries. This I understand. But what difference does it make otherwise? Why would the regulator care, and make it difficult to operate regularly without local registration? Are such limitations common in other countries?


texts: I know that Jet-A is the fuel most often used for turbofans, but is there something else that these engines can burn? (ethanol, LPG, methane, butane, 100LL, etc.) Basically, can a turbofan burn anything, or are there limits in terms of temperature, combustibility, and so forth? also, which fuel out of any you can think of would be the most powerful/fuel-efficient?


texts: Commercial aircraft can withstand up to 3.8 (sustained) G's. Can an airliner withstand more G's if the G forces are momentary (ie Turbulence)?

texts: If yes, how many (momentary) G's found in turbulence could an airliner withstand? Since the G rating comes from static/sustained G's, rather than turbulence G forces which are momentary/not sustained.


texts: What is ILS CLASS in this airport NOTAM?

texts:
I have seen this NOTAM for UAII /CIT SHYMKENT airport and they mention ILS CLASS for runway 10/28, Does anyone knows what it means?
NOTAM:

NOTAM K3998/20: Shymkent Airport (UAII)
K3998/20 NOTAMN
Q) UAII/QICXX/I /NBO/A /000/999/4222N06929E005
A) UAII B) 2008171542 C) PERM
E) RWY 10/28 ILS CLASS:
ILS GP  I/C/2
ILS LOC I/D/2
REF AIP UAII AD 2.19
CREATED: 17 Aug 2020 15:42:00
SOURCE: EUECYIYN


texts: Why did the Swiss International Air LX40 (a 777-300ER) emergency land at Iqaluit airport?

texts:
Swiss International Air LX40 (a brand new 777-300ER) was en route from Zurich to LA on 1 Feb 2017 when one of the GE90 engines shut itself down because of data from its self-monitoring algorithms.

The crew decided to emergency land at Iqaluit airport on the southern tip of Baffin Island in Canada, which is extremely remote. Getting a new engine to Iqaluit and installed was an incredible odyssey in itself.

The photos of the incident are such that it seems that landing at Iqaluit and trying to do maintenance and take off again would be more dangerous than a diversion to somewhere larger like Nuuk in Greenland.

Given that the 777-300ER could have easily flown the remainder to LA with one engine -- which means it could have easily diverted to a nearby larger airport -- why didn't it? Are ETOPS rules so strict that you must land at the nearest airport and such that the nearest reasonable airport would not be permitted?


texts: Did Lockheed test the TriStar in conditions similar to a century of operation?

texts:
I have no source for this claim except a motivational book. I am unable to find anything on Google regarding this.
The claim is that they ran a test on s TriStar that put it through the stresses of one century's worth of operation, and it survived.
I cannot find the book at the moment. Can anyone confirm or deny this?


texts: How do you calculate the optimal cruising speed of an airfoil?

texts:
I am working on a school project (aircraft design).
I would like to know how to calculate the cruising speed of a given airfoil. For example, if I have a NACA 5613-35 airfoil (that is the NACA 4 digit modified series), what is the the cruising speed at which this airfoil has the best aerodynamic properties?
Another way to ask this question: If I want my aircraft to have a cruising speed of 120 knots, how do I choose an airfoil to fit the cruising speed requirement?
I tried looking it up on google and on some other aviation forums, but I did not find the answer.
Thanks in advance and have a great day!


texts: Was a point system implemented to train pilots to land on aircraft carriers?

texts:
A long while ago a friend of mine told me that early in the history of aircraft carriers, a lot of planes and pilots were lost due to the increased difficulties of landing planes on a moving runway. To address this, he said, a point system was used to train pilots to land more successfully with each action required by the pilot being assigned a number of points (speed, angle of approach, etc).

I have been trying to find information on this for over a year but have been unsuccessful. Have I been misinformed? I'm beginning to think my friend is full of baloney.


texts: How (and why) does engine thrust change with airspeed?

texts:
I'm interested in how the thrust of a turbofan engine is affected at higher airspeeds (TAS). I know (I believed) that engine thrust(at constant N1) was relatively constant like in the following graph (only slight deviations):

This graph is usually in the books/manuals describing engine performance with reference to speed.

Then I came across the data from CFM56-5C turbofan engine which states that max engine thrust at cruise is approximately 29,360 Newtons while it's max thrust when stationary is 140,000 N. That's almost 5 times more power on the ground than in cruise. Here is the link: How much air, by mass, enters an average CFM56 turbofan engine cruising per minute?

These are apparently contradictory statements or I am missing something. Which one is corrrect and why? Why is engine thrust being changed with speed? Also, on the graph above what are those two curves that when added form a net engine thrust?

After I did a few calculations using the thrust equation (F= mass flow * difference in exhaust and inlet velocities denoted as delta V -> we will disregard the fuel mass flow and assume exit pressure is equal to the free stream pressure thanks to a nozzle) and following data mentioned above in the link, I found out that delta V term in cruise and on takeoff is constant (at full power) and its value is 295 m/s, which states that exhaust velocity of the engine will always be 295 m/s faster from the inlet velocity(for a maximum power setting at any speed). I think that's logical because work done by the engine is used to increase kinetic energy (delta Ek) of the airflow which increases speed always by a constant amount at specific power/N1 setting (of course less power equals less delta V).


texts: Why do airports have directional runways instead of a large area to operate in any direction?

texts: Instead of a few runways in a few directions, why not have a large square block of asphalt so that planes can take off and land in any direction? Where and on what direction planes land and take off will still be determined by ATC, but these decisions are then not bound by the choice of just a few runways. So, there will only be virtual runways and taxiways instead of real physical ones.


texts:
According to the Wikipedia entry on the Airbus A380:

  As of September 2018, Airbus had received 331 firm orders and delivered 230 aircraft; Emirates is the biggest A380 customer with 162 ordered of which 105 have been delivered.

Emirates ordered nearly half of all the A380s ordered. Why so many? Why aren’t other airlines ordering as much and adding the A380 to their fleets?


texts:
I've always wanted to be a pilot from the age of 3. I've always dreamed about flying high in the sky above the clouds and getting that amazing experience that you can't get any other way.

I'm now turning 16 and am realising it is coming close for me to start my goal of becoming a pilot.

I would appreciate if anyone could give me some advice on what to do to become a pilot.

What qualifications you need?
Where you train?
Wages?
What are the health requirements?
Etc

This is for a pilot in the UK who is hoping to work in Dubai for Emirates.

Thanks.


texts: What's parked in Mil Moscow helicopter plant?

texts:
This answer has a photo of a Mil Mi-26 that I felt in love with, so I looked in Wikipedia and learned it's the largest production helicopter, second only to Mil V-12 that flew as a prototype.

In turn, Wikipedia's V-12 article gave a link to the exact position where one of the two V-12 produced is placed, so I opened Google Maps and I had a satellite photo of the V-12!

So far so good, but when I zoomed out a little I saw many other helicopters parked around, all clearly helicopters except a cigar shaped beast, with winglets apparently too small for an airplane, in the upper right corner of the screen dump below, marked with an arrow... Remarkably I cannot see the shadows of the blades on the ground.

Could you please identify that object?


texts: What operational differences were there in WWII for constant speed vs. fixed pitch propeller warbirds?

texts:
I have read about the operational differences between constant speed and fixed pitch propellers.

Being a World War II buff, I was reminded of reading once about both principles being used in period fighter planes, with the Germans preferring one and the British preferring the other, but that's about all that I can recall. (That might have been a solid 20 years since...)

So, my question is:

How would the above-mentioned "operational differences" apply to WWII-period warbirds specifically, and does anyone have links or pointers to relevant reading material?

I think a period warbird has a quite different set of requirements on its performance and handling characteristics, which is why I think this separate question is warranted.

I'm not so much interested in the fine technical details (I don't want to build / maintain / model one of those planes based on this information), but rather striving for a better understanding of the relative performance characteristics of those (IMHO) most beautiful planes of all time.


texts: Is 'make small one turn' a standard phrase?

texts: I've heard it somehow that some of USAF controllers say this. is the phrase used in real ATC? if it is, is there any other similar phrases?


texts: What is the procedure to climb and level off using a Bendix/King KAP140 autopilot?

texts: What's the procedure to use the Bendix/King KAP 140 autopilot in the Cessna piston singles to climb to a certain altitude and then capture it and level off?


texts:
Looking around on the internet you can still find a lot of aged aircraft such as the 727,737-200,a300/310, DC9/MD8X and DC-10 that are still being used as freighters or in "poorer" airlines.

I suppose a lot of pilots that were certified on these aircraft are getting older and retiring. Would it make sense for a younger guy to get certified for these airplanes rather than running for a newer aircraft certifications where the competition would be harsher in order to pursue a career?

I suppose that these aircraft will still have service time left as converted freighters thus extending the retirement dates further on in time.


texts: How can speed and power be made independent in an airplane?

texts:
I heard a piece of information many years ago, and the more I think about it, the less it makes sense. It was like:

When airplanes what to raise altitude, they do not increase speed, but they increase power. It is like when going up a hill, you do not walk faster, you just push harder.

Now, I understand the statement at an intuitive level. I understand what it means for me to go up a hill, because I know what I feel.
But things are quite different with motorized vehicle in general, and maybe with airplanes in special.
My understanding is that the following equation is (relatively) true (at least as a principle):

power = rpm * torque

and my understanding is that

speed = rpm * coef

so in the end

power = f(speed)

or

speed = f-1(power)

where f is mostly (?!) multiplicative, or at least linear(-ish).
Now, how can be power increased, without increasing speed?
This statement comes to confirm that I miss some information, since the general knowledge defies my formulas :)

There are two parameters that an A/T can maintain, or try to attain: speed and thrust.
(I understand that thrust is power).

The only way I can explain it is like this (and I need some confirmation):
The (pilot) "asks" to increase the rpm (as a base parameter, speed and power being derived parameters). In vacuum, all the energy is used or increase RPM, so power and speed remain proportional. But in the real world, and especially during flight, a lot of the energy is used or lost in many places. So speed and power no longer remain proportional, the difference being lost (e,g, to friction).
Additionally, please provide a better explanation of what I just wrote. I am really interested to understand the basics of this topic.
Basic formulas are OK. (Complicated) Integrals and derivatives should be avoided please :)

Notes:

I am not (by far) a mechanical engineer whatsoever. As a hobby, I practice "mental" mechanical engineering - trying to understand how some things can be designed; or trying to understand how some things are implemented. My background is more related to electric / electronics, software, management.

In the example with a man climbing a hill, my explanation makes some sense (to me): I prepare to increase the speed by using more power, then I make a short break to rest the leg, and to move to the other leg, and then again use higher power and so on. It is mostly like a human-implemented PWM. This is how the speed can remain constant, while the power increases. But how does this work for the engines / airplanes?

I am quite sure that ultimately everything is related to how much fuel is burned in the unit of time. Unless I am wrong.

My knowledge about airplanes and flight are limited at best, even though I understand some principles.


texts: Do afterburners use excessive amounts of fuel?

texts:
The purpose of an afterburner is to provide additional thrust, and it is obvious that more fuel is needed for that.

But that is to be expected independent of an afterburner. That more thrust needs more than a proportional increase of fuel may be the case because the thrust increase needed per speed difference is not linear¹.

The reason to build afterburners may be that stronger jet engines can not be build with the same mass or volume. Or that a stronger jet engine is not useful in standard use, for example because the fuselage would overheat.

Doubling the speed increases the fuel usage by more than double I would expect, purely based on aerodynamics, independent of the engine.

Is the fuel usage for increasing speed greater with an afterburner  than with a stronger jet engine? How much? Why?

¹ For spaceflight, that is true according to special relativity.


texts: How does the mixture of an engine affect the engine's operation?

texts: I know that in most piston aircraft that there is a mixture control for the engine. My question is, how does the mixture control affect the engine's operation and what type of situations dictate a particular mixture setting? Would an incorrect mixture setting be detrimental, a minor effect or nothing at all?


texts: How far could the Airbus A321XLR actually fly commercially?

texts:
Airbus states

  It will offer even more range – up to 4,700 nm (8,700 km) – in a comfortable 2-class layout

There is an animation which contains this:

And that is 4735 miles. So now I am intensely curious what's actually possible.


texts: How do pilots decide what their cruising altitude will be?

texts: When filing a flight-plan for a long-haul high-altitude IFR flight, how do pilots select a specific cruising altitude? Typically in the range of 25,000 - 35,000 ft.


texts: Can an aircraft be stalled at low altitude and safely land on water?

texts: P.S Its just a random question...please consider the fact I have zero knowledge of aerodynamics of a plane.


texts: How does the airfoil pitching moment relate to center of pressure?

texts:
I've looked everywhere to find the answer and it's still unclear to me.

How does pitching moment relate to center of pressure? Does it relate to coefficient of lift?

I have made a carbon fiber wing (Eppler E423) and the CM of that wing is around -.22 where i'd be running it on my racecar.
Where is the center of pressure so I can put my main mount directly under?

PS: let me reword, I want to calculate where my center of pressure is along the chord.
I'd rather use CM to calculate that(if possible), but any other method aside from hand measuring it from a CP plot would be nice.


texts: What would be the likely repercussions of flying into the Air Force One temporary flight restriction area?

texts:
I just saw this video on YouTube where a guy flies his plane into Air Force One's temporary flight restriction.

It's very clear that ATC are not amused and that he's caused a good deal of trouble. What would likely happen:

To his license? (lose it?)
Would he be fined?
Would he be arrested?


texts: What is a typical working day like for an Australian airline pilot?

texts:
What is it like working for a domestic airline in Australia (e.g. Virgin, Regional Express, etc)?

Obviously we're all here because we're interested in flying, but as for the practical aspects of being employed in the airline industry I'm trying to get an idea of some of the following:

What does a typical working day look like and what are the hours?
What are airlines like as employers?
What is the best thing (or things) about your job?
What is the worst thing (or things) about your job?

Thanks!


texts: How can a touchdown zone RVR report for one runway be different than the rollout report for the runway going the opposite direction?

texts: I saw an RVR report in KSEA where 16C was 800 1200 1800 (touchdown zone, midpoint, rollout), and 34C was 1800 1200 300.  I always thought the same scatterometers used for the rollout side on runway as the touchdown zone in the opposite direction.


texts: Do jet contrails impact weather at the ground?


texts: Why do the intake of some helicopters have a bump body?

texts: Not all but the intake of many helicopters have a bump body. Why? e.g.


texts: For example, E190s are produced in Brazil but operate in places like Germany, China, etc. Surely they can't fly these distances, so how are they delivered?


texts: What is the time before an alarm is given after a fire sensor perceives a fire?

texts:
I've got a very specific question:

When a fire sensor perceives a fire, does it wait 20 or 60 seconds before giving the alarm?


texts:
why cl on 2D is better than 3D. and why cl 2D stall faster than 3D?
what happens when CP continues to move forward on the wing. and what happens when CP continues to move forward on the elevator.


texts: Why don't planes have a reverse propeller as air brakes?

texts:
When I first heard the word air brakes it came to me that maybe the engine start rotating in the opposite direction for that, but since that's not possible, why can't we have an extra engine for air braking?

Did I just invent a new braking paradigm?


texts:
a centre of gravity position at which stick force per g becomes zero

What does this mean? If the centre of gravity happened to be at the maneouvre point, would there be stick be very light in the hands? If this was the case would an aircraft be very responsive to stick inputs in pitch changes?


texts: How to find past flight routes between 1977/82 Latin America and the former Soviet Union?

texts:
I hope now that I am in the correct place to post my question, as I have been kindly accompanied to the exit on travel part of stack overflow. ;)

Is there a way to find past flight routes between Panama City and St. Petersburg (former Leningrad) in the years 1977 to 1982?

To be precise: over which flight route would someone reach to either from Panama City to St. Petersburg and vice versa in the late 1970s?

I would need this information for an historic background check up in my genealogical (family tree) research.

Bonus point: I have heard that especially in Latin America, flights back then would "collect" passengers (part of student exchange programs between Latin America and the former Soviet Union) from capital to capital before the plane would go into the intercontinental flight, e. g. start in Panama City, going to San José, Costa Rica, to Managua, Nicaragua, to Belize City, Belize to ... to Havanna, Cuba. However, I am not sure about this claim.


texts: What is Special VFR? Why would a pilot request it?

texts: I have heard about Special VFR many times but never understood this concept. What is it and when is it used?


texts: Why is the font size of runway numbers in Canada small?

texts:
I've noticed that on runways at Canadian airports, runway numbers are painted noticeably smaller than runway numbers at airports pretty much anywhere else. For instance, here's the beginning of runway 32 at Ottawa Airport in Canada, and here's the beginning of runway 32 at Buffalo Airport in New York. Or the beginning of runway 32 (left) at Madrid airport in Spain.

Does anyone know why the runway numbers are printed smaller? Wouldn't it be best for them to be nice and large so as to be readable from the air?


texts: Is there any source or database from which we can find out the total number of military aircraft sold globally every year?

texts:
There are a few online databases that sheds light on the number of commercial jets that countries, airlines purchases every year.

Is there any database that provides similar figures for military aircraft sold annually around the world every year ? In case exact figures are not available, approximates will do.


texts: What is the meaning of "pass well clear" in the ICAO right of way rules?

texts:
ICAO Annex 2 states under 3.2.2.1:

  An aircraft that is obliged by the following rules to keep out of the
  way of another shall avoid passing over, under or in front of the
  other, unless it passes well clear and takes into account the effect
  of aircraft wake turbulence.

How should the term "well clear" be correctly interpreted?

Does this sentence also imply, that the right of way rules only have to be applied, if the expected minimum distance to the other aircraft is below "well clear"?


texts: Do lighter-than-air aircraft communicate with ATC? If not, how do they avoid running into other aircraft?


texts: At a constant power setting, does TAS change with altitude?

texts:
I found a lot of references to the question but no definite simple answer.
What would be the influence on true airspeed (TAS) for same airplane at same throttle setting flying straight and level at higher altitude?
Would it change for Jet engine vs internal combustion engine?


texts: What are the effects of adding power to a 45 degree banked aircraft?

texts:
In a recent question it was proposed that adding excess power to an aircraft in a level 45 degree banked turn would cause it to pitch up into a rolling climb.

This case was compared with level flight using a positive static stability (CG forward-tail down force) model.

In level flight, adding excess power will initially cause an increase in speed, followed by increase in tail downforce,  followed by a pitch up, followed by speed stabilization and climb.
Pitch controls speed, power controls altitude.

Roll 45 degrees and do a level coordinated turn around a point. Add in power.
What I am seeing is a turn around a barber pole with no change in roll, an ascending spiral.

If we added more pitch,  leaving the throttle, rudder and ailerons where they were, a slower upward spiral with steeper barber stripes?

The plane does not seem to roll, the wing is always pointed to the same pole.
Is there any rolling motion WRT aircraft performing these manuvers?


texts: What's the relationship between drag divergence Mach number and maximum operating limit Mach number?

texts:
The drag divergence Mach number, also known as the force divergence Mach number, is the Mach number where drag waves start to form. The drag divergence Mach number is typically between 5 to 10 percents greater than the critical Mach number.

The maximum operating limit Mach number(Mmo) is the mach number beyond which aircraft start to suffer compressibility effects and flutters at high altitude. It's basically the high altitude version of Vne(Vmo).

My question is: what are the two Mach numbers' relationships? Is Mmo always higher than the drag divergence number? If so, how much? Or is it safe to assume that they are more or less the same?


texts: Do you need clearance from ATC to switch to a different approach at non-towered airport?

texts:
When coming in on an instrument approach at a nontowered airport, the approach/center controller will clear you for the approach and approve your frequency change to the CTAF.

Once you're cleared for a particular approach and have changed frequencies, if you later decide you need to deviate from the planned approach (i.e. sidestep or circle instead of straight-in) do you need to get a revised clearance from the approach controller or is clearance for sidestep or circling implied?


texts: How can I get an FAA Class 3 medical re-examination?

texts:
I have some headache problems and my examiner submitted my data for deferred examination on the FAA website.

The results have yet to come back but let's suppose that I fail on this one - can I apply for an examination again after a certain period of time - For instance, when my conditions are better?


texts: How does the static pressure system keep the ambient pressure?

texts:
I understand that the compressed airflow around the aircraft effectively lowers the air pressure, and that's the reason why the alternate air switch affects your altimeter — it uses the slightly lower pressure in the cabin as reference — or why fuel is sucked out of the tanks if you forget your fuel caps.

This begs the question, what in the design of the static pressure system makes it more closely match the ambient pressure? Why is it unaffected by the effects affecting the cabin pressure?


texts: Having trouble reading some charts (SBMG-SBLO)

texts:
I'm a flight sim user practicing instrument navigation with a short and apparently simple flight, SBMG to SBLO (South America). The distance between the two airports is 49.5 nautical miles (the simulator tells me). My simulator is X-Plane 11. The aircraft is the Cessna 172.

I've flown the mentioned flight a couple of times, but I'm afraid I am making mistakes. There are a couple of questions I'd like to make.

Let's start with this SBMG SID chart (these charts come from AISWEB). The path with red dots is the one I'm following.

(1) You see 096 > on the first 3 nautical miles? Does it mean I should track course 096 on the LON VOR right after takeoff, or is it just the heading I should be on for the first 3 nautical miles? You see, I'm having trouble figuring out what is the reference navigation aid for these headings/radials.

(2) After passing MG123, I start to track the 100 radial on the LON VOR for 47 nautical miles. After 47 miles I switch to the approach chart. Is that correct?

The next chart is a IAC for SBLO. It has a VOR/DME arc.

(3) I am still tracking 100 towards LON, but the nearest entry point for the arc is 090. After 47 nautical miles, I am too close to SBLO to change my course, and it's time to enter the arc already. I feel I missed something.


texts: How exactly am I supposed to notify ATC when I fly my drone? (UAS)

texts:
I recently registered my new 250 class Quadcopter with the FAA under the Part 107 sUAS code. I want to fly within the regulations, and the only one that I'm really unsure about how to abide by is the "notify ATC" restriction.

I live within 5 miles of a couple small airports in the California South Bay, which apparently makes me need to legally notify nearby ATC whenever I fly. How can I do this?

I saw this other post which talked about how to find the telephone numbers for ATC in your area, but are these the people I need to call? And if so, with what information would I need to give them? I also saw this other post that discusses how to call ATC, but is the information there current and relevant to my flights?

Thanks,
Neil


texts: What does ICAO database "engine count c" mean?

texts: In the official ICAO database 5 aircraft are marked with an engine count C. What is that supposed to mean? Normally engine count is a number (0,1,2,3...).


texts: What is this equipment under nose of aircraft?

texts:
From the news of Singapore Airline A330 nose gear collapse at Changi, I notice an equipment is under the nose part of aircraft and somewhat damage the radome when nose gear collapse. It looks like some ladder. What is it and what is it used for?

Note: it is during routine airline operation.


texts: What are the dimensions of an approach plate plan view in nautical miles?

texts:
I am writing some software to work with approach plates on a website, but I cannot find the scale of the plan view.

I am trying to convert the position of a plane in latitude and longitude onto the approach plate and keep it to scale.

If I knew how many miles wide each plate was or tall, I could make this happen.

Thank you for the help!


texts: What is the small cylinder on the firewall to the left of the battery?

texts:
What is this and should the yellow wire be soldered to it?

Any ideas on preventing the wire from detaching again?

I checked the C150 parts manual but didn't see it. Is there somewhere else I should be looking, or did I just miss it?


texts: What are the pros and cons of putting a propeller immediately before a slipstream pylon vs. immediately after

texts:
In the following situation with a slipstream pylon for a self-launching glider, what are the tradeoffs in sticking the propeller before vs. after the pylon?

The wind turbine industry has the same conceptual problem, and their consensus is that the turbine is better with the blades in front of the support tower. However, their support tower is circular and so induces unacceptable turbulence and pressure pulses in the turbine blades. Their system is also designed to operate for decades.
Contrast this to the case in question, where the pylon is slipstreamed and so has significantly lower drag and wake turbulence. My hunch, then is that it seems that behind the pylon is better because the airspeed across the pylon is much lower.
However, I am loathe to reject the wind turbine industry findings with some hand waviness about "slipstreamed" profile.


texts: How are the IFE Server, Floor Disconnect Box (FDB), Seat Electronic Box (SEB) and Seat Display Unit (SDU) connected to each other?

texts:
I tried to understand the data protocols used to connect InFlight-Entertainment (IFE) Server, Seat Electronic Unit (SEB), Floor Disconnect Box (FDB) and Seat Display Unit (SDU), but I'm a bit struggling about this.

Generally speaking I've seen that the most used transmission protocols for avionics are ARINC 429 (629 in case of Boeing 777) and ARINC 664 or AFDX, since part of the IMA infrastructure, and in other rare case ethernet connections, however I haven't found particular specifications about this particular connections.

Does anybody know something about this or have good sources from which start back my research?


texts: What is the difference between an aileron and a flap?

texts:
I have already been searching Google for the difference between an aileron and a flap, but I am not much satisfied, so now I am asking here on SE.

What is the difference between an aileron and flap? Especially, how do they differ in their shape and position?


texts: Does TCAS II equipment satisfy the required ADS-B installation?

texts:
The title says it all.

If TCAS II is installed and functioning, does it satisfy the ADS-B OUT mandates?


texts: What does a 10nm/20nm circle on instrument approach charts mean?

texts: A lot of instrument aproach charts (VOR or ILS) have a circle around the navaid. It can be 10/20 NM or in km, like the 20km circle in the image. What does this circle mean?


texts: Is skin friction drag affected by material?

texts: Normally, friction between surfaces is affected by the materials. Can skin friction be reduced by a low friction material like Teflon?


texts: Why aren't tilting propellers used as an alternative for ailerons or elevators?

texts:
I was wondering what are the reasons for not using tilted propellers fixed to ailerons/elevators/elevons? Or even on wings with no control surfaces at all? Wouldn't the 2nd way of thrust vectoring greatly simplify aircraft design?

There is a huge variety of VTOL aircrafts, but all seem to have puller propellers in frontal wing area with ailerons/elevators separate.


texts: What are the rules for logging PIC time on an IFR flight plan in mostly VFR conditions with a safety pilot?

texts:
I act as safety pilot for a student who is building hours towards his instrument rating. I have my IR but am not a CFI. We typically fly VFR with him under the hood as the "sole manipulator of controls" so we can both log PIC hours.

On an upcoming long flight, I'd like to file an IFR flight plan. We expect the conditions to be VMC, but we need to plan for the possibility being routed through some patches of light IMC. Are we permitted to both log the PIC time during which we are in VMC, and then just switch off "actual PIC" duties when we enter patches of IMC (during which time I would log "actual IMC" time, and he would log nothing)? In reality, it will be the autopilot doing most of the flying.


texts:
In a dogfight ("A" Scenario), aircraft "A" is being shot at by aircraft "B". In order to lead aircraft "A", "B" must turn inside "A" and will soon overshoot if "B" does not perform a defensive maneuver. "A" can force an overshoot and then turn into "B" for a shot.

("B" Scenario) To prevent "B" from overshooting, it is common practice for it to perform a YO-YO (quick climb then dive) which absorbs energy and increases the flight path which will help keep it behind "A".

In the second scenario, what options does the lead aircraft have to gain the advantage over an enemy behind it that likly is about to perform a YO-YO?

my artwork


texts: Does the weight of the battery count as "fuel" in a battery powered ultralight?

texts: 14 CFR 103 compliant powered aircraft should be less than 254 pounds (excluding fuel). Do the batteries account for fuel in case of electric engine?


texts: What are the reasons behind this pusher propeller configuration?

texts:
Can a pusher configuration sort of like this have its propeller close to the tail (if it were one of those split tails like on a A-10)?

Why did they put the propeller above the cabin and not in the tail?


texts:
I'm doing an assignment in GSP where I've got to examine bleed air and it's effect on thrust and fuel consumption.
I've got to simulate 1-10% bleed air and then answer whether the drop in performance is acceptable. I think the best way to approach this would be to cite turbofan engines in use today.
I wonder if anyone knows of a repository of different passenger engines and their bleed air percentages?
The final question is Which parameter(s) need(s) to be limited at maximum thrust?
I must admit I'm not sure what they mean by this. I'm thinking in order to get maximum thrust you woudl limit bleed air?
Any help would be fantastic.


texts: What are the general post flight sequence checks and do they start automatically? If so, when?

texts:
What post flight checks are performed? Are they automatically or pilot initiated. If automatic, what are the possible conditions?

For example, one of the conditions to start the postflight checks might be "aircraft wheel speed below 30-40 knots".


texts: Is this plane safe to fly on? The turbine blades look damaged

texts: While waiting for a recent flight, I observed this aircraft with what appear to be rather worn turbine blades.  Is this close to being a safety issue or is it purely cosmetic?


texts: How would flow angle change along the length of a propeller airfoil?

texts:
Let's assume I have:

windspeed of 15 m/s
blade length of 10 m
rotational speed of one revolution per second

Can someone please help me calculating how the flow angle would change along the length of an airfoil? I have been trying to do the process for the last couple of days but I don't know how to do it.


texts: Is it at all possible (or safe) to pursue a pilot's license with a history of mental illness?

texts:
I am in my late twenties. To put it bluntly I have a history of mental illness going back to my teens. My quick summary:

Diagnosed with depression and prescribed Wellbutrin in my teens. I discontinued without doctor approval and stopped going to psychiatry.
Diagnosed with ADHD in college and prescribed a litany of drugs to "try" including Adderall, Ritalin and Vyvanse. All were stopped with approval by my doctor because of horrible side effects and lack of any therapeutic effect.
Mid 20s (~1 year ago) had an anxious breakdown due to an online harassment campaign and voluntarily committed to a mental hospital, spent 48 hours there. Left the hospital with an SSRI and Klonopin (benzo) prescription.
Recently I discontinued SSRI use and switched back to Wellbutrin, have not taken Klonopin in 6 months or so but my doctor has had me keep it around in case of panic attacks.

I would say I have my depression under control but I have had 1 panic attack in the past six months.
I have been interested in aviation since I was a child and recently considered the idea of potentially pursuing a PPL, but I'm not hopeful. I'm 100% certain this would not be possible in the near future due to my current medication (Wellbutrin.) My doctor is confident that I can taper off this medication in the next 3 months however, and he views me as more or less stable. I don't feel anxious or depressed anymore and I haven't in some time. I like to think this is all behind me.
Is there any chance of attaining a medical in the far future (maybe 3 years of total stability from now), or is it pretty much not going to happen in this lifetime? Is it even a good idea to attempt to learn to fly, or should I stay far away from an airplane forever given my history?
Thanks for reading.


texts: Why don't plane seats have shoulder straps?

texts:
Why don't seats on airliners have shoulder straps, like the seats in (European) coaches often do? Wouldn't a shoulder-strap be more effective than adopting the brace position, in the event of a crash-landing?

There's no definite answer in the other question. Speculation that the brace position may be safer than a restrained torso but unrestrained head. Speculation that seats may not be strong enough to usefully hold a shoulder strap.

I'd like to know whether the lap-strap is a "legacy" pre-dating automotive shoulder-strap inertia-lock mechanisms (retained for economic reasons?), or whether lap-straps are actually known to be a safer solution in an aircraft environment (without air-bags, with a seat in front).


texts: Do you need an instrument rating to fly in IMC in Class G airspace?

texts:
I’ve been watching IFR checkride prep videos and several of them mention that among the things you can do with your IFR ticket is to:

Fly in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC) in controlled airspace.

If you have your IFR ticket, you can depart Class G in IMC if you have filed a flight plan. So I’m a bit confused about why they put that restriction on the privilege.

But it also got me thinking. You need an IFR ticket to fly in IMC in controlled airspace, but is there a regulation that says you need one to fly in IMC in uncontrolled airspace? Or does NTSB 3935 mean that flying in IMC without your IFR ticket automatically imply careless and reckless flying?


texts: Why does a turbine engine compressor ratio affect stagnation pressure?

texts:
This might just be a misunderstanding on my part, but in an ideal Brayton cycle, the flow through the compressor and turbine is isentropic, meaning $\Delta s = 0$. However, usually you are given the compressor pressure ratio to calculate the exit stagnation pressure, i.e.
$$
p_{cr} \equiv \frac{p_{03}}{p_{02}},
$$
where station 3 is the exit and station 2 is the inlet. This makes completely no sense to me. In an isentropic process, the stagnation pressure is constant, so I don't understand how there can be a ratio. I do understand that the pressure increases in the compressor due to compressing the air and increasing the temperature, but these two points of view seem to be contradictory.


texts: How are weight ranges mentioned for GA airplanes in TCDS?

texts:
I'm writing software to integrate a weight and balance chart into my website. Most of the Type Certificate Data Sheets TCDS I've read follow the form:

x to y at z lbs. or less
a to b at c lbs.
Straight line variation between points given.

I want to make sure that I test this against more complex scenarios.  Are there general aviation aircraft that have more than 2 "ranges" or are otherwise exceptional that would make for good test cases?  I am only concerned with GA aircraft at this time.


texts: In which direction does air flow over a wing as observed from ground?

texts:
A wing flies to the left in the air (no wind). Particles A and B moves to the right in relation to wing.

In which direction do particles A and B moves in relation to the ground?
What is velocity of particles in relation to the ground?
Don't forget, air is at rest (no wind) and the wing is moving, so why does particle C not move to the particle A, because the net pressure gradient is to the left and air always travels from high to low pressure?

(i think when observed from ground :

particle A moves up and left

particle B moves down and left

particle C moves down and left

and when wing pass all particles will move down and left)


texts: Why do aircraft need a vertical tailfin, but birds don't? (and lots of fish do?)

texts:
I don't know of any bird that has a vertical tailfin, but apparently aircraft need them for lateral stability. Why is this?

I did realize, however, that most fish have a vertical tailfin, or a vertical dorsal fin, or both. What exactly is going on there? Can't see how marine creatures would need lateral stability at low speeds in a thick liquid (compared to air).

If that second paragraph sounds off-topic, let me put it another way. What is it about the air, as opposed to water, that requires this? They are both fluids. One is thicker/more viscous than the other, which seems to imply that the thicker one would require less lateral stability. Yet it seems to be the opposite. I hope this will be taken as a valid on-topic aerodynamics question.

(P.S. I'm leaving out stuff like the B-2 Spirit because it uses active dynamic adjustments to stabilize. Its form is inherently unstable.)

IMPORTANT EDIT: I should have pointed out the large difference in speed. Birds of course are slow. So were the early Wright flyers. Modern airliners fly much faster, around Mach 0.85. I haven't yet looked up Reynold's Numbers, but it certainly could be the case that the faster ones need lateral stability while the slower one's don't.

1 more clarification: When I say "stability", I'm not exactly talking about yaw control. My impression is, just when the plane is flying perfectly straight, there are pressure fluctuations that will cause slips unless there is a large vertical surface area to balance out those fluctuations. I could be wrong, and ultimately I'm trying to find out why most planes seem to need this large vertical area.

1 more: Here's an example model that seems synonymous: Let's say our airplane achieves yaw with butterfly flaps at wingtips, which are aligned with the center of mass (the flaps and CoM have the same height) so there's no side-effect torques along another axis other than the yaw axis (z axis). Let's assume no backup yaw control is necessary. This craft is meant to cruise at Mach 0.85. Is a vertical fin necessary to achieve passive directional stability about the yaw axis? We should probably consider cross-winds too, even at takeoff/landing.


texts: What is the purpose of the vertical splitter and the NACA duct at the MQ-9 Reaper engine scoop?

texts:
The engine scoop/intake on the MQ-9 features a vertical splitter at the inlet face, as well as another smaller NACA duct on the top cowl surface just aft of the inlet lip.

I am guessing the former functions as a vane or diverter to channel airflow to different parts of the engine presumably for cooling, but the additional NACA duct at that location seems unusual (another inlet for an inlet?).

Is that NACA duct meant to modify the airflow within the engine scoop? Or is it specifically routed to another part of the engine altogether?


texts: How are the wings of a mono- bi- or triplane referred to with regard to position?

texts:
Apologies if this is an elementary question. If I look at a diagram for parts of a plane, they don't distinguish verbally between left/right. If I try Googling for, say, "right wing" or "left wing", well you can guess the result!
Suppose I wish to identify a feature, say, the topmost left-side wing of a triplane, how do I do it?


texts: Is the Embraer E190-E2 equipped with raked wingtips?

texts: It looks like the Embraer E190-E2 has a raked wingtip, but isn't a raked wingtip only efficient for long-haul aircraft like the Boeing 77W?


texts: Newton's laws state that for every force there is an equal and opposite force. I'm thinking of an airplane like a simple system: we put x force in and get y force out. An airplane has the force from thrust and the force from gravity, I understand this. The force of gravity is constant and equals the airplane's mass times gravity. It seems like airplanes cheat newton's laws. Somehow an airplane is only generating about 1/10th the force of gravity, but it is able to use this thrust force to provide the force equal to the gravity force plus a force against the air resistance (drag). I have heard lift explained in Newtons laws as the downwash of air and how the total mass x acceleration of the air in the downwash equals the mass x gravity of the airplane. In short, the airmass acceleration generated by the propeller < than airmass accelerated by the wing: how does this make sense? What am I missing?


texts: Why couldn’t Boeing just use the stab trim system to do MCAS job?

texts: If I’m incorrect in the question, please correct me. From what I’ve read and gathered the stab trim system essentially did the same before hand? It relies on AoA? And if so, did the computer for that take information from one AoA at a time like MCAS did? I’m pretty sure I’m wrong anyway, this is super confusing for me, but that’s my understanding as of now, so basically Boeing needed the trim system to make a further command than the previous system, correct?


texts: Should landing light be off during line up and wait position?

texts: What is the proper position for the landing lights when on the runway in a line up and wait position?


texts: Where exactly are the heating elements in the PA-28-180's pitot mast?

texts:
I am flying a PA-28-180 but have been unable to find where inside the pitot mast the heating elements would be.

I would like to know this to verify my assumption it does not work in the airplane I am flying. The Pitot-heat has been on for about 40 minutes while flying through 5C weather, upon landing I checked if it was at least warm and it was not.

Can anyone verify or reference me some documentation of where and if you would be able to feel the heater?


texts: How many Angle of Attack sensor vanes should a commercial passenger airliner have?

texts:
The ill fated MAX of recent news had 2 angle of attack vanes, with the MCAS computer picking the worst one.

It seems a "software patch"  may not be the only improvement option available.   Sensible engineering may suggest that a minimum of three, possibly 5, or even 7 vanes would enable writing a subroutine to reject "outliers" and use an Average AOA within an acceptable Standard Deviation.

Could more AOA sensor vanes, at various locations on the aircraft, be added to this design?


texts: What happens if one or more rotors are stopped during autorotation on a quadrotor?

texts:
I get the basics of autorotation when it comes to a helicopter in unpowered flight, but it's a bit unclear to me when it comes to quadrotors.

My objective is to cover some directed horizontal distance while in freefall and resume control before crashing. I want to do this to save battery, rather than starting controlled flight from the start. If I get horizontally closer to a target location without using much any battery, this is optimal.

Let's say the quad has stable attitude and is in free fall. Then I brake one motor, causing the prop to stop. A naive freebody diagram says the quad will pitch since there's no longer any lift on that side.

My question is what happens after that. Does it reach some equilibrium position? Does the decreased upward lift yield horizontal acceleration relative to the ground, or will it just spin in a circle? Do the rotation directions of the remaining props (2CW/1CCW or 2CCW/1CW) affect what happens next? What if I cut off 2 motors, either next to each other or across from each other?

Thank you.


texts: What position was this photo of a jet engine taken from?

texts:
From that aviation photographer, I saw that beauty:

Having in mind the jet engine I would see, let's say as a normal passenger, I am not really able to understand from where I am looking at that engine. Do you?

Could it also be that I am looking in an inner part or something (which might explain the confusion)?

PS: I tried using the m character to medium-size the picture, but no luck.


texts: Can anyone identify the plane in the image shown and/or year of service?

texts:
All I have is this photo, found in a collection of photo's which I'm trying to identify family members and an approximate date the aircraft is in service would help.  I've tried googling the aircraft Number but it only shows an Afro monoplane. The number is N 9732.
Any suggestions would be appreciated


texts: Currently learning about aircraft piston engine. Feather edge can be found at the engine valves as according to the picture. Can someone explain briefly about what is feather edge? Why it is bad? Which part of the engine that has the feather edge?


texts:
One thing I've always wondered is: do airplanes have keys that you put in the ignition to start?

And on the outside doors? Otherwise how are they secured and started?

I'm interested to know about a broad range of aircraft; from GA, all the way to airliners.


texts: What is the purpose of wide area multilateration?

texts:
From what I understand the wide area multilateration (WAM) technique is similar to Loran-C but reversed:

The aircraft ADS-B transponder broadcasts a signal received by several ground stations.
The differences in time of reception draw hyperboloids of revolution in space, their intersection is the aircraft position.

Multilateration principle

What are the intended uses of this inexpensive system which seems redundant with ABS-B, GNSS and SSR? Are aircraft in the world already using WAM? Is multilateration intended to replace other system(s)?


texts: Why do helicopters crash in low visibility (IMC)?

texts:
There are no known direct eyewitnesses of the crash of helicopter flight Sikorsky S-76B N72EX with 9 people on board, including Kobe Bryant. However, there are many earwitnesses who heard the helicopter flying over their heads, but weren't able to see it due to extreme fog at the site, shortly before it crashed into a hill. Therefore, extremely low visibility was the probable cause of this helicopter crash. By assuming that, here's the question:

Why do helicopters crash in low visibility (instrument meteorological conditions IMC)?

For instance, what are current theories about the sequence of events of the helicopter crash of flight N72EX, assumed the crash happened due to the low visibility on site? Why did the pilot suddenly increase altitude above Ventura Freeway 101? And why didn't he follow freeway 101 by GPS (on this high altitude), although he was a certified IFR pilot flying under special VFR? And after his ascent, why the slow turn to the left followed by a sudden increase in speed while diving into the hill at about 4000 feet per minute? (Primary source: Flightradar24) (Note: ATC recording doesn't provide much useful information...)

[Note: I'm not interested in the many different theories or speculations about the crash of flight N72EX, just what are the most probable events that lead to the crash, if it was indeed caused by low visibility? Btw the crash flight N72EX was just used as an example. Actually, any other helicopter crashes caused by low visibility could be described in details as well, if they contribute to answering the main question. Please answer by using primary and secondary sources as well as some logic, physics/aerodynamics and psychology, thanks.]


texts: When should I notify ATC when I notice that I may have conflicting traffic?

texts: Let us say I am flying at FL100 with heading 360 and I noticed that ATC just cleared another aircraft to climb to FL100 with heading 270, and we may have a converging path if we proceed with our current flight paths; so, if, from then on, neither aircraft has gotten any further instructions from the controller, at what point should I remind ATC that I may have conflicting traffic based on my current flight profile and the clearance given to the other aircraft? For instance, would I have to wait until ADS-B alerted me of a loss of separation between me and the other traffic (say, coming within 3 nm of each other)? Or I could report the possible conflict earlier?


texts: What principle does the attitude indicator in the G1000 use?

texts:
The heading indicator in the G1000 uses a magnetometor, but how can the attitude indicator work in the G1000?

Does it work with a tilt sensor, rate sensor or accelerometer?


texts: Why do some helicopters, e.g CH-53, have some kind of hook thing protruding from the underside of the tail section, what is this for?

texts:
Why do some helicopters have some type of hook sticking out of the bottom of the tail section, my guess is that it is used to secure the helicopter to carrier deck, but i'm not sure, so I am going to ask in case I'm wrong.

Source: www.b-domke.de


texts:
I know a similar question was asked here before, but there is a difference:

Let's say person X is on a flight from Pakistan to Canada on PIA (national carrier of Pakistan). The aircraft lands at, say, Toronto Pearson Airport.

From what I gather after reading the Tokyo Convention, the aircraft is no longer in flight once the airplane doors have been opened for disembarkation.

If an offence occurred on the airplane once the doors have been opened for disembarkation, which country is responsible for prosecution? The country where the aircraft is registered or the country where the plane has landed?


texts: What is the difference between a glider and a sailplane?

texts:
The words "glider" and "sailplane" seem to refer to similar or the same type of aircraft. In particular, the Wikipedia articles "Glider (aircraft)" and "Glider (sailplane)" seem to be describing the same kind of aircraft.

What is difference between a glider and a sailplane, if any?


texts: Do airliners or business jets have brake temperature sensors?

texts:
Reading the question found here: Do some aircraft lower the landing gear mid-flight

Some of the replies got me curious... Do heavy jets or even business jets have brake temp sensors or indicators?

In the fast-movers we don't have this luxury and I've never even heard of it until now.  If we suspect hot brakes we just taxi to the hot brakes area and either wait or ground egress if a fire may occur.  We do have wheel speed sensors with anti-skid brakes that use different channels, but nothing that reports to the pilot the brake temperature.

If you guys do have this feature, do you have a indicator that shows brake temperature?  Or is there a light that illuminates or even a PFL (pilot fault list) that appears on one of the MFDs?


texts: Does a portable ILS ground station exist?

texts: Does anyone know of a good example of a portable ILS ground station?  I mean, it can be used for temporary airfields.


texts: What is the airplane with the best flying characteristics?

texts:
I'm reading Stick and Rudder by Wolfgang Langewiesche, and in Chapter 7 titled, "What the Airplane Wants to Do" he discusses stability. In discussing it, he says that no plane yet built is completely "well-behaved" and that the plane closest to perfection is Fred E. Weick's Ercoupe.

It's been over 50 years since this book was written. Have aircraft flying characteristics improved? How much have they improved? And what airplanes have we built that have the best flying characteristics (which are the "best-behaved")?