Questions tagged [airliner]
An airliner is a large, commercial aircraft operated by an airline for transporting people and/or cargo.
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For jetliners, how is a swept wing justified over a thin wing?
For a given speed, a swept wing is a fatter alternative to a straight, thin wing. But why? Does not the sweep lengthen the wing and make it heavier? Is the swept wing chosen for the extra fuel tank ...
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What is the highest number of airliners shown flying together in a single photo?
I was re-visiting this question about a timelapse photo of multiple airliners and started wondering about the maximum number of jetliners that could be photographed together while flying. I have ...
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Could an aircraft have squashable wings that get thicker as it flies faster?
As I understand, for high speed subsonic flight a thicker wing is more aerodynamic, and at low speed, a thin wing is preferable. Could aircraft which range in speed from 180 to 620 knots (most ...
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What powers the air-conditioning on commercial planes?
How is the air conditioning system on airliners powered? I expect that the air conditioning is powered by the APU powers, but I wonder if there are other power sources used like the main engines?
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What information is recorded in aircraft sensor and maintenance logs?
I was wondering what the sensor and maintenance logs in an aircraft look like and what are the values logged? Like maybe the engine temperature, altitude, exhaust temperature, etc. I know the data is ...
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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 ...
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Has any airliner ever collided with a glider?
I've read about many near-collisions between gliders and airliners, but did such a collision ever happen in mid-air, actually?
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1answer
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How much does an airliner cabin elongate at altitude?
How much (about) is a commercial plane's cabin elongated at cruising altitude, due to interior-exterior pressure difference?
Of course there should be a slight shrinkage because of temp difference, ...
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Can a modern airliner handle turbulence forces of +5/-3G?
In the BOAC Flight 911 accident the 707 likely experienced around positive 5G and negative 2-3G.
The wings of the 707 were only about as 50% as flexible as the wings of airliners today. How would a ...
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Why don't airlines place some physical separator between passengers in the planes to prevent the spread of COVID-19?
Why don't airlines place some physical separator between passengers in the planes to prevent the spread of COVID-19?
A bit like the following, but adapted for cabins and viruses:
(image source)
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1answer
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Are modern airliner avionics spill-proof? [duplicate]
I thought about this today, and didn't find much other than a flight decades ago that made an emergency landing due to spillage causing the trim wheel to uncontrollably pitch the plane down into a ...
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Do airliners have any cockpit indication of open doors?
A recent report into an "unnecessary" plane evacuation reports that, following an aborted takeoff
[The senior flight attendant] then ordered an evacuation of the 169
passengers onboard, but ...
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Have any airliners successfully landed on a runway after striking a tree?
There are many examples of aircraft striking trees during a crash sequence, usually with high fatality rates.
Have any airliners struck* one or more trees and proceeded to successfully land on a ...
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After the Covid pandemic, will there be an aircraft manufacturer which produced a combi aircraft anymore? [closed]
On this covid pandemic, there will be many changes in all of air travel, one of them is Combi aircraft to be rebuilt again.
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What is this jet airliner flying over my house?
I took a picture of this jet flying over my house:
It looks like a 737. Took place on July 14, 2020 at 4:00 PM in Long Beach, California.
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Why can airliners not fly as fast as fighter jets? [duplicate]
Why do passenger aircraft not fly at the speed of fighter jets? What factors stop them from achieving such speed?
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What safety precautions are taken for an airline prototype test flight?
Regarding the software, the equipment and the personnel.
Can the crew jump out of the plane with parachutes or is it a bad idea?
Additionally, if you would compare the safety of today and the 1970/80s ...
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1answer
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Other than the 747, are there any other current, recent or planned airliners with a nose door option?
Boeing has recently announced that the 747 program is coming to an end. One of the key features of the freight 747s was the nose door, which facilitated faster loading of freight and allowed the ...
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1answer
314 views
Is/why isn't the Antonov 124 to 225 wing upgrade method common?
I'm told that wing redesigns (edit: for tapered, swept wings) are difficult, so variants of a model often do with a common wing optimized for the middle member.
But then I read the following:
Based ...
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Are there any remaining flying boat or seaplane airliners in operation?
Is there anywhere in the world that still offers scheduled air carrier service using flying boat / seaplane types of aircraft - something akin to a proper airliner? Or are they all limited to charters ...
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2answers
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Why are there so few high-wing jetliners? [duplicate]
So far, we have only seen a few civilian jet transports with high wings. All of them BAe 146, Do 328JET, seem to be regional jets. Yet military jet transports are almost completely high-wing. Why aren'...
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1answer
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What is the average angle planes wings they need to fly? [duplicate]
The planes I am talking about are everyday passenger plane's, not fighters. Do you know what the angle needs to be for it to create enough lift so the plane can fly?
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Can airliners be considered as GA?
In a Swiss001 video, he said that the Twin Otter was a general aviation (GA) plane. But then in another video, he said that the Twin Otter was an airliner. Obviously, he's not a credible source, but ...
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Why is Bombardier selling off all of its airliner series?
Bombardier’s product lineup formerly had three separate families of airliners (in addition to its side business with the Challenger, Learjet, and Global business-jet series):
The DHC-8 (Dash 8, Q-...
asked May 22 '20 at 21:46
Vikki - formerly Sean
22.8k12 gold badges78 silver badges180 bronze badges
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Why are heavy flaps better than just a bigger wing?
Flaps increase lift during landing and T/O. But when retracted, they do nothing. The space needed to stow the common fowler flaps can't be used for anything else - fuel or structure. Extended flaps ...
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Why don't commercial aircraft use tail hook technology?
Tail hooks help drastically reduce an aircraft's speed during landing, and would therefore reduce the necessity of having long runways.
So why doesn't tail hook technology be implemented into ...
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Why does it take so long to develop a passenger aircraft?
I was researching about the Boeing 737 MAX, and came across some information on a Business Insider page:
But in the 2010s, Boeing tried to replicate the success of the 737NG with the 737 Max. But ...
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2answers
197 views
Did the Soviet Union build any commercial jetliners?
I read about a Wikipedia article regarding the Soviet Union's Tupolev 114 which was comparable to the time's jetliners, and brought up the question: Did the Soviet Union build any jetliners for ...
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1answer
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What's this prominience in the B737? [duplicate]
I have recovered some spotting pictures that I made long ago and I came to realize an upper prominence in the fuselage of this Norwegian Boeing 737. I don't remember to have seen it in other 737s.
...
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1answer
127 views
Feasibility of converting long body carriers into stationary field hospitals [closed]
Considering the current pandemic crisis, and the fact that and there are thousands of grounded planes that can be put to other uses, I come with a somewhat dumb question.
Is it possible to remove ...
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0answers
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How often is a commercial (airliner) flight flown without autopilot? [duplicate]
When it comes to commercial flights, I am aware that once the aircraft has reached a certain altitude, the autopilot activates and assists the pilots in flying the aircraft. It makes being a pilot on ...
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1answer
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Do horizontal stabilizers on airliners have varying angle of incidence in the span-wise direction (washout or negative twist)?
Reading this question and answers, I was wondering if modern airliners with cruciform tail have some noticalbe washout or negative twist along the horizontal stabilizer's span.
During cruise, if wing'...
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2answers
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Does joystick position control bank angle in some Airbus aircraft? And what happens when the pilot deflects the joystick when wheels are on ground?
Does joystick position control bank angle rather than directly controlling aileron/spoileron deflection in some Airbus aircraft?
Also, what happens when the pilot deflects the joystick when the all ...
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1answer
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How much does a passenger-to-freighter conversion cost?
Transforming a passenger airliner to a freighter seems to be common. If I understand correctly (do not hesitate to correct me), it basically consists of removing many components (seats, galley, ...) ...
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What is an airliner's “green dot speed”, and how does it vary with weight, and why?
A related question told us, quoting from an Airbus performance manual,
Green dot speed (minimum gradient) is a function of weight.
Comments under the question stated that the "green dot speed" ...
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Why does an airliner have a shallow descent when heavier, opposite to gliders with ballast?
Gliders utilize water ballast to, among other things, descend faster:
But sometimes you need to get down fast: This is when water ballast is added.
In airliners however, the heavier the plane, the ...
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1answer
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What's the rattling noise on an A320?
I recently flew on an A320, and during takeoff when the aircraft was rotating, I heard a loud rattling noise. If I had to guess I would say it came from the gear below but I can't be sure. I was ...
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Do airliner cabin filters trap viruses or other pathogens?
I understand that half the air in an airliner is re-circulated (per How much air is recirculated (vs. bleed air injected) in modern airliners cabin?). Of this 50% re-circulated air, what it's the ...
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2answers
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Airliner headlights flashing alternately [duplicate]
I live in Portland,Oregon. I watched a large jetliner coming into the airspace heading to the airport. The red,green and tail lights were normal. But the headlights were blinking alternately. I ...
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1answer
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Concorde thrust reversers engaged on parked aircraft, but not all engines?
Am I correct in interpreting this photo as showing one thrust reverser engaged, while the other is open? Do the thrust reversers fall into place on a fully powered down Concorde? Could this be caused ...
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1answer
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Cruise Mach Number less or more than Critical Mach Number
Do commercial airplanes cruise at Mach number higher than the critical Mach number? And what is the critical Mach number of airplanes like B777 or A330?
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During which phase of the mission profile, the airplane fastest?
In a mission profile, there are various phases such as Climb, Cruise, and Descent (excluding other phases). My question is during which of these phases, the Mach number of the airplane is highest? Is ...
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1answer
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What is this type of aircraft?
In this picture, could anyone describe what type of aircraft and which airline it is?
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Could an airliner be as efficient lower and slower?
Could an airliner ever be as efficient at 15 or so meters using ground effect as it is at 50,000 km even if it has to go slower and be shaped differently?
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How efficient would an airliner be if it did not have to carry its own fuel?
Hypothetically, if all the fuel was supplied externally or pulled from the atmosphere to where the plane had never to carry any fuel on board, how much more efficient would an airliner be? The plane ...
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What is the Function of Pressurization Light on Exit Doors for Commercial Airliners?
I am well aware that the average human is unable to open plug doors in flight due to pressurization of the cabin. I've noticed, however, a "cabin pressure" warning light in the window of exit doors, ...
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At what point does an aircraft become an airliner?
For me, the term 'airliner' conjures up an image of a passenger jet that is capable of hosting a large number of passengers¹ but I'm finding it difficult to source a reputable definition or etymology ...
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Airfoil and Wing Analysis for Transonic Speed (M = 0.85 and Re = 42 million)
I am working on a project where I have to design a plane which has to cruise at 0.85 Mach at 35,000 ft. While working on the wing design, I quickly discovered that 6 series airfoils, with a good ...
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1answer
447 views
Are there any airliners capable of vertical climb with engine thrust only by pointing the nose up?
So, sort of inspired by this question, I was wondering if there were any passenger airliners with enough thrust to fly straight up, supported purely through the thrust of their engines rather than the ...
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1answer
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What happens when an airplane is retired? [duplicate]
With launch of new models every few years, what happens to the older airplanes which was in service for more than decades? Where does it get stored.
Who buys old airplanes? Does manufacturers buys ...
