Questions tagged [feature-identification]
For questions about identifying a feature or design on an aircraft or airport.
268
questions
10
votes
1answer
895 views
What are these paint patches on this 787-8?
What are these paint patches on this British Airways 787-8 (G-ZBJB)?
4
votes
1answer
143 views
Drain line under drag chute door of F-4 phantom
What is this drain line under the drag chute door on the F-4?
7
votes
1answer
260 views
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 ...
4
votes
1answer
235 views
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 ...
11
votes
1answer
2k views
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?...
10
votes
2answers
385 views
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 ...
2
votes
1answer
75 views
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 ...
1
vote
1answer
157 views
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?
4
votes
1answer
163 views
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 ...
7
votes
1answer
406 views
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, ...
2
votes
0answers
117 views
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?
...
40
votes
1answer
8k views
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.
14
votes
1answer
2k views
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 ...
12
votes
1answer
2k views
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 ...
18
votes
1answer
3k views
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 ...
2
votes
1answer
251 views
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:...
3
votes
1answer
964 views
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 ...
11
votes
1answer
985 views
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 ...
12
votes
1answer
2k views
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 ...
8
votes
1answer
457 views
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 ...
18
votes
1answer
3k views
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 ...
15
votes
2answers
2k views
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 ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
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-...
15
votes
1answer
3k views
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?
12
votes
1answer
2k views
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
...
2
votes
1answer
225 views
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.
14
votes
1answer
4k views
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?
0
votes
1answer
213 views
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
13
votes
1answer
1k views
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?
2
votes
2answers
683 views
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 ...
22
votes
1answer
3k views
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 ...
6
votes
2answers
402 views
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
9
votes
1answer
1k views
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 ...
0
votes
0answers
61 views
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 ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
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?
7
votes
1answer
279 views
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, ...
2
votes
1answer
204 views
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?
14
votes
1answer
2k views
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.
9
votes
1answer
485 views
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 ...
16
votes
1answer
3k views
What is this cylinder covered in threaded studs and what is it for?
I can't figure out what this is. It looks like each post is threaded, but why is a mystery to me. My guesses include a grounding post, a bolt/nut testing stand that's not actually in an aircraft, or ...
2
votes
1answer
382 views
Does F-35 flight stick have a trackball?
There is a trackball-looking thing on the side of F-35's side stick.
What is this? Is this actually a trackball?
There is also another round looking "button", although a bit different from ...
21
votes
1answer
2k views
What is the shiny stripe around the aft wing–body fairing on an A380?
Source: planespotters.net: 1, 2
Regardless of the airline, that part is always unpainted, and in the right conditions, it looks shiny. From below the plane, it wraps around the wing–body fairing.
Is ...
3
votes
1answer
206 views
What is this stripe on the windshield of the Embraer E-Jet?
I noticed that there is a stripe along the upper edge of both forward windshields in the Embraer E-Jets:
(cropped from Wikimedia)
I tried to find a better picture, but couldn't find anything closer. ...
10
votes
1answer
4k views
What are the random, differently-coloured rectangular patches on the top of this Boeing 737's fuselage?
The top section of this green-painted Boeing 737's fuselage was slightly faded and I noticed a few dark-green, rectangular patches on its top. They look like patch kits on a bicycle tyre's inner tube. ...
11
votes
1answer
3k views
What is that yellow square to the right of the main entry door of this Lufthansa A350?
My question is: is it just part of the paint job, or does this yellow square serve a purpose? I haven't seen this square on any other airlines.
17
votes
2answers
5k views
What are these bars on an F-16's nose?
I've always wondered what the purpose of these "bars" on the nose of the F-16 (and some other military aircraft) are. Are they sensors (if so, what kind)? Are they lightning strips? I can't ...
8
votes
1answer
337 views
What is this strange thing under Tu-95 which looks like a horse-fly's eye?
I was seeing this photo and saw an strange thing under the bomber. Too much looks like a compound eye. What could be it?
4
votes
1answer
214 views
What's the name of this part of combustion chamber and what is it for?
There are two "excrescences" Near the end of diffuser of some combustion chambers. e.g. CFM56 and F101
What's the name of this part of combustion chamber and what is it for?
2
votes
0answers
112 views
What's this outlet of IAE V2500 for? [duplicate]
Anybody knows what is this outlet for and why it is designed in such way?
Edit: On MD-90 didn't see such thingy
8
votes
1answer
693 views
What's this part on the wing of BAE Systems Avro 146-RJ100?
It was always a question that what's this part on the wing of BAE Systems Avro 146-RJ100:
Is it kinda aerodynamic component?