Questions tagged [pilot-technique]
Questions about different techniques that pilots may use when flying.
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Do carrier-borne aircraft pilots count the seconds on the downwind leg of the carrier?
On carrier landing, someone tells me that the pilots need to count several seconds on abeam leg of the landing pattern, in order to land precisely on the flight deck. Is that true? What do we call for ...
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What is the procedure to enter, maintain and recover from a flat spin?
Looking for a play-by-play from the pilot's seat of a Pitts biplane. What thoughts, considerations and control inputs are required to enter & maintain a flat "pretty" spin and a calculated exit ...
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How do you check for soft or muddy ground on a backcountry landing?
I've been curious about backcountry landings, but one part of the practice still seems to based more on instinct and experience than on well-explained processes. I've read about making sure the strip ...
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Do pilots land a helicopter sideways for improved visibility of the landing area?
When flying helicopters in the PC-based game Arma 3 (not a flight simulator), some of the cockpit have a large instrument panel directly in front of the pilot, obscuring the view of the ground ahead ...
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Is there any part of a flight where the pilot would pitch down?
Would the pilot ever pitch down (even slightly) during a flight, or would he/she simply reduce power to reduce altitude?
This question is not similar to Why do airplanes lift up their nose to climb? (...
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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 ...
user52248
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What is the throttle setting of a piston aircraft during cruise?
I am learning to fly nowadays, I am sorry if this sounds like a dump question.
What is the throttle setting of an aircraft during cruise flight?
After stabilizing the flight after climb do i need to ...
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What techniques professional pilots use to keep their piloting skills sharp when not flying for an extended period?
I don't get to fly as often as I'd like. I know that simulators are good for brushing up on technique, learning new systems, etc.
Are there techniques that pros use (commercial or military) to stay ...
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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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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 ...
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Why is it 'aileron right and elevator up' with a front-right wind in a tailwheel airplane?
Question: How should the flight controls be held while taxiing a tailwheel airplane into a right quartering headwind?
Answer: When taxiing a tailwheel airplane into a right quartering headwind, use ...
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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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How does one reverse direction on a VOR radial?
Tracking inbound, say on R-270, how do I track outbound on the same R-270? What intercept heading shall I fly?
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How do pilots decide whether or not to deploy a ram air turbine?
Since the turbine needs to be deployed from within the aircraft to the outside, it will obviously induce aerodynamic drag (slowing the plane down?).
I mean I remember reading an article where a plane ...
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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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Was the Horten Ho 229 flying wing a three-point-landing aircraft?
The Ho 229's front wheel is visibly bigger than the main landing gear; during landing, did it touch down on all wheels simultaneously, on the front wheel first, or in the normal manner?
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Is (or was) it acceptable to throttle up for takeoff before being aligned with the runway center line? [closed]
30 years ago I was on a flight from Spain to Brussels and when we were heading to the runway for takeoff, the commander opened full throttle to the engines while we were still some 60º away from being ...
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How much does pilot technique affect brake life?
Anecdotally I have heard of various things that I can do to make steel brakes last longer before they have to be replaced, and they make sense but how much does it really help?
Things that I have ...
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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 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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Do pilots have a generally preferred "traffic" resolution?
For aircraft cruising along at altitude, it is common for the controller to assign an aircraft a new course or altitude or speed for some reason such as "for traffic". My question is, would most ...
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Why would an airplane's nosewheel bounce during landing?
A pilot recently had an issue involving the nose wheel bouncing several times before settling down during landing. Setup was as follows:
Cessna 162 Skycatcher
Simulated short field landing.
Full ...
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Who decides how to "handle" an aircraft, with regards to severity of manoeuvres etc?
Until Friday I'd flown only with EasyJet and Alitalia. In the last weekend, however, I took two Vueling flights and felt that the way the aircraft manoeuvred during the flight was very different when ...
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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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How do you write 'to', 'then', or 'via' in IFR clearances shorthand symbols?
Although there are NO restrictions about the usage of shorthand symbols, still it would be useful when I fly with another person together, so I studied those symbols and got some doubt points.
If ...
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Is it harmful to operate an engine "over square"? [duplicate]
Never Fly Your Engine "Oversquare!" is an old recommendation. This wisdom cautions pilots that selecting a power setting with a manifold pressure in inches higher than the RPM in hundreds is damaging ...
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Why did the pilot flying pull back in the moments after the auto-pilot disconnected on AF447?
In the AF447 disaster, one of the elements that contributed to the crash was an "excessive" nose-up input shortly after the disconnection of the auto-pilot.
This caused the aeroplane to climb and ...
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How to maintain your pitch when looking for other traffic in the pattern?
I am a student pilot and I fly in a desert region where turbulence often changes the pitch and airspeed of my aircraft. I am having an issue maintaining pitch while scanning for other aircraft in the ...
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What does 'laterally aligned' mean in this description?
In the Airplane Flying Handbook there is a section on crosswind takeoffs that mostly makes sense. However, this paragraph confuses me.
Takeoff Roll
As the forward speed of the airplane ...
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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:
...
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When to turn from crosswind to downwind to base in a circuit?
I was told by my instructor that my circuit spacing is inconsistent. I do not know how to look at the runway and use it to judge when to turn downwind and base. As a result, my base leg is sometime ...
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How does pulling back provide better steering during rollout for light GA planes?
I had requested clarification on an answer to the question, How do I keep a C172 straight on the centerline during landing/rollout? I did not comprehend how pulling back after touch down provides ...
user14897
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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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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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What techniques, tools, or instruments are used while performing zero-g parabolic dives? [duplicate]
There are companies that sell "zero g" rides, where the aircraft is configured specifically to take people and possibly experiments through a parabolic dive to experience a short period of micro-...
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Can one fly up side down while a glass of water keeps full due to g-forces?
If one makes a looping for example with a plane and the g-forces that the planes makes will keep the water in the glass, but if one is at the top of the loop is there still enough g-force to keep ...
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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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How can pilot remember when or where to do tasks such as changing radio frequency and change fuel tank? [duplicate]
As a student pilot, I sometime forget tasks such as changing radio frequency after reaching a location or switching fuel tank in long navigation.
These tasks happen in specific time or location ...
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Flying using less fuel in one tank
Can flying using fuel from one and not the other tank save fuel from constant cross winds over long flights or make it easier to land? Is there anytime where having the ability to shift the weight of ...
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How do I know when to use flaps in glide approach or force landing?
During glide approach or practice force landing, I can see the aim point moving down. It means the aircraft will overshoot the field. But I am not sure when should flaps be used or which stage of ...
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Which way (if at all) do the ailerons need to be deflected in a full-rudder sideslip in a Cessna 152 or 172?
Do you typically have to maintain an aileron deflection in a constant-heading full-rudder sideslip in a Cessna 152 or 172? If so, in which direction? And why -- what is the source of the roll torque ...
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In a Vmc demo, why is it important to lose 1 knot per second?
I got asked two questions on my checkride:
Why is it important to lose 1 knot per second (approximately) in a Vmc Demo?
How do we know we're losing 1 knot per second?
My answer to question 1 would ...
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Can current fighter jets perform a deadstick landing?
If a current modern day fighter were to have a total engine failure over a suitable landing site or airport, can the pilot safely perform a dead stick landing? If so, are they routinely given training ...
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What is the working principle of g-suits?
Pilots since world wars have been wearing g-suits in fighter planes to minimize the effect of high g encountered by them during close maneuvers.
How do g-suits help in minimizing the effect of high ...
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What is situational awareness and why is it important?
What is the definition of situational awareness? In which phase of flight is situational awareness the lowest, and why?
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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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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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What flaps and throttle settings are used on takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, and landing? [closed]
What degree of flaps and throttle setting are used on takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, and landing? This question is for private and general aviation aircraft. I have looked everywhere for FAA manuals ...
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What are the best tips for circuit practice with strong crosswind?
I am a student pilot with around 30 hours of flying right now. I am yet to solo and I am currently in the final stages of closed circuit practice.
Overall, my pattern work is good. However, ...
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