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1500 questions
29
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3 answers
How flat does a runway need to be?
I always assumed that big runways are flat (or more specifically straight: they might have a slight slope in either direction), but while watching some crosswind landing footage shot at Birmingham Airport I noticed that the runway looks really…
SztupY
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1 answer
What does this hand gesture of fighter jet pilots mean?
I am trying to understand more of the gestures fighter jet pilot use. I have seen this gesture many times:
Does anyone know what this gesture mean? Are there any good resources about the gestures used by fighter jets? I can't find information about…
Quinten
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28
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How can a passenger have opened an emergency exit on an Airbus A321 in flight?
Today it has been reported that a passenger managed to open the emergency exit door of an A321 in-flight. According to the report the aircraft (performing flight OZ-8124 from Jeju to Daegu in South Korea) was descending towards Daegu when a left…
DeltaLima
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28
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3 answers
What aircraft was the Olmstead High Efficiency Propeller for? When and how was it used?
The AFResearchLab video AFRL Tech Museum Series: Propeller Development begins with the narrator standing in front of four propellers in a sequence transitioning from wood to metal, and what stands out to me at least is a very unusually-shaped…
uhoh
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28
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5 answers
When should the term "pan-pan" be used instead of "Mayday"?
FAAO JO 7110.65, §10-1-1 states that "pan-pan" can be used to indicate a state of urgency:
a. An emergency can be either a Distress or an Urgency condition as defined in the "Pilot/Controller Glossary."
b. A pilot who encounters a Distress…
Danny Beckett
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28
votes
2 answers
Why does the mixture knob spin?
On my first intro flight. I noticed the instructor twisting the mixture knob. I didn't think of asking, but now Im curious.
Boeing787
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28
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6 answers
Do pilots intentionally crash in a simulator?
Are pilots allowed to intentionally crash inside the simulator? It is good for stress relief and seems like a fun way to do something you would never do on an actual aeroplane, with little to no consequence.
If not, why not?
56independent
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1 answer
Is there any equation to bind velocity, thrust and power?
I am designing a remote controlled airship. I will tune it so that the lift given by Archimedes' Principle will exactly balance the weight of all the structure. It will be propelled by brushless motors with propellers on them.
As far as I have…
Matteo Monti
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28
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1 answer
Why does the B-29 have eight oil needles?
In the image above, quiet flyer and I realized that there are 2 needles in every oil gauge, and there are 4 oil gauges. Well, why in the world are there 8 needles in total? And the optimal range arcs and redlines of each oil gauge is different. Why…
Ginger
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28
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Can airliners land with auto pilot in gusty wind conditions?
Why does the pilot make so many movements? I don't see that plane is moving all that much, but his yoke movements are strong and fast.
For someone who is not a pilot, it almost looks like panicked flying.
Can airliners land with auto pilot…
user52248
28
votes
10 answers
Is there an aviation career where I would help design an entire aircraft and its systems?
If I want to design and build planes, what career would that be? Would it be a mechanical engineer, systems engineer, or what else. (I feel like saying aerospace engineer is too vague and most companies like Lockheed Martin don't have that as a job…
Luke Justin
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4 answers
How do pilots travel from remote private airports after landing?
What if you fly your own personal plane to a small private airport in the countryside that has no public transportation? I imagine that most pilots don't have a car parked at each private airport they intend on flying to. That is, of course, unless…
K Man
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28
votes
10 answers
Can a civilian aircraft pilot see a missile coming?
Can a civilian aircraft pilot see a missile coming?
By "civilian aircraft," I mean planes that were not equipped with flares that fire when rockets approach or any similar anti-missile systems. If these missiles can be detected, can the pilot take…
Quora Feans
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28
votes
2 answers
Why does camouflage make some planes fly slower?
Why does camouflage decrease some airplanes' speed? I have noticed that some planes fly slower with camouflage than without it. For example, when the RAF applied camo on the P-51 Mustang, they noticed that it was 8 mph (About 12.87 km) slower than…
J Lopez
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28
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1 answer
Why did the space shuttle use bias-ply tyres instead of radials?
Aircraft and automobile tyres can be divided into two main types, based on the orientation of the tyres’ body plies (the layers of tough fabric that form the main structural body of the tyre); radial tyres are built with the body plies laid…
Vikki
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