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1500 questions
27
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6 answers
What to look for in a flight instructor?
I want to make the most of my time and budget. There are ton of flight instructors and the quality has to vary widely. Besides being a competent pilot, what should I look for in a CFI? What are the warning signs of a poor CFI?
ABERG
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27
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How can business jets cruise so fast?
How can business jets cruise so much faster than airliners in the transonic regime?
If you look at the cruise speed of many business jets, it will be somewhere in the Mach 0.90 to Mach 0.94 area. This is very fast and in theory would consume much…
user67740
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7 answers
Why are adjustable area jet engine nozzles mostly limited to military use?
It seems that only jet engines with afterburners use adjustable area nozzles (this means adjusting the area of the nozzle but not necessarily the direction). This includes most fighter jets, as well as bombers like the B-1B and Tu-160. Outside of…
fooot
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Why are stealth aircraft not sky blue?
Why are stealth aircraft not painted sky blue on the bottom to make them hard to see by looking up from the ground?
At night or with clouds between the plane and ground, the plane won't be visible anyway, so color doesn't matter then. On a clear…
Someone
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27
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1 answer
Why are taxiway and runway centerline lights off center?
The centerline lights for runways and taxiways are to the side of the centerline itself by a few inches. This, of course, is not a problem, but why are the lights positioned that way?
(Image: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport by John…
Charles Nicholson
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27
votes
4 answers
Why is 121.5 called "guard"?
What is a "guarded" frequency and how does it differ from a frequency that's unguarded?
Harv
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27
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3 answers
What is the advantage of the two-part rudder and how does it work?
I saw that some aircraft's rudder is composed of an upper rudder and a lower rudder (B727, A380, ...) as illustrated:
Image Source
I wonder how does it work compare to a normal rudder and what are the pros and cons of the two-parts rudder over the…
Manu H
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4 answers
If stealth aircraft are invisible to radar, then how do friendlies manage them or see them in flight?
Air traffic controlling is a significant deal when it comes to air forces. If a stealth aircraft like the F-22 Raptor is almost invisible as said, it has cross section of very small metal ball. Then, how do friendlies see their own aircraft in the…
Bilal Mirza
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2 answers
How do you win a simulated dogfight/Air-to-Air engagement?
When simulating/practicing a dogfight/air-to-air engagement obviously real, live weapons aren't used. So therefore, how is it that these missions are "won"?
So my first question is: In a within visual range fight (assuming FOX 2/guns distances) how…
Harry Karmel
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What's the difference between True vs Magnetic headings?
What is the difference between a true and a magnetic heading?
Why are/were magnetic headings used in aviation?
Danny Beckett
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What is the maximum safe bank angle of a 747?
This question arose during the comments of another question, linked for the curious:
What does it take to turn a 747 around 180 degrees?
Because the discussion was interesting, (and to avoid congesting the comments of another user's question), I…
Bassinator
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2 answers
How much force does a 747 land with?
I've been told before that the runways for large commercial aircraft have to be built to withstand a large amount of force. But I'm wondering exactly how much it is? When a 747 touches down, how much force is being imparted from the wheels to the…
Jae Carr
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7 answers
Can fighter aircraft glide?
In case of engine failure, do the fighter jets have such a stable airframe so that they can glide their way through to the nearest landing strip (As it happened in the case of Gimli glider)?
Amod
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When is an aircraft cleared to land?
In Is there a minimum separation between a landing aircraft and another crossing its runway? it was explained that once an aircraft has clearance to land, that runway is reserved for the exclusive use of that aircraft.
At busy airports you can…
RedGrittyBrick
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Can a mistake of a single air-traffic controller cause a collision between planes?
I am watching season 2 episode 13 of Breaking Bad and in the episode it shows that:
an air traffic controller, distraught from his daughter's death,
causes a mid-air collision, resulting in debris and human remains
raining down onto the Whites'…
Salvador Dali
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