53
votes
Accepted
What is this large engine doing on a B52?
Testbed Aircraft Cameos
As a young engineer in the 1960s at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft (now
UTC’s Pratt & Whitney) in East Hartford, Connecticut, I was involved
(along with many others) ...
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43
votes
Accepted
How many four-engine commercial passenger jetliner types are currently in use?
Well, the 3 points you make are easily demonstrable to be true, and also a fairly unique feature of all three if looked at side-by-side.
The 747 is the only one with an obvious hump towards the front ...
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42
votes
Accepted
Do multi-engine jets need all engines with equal age to reduce asymmetry in thrust and fuel consumption arising out of deterioration?
It doesn't quite work that way. When an engine wears out it's rated thrust doesn't decline; its "ITT Margin" (or some similar phrase - basically its thermodynamic margin at takeoff) declines.
When ...
- 134k
35
votes
Accepted
Does an airplane fly less or more efficiently after a mid-flight engine failure?
In almost all cases, the maximum range is reduced.
This is because the in-operative engine causes substantial drag. In addition, it causes an asymmetric flight condition that requires deflection of ...
- 15.5k
33
votes
Accepted
Why is the ball no longer centred in a multi-engine airplane with inoperable engine?
Asymmetric thrust means now you have more thrust on one side than the other. A yawing moment results.
You want to balance this yawing moment in order to still fly straight. This means the airplane ...
- 236k
30
votes
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Taxiing with one engine: Is engine #1 always used or do they switch?
Airbus aircraft have 3 hydraulic systems (Green, Blue, Yellow). Green is pressurized by left engine, Yellow by right engine, and each one can be pressurized by the other using the PTU. In addition the ...
- 76.5k
24
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Can anyone Identify this FLY FAIR seaplane?
That is a Sikorsky S-38B
I am not sure about the registration. My guess is NC196H, but it is one out of this list:
NC158H,
NC159H,
NC195H,
NC196H,
NC197H,
NC198H,
NC199H,
See aircrafthistory.org.uk
...
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23
votes
What determines the direction of rotation for counter-rotating propellers?
Most twin-engine aircraft with counter-rotating propellers have the rotation set up so that the propellers are rotating inward towards the center at the tops of the propeller arc.
This configuration ...
- 37.9k
22
votes
What is this large engine doing on a B52?
The plane in the pictures is Boeing JB-52E -test plane.
It used to test for instance the General Electric TF-39 engines for the C-5 Galaxy as it was under development
- 30k
19
votes
In which direction should a turn-back be made after an engine failure on a multi engined airplane after take off?
That depends on a lot of factors. Are you declaring an emergency? What altitude are you at what speed are you at when this happens etc? What kind of aircraft are you flying? Does it have enough ...
- 74.5k
18
votes
Accepted
Why are there (almost) no civilian single engine jet aircraft?
I'm not sure why most of the answers/comments talk about airliners as the question did not specifically asked about them, but about civil aircraft in general.
Is there a particular reason why there ...
- 4,505
17
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Can the four-engined Lockheed JetStar II fly on one engine?
I have 3000 hours in jetstar.... The answer is no... It will not fly on one... Two yes and you really don't need that much rudder.. In the simulator with two out I used to put the inboard operating ...
- 186
14
votes
What is the aircraft model used in the film "American Made"?
If you are talking about the one prevalent in this trailer its an Piper Aerostar 600. The tail number is legitimate and the full registration details for 164HH can be found here.
Some of the movie ...
- 102k
13
votes
Why is the S-duct intake on the Tu-154 uniquely oblong?
This doesn't fully answer the question, but the B727-100 also had an oval engine intake.
AIRLINERS magazine Sept/Oct 99 edition:
"The oval shape inlet on the 727-100 series was changed to a ...
- 37.9k
13
votes
I am licensed as a Private Pilot, Airplane Multiengine Land, what do I need to do to be able to fly as PIC in a Single Engine Land aircraft?
No, you cannot. Just like an ASEL doesn't give you the ability to fly an AMEL, if you have an AMEL that doesn't give you ASEL privileges.
Adding the ASEL shouldn't be that hard though, especially if ...
- 36.2k
13
votes
Does an airplane fly less or more efficiently after a mid-flight engine failure?
Fuel consumption for OEI is significantly higher per mile.
Refer to this question for an example of fuel flow: Does one-engine cruise consume less fuel than two-engine cruise?
There's an 8% reduction ...
- 28.2k
12
votes
Accepted
Does the DC-3 have a prop sync?
Judging from this video, it does not have an automatic prop sync. When throttles are advanced you can hear the harmonic beat of the twin propeller blades, and during the climb the instructor seems to ...
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11
votes
Accepted
Why would aircraft engines be mounted with "toe out"?
According to this source
The engines were toed out slightly to improve engine-out handling;
three tailfins were used to ensure that the aircraft could keep flying
more or less straight if both ...
- 102k
11
votes
How do the engines of a multi-engine airplane shut down after fuel starvation?
On multi-engine aircraft the engine on one side is normally fed by the respective tank, so the left engine(s) is fed by the left tank etc... it is possible to cross-feed to allow access to all the ...
- 1,229
11
votes
I am licensed as a Private Pilot, Airplane Multiengine Land, what do I need to do to be able to fly as PIC in a Single Engine Land aircraft?
You will need to take a checkride with a DPE (or FAA inspector) to be able to be pilot-in-command in an ASEL airplane. Since your license is AMEL only that is the only category and class or aircraft ...
- 12.9k
10
votes
Accepted
Why do jet planes with multiple engines have separate throttle levers for each engine?
All multi-engine airplanes, whether jet or prop driven have separate throttle controls for each engine. There are good reasons for this:
If there is a problem with one engine you can separately ...
- 54.1k
10
votes
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Why isn't the application of "carb heat" in initial piston multi-engine failure emergency procedures?
Partly because carb heat is ineffective once the engine is no longer making power, but mostly because the initial engine out procedure isn't intended as remedial action to get the engine running again;...
- 134k
10
votes
Accepted
9
votes
Accepted
How does the safety record of the twin piston Diamond DA-42 compare to the single piston DA-40?
So it appears that Diamond answered this question for me.
See this page:
http://www.diamondaircraft.com/about-diamond/safety-features/
From this chart, it would appear that the DA42 has a slightly ...
- 1,357
9
votes
Why does a pilot bank up to 5 degrees into the operating engine following failure of the other engine?
The 5 degrees of bank is to create a side slip component that offsets the skewed thrust line created by the asymmetric thrust, and the rudder input made to counteract the asymmetric thrust.
You have ...
- 134k
9
votes
Accepted
Should a runway overrun be expected if takeoff is begun with one-engine-out?
You will not achieve book performance if you don't fly with book configuration.
See the portion of DeltaLima's answer here, including emphasis added by me:
[Takeoff Distance Required] has the ...
- 23.3k
8
votes
Why do twin-engine Diamond aircraft have a single FADEC lever instead of two engine throttles?
The DA 42 and DA 62 aircraft do not have throttle levers, they have power levers. And the DA-42 and 62 have two power levers, one for each engine. See the picture of the DA-62 cockpit below.
The ...
- 74.5k
8
votes
Had there ever been civil aircrafts with more than four engines?
Of course there was one. It had a total of twelve engines.
Dornier Do-X over Manhattan (picture source)
The largest airplane of its time, the Dornier Do-X was a flying boat with initially twelve ...
- 236k
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