71
votes
Accepted
What energy density is required for the batteries in order to make an all-electric analogue of the Cessna 150 or similar plane?
Short Answer
Batteries would need to be somewhere around 16.7MJ/kg to give the same range and performance as liquid fuels, this is about 18.5 times the capacity of the best lithium-ion batteries. ...
- 54.4k
64
votes
Accepted
Why do many GA aircraft not have a "Both" fuel selector?
A quote from the book of regulations, Chapter 14, part 23, verse 951(b):
...
- 68.7k
64
votes
How can business jets cruise so fast?
Business jets are built to save time for their passengers, who are often quite wealthy. Therefore, the design is based around favoring speed over efficiency.
Commercial airliners are built to make a ...
- 31k
60
votes
Accepted
Is it safe to carry bear spray on a GA plane?
The main danger in a light aircraft is that the spray accidentally discharges in the cabin. That could temporarily blind and incapacitate the pilot, which would obviously be extremely dangerous.
...
- 72k
58
votes
Accepted
Since there are no toilets on smaller aircraft, how do you deal with the inevitable?
The other answers are good, but don't touch on one key method...
Prevention.
Small aircraft like a Cessna 172 have a limited cruise time, about 4 hours maximum. They are small enough that they get ...
- 36.2k
58
votes
Can a door be shut while in flight?
I've had this happen a few times on aging C152's and in all cases I have been able to simply push it against the airflow enough to pull it closed. On a PA28 with the door the other side of the cabin ...
- 35.7k
52
votes
Accepted
Can airliners be considered as GA?
GA refers to why you fly your plane, not what kind of plane it is. For example, John Travolta has (had?) his own personal Boeing 707, which is the first generation of jet airliner from Boeing. When he ...
- 9,192
51
votes
Accepted
Callsign includes the term 'with Kilo' ; What does that signify?
What that probably means is that the pilot is reporting that they have ATIS information kilo. Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) is a radio broadcast on a specific frequency (often a local ...
- 54.4k
51
votes
Accepted
Is a weak battery a valid reason to reject a rented aircraft?
First off, you absolutely made the correct decision. As PIC/pilot you have not only the ability, but the duty to call off any flight you don't feel comfortable regardless of the reason. Your go/no go ...
- 36.2k
51
votes
Accepted
Can anyone identify the Make and Model of this nosed-over plane?
I believe this is a Stinson HW-75 (Also called the 105 Voyager).
I know for sure this is a Stinson aircraft due to the logo which was often rendered on the side of aircraft with a double underline and ...
- 35.7k
46
votes
Accepted
What exactly is a 'hard landing'?
In general aviation there isn't really a yes/no definition. It's a judgement call. As a newbie, and the owner of a shared aircraft, it's prudent to err on the side of caution and report anything more ...
- 136k
44
votes
Can the airport name be omitted when contacting ATC if the frequency is not used by any other nearby airports?
When every transmission to the tower begins with "Executive Tower...." that is the keyword that makes the controller's ears perk up and start taking notes.
If you don't say the magic words, your ...
- 31k
44
votes
Accepted
Starting on the left magneto only - why?
The reasons seems to be that only the left magneto is equipped with an impulse coupling which delays and intensifies the spark during engine starting:
Many opposed reciprocating engines are equipped ...
- 58.3k
42
votes
Accepted
Is it suspicious or odd to stand by the gate of a GA airport watching the planes?
I mainly fly in the UK and Europe, however I trained in the US and have flown there a few times since. I have probably 50 hours in total in the US.
I can tell you that almost without fail, every ...
- 35.7k
41
votes
Accepted
Why don't we treat all takeoffs as short field in GA?
Short-field take-off techniques often achieve a shorter ground run by hurting climb performance. While having more runway is great for safety, planning to use less of the runway is not a huge benefit: ...
- 12.7k
36
votes
Can a door be shut while in flight?
Do whatever it says in the POH for your aircraft. This is from the C172S POH, for example:
Accidental opening of a cabin door in flight due to improper closing
does not constitute a need to land ...
- 72k
36
votes
Accepted
What to do if carbon monoxide is present?
The first thing you're going to want to do is get fresh air into the cabin, by ensuring the vents/windows are open. This will dilute the amount of CO in the cabin and stop your symptoms getting worse -...
- 35.7k
34
votes
Can I sell a 1975 Piper Cherokee Archer II with no Logs?
It's definitely worth getting the records figured out, it will make a huge difference to the price and bring many more buyers. Fortunately all is not lost. Maintenance organizations keep records of ...
- 54.4k
33
votes
Accepted
Do Air Traffic Controllers have to remember stall speeds for different aircraft?
No because aircraft are categorized by their speed at the runway threshold (1.3 times stall speed).
VAT —Speed at threshold used by ICAO (1.3 times stall speed in the landing configuration at maximum ...
- 80.9k
33
votes
Is it suspicious or odd to stand by the gate of a GA airport watching the planes?
It depends on how you go about it.
Don't wear all black or camo with a face mask. Don't sneak around in the grass, or run from building to building seeking cover.
Plane spotting is a somewhat common ...
- 16.8k
33
votes
Flying upside down without feeling it
This sounds like a barrel roll.
This is a corkscrew-like flight path in which the airplane rotates around an axis between its longitudinal and pitch axes by flying along a path which lies on the ...
- 237k
32
votes
Accepted
How much does a typical private pilot pay for a non-training flight?
It depends on your location. It will vary based on cost for tie-down or hangar space, fuel costs, maintenance costs, etc. In order to compare apples to apples, let’s boil it down to a wet-Hobbs-rate. ...
- 16.6k
32
votes
How can business jets cruise so fast?
cruise speed of many business jets... will be somewhere in the Mach 0.90 to Mach 0.94 area.
All of the Cessna Citation series of business jets have a maximum speed (in Mach) of 0.8.
All of the ...
- 15.8k
31
votes
Do you say prefix K for airport codes in the US when talking with ATC?
There are actually two separate coding systems in play here.
IATA (International Air Transport Association) codes are 3 letters and are used for commercial bookings etc. They are assigned only to ...
- 953
31
votes
Since there are no toilets on smaller aircraft, how do you deal with the inevitable?
I have had success with these things. They are basically a little baggy that has the same stuff they put in a diaper.
You can always wear adult diapers (and I have heard of it being done)
Some ...
- 102k
31
votes
What plane is this?
Googling the plane's registration number (this one is N6361F) is almost always enough to identify the plane.
In this case, FlightAware is high on the list of hits and says that the plane is a Cessna ...
- 12k
31
votes
Are glass cockpit or steam gauge GA aircraft safer?
With rare exceptions, such as a retired fighter pilot or an ATP leisure flying in their spare time, the weakest link in a GA aircraft is overwhelmingly the pilot.
Most accidents are straight pilot ...
- 30.1k
30
votes
Accepted
What happens to Cessna electric flaps that are moving when power is lost?
Stays where it is. The mechanism is a leadscrew and like most leadscrews it's "self-locking", which means that it's held in position by frictional forces whenever the motor isn't turning and it can't ...
- 4,640
29
votes
What would be the safest way to drop thousands of small, hard objects from a typical, high wing, GA airplane?
Funeral homes sell gum bags for ashes. They dissolve in the ocean, releasing the ashes. You could make satchels and drop them in bundles with the teeth wrapped in kelp.
- 281
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