Questions tagged [feature-identification]
For questions about identifying a feature or design on an aircraft or airport.
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Can someone tell me what is this on the overhead panel of the Boeing 777?
I found this on the Boeing 777 and it was on the Captain's side behind the speaker.
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What are the reflective structures above and to the rear of the engines on a VC-25?
In this video at 7:04 we see the following view of a VC-25 (an aircraft frequently known as "Air Force One"):
What are the two shiny, gold-coloured structures above and to the rear of the ...
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What does this black lever next to the overhead panel on the Airbus 320 do?
What does this do?
It's located next to the overhead panel of an A320 cockpit.
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What is the piston/leg on the aft wall of the L-1011?
In this response to the APU location on an L-1011, in this image, there appears to be a large piston or leg extended downward along the centerline from the aft wall:
Modified: By Reedy (Own work) [CC ...
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What is the green arrow on the 777's airspeed tape? Does it exist on other types as well?
Image source: fsnews.eu
I found this green arrow on the primary flight display (PFD) of a 777. What does it show? I'm assuming it's for showing acceleration and deceleration but I am not too sure. Is ...
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What does the "High Alt Landing" guarded push button on the A320 exactly do?
I am aware that not all variants of the A320 are equipped with the HIGH ALT LANDING guarded push button. I know that it is pushed before landing at high altitude airfields. Was wondering what it does ...
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What is this jutting structure in the tail section called and what is its function?
I was wondering if there is a name for this particular structure on Su-27 and F-22 and if they serve any function?
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Why do most ARFF trucks tend to be so angular?
玄史生, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
I've been looking at various types of ARFF (aircraft rescue and firefighting) apparatus, and while some rapid-response vehicles do appear to be more conventional, most ...
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What’s this on the J-10 fighter? [duplicate]
What's this on the J-10 fighter?
Source: wikimedia.org
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Why do propeller driven planes have intakes/inlets, such as this one on the P-51 Mustang?
Specifically talking about the p51, why do they have intakes? Don't propeller-driven planes not require any sort of intake because the propeller is what propels it by pushing air behind it?
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How does this instrument in a DA20 measure flight time?
Could you please explain how this counter works (in the picture)? I thought that it starts with propeller (so propeller starts moving so this counter), but seems it registers the pure flight - from ...
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What are these paint patches on this 787-8?
What are these paint patches on this British Airways 787-8 (G-ZBJB)?
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Drain line under drag chute door of F-4 phantom
What is this drain line under the drag chute door on the F-4?
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What are these white drops on the exhaust plug of a CFM56-7B engine?
Does anybody know what those white dried-up drops are?
I checked out another Boeing 737-800 on the ramp and it also had the same defect so I'm guessing this is a common issue, or is it?
This shows up ...
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What is the tapered cone on the B747 CF6 engine inlet cowling?
B747 and B767s are supposed to be using exact same GE CF6 engine, and as such their components are interchangeable including inlet cowl as they show to be effective in the IPC.
However some of the 747 ...
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What are these SR-71 "Ports" for?
In this video at the 2:40 minute mark there is a relatively clear image of the rear of a Blackbird. This is a new view - at least for me. Are those "ports" and, if so, what are they venting?...
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What is this unit above the autopilot panel in Boeing test aircraft?
I keep seeing this (more here and here) unit (maybe solely) in Boeing test airplane cockpits above the autopilot panel. Can someone tell me what is this and what the purpose of this big unit? Based on ...
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Is the fuselage of the CEA 311 Anequim configured as elliptical?
I am currently studying the effects of reduced drag induced by laminar flow on the subsonic aircraft. In order to complete that, I have believed I found the optimal fuselage which has the best ...
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What are those polygons on the Garmin avionics navigation display?
I'm not pilot yet, just an enthusiast having some fun in MSFS2020.
What do those colored lines mean in Garmin avionics?
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Why is there an intake in front of the landing gear on this C-160?
I went to a aircraft museum and saw this C-160, it has intake in front of the landing gear which is now blocked with the orange thing as you can see below in the picture below. Why is there an intake ...
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What is this pilot doing before boarding his F-15?
In this video ...
Fast takeoff of an F-15 Eagle from an air base in Iceland
... what is this one thing the pilot does on arrival, before climbing the ladder?
It looks like he's putting something, ...
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Can anyone help identify this turbine blade?
At the local army/navy surplus store and found this in a "junk" box. Got it for $1. Would live to know what airframe this came off of. Im new to this so compressor blade? Compressor turbine?
...
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What is the meaning of these stencils, usually found on military planes?
I am wondering what these markings (which I found both in the French Super Etendard and in the British Tornado) indicate? They may be something relevant for the maintenance crews.
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What are the two vents on the 777's left side behind the wing for?
— wikimedia.org; cropped
Those have always caught my eye and I always dismissed them as equipment cooling vents.
But, after finally remembering to check the flight manual, it turns out the equipment ...
user14897
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What is the purpose of the tiny doors used by the 787's laminar control?
The recent Oct 2021 YouTube video (The Insane Engineering of the 787 by Real Engineering) in the related question remarks:
[...] tiny doors whose purpose are a mystery to me with little to no ...
user14897
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What is that airport equipment that looks like an SMR but rotates like a windmill?
— YouTube
The one rotating horizontally looks like a standard Surface Movement Radar (SMR). But the one next it, rotating vertically (like a windmill or wind turbine), what is that? Wouldn't that be ...
user14897
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What is the metal sheet in front of the engine called on a Cessna 182 or similar?
I need to know the name of that metal sheet covering the front of the engine in small Cessnas (specifically the Cessna 182), just behind the propeller. I mean the one where the cowl plugs are put into:...
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What does the sound and flashing button indicate during this landing?
What does the sound in this YouTube video indicate? It is accompanied by a flashing button.
Does that sound indicate the touchdown of both the main and nose landing gear? The pilot also pressed the ...
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Which popular turboprop engine feathers its propeller blades with each shutdown?
Chapter 12 of the FAA Airplane Flying Handbook, discussing multiengine flying, goes into quite a bit of detail in the propeller section about how most feathering-propeller-equipped engines on ...
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What is the vertical rod on this Swissair DC-3 drawing?
What is this large protruding rod in the frontal dorsal section of this drawing of a Swissair DC-3:
The small rod extending from the nose I am assuming holds the pitot tube and serves as a mount for ...
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What's up with the long exhaust stack I saw on a Cessna Caravan?
Our local airport is regularly visited by Cessna caravans flying cargo. This week I saw one parked outside the FBO building that had its exhaust stack bent down to lead under the cowling, where it was ...
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Why are there missiles under the wings of this Dassault Falcon?
While browsing Flightradar this afternoon, I managed to land on this aircraft, but then I noticed that that's a Falcon 20D with a sort of missile pod under the wings; is that a training aircraft for ...
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What does the "MAX EMR PWR" lever do in a Quest Kodiak?
On a photo of the Quadrant of a Kodiak Quest 100 there was an additional red lever to the left of the throttle (black handle) labeled with "MAX EMR PWR". Can anyone explain what what this ...
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What are those devices sitting on top of instrument panel in this Baron?
On this Baron YT video:
what are the two devices sitting on top of the instruments panel, on both sides of the compass?
I though at first it is some kind of HUD (Head-...
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What are those half-vanes in the engine inlet of a 707-328?
I just saw this:
Source
They look like IGVs but I'm not sure. What could those be? Do you know the engine?
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What are those ball-shaped things on some helicopter blades?
I saw these things swinging in a video of a rotor from the blade point of view. I don't know what are they for but I am quite curious. And why some helicopters have it and some don't?
Source: alamy
...
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What are these holes at the rear of 747s?
What are these two holes at the rear of most 747s? I've found plenty of answers for the holes on the front of the wing box, but no answers about these back holes.
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What are those gray spots on the wing?
I recently flew on an Airbus A321 and noticed these gray spots on the wing, circled in red. What are those?
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What are these components in a DHS/CBP Predator drone?
In the following diagram showing the "DHS/CBP UAS Platform Configuration", what are these components and what are they used for?
PPDM
SPMA
RCM
RVT encoder
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What is that little black thing tied to the vertical stabilizer? [duplicate]
I have seen this on all Boeing test planes, does this provide information on the planes performance?
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What type of antenna is this?
I’m just getting more into airplanes and trying to do a project on antennas. This airplane example is a Piper PA-28-181 Archer II. I’ve labeled all the antennas, and I’ve noticed there’s a lot!
I’m ...
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What is the indicated device under the tail of this B-29?
Was lucky enough to have the B-29 "Doc" flying over the house this weekend.
What's the mechanism under the tail indicated by the red arrow? Tail-strike preventer?
I did some searching and ...
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What are these things on the horizontal stabilizer on a Diamond DA40?
What are these things encircled on the horizontal stabilizer on the Diamond DA40? And why are they used from an aerodynamic point of view?
Source: grupooneair.com
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What are the black boots on this Extra 300's prop?
I normally think of black boots on a prop as being for de-icing. However, the Extra 300 is not suitable for known-icing conditions, or even IMC flight. (It's AFM says "Only VFR flights at day are ...
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Identification of control column spade
I have a control column head similar to that used on the Spitfire and Hurricane but with two levers for cables coming up from the stick. I would like to find out what aircraft used this type.
Markings ...
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What is that round antenna(?) on the bottom of a Piper Comanche?
Does anyone recognize this round object under the belly of a PA-24?
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What is that wing device that looks like a mini-spoiler on the CJ3?
The Cessna Citation CJ3 (model 525B) has that device circled below, what is it?
Source: airplane-pictures.net
I initially saw it as a mid-chord fixed spoiler-like device. As @programagor commented, ...
user14897
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What's this stick-like thing on the glass of C-130J? [duplicate]
Just was watching this video:
C-130J Shadow Formation Landing
You can see this stick-like thing on the glass of the aircraft.
What's it? a sensor?
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What is that instrument with two knobs and what looks like range rings?
I just flew a Piper Warrior today and I got confused with the instrument shown below, it's the one above the CDI and to the right of the altimeter.
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What are these four tubes for in the intake for an Extra 300?
The fuel-injected engine has six cylinders, so it's not a "per-cylinder" thing nor is it related to a carburetor.
P.S. That screen is the entirety of the air filter. Apparently it's meant ...
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