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 ...
31
votes
Can you ride a storm to save fuel?
Not storms, but there is a concept called "Pressure Pattern Flying" where you plan routing to stay in favourable circulation around Highs and Lows, to the extent that deviations to follow ...
24
votes
Accepted
What is the most 'environmentally friendly' way to learn to fly?
Here are some options for flying in an environmentally friendly way:
Use an electric trainer: Since last year the all electric trainer aircraft Pipistrel Alpha Electro has FAA certification. Assuming ...
22
votes
Why would a pilot ask the tower to turn the VASI off?
It could have been a flight instructor with a student that was becoming too reliant on the VASI's slope information for visual approaches to landing, and he wanted to force the student to do without.
19
votes
What is this single seat aerobatic plane?
It's a GB-1 Game Bird built by Game Composites.
This picture shows the two place configuration but the OP's photo shows the single place option which is why the nose looks longer.
Here is a single-...
18
votes
Accepted
What do you do when your engine quits right when the airplane starts off the ground?
The first and perhaps most important thing to do is NOT turn around. Generally speaking you won't have the airspeed/altitude to make a full 180 and return to the field. While it can be done, it's ...
18
votes
Accepted
Can anyone identify this pusher plane from apparently the 1930s?
That is a Stearman-Hammond Y-S1, registration NC15524, construction number 309.
The remains of the aircraft are now owned by the Dutch aviation museum Aviodrome. They are planning to restore one of ...
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 ...
16
votes
Is it safe and effective to have "glider pilot mentality" when landing single-engine fixed-wing aircraft?
Diamond aircraft are very low drag and do not have particularly effective flaps, so sideslipping is certainly an effective way to approach the problem. However there are considerations you need to be ...
16
votes
Accepted
Are there any data on the safety rate of gliders vs single-engine GA aircraft?
I had three days to burn so I took a look.)
Comparative data was very difficult to find beyond accident counts, so determining relative safety is problematic. No one that I could find tracks or ...
16
votes
Accepted
Is it feasible to add an aftermarket hydrofoil to a light aircraft?
It's been done. David Thurston designed a system for the Lake LA-4 that was purported to allow it to land on 5ft waves. It may have been a bit of a handful (the Buccaneer is a demanding airplane on ...
15
votes
Accepted
Why is the nose landing gear of a Rutan Vari Eze up during parking?
For getting in, the nose has to be physically raised before the pilot can board the aircraft:
When the aircraft is parked, the NLG is retracted and the aircraft rests on the bumper at the front of ...
15
votes
What is the most 'environmentally friendly' way to learn to fly?
By using as much simulator time as possible.
14
votes
Accepted
Can you ride a storm to save fuel?
What size aircraft are we talking about? The FAA recommends staying at least 20 miles from any thunderstorm activity for GA aircraft. I can only imagine that they would double, triple, or quadruple ...
13
votes
Is a single engine failure on the HondaJet recoverable?
The HondaJet is type certified by the FAA. The type certificate says that it's certified in the normal category under 14 CFR 23, which includes the requirements to be able to take off and climb on a ...
13
votes
Accepted
Is a single engine failure on the HondaJet recoverable?
There would not be much point in having two engines if a single engine failure would be unrecoverable. In fact, that would make the plane twice as likely to have an unrecoverable event!
If one ...
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 ...
13
votes
Can gliders and single-engine planes have vortices?
Vortices have rotational energy which comes from propulsion. This
additional requirement of "Thrust" can be balanced with Induced drag.
The "vortices" in question are generated by ...
13
votes
How would you design an airplane to counteract a single engine’s left turning tendencies?
Look at the designs for literally hundreds of powered free flight model airplanes. Every one is designed to fly in a stable turn while both climbing under power and gliding after the engine run stops....
12
votes
Accepted
What is this aircraft parked in Oceanside Municipal Airport?
Most likely an ERCO Ercoupe. BTW, this tail configuration is called H-tail.
Note the similar-looking Max Holste MH.52, but with the noticeably smaller dihedral angle.
11
votes
What do you do when your engine quits right when the airplane starts off the ground?
If the engines quits right after the plane has lift off, you can easily set it back onto the runway. You will be amazed how short the distance is to stop a C152.
I would rather leave the flaps ...
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 ...
11
votes
How would you design an airplane to counteract a single engine’s left turning tendencies?
This can easily be done by mounting the engine at a very slight yaw angle to the fuselage, of order ~ 1 or 2 degrees, in the direction opposite to the turn. This tips the thrust line off-axis and ...
10
votes
How would you design an airplane to counteract a single engine’s left turning tendencies?
Single Engine Twin Prop or Contra-rotating Propellers.
It isn't the engine that causes the turning, it's the propeller. In the twin prop case I'd specifically make the two props rotate in opposite ...
10
votes
Accepted
Is this Common carriage?
Common carriage is a holding out of a willingness to transport people or property from place to place for compensation or hire.
Note that you are being compensated under the FAA's definition since you ...
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 ...
9
votes
Accepted
Why doesn't a single engine airplane rotate along the longitudinal axis?
First, it's about torque, not power. A helicopter rotor has a large amount of torque at a relatively low RPM. A single engine airplane has much less torque at a higher RPM (Power = Torque X RPM). ...
9
votes
What would happen if a Cessna flew into a power line?
There are a lot of variables so its hard to make a flat out call. Here is at least one example of it happening that was caught on film. In that instance it seems to have ripped through the cords (...
8
votes
Accepted
Is it common for a cold reciprocating engine to stop at idle?
What you experienced is common, but it would serve you well to better understand your engine.
There are quite a few engine options for the PA28, so without more specifics I cannot give you specific ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
Related Tags
single-engine × 58aircraft-design × 9
general-aviation × 8
propeller × 7
aerodynamics × 5
safety × 5
aircraft-identification × 5
glider × 5
multi-engine × 5
flight-training × 4
piston-engine × 4
accidents × 4
faa-regulations × 3
landing × 3
usa × 3
landing-gear × 3
pilot-technique × 3
engine-failure × 3
jet-engine × 2
aircraft-performance × 2
airliner × 2
fuel × 2
stall × 2
pilot-certification × 2
datasets × 2