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1500 questions
48
votes
6 answers
How close can planes fly to each other over the ocean?
While on a recent Air Transat flight from Toronto Pearson to London Gatwick, several hours into the flight and over the Atlantic Ocean, my daughter and I noticed a plane behind ours to the left, flying quite close. Assuming there must be protocol…
Wendy
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48
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6 answers
Why do military pilots report "gear down" during their traffic calls?
I've noticed that military pilots will often say something along the lines of:
traffic, Basher 5-2 left base, full stop, gear down.
Why the additional "gear down" call? Shouldn't it be implied that if you're landing full stop, you'd…
Steve V.
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48
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2 answers
Why does one of the Boeing 777's spoilers deploy differently from the rest?
There is one spoiler that isn't totally deployed. Look:
Source: Airliners.net
And also on this other picture:
Source: Airliners.net
Why aren't they deployed at the same angle?
user13197
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48
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2 answers
Why/when is the blunt nose better?
Most large aircraft and some fighters have blunt, rounded nose cone. OTOH many fighters (that don't use the nose for air intake) and notably the two supersonic airliners (Concorde, TU-144) have the sharp tip for a nose cone.
What is the aerodynamic…
SF.
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48
votes
10 answers
Why are traditional knobs not replaced by touchscreens in cockpits?
Looking at this picture of an A380 cockpit I see that there are still a lot of traditional switches (meaning manual click on and off or knobs). Being technology so advanced in these days, why is it that traditional switches and knobs are used…
Fabrizio Mazzoni
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48
votes
4 answers
Why do helicopters have such limited range?
Why do rotorcraft like helicopters have such limited range, rarely exceeding 1000 km on a full tank? For example, the range of the Apache is close to 425 km, and MI-26's is 800 km.
anshabhi
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48
votes
3 answers
What are N1 and N2?
When I'm reading something about jet engines, it's common to see references to N1 and N2.
I've never fully understood what N1 and N2 are on engine instruments and how they relate to thrust and the position of the throttle.
Gabriel Brito
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48
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5 answers
Why do aircraft have an unusable amount of fuel?
I learned from this question that a Cessna 152 holds 5.6 litres of fuel that it can't use.
Why would it be designed to hold fuel that it cannot burn, especially since water contamination of fuel is a concern?
FreeMan
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48
votes
11 answers
Why do planes always land on rear wheels instead of the nose wheels?
Various times, I have seen and felt myself that the plane always lands on the rear wheels, but not the front wheels. Why do the pilots land it on the rear wheels instead of the front? Does it have some advantage to it or is it a rule?
Is this…
user285oo6
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48
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5 answers
If airplanes can't use reverse thrust in flight, what am I hearing?
I've flown on a few commercial flights, and on several of them I recall a phase of the flight during descent when the engine seemed to go idle (or at least, the engine noise subsided substantially) and then all of the sudden, the engine got really…
Michael
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48
votes
9 answers
How close is X-Plane experience to real flying?
I started using X-Plane and am surprised at the easiness of flying (using a flight controller). Does this simulation software reflect how it is to fly (in any way) in reality?
From using the simulator, I understand that all I need to do is to switch…
Hrach Ghapantsyan
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47
votes
5 answers
Why are 'ghost flights' necessary?
This article details the recent (March 2020) grounding of 90% of Ryanair's fleet due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Flight tracking data showed that all bar one of the jets had been flown in recent days: 35 had made loops of the airport, while the…
Cloud
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47
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4 answers
What is the offset in a seaplane's hull?
I noticed there is a little offset in a seaplane's hull (highlighted in the following picture). I suppose this is useful as it exists in all the seaplanes I know.
It appears to be neither a hydrodynamic nor aerodynamic feature. I could not find…
Manu H
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47
votes
5 answers
Why do airliners have to park so accurately?
I was watching some airport documentary and I noticed that the planes always had to park precisely. I honestly didn't think so much of it before, but in the documentary, an aircraft parked badly because the VDGS couldn't detect it correctly due to…
Artefaxx
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47
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6 answers
Has an airplane ever been launched from a submarine?
Airplanes are routinely launched from ocean going vessels, namely carriers.
Missiles are routinely launched from submarines.
Has an airplane ever been launched from a submarine?
From questions about what qualifies:
Manned or unmanned is ok, but…
Pilothead
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