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1500 questions
36
votes
3 answers
How does an aircraft form wake turbulence?
This question discusses how wake turbulence can affect planes flying in formation. It got me wondering, how do aircraft (the wings in particular) form wake turbulence to begin with? It can't be as simple as tip vortexes right?
As a follow up, how…
Jae Carr
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36
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9 answers
Why do airplanes not have manual transmission?
I have limited experience with flight simulators but I have never bumped into a plane with manual transmission while, on the contrary, it's very common for other means of transportation (like cars and bikes) that rely on engine with some form of…
Geeo
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36
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10 answers
Is it even remotely feasible to turnback a single engine aircraft with an engine failure?
Note before reading further that I'm asking this question purely on theoretical grounds, though you are more than welcome to talk about practical aspects as well.
Now, my question. It's common knowledge amongst many pilots that turnbacks are one of…
Qantas 94 Heavy
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36
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3 answers
Why does the second floor of the Boeing 747 occupy only part of the plane?
Why does the second floor of the Boeing 747 occupy only part of the plane, while the second floor of the Airbus a380 occupies the entire space of the plane?
JeanExtreme002
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36
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1 answer
Do the Mt. Everest rescue helicopters have modified engines to operate at high altitudes?
There are so many climbers on Mt. Everest today that there is now a helicopter rescue service there. They operate rescue up to 21,000 + ft. Because this is essentially stationary service it seems that engine modifications like a larger compressor…
blacksmith37
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36
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1 answer
What are those bumps on top of the Antonov-225?
What are those bumps on top of the Antonov-225? What are they for? And what are they called?
vinibrsl
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36
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8 answers
Why are prop blades not shaped like household fan blades?
My two projects right now are learning to fly and 3D modeling a replacement blade for antique fan, and a question occurred to me:
Why are airplane propeller blades not shaped like household fan blades?
They're both designed to push the same fluid…
Bort
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36
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2 answers
Why was this commercial jet accompanied by small plane near Seattle?
From the South Beach Campground on the western shore of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State we observed this unusual formation:
I only had a Sony RX100 at hand but perhaps the image quality is sufficient to recognize the airplanes.
The…
Peter - Reinstate Monica
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What would be the safest way to drop thousands of small, hard objects from a typical, high wing, GA airplane?
The subject pretty much states my question, now I will provide a bit of background.
A family member, who lived on the west coast of Florida Manasota Key, collected tens of thousands of fossilized sharks teeth between the mid-1940s and the late…
bclarkreston
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36
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4 answers
Why isn't airport relocation done gradually?
Recently Istanbul airport (IST) was relocated from Atatürk over 2 days. Munich Franz Josef Strauss (MUC) was also moved overnight from Munich Riem. Doesn't it cause chaos, since most employees are new to the place and equipment, work procedures are…
Kamil Aliyev
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36
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2 answers
How can I find my grandmother's OLD instrument rating documentation?
This is my grandmother, Nathalie Myrtle Brown:
The big-eared kid she's posing with is my dad.
She has a claim to fame in that she was the first female instrument-rated pilot in the state of Iowa, a fact that figures prominently in her obituary
In…
Jolenealaska
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36
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1 answer
Why are months (e.g. December) used to notate a runway?
I'm writing a report on runway quality and I've stumbled onto a weird qualifier in the data. I understand that runway 17/35 indicates which direction the runway is facing based on magnetic heading.
RWY_ID 17/35 17/35 26-Aug 14/32 30-Dec 28-Oct…
Ryan Estes
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36
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2 answers
Why can't I hang glide in NYC?
I was stopped by NYPD for attempting to hang glide in an uncongested area by Midland Beach, Staten Island. They called their Legal Bureau and came back with "Illegal Navigation" and if I was to continue I would be arrested and my hang glider would…
royjr
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36
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3 answers
Are there common standards for aviation graphical user interfaces?
I'm searching for graphical user interface in aviation guidelines.
Yet I miss the correct terms and I don't really know where to start.
Let's take an example:
what's the meaning of the green color?
what's the meaning of the pink color?
is the…
KSPR
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36
votes
2 answers
Is an Airbus A319 allowed to fly with a missing flap track fairing?
During a recent flight from Copenhagen to Milan in an Airbus A319, one of the flap track fairings were missing from the wing. I saw this during takeoff, and notified a flight attendent as soon as the "seatbelts on" sign was turned off.
She seemed…
Kogens
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