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1500 questions
24
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3 answers
Why do planes sometimes make a touch-and-go?
I have seen airplanes on YouTube and even in my country doing a touch-and-go.
I don't know why planes come down from thousands of feet just to touch the runway and then fly away:
Is it for show?
Is it to check the landing gear?
Is it because of…
R.Gammoh
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What was the first aircraft that could fly inverted?
I'm taking a guess and assuming the Wright Flyer was incapable of flying upside down. I'm just guessing it probably lacked the power... ;)
So what was the first plane that could fly inverted for a sustained period of time (10sec+) with full power? …
Jae Carr
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7 answers
How is a confusion possible between Western and Russian Attitude Indicators?
Yesterday I watched a documentary on Crossair Flight 498 accident. One of the factors that might have contributed to the accident was the confusion of the pilot on interpreting the attitude indicator; he was initially trained with Russian model…
Claudi
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Exactly where can a stowaway hide in a wheel well?
My question is exactly where a person could contort their body so as not to be mangled by the gear retraction system and very limited space. Some lived and died in the nose well and as I remember it, most aircraft at least provide half the nose…
jwzumwalt
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24
votes
2 answers
Why are only some aircraft in this formation creating contrails?
The Republic Day celebrations at New Delhi, India had a series of flypasts by the Indian Air Force.
What struck me the most was that in a formation with a C-17 in middle and two Su-30MKI flanking it, there were contrails visible from the Su-30MKI…
Kanchu
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6 answers
Would increasing the number of wheels of a Jumbo reduce the braking distance?
If weight was not an issue, would increasing the number of main gear wheels on a jumbo such as the Airbus A380 from 20 to 40 wheels, each equipped with braking disks and braking equipment, considering their extra weight, reduce braking distance. …
securitydude5
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24
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9 answers
Why are winches not used for towing commercial planes up?
In this video a glider is pulled up by a winch on the ground, like this:
(Source)
I would say you could apply the same principles with bigger planes, possibly even using sustainable energy sources.
The plane would not use its engines at all to get…
Ruud3.1415
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3 answers
Why does the Boeing 787 have fewer cockpit windows?
Why does the Boeing 787 have fewer cockpit windows? The 787 has only 4 cockpit windows, whereas other airplanes have 6. Here is a comparison between the 787 and 777:
^ 787
V.S.
777 v
TayE
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How does the head-up display on a spitfire work?
It turns out that the Spitfire from World War 2 had a head up display.
Does anybody know how it worked exactly?
All I could find was this picture, but no explanation:
Source
The source does not explain what it does.
Seeing as it is projected, it…
mike
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3 answers
What is the largest taildragger in history?
Large, modern multi-engine airplanes do mostly have the 'tricycle' landing gear type. But it hasn't always be the norm. I remember at least one big plane with 'conventional landing gear', the German four-engined FW 200 'Condor'...
But, was it the…
xxavier
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10 answers
Would it be feasible to build a jet fighter plane based on a wooden construction?
I read about the de Havilland Mosquito recently and that it was a quite successful British bomber in WW2 due its lightweight wooden construction. As far as I understand it, usual planes at that time were built mainly with metal parts already, thus…
Bruder Lustig
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1 answer
Was it possible to land a Boeing 707 with 300 feet cloud ceiling in the 70s?
In the movie Airplane! (1980), the main characters had to land a Boeing 707 in Chicago airport in low visibility. The dialog says the pilot "should be able to see the runway at 300 feet".
Given the ground equipment and flight instruments of that…
kevin
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24
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2 answers
Where is the generator in a large turbofan of a commercial airliner?
So, where do you put the electrical generator?
If it's gonna be coaxial, the only place is the rear (it will be burnt) or the front (it will get in the way of intake).
If it's gonna be coupled to a gear, I can't see how to mesh a gear onto the…
DrZ214
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What's the red light in the left wing of a N.A. T-6 for?
There's a yearly flight show near my location, and there's always this North American T-6 (D-FUKK):
Today, I noticed that there's a single white light in the leading edge of the right wing, but a white and a red light in the left wing.
What's that…
sweber
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What qualifications or training allow a test pilot to fly a new aircraft?
What makes a test pilot a test pilot? I'd imagine recovery from unusual attitudes is a must, but aerobatic pilots can do that as well. What training does a test pilot go through, that is unique and not taught to general pilots, makes that person a…
kevin
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