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1500 questions
46
votes
18 answers
Do pilots adjust the aircraft's flight path to allow for the curvature of the Earth?
If an airliner is flying at approximately 500-600mph, it seems to me that there would need to be a significant adjustment for altitude so as to not fly off into space.
Wikipedia says that there's an 8 inch drop for every mile because of the Earth's…
NormLDude
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46
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3 answers
Why do pilots have the ability to turn off the transponder in-flight?
These days, when reading news about missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200, I keep coming across a scenario where pilot might have deliberately turned off the transponder which is used for the communication of flight with ATC.
When there is a…
SRy
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46
votes
5 answers
Why are we still putting lead in our fuel?
Lead in gasoline for automobiles has been banned from nearly every corner of the world, with most bans dating from the nineties. Why are we still poisoning ourselves with lead in Avgas? I understand that Tetraethyllead (as it's apparently…
falstro
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46
votes
5 answers
Why aren't airliner windows aligned with their seats?
On a recent airline flight, I noticed that the spacing of the plane's windows was different from that of the passenger seats: some of the rows had a window directly in line with them but for others, the windows were partially obscured by the…
hopper
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45
votes
1 answer
Why did my flight leave the gear down for the first 10 minutes of flight?
This morning, I took flight VS156 from LAS to LHR, aboard a 787, tail number G-VSPY according to flightradar24. The pilot made a strange announcement before takeoff - specifically, that due to a recent maintenance procedure, the pilots would not be…
catalogue_number
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45
votes
5 answers
What is a 'deep stall' and how can pilots recover from it?
West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 which crashed in 2005, fell victim when their plane encountered a deep-stall. From my understanding, only certain planes can 'deep-stall'
How can pilots recover their plane to recover from a deep stall?
Dv8r
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45
votes
3 answers
Why does the B-2 Spirit have a pattern of thin white lines?
Northrop Grumman's B-2 Spirit strategic bomber is mostly black or dark grey, but has a symmetric pattern of distinctive, thin white lines painted on its wings and fuselage. I have not been able to find anything similar on other airplanes. Why does…
Soviet Spy
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45
votes
11 answers
Is it possible to fly backward if you have really strong headwind?
Is it possible to fly a plane backwards if you have a really really strong headwind? I mean when you are aloft, you have positive airspeed and airflow over the wings but you have negative ground speed.
user40208
45
votes
5 answers
When to use beacon, anti-collision, strobe, logo, and navigation lights?
During taxi, the taxi lights are used, and I think the landing lights are required to be used up to 10.000 feet for all commercial flights.
However, my question is regarding the abovementioned lights: beacon, anti-collision, strobe, logo, and…
Haris
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45
votes
3 answers
Was the Space Shuttle aerodynamically neutral while piggybacking, or did the combination act like a giant biplane?
Trying to investigate this question, I see that 'Ask the Captain' says:
The weight of the shuttle is calculated like any payload. The 747
produces enough lift to fly and to carry the weight of the shuttle. In
this respect it is no different…
Party Ark
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45
votes
3 answers
Why is the lower deck of the Airbus A380 curved like a single deck airplane?
I recently traveled on the lower deck of an A380 and the section where the side walls of the fuselage and its roof top meet is curved just like any single deck airplane.
Credits: Wikimedia Commons
If there is a deck above me (which there definitely…
Hanky Panky
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45
votes
4 answers
Why is the autopilot called "George?"
The autopilot of an airplane is frequently referred to as "George" (for example, in this answer). When did this nickname enter common usage, and what is its origin? Please cite sources if possible!
TypeIA
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45
votes
4 answers
What is this hole at the front of the engine pylon on a Boeing 707?
Images of the Boeing 707 show a hole at the front of the engine pylon just above the engine.
Can someone please tell me what is the purpose?
Also why do images show the hole absent on the left outer engine pylon but present on engines 2, 3 and 4?…
Paul Howard
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45
votes
6 answers
Is a weak battery a valid reason to reject a rented aircraft?
Today I had rented a Piper Archer III for a local flight. After taxing to the fuel and filling up, I went to start the plane again and it did not want to turn over. This particular plane is somewhat fussy and sometimes doesn't start right away. As I…
Ryan Griffith
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45
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5 answers
How do airliners get from the factory to the client if the aircraft does not have the required range?
Today I flew on an Embraer 190 of Kenya Airways. Checking in the tech specs this aircraft has a range of roughly 2900 km. Considering it is built in Brasil, I was wondering how do they deliver it to Africa since they would have to cross the Atlantic…
Fabrizio Mazzoni
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