Questions tagged [pilot-technique]
Questions about different techniques that pilots may use when flying.
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How to determine runways at unfamiliar airports?
I’m having a hard time determining where the runway is. Let’s say I am 3 NM west of an uncontrolled airport and the runway is 18/36. An the active runway is 18.
What’s the best way to determine where ...
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Can the use of flaps reduce the steady-state turn radius at a given airspeed and angle of bank?
Note that for the purposes of this question, I am only interested in the scenario described below. By 'steady-state' I mean to exclude from consideration the short-term effects of changing the flap ...
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Is there an FAA reference for rounding off of traffic pattern altitudes?
The convention by default is to fly the downwind leg at 1000' above ground level, but most pilots cannot really discern or fly within just a few feet of a chosen altitude, and generally prefer to fly ...
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Why does the pilot need to manually retard the thrust levers in an A320?
The Airbus A320 FCOM (Autoflight - Flight Guidance - Flare Mode) says:
At 30 ft RA, the AP/FD aligns the yaw axis with the runway centerline and the aircraft flares
on the pitch axis. If the ...
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When should the throttle be closed on a C172 while landing?
during landing training in a cessna 172, would you rather cut the power to idle at beginning of runway threshold, or idle when you're close to ground? I keep having problems where I flare too high or ...
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(Updated) Why do vertical distances appear much larger than horizontal distances?
Note: I have reformulated this question and provided more concise examples to avoid confusion and allow for better discussion.
According to Google Earth, the distance from where the photo below was ...
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What difficulties may you find when controlling an aircraft with one engine on fire?
I curious that from a pilot perspective, what do they really feel when they experience an engine failure that caused by fire ? Can they easily maneuver the aircraft anymore, or will their situational ...
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At take-off, what is the deflection angle of the rudder for the legacy Hornet? [duplicate]
At take-off, what is the deflection angle of the (legacy) F/A-18 Hornet's rudders?
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Are dual input situations for major aircraft quite unusual?
Why would the Captain and Co-pilot both need to control the plane at the same time in normal operations? The only time that I could think of one is manually flying and doing complex maneuvering and ...
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How to avoid or cope with a bad day where my flying felt sloppy?
This morning I went out to do a flight and I wasn’t my usual self. I was just sloppy in the pattern, not hitting my speeds, overshooting the final, radios were sub par.
Backstory. Last week I was ...
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Why, on a short-field takeoff, are we taught to run the engine to full power before releasing the brakes?
TLDR; See Update #2 and #3. The FAA on the one hand says "It has not been established that this procedure results in a shorter takeoff run... " but then requires the same procedure as part ...
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How many times does a pilot usually change local pressure while landing or departing?
The local air pressure (QFE, and therefore QNH as well) may change throughout the day. ATC will advise pilots of the new altimeter setting on a regular basis. How often do pilots truly update this ...
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Why do pilots move the propeller lever full forward before landing?
Is it because aircraft can get more "instant" power for go-around, with throttle full-forward?
Or is it for protecting the aircraft's engine from high RPM, low PROP stress in case of go-...
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How can an ultralight be slowed down for landing in a tailwind?
When flying an ultra light and I have a tail wind, and, with the engine at idle how do I slow down to land ?
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What does a pilot do when there is crosswind?
In an aircraft, headwind slows it down, and tailwind speeds it up. But it does not steer the flight off course.
But when there is extreme crosswind, how does the pilot handle the situation? And what ...
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How do water bomber pilots deal with the changing forces and mass when scooping water?
How does a pilot flying the scooping maneuver in a CL415 firefighting plane deal with the changing forces from taking on such a large mass of water (nearly 50% of the plane's own mass) as quickly as ...
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What is the danger in the over-use of reverse thrust during ground operations when operating a turboprop powerplant?
I'm new to turboprops, and everyone I've flown with seems extremely cautious about using only the bare minimum reverse thrust after touchdown and never during forward taxi.
Why might that be?
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Can a Boeing 737-800 make a smooth landing on a 7000-foot runway?
I recently flew on an Avelo (brand new airline) Boeing 737-800 to KBUR, 6886’ x 150’ runway. It was a VERY rough touchdown, the braking system made a lot of racket, and our foreheads hit the seats in ...
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Is this aerodynamic braking procedure normal in a 747?
I found this instagram video via YouTube:
The description in the YouTube video states that:
This aerodynamic baking procedure is applied to reduce wheel brake and engine wear
I have two questions:
...
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Is there a name for the fast decline + pull to climb pattern?
I'm a hobby photographer and I've noticed some patterns in the bird flights, so I tried to poke a bit into the aviation terminology for it. Phalacrocorax carbo does this movement similar to the ...
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What action should two planes on a collision course take? [duplicate]
What are the various types of procedures for two aircraft on a collision course?
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Is a braking rotation immediately after touching down a known maneuver?
In this video the airliner landing on grass rotates high up after touching down, looks like more than it would do during take off. Is it a known possible way to drop the speed or it was more for the ...
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Engine out over a mountain road. Do you land upwind or up hill?
You're flying solo in a late-model, fixed-gear Cessna 172 with half-full fuel tanks. You are at 1000 feet AGL, 100 knots indicated, directly above the middle of a 2000 foot long straight section of ...
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Why are clearing turns supposed to be shallow bank?
During my CFI training, my instructor relayed a story in which he had a mid-air collision while teaching (how to teach) clearing turns to two other CFI applicants. The other aircraft was underneath ...
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Should one use mainly the rudder or the ailerons combined with rudder to go back to center line on short short final?
My pattern work is improving but there is one thing I consistently miss: I have a very hard time staying aligned with the runway on short final, say after passing the airport fences. When the nose ...
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In the US, will the tower likely think my aircraft has been hijacked if I taxi with the flaps down?
In the US, will the tower likely think my aircraft has been hijacked if I taxi with the flaps down?
Related:
Why are flaps retracted when an aircraft is parked on ground?
https://fsims.faa.gov/wdocs/...
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How are carrier landings graded?
I'm an aspiring naval aviator (preferably a Hornet or an F-35) and a DCS player. Here's a question for any former navy aviators or LSOs. What would get you a good or bad landing grade on the carrier? ...
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Why is scud-running necessarily dangerous? [duplicate]
(Disclaimer: Please do not take the below as an endorsement of scud-running.)
Scud-running is when a pilot flying in poor weather operates their aircraft at a lower-than-normal height above terrain in ...
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How is an off-field landing accomplished at night?
Common sense suggests it's much easier to do an off-field landing at day than at night, curious to know how it's accomplished at night.
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If pilot use rudder to roll the aircraft at high AOA in the F4 Phantom then one aileron from one wing and one spoiler from other will be deflected?
I have heard that the F4 Phantom pilots can make barrel rolls at lower speed /higher AOA. They use only rudder deflection and keep the stick column centered (left /right wise)-only pull onto the belly ...
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Landing at 30,000 ft [duplicate]
Excluding how a runway would exist at 30,000 ft, could landing a plane at that altitude be done? What would it take to do so?
Very Basic Wind rose for Mount Everest
Weather Phenomena That Could ...
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Why so much throttle work on navy fighter during final approach?
• Look at his left hand: why so much throttle work while flying? What is he doing?
• Is the throttle response very slow?
It seems to me that the fighter don't accelerate so much when he gives full ...
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Can I check my density altitude with brake tension?
The same way one would apply the brake and accelerator, the more torque the more break is needed to hold the car, can a plane use this same technique to check the plane thrust and air density before ...
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Can you ride a storm to save fuel?
Cargo sailboats, of the old, depended on wind direction. Like these ships, planes also save time by flying with the wind. On the extreme end, could a plane use storm fronts or hurricanes by flying in ...
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Flying in V formation with multiple planes
Logistically choreographed using air-traffic controllers to pair like planes headed in the same direction or by scheduling flights together, how much fuel could be saved pairing planes to fly in a ...
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How are thermals mapped in real-time?
Related to "How thermals are found" this question about "Gliding your plane to save fuel" details how to use thermals to save fuel. To use thermals to maximize range, can thermals ...
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Can gliding your plane save fuel?
Aimed towards lighter piston planes including a powered glider, if a pilot wants to extend a plane's range unconventionally, could flying like a glider by climbing and then gliding down or would ...
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Is it allowed and possible to hold at the intersection of two VOR radials using a single VOR receiver?
First of all, is it permitted? I am practicing VOR tracking on my simulator and the missed approach procedure (KLGB VOR 30) takes you out to an intersection off two VOR radials. Since the plate doesn'...
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Does an F/A-18 require a lot of rudder in turns?
I am an aspiring Navy fighter pilot and I use an X-Plane add on for FA-18 Hornet as a fighter. It's made by a creator named Colimata. I think the turns are unrealistic. When I begin a bank a lot of ...
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Why should one not slip a Cessna 172 with flaps extended?
The POH strongly recommends not slipping the AC with full flaps...why?
It seems natural in a crosswind approach to
allow the horizontal lift component to cancel the airmass movement across the ...
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How can I land a PA-44 (Seminole)?
I’m trying to get my ME endorsement now, and I find I can’t land very well. My instructor told me to forget everything I know about the Cessna, and that this aircraft should be landed with power. He ...
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Do pilots ever intentionally land a monowheel glider on the main wheel and a wingtip wheel in crosswind conditions?
Do pilots ever intentionally strike a wingtip when landing a mono wheel glider in gusty crosswind conditions?
I understand the Lazair changed from a mono wheel to a standard tail dragger layout for ...
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How does a remote pilot land a fixed-wing UAV?
How does a remote pilot land a big fixed wing UAV, whose takeoff weight could be several tons and have to land at a airport with runways? I saw in the TV, these big UAV normally has on-board cameras ...
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Does altitude affect how you interpret the attitude of the aircraft?
I understand that for any specific aircraft, at a constant power setting, you can use the aircraft's attitude as a proxy for airspeed.
For e.g. In aircraft X, when the dashboard is 1 inch below ...
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Is the actual VMC to IMC transition a challenge (for IFR rated pilot/craft etc) if, say, sudden or unexpected?
I assume that even on an IFR flight, being in even marginal VMC can be helpful, and that pilots consciously or subconsciously use cues such as the horizon to assist them in their flight even though ...
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How does flying a helicopter compare with flying a fixed wing plane?
There has been a lot of interest in the ease of flying a helicopter recently, and questions have arisen on how easy it is to control a helicopter in less than ideal circumstances such as low ...
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How can aircraft land on choppy water?
What plane can land the slowest on the water? What plane can land on the choppiest water? Is there a way to land between the waves?
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When approaching a stall, is the first priority to apply power or lower nose?
I’ve always wondered. And I’d assume it’s the same regardless of aircraft? But when approaching a stall would the main priority be adding more power?
I ask because what if a crew was on final for ...
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Why does this aircraft land nose first? [duplicate]
I've seen almost every aircraft land back gear first to evenly distribute the landing load between more struts.
However, I recently saw this video of a NASA Super Guppy Nose-Wheel land gear first at ...
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Do experienced pilots look at the inclinometers during flight?
I have been researching on the use of rudder during flight e.g. during turns and noticed that several novices have issues using the rudder to achieve coordinated turns.
Often, I see comments stating ...