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When are winds given with respect to true vs. magnetic north?

Wind information can be reported by various sources (ATIS, METAR, TAF, spoken on the radio, etc). I was taught that officially some of these sources are relative to magnetic north and others to true north (although practically this isn't always…
jrdioko
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Do military bases still employ wheel watchers?

When I was in the air wing in the '70s, I had the unpleasant opportunity of pulling wheel watch. The unfortunate individual sat in a small shack (maybe 3 x 6 ft.) with a pair of high-powered binoculars ensuring that each and every aircraft on final…
BillDOe
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Why would a flight from North America to Asia sometimes fly over the Atlantic?

I am going to take AC031 from Toronto to Beijing in a couple of weeks, I searched its flight path, most of the time it will fly westbound after taking off from Toronto and continue west across the north pole area and land in Beijing, but yesterday…
Yifan Nie
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Why don't modern heavy bombers have gun turrets?

I know that for a period of time the B-52 had a tailgunner, but nowadays many heavy bombers lack any turret defense.Why?
ClippedWings22
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What is the largest plane ever to have been stolen by a single pilot?

This guy stole a few small planes like two c172s, a 182 and a Columbia 400. Also, in 2003 two persons stole a Boeing 727. Has there been other cases like this one where someone stole a large aircraft? If so, what is the largest aircraft to ever been…
Jimy
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Can commercial airliners fly over central Antarctica during winter?

For example, if an airline decided they wanted to run year round flights on the great circle from Perth to Buenos Aires with a commercial airliner (e.g. A380 or B747), would they be able to do so? Or would it be too cold to fly? I'm aware that there…
Esteemator
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What's the greatest height at which a bird has collided with an aircraft?

70% of birds fly below 1,500ft, 25% of birds fly between 1,500ft and 15,000ft, and only 5% above 15,000ft. What is the greatest height at which a bird has hit an aircraft? What species was the bird?
wiaim
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Why do model aircraft fly and maneuver so differently from real aircraft?

I recently viewed on Youtube many videos of small and giant models of airplanes. In some cases they are small (for example an A330, 1 meter long) and in others they are huge (for example an A380, 5 meters long). As far as I can see, the smallest…
Luca Detomi
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Why increase the number of cylinders in an engine instead of increasing their volume?

I've been reading about WW2 planes lately. Some of them have 12 or even more pistons in their engines. But if your goal is to increase power, why would you add more pistons instead of simply increasing the size of the cylinders? Example: The P-51…
DrZ214
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Do commercial aeroplanes use ABS to brake?

I have read that the wheel brakes on an aeroplane are by for the most efficient means of stopping it. I was wondering whether in low grip situations, such as in rain or snow, an ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) system is used to ensure the wheels do…
fishlein
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Why do farmers register their fields as airports?

(this seems to be primarily a US phenomenon) So in the vicinity of my parents' place (in a rural area in Indiana), there are several registered airports within several miles' radius. I remember when I was a kid, there were a few farmers in the area…
Steely Dan
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What is common number of flight hours a year for an airline pilot?

Reading various reports including number of flight hours of the pilots I always wonder how it relates to years of service. In most professions, people work 40 hours a week, which gives around 1900 hours a year (assuming 4-5 weeks vacation as is…
Jan Hudec
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Would a homemade lawn chair balloon be visible on ATC and collision avoidance radar?

I am not a pilot, but have a question about radar detection of improvised lawn chair balloons that I thought might be on-topic here. This BBC news article describes a marketing stunt gone awry involving a lawn chair, a large number of…
Paul
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Why are commercial airplanes painted at all?

While there was debate over why airplanes are painted white and a question about how much a new paint job costed, what hasn't been asked is why airplanes are painted at all. I remember one airline company sent out a press release in the 1980s or…
RoboKaren
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How do long-haul pilots cope with boredom?

Imagine you're in a large jet on a long route on a major airway -- say, for example, you're in a 747 going LHR-JFK at night. It's dark, you're over the Atlantic, and ATC has cleared you to just keep on heading along at FL330 (or equivalent) for…
Landak
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