37
votes
Accepted
Why is the position of the pilots' head (eyes) so important?
The correct seating position is important to ensure
A consistent viewpoint, which results in the final approach and flare always looking the same to the pilot. This is important when hand-flying the ...
- 58.3k
18
votes
What is the daytime visibility from within a cloud?
The answer is that visibility varies depending on the density of the cloud. And it can vary significantly.
Flying in formation in IMC is very common in the military. Sometimes it will be dense ...
- 27.3k
18
votes
Accepted
While only RL will be sufficient at night for the aircraft to take off, both RL and RCLM are required to take off during the day. Isn't it illogical?
To me it makes perfect sense if you consider that at night there is high contrast between darkness and the lights. It is easy to make out the runway edge lights through the fog under darkness, so the ...
- 84.5k
11
votes
Why is autolanding ILS a thing, but not autotakeoffing ITS?
Autoland exists at least in part because a pilot can't safely hit (the right part of) the runway (at the right speed and attitude) without visual references, so a lot of precision electronic guidance ...
- 4,640
11
votes
What is the difference between RVR and visibility?
The definitions are somewhat different:
Visibility for aeronautical purposes is the greater of:
the greatest safe distance at which a black object of suitable dimensions, situated near the ground, ...
- 58.3k
10
votes
How useful is skyscrapers and high buildings lighting to get a visual reference for pilots by night? (not obstruction lights, just general lights)
Buildings and their lights can be very useful to aircraft in VFR conditions at night to orient themselves regardless of the type of aircraft.
Three building lighting examples that I often used were:
...
- 39.2k
10
votes
Why is the position of the pilots' head (eyes) so important?
It's just a shortcut aid based on the OEM's ergonomics engineering. The sweet spot is considered to be with your eyes high enough to see down to the base of the windshield without obstructing ...
- 136k
10
votes
Why is the position of the pilots' head (eyes) so important?
To answer the second part of your question, the short answer is ‘No’.
We use perspective to judge taxiing manoeuvers (turns) and to achieve the correct initial pitch attitude on take-off and on ...
- 101
9
votes
Why can a plane land in zero visibility conditions but not take off in zero visibility?
Using a HUD, an airliner can take off with visibility as low as 300’, and land with visibility as low as 600’. Without a HUD, you need 500’ (and appropriate runway lights/markings, plus regulatory ...
- 53.7k
9
votes
Accepted
Are ILS approaches taught as part of instrument rating?
In the US, almost all instrument students learn how to fly an ILS CAT I because that's what's installed in most aircraft. You could get an instrument rating by using an LPV approach instead, though. ...
- 72k
8
votes
Does the definition of visibility take object size into account?
The FAA gives the definition for "Flight Visibility" in 14 CFR 1.1:
Flight visibility means the average forward horizontal distance, from the cockpit of an aircraft in flight, at which prominent ...
- 16.6k
8
votes
Why can a plane land in zero visibility conditions but not take off in zero visibility?
Though your question does not explicitly say so, it implies that you're talking about flights that are carrying passengers or cargo for hire, and other answers address that. However, taking your ...
- 39.2k
8
votes
Are ILS approaches taught as part of instrument rating?
What exactly your training (and checkride) includes will be dictated by what the plane you’re using is equipped for. These days, that typically means ILS/LOC (Cat I only), VOR/DME and RNAV.
Some ...
- 27.9k
8
votes
Low visibility in progress and low visibility in force
I believe that these two terms most likely refer to the same thing, namely:
Low Visibility Procedures (LVPs) are in force at this Aerodrome.
Low visibility procedures (LVP): Specific procedures ...
- 3,323
7
votes
Why can't pilots manually fly a low visibility approach instead of using auto land?
Pilots are required to operate by two separate sets of regulations, protocols, and procedures when flying an aircraft. They are Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). The rules ...
- 75k
6
votes
Accepted
How good is the ground visibility by a moonless night In the Grand Canyon?
No, in a remote area on a moonless night, it’s a black hole. It’s the blackest darkness you can imagine with a few pinpricks of light from remote settlements on the ground or vehicles. I have heard ...
- 75k
5
votes
Accepted
What are the consequences of turboclair system on restriction due to turbulences?
I found a Turboclair addon checklist for the SE.2 Caravelle landing procedure and it says nothing about turbulence. This procedure is intended for ferry flights without passengers and specifies the ...
- 21k
4
votes
Why is there no instrument taxi system for low-visibility operations?
If I were an airline executive in charge of determining the configuration of new aircraft being ordered from a manufacturer, and one of the options was an instrument taxiing system to allow so-called ...
- 39.2k
4
votes
How useful is skyscrapers and high buildings lighting to get a visual reference for pilots by night? (not obstruction lights, just general lights)
Lights at night can be useful in VFR conditions, but if conditions are less than ideal, it can be dangerous to rely on external lights.
For example, if its pitch black and you can see a light which ...
- 1,825
4
votes
Does high speed airflow remove water from the plane's windshield more effectively?
What generally happens is the faster you are going, the rain hitting the windshield disperses into smaller and smaller droplet beads running up the glass and actually becomes less noticeable. There is ...
- 136k
3
votes
With current technology, why is there still increased separation between aircraft and delays in low visibility conditions?
In good weather, airports can move lots of aircraft because the ATC separation standards are much less than the bad weather, poor visibility ATC separation standards.
“Current technology” really ...
- 37.9k
3
votes
Why can a plane land in zero visibility conditions but not take off in zero visibility?
They can take off at very limited visibility, and they do. Key is then of course to make sure that no other aircraft are on the runway, and this is in fact how the deadliest crash in aviation history ...
- 62.9k
3
votes
What is the difference between mist and haze in terms of relative humidity?
The term haze does not say anything about the humidity of the air because it is by definition caused by dry particles, so not by water. If you have mist (or fog), then water droplets are suspended in ...
- 58.3k
3
votes
Accepted
What is Tendency of RVR?
When included as part of the RVR, the tendency indicates whether it is trending up (improving), down (deteriorating) or there is no change. It is usually indicated by the suffix ...
- 35.7k
3
votes
Accepted
What does "half of the horizon circle" means?
Definition
From WMO Technical Regulations, volume II, Meteorological Service for International Air Navigation:
Prevailing visibility. The greatest visibility value, observed in accordance with the ...
- 80.9k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible