Questions tagged [maneuver]
Questions about controlled changes to the flight path or a series thereof.
80
questions
14
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1answer
3k views
Are 0g pushovers in a C172 safe/legal?
I see YouTube pilots do it all the time, but I’m wondering how safe this maneuver really is given the fuel is a gravity fed system. Also, is it legal?
10
votes
3answers
1k views
How does turn radius change with velocity between Vm and Vs, as in a 180 degree turn in a canyon?
I just heard a briefing on mountain flying, and it was stated that the first thing, or the most important thing to do in the event you are unfortunate enough to find yourself in a blind canyon with no ...
2
votes
1answer
1k views
What is the maximum side slip angle that can be achieved by a F-16?
During which flight regime is maximum side slip needed (apart from take-off and landings in cross winds)? I have learned that during a knife edge maneuver, the side slip angle plays a crucial role in ...
15
votes
4answers
12k views
How can an aircraft hover almost vertically?
(Source: https://fat.gfycat.com/)
The aircraft in this GIF (although being an RC plane) seems to be flying vertically, just meters above the ground. How is this possible? How is it possible to control ...
3
votes
1answer
219 views
Steep turn: do we need rudder once we rolled into a bank angle?
Say a Cessna 172 is in a cruise level flight and clearing turn is just finished. I barely feel a left-turning tendency during the level flight (Maybe torque and slipstream are less significant).
I ...
2
votes
2answers
176 views
Why do airplanes start descending when we initiate a left turn?
Today I watched a video about the Fly-by-Wire (FBW) system (see below) and at 3:20 there is a left turn initiated in a Cessna 152. Then it is shown that with a left turn (only by ailerons), in ...
0
votes
3answers
151 views
What would be the challenges for a pilot taking off into a headwind of just under the clean stall speed?
If a strong and fairly steady headwind was coming down the runway at just under the stall speed for a clean configuration/weight, what challenges would a pilot face? Or would it be fairly easy? Is ...
0
votes
2answers
109 views
Why does a Thrust Vector Control System increase maneuverability?
So why can a thrust vector control system increase my maximum g-load capacity? Because still n=L/G is relevant and if I can not provide enough lift (pointing up) to counter balance the thrust (...
6
votes
1answer
175 views
Is a forward slip considered a “normal maneuver” under 91.175(c)(1)?
After an instrument approach in IMC, 91.175(c)(1) requires, among other things, that operations below the DH or MDA must allow for a "normal rate of descent using normal maneuvers."
Can ...
0
votes
2answers
107 views
What control surfaces do I need to move to do a roll in a model aircraft?
Figured that this was the better site to ask than drone SE, but if I'm wrong just let me know.
I'm making a spitfire model and was just wondering how do I do a roll? I have elevator, rudder, and two ...
0
votes
3answers
225 views
Roller Coaster Airline
Could an airliner legally (using a common regional jets or less likely airliners) and safely perform acrobatic maneuvers that would otherwise not be permitted for commercial passenger flights. Why? ...
86
votes
1answer
7k views
What is this plane flying in overlapping circles pattern doing?
I have seen this Beechcraft Super King Air coming from France near Valenciennes and flying in circular patterns over a zone of Belgium for 2 days in a row now.
What is it doing, some kind of aerial ...
1
vote
2answers
186 views
How close would another aircraft have to fly to warrant a sudden big altitude drop to avoid collision
This morning I read that mulitple people got (light) physical injuries after a passenger flight had to forcefully drop its altitude quickly in order to avoid collision with a fighter jet. The news ...
2
votes
2answers
326 views
What are the forces present in a coordinated turn?
During straight and level flight, coordinated flight is assumed when there is no net lateral force (no slip or no skid). But this concept totally breaks down when it comes to turning, in a co-...
20
votes
6answers
6k views
Can a plane bank without turning?
Can planes bank without turning, and if so, how is it possible?
A plane's wing is designed to naturally create lift; the explanation for that is that the greater speed of the air moving over the wing ...
1
vote
2answers
318 views
Forces in a slipping turn [duplicate]
I have trouble understanding why the ball (on the turn & slip indicator) falls into the turn e.g. drop to the left when aircraft is rolled left, when in an uncoordinated turn (slipping turn). What ...
14
votes
6answers
2k views
Is it possible to perform a spin recovery in IMC?
In other words, after some training, is it possible to recovery a spin solely by relying on instruments?
If using a vacuum-pump traditional attitude indicator, I assume the answer is no, since there ...
8
votes
3answers
841 views
How did this F/A-18's execute a “low-boom maneuver”?
The Engadget article NASA will publicly test quiet supersonic technology in November says:
The administration plans to conduct a series of public tests around the coastal city of Galveston in ...
13
votes
6answers
14k views
What is the difference between a forward slip and a side slip?
I am having a hard time understanding what differentiates the two types of slip. I understand that in a forward slip, the longitudinal axis is tilted with respect to the flight path, whereas in a side ...
14
votes
5answers
7k views
Why did my LGA-ORD flight make an S-shaped turn round the time it was passing a storm?
On a recent United UA1709 flight into Chicago (hit by a heavy storm at the time), I felt a noticeable descent, combined with two wide banks around 1 hour before landing. Looking at the flight path, I ...
6
votes
3answers
901 views
How will a prolonged series of steep turns produce a stall in subsequent level flight?
In Stick and Rudder, the author warns pilots against the unreliability of judging airspeed and hence “buoyancy” — his term for how far the airplane is from aerodynamic stall — by throttle position, ...
1
vote
3answers
223 views
Is there a method for calculating change in V-speeds with a change in weight for a Cessna 172?
For example, what would the rotation speed (Vr) and stall speed (Vs) be at maximum takeoff weight versus flying with a single occupant? (2297 lb vs 1807 lb)
3
votes
2answers
2k views
Can the HAL Lca Tejas perform Pugachev's Cobra maneuver?
Can any variant of the HAL Lca Tejas (either the naval variant, the mark 1, mark 2 or later) perform Pugachev's Cobra? If not, why?
3
votes
3answers
589 views
How to determine the traffic avoidance manuver?
Scenario A: I started the takeoff roll and then noticed another aircraft is crossing the runway in front of me, how could I determine what is the best avoidance maneuver, like full braking to abort ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
What does it mean to move a single flight control to its full deflection?
It is the speed below which you can move a single flight control one time, to its full deflection, for one axis of airplane rotation only
This is part of the explanation of maneuvering speed.
What ...
10
votes
2answers
2k views
How does a fighter “thump” an intercepted aircraft?
In P&E Never Again: A Thump on Final, commercial pilot Mike Mercer describes an encounter with an F–16 shortly before rounding out to land.
Without warning, the Baron abruptly yawed 15 degrees ...
4
votes
4answers
2k views
Why did this aircraft do a ‘spiral’ before landing?
There was this WizzAir flight two days ago, from BUD to PMI, and right before landing it did a ‘spiral’ like maneuver. I’ve attached a screenshot.
Why did it do that? It looks strange.
0
votes
1answer
553 views
Why limit the bank angle to 10° when passing through FL300 on a B737-800?
When passing thought FL300, we are instructed to set the bank angle limiter on the MCP to 10°.
I know one of the reasons for this is that we are thrust limited so maneuver capability decreases.
Are ...
30
votes
3answers
21k views
What is the difference between a barrel roll and an aileron roll?
I was going through social media and I came across this GIF image that showed a plane doing some sort of roll.
It was labeled "Barrel Roll" but in the comments to the post, someone said that it was ...
5
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the derivation of 15 and 11.3 used for computing pivotal altitude?
Pivotal Altitude Explained: Teaching eights on pylons the easy way at AOPA repeats a common formula for pivotal altitude.
To estimate pivotal altitude, square the groundspeed and then divide by 15 ...
1
vote
1answer
148 views
What is the Eights on Pylons maneuver intended to demonstrate about a pilot's skillset?
This maneuver has the common requirements such as clearing the area, and it has the unique requirement among maneuvers to determine the pivotal altitude and select appropriately spaced pylons as ...
57
votes
3answers
15k views
Did we get closer to another plane than we were supposed to, or was the pilot just protecting our delicate sensibilities?
Yesterday, April 28, 2019, I was flying on Alaska flight 557 from LAX to PDX.
About an hour into the flight (near the California/Oregon border) I was looking out the window and saw a jet travelling ...
1
vote
2answers
228 views
Is an Aileron Roll Easier Done Opposite The Rotation Of The Plane's Propeller?
We all know helicopters have tail rotors because they would spin out of control thanks to Newton's third law.
That got me thinking, would a single propeller plane have an easier time doing an Aileron ...
13
votes
1answer
4k views
What is this turn called and how is it performed?
I've found pictures and videos of jets rotating 90 degrees so that one wing points straight down to the ground and the other is straight up, then they suddenly turn away from their course while ...
8
votes
4answers
474 views
Why does elevator input move the turn coordinator ball in steep turns?
When practicing steep turns, I'm running into an unusual phenomenon. If the airplane is losing altitude in coordinated flight and I apply aft stick pressure to pitch up and correct, I notice that the ...
21
votes
7answers
5k views
As a plane gets slower, why does a certain bank angle make you turn faster?
In the video "Maneuvering during Slow Flight" the narrator states that while flying slow the airplane will be less responsive to aileron and other control inputs. He also says that the plane will turn ...
34
votes
8answers
11k views
Why do airplanes bank sharply to the right after air-to-air refueling?
Whenever I see videos on YouTube they bank really sharply to the right after disconnecting from the tanker. Why wouldn't they do a more shallow 30-degree bank?
See this video for reference:
12
votes
2answers
3k views
Why does the Sukhoi-30 MKI have both canards and conventional horizontal stabilizers?
I believe the Sukhoi-30 actually has 3 means of altering pitch and roll - canards, horizontal stabilizers, and thrust vectoring.
Image courtesy www.mars.slupsk.pl
What is the point of this?
Does it ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
What G forces does a pilot perceive in a “1 G” barrel roll? [duplicate]
This is a follow on to an earlier discussion about pilot perception of G forces compared with actual aerodynamic loads on an airframe. Years ago, the Boeing 707 prototype famously did not one, but ...
4
votes
3answers
579 views
How do planes respond aerodynamically when bringing them into inverted flight by rolling?
For the sake of the question the plane is fully capable of inverted
flight, no problems with engines etc.
Background of the question is the observation that the airflow around
the wing must also ...
0
votes
4answers
419 views
How fuselage creates lifting force when plane flying on a side?
On a question "How plane able to fly on a side" people answer that it's because fuselage shape crate lifting force and plane should have enough thrust.
But that seems vague to me.
How fuselage creates ...
1
vote
1answer
660 views
Why are the positive points in a V-n diagram associated with pitch maneuvers?
For an aircraft with such flight envelope, the flight conditions in point A, C and D are ...
3
votes
2answers
762 views
When would a pilot request a “VMC descent” or “VMC climb”?
Can anybody explain what's the point of this and in what kind of situations a pilot needs it?
ICAO Doc 9432 "Manual of Radiotelephony"
8.3.3 An aircraft may request a clearance to climb or ...
3
votes
1answer
382 views
Why were these Hawkeyes flying in a circular pattern?
A couple of months ago I was near the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, when I saw 3 or 4 planes flying in a tight circular pattern. The planes were on the larger side, prop driven and had large ...
1
vote
1answer
484 views
Can a plane turn around like on this photo? [duplicate]
I've never seen a plane do such a maneuver, have you?
Is this photo just a hoax?
13
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3answers
1k views
Is a slip an intentional consequence of a cross-control?
In flight training, you're always told not to cross-control, (for example, rolling right aileron, and stepping on the left rudder), but it seems to me that is exactly what a slip is doing.
Is it that ...
1
vote
1answer
593 views
Why is this plane flying in such a tight circle?
I was in a car in NYC on 2/18 going from Queens to Manhattan. While going over a bridge I noticed some (what looked to me like) very tight circular contrails in the sky.
The plane was still there but ...
18
votes
2answers
2k views
When does the use of afterburners save fuel?
An afterburner uses a lot more fuel for a little more thrust (rule of thumb: 50% more thrust for 5 times the fuel flow with full dry power). Is a flight maneuver possible where using the afterburner ...
3
votes
2answers
569 views
During spin recovery, can you just release the yoke/stick to neutralize the ailerons?
I have been watching spin recovery videos on YouTube for the last few days. Scary stuff and I haven't even started flying yet :o haha
Anyway, the recovery seems to be commonly described as PARE:
...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
Why should the ball be centered during steep turns?
I was taught to make steep turns with the ball centered, but this seems wrong to me. Shouldn’t the ball actually be held slightly to the inside of the turn?
My thought is that by using some cross-...
