Piloting - Page 7

One of the most incredible advancements in aviation has been the introduction of satellite navigation. But GPS technology alone isn’t enough—the regular GPS signals aren’t accurate enough to guide a plane to a safe landing during bad weather. So the FAA created a system to make GPS better and more accurate, called WAAS. WAAS stands

Most aviation buffs know that if an airplane flies too slowly, it will stall. If there isn’t enough air flowing over the wings, the airplane cannot fly. A ‘high speed stall’ sounds contradictory. However, it’s very real… Contrary to popular belief, an airplane can stall at nearly any airspeed—including very fast ones. When the plane stalls

A few terms that might be unfamiliar to US pilots, CAVOK and CAVU, pop up in some international weather reports from time to time. So what do they mean? Both CAVOK and CAVU are abbreviations used in some local weather reports. They mean “Ceiling and Visibility OK” or “Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited.” Neither term is

Learning basic aerodynamics starts by studying the various forces acting on a plane. The four forces of flight are lift, thrust, drag, and weight. Each one of these items is complicated in its own right. Let’s take it one step further and explain the aerodynamic center and the center of pressure. Pilots think of lift

The language of aviation worldwide is officially English—it is what all international pilots and air traffic controllers must converse in. But any pilot will tell you that the real language of aviation is the acronym. The OBS is a selector knob on a navigational radio. It stands for the “Omni-Bearing Selector,” and it enables a

Everyone knows that pilots need a lot of training to learn to fly their airplanes, right? Well, not only do pilots have to go to school to learn how to fly, but they also get trained in each different type of plane they fly. Imagine having to go to school just because you bought a

Ask most people what counts as a “cross-country flight,” and chances are most will say you need to fly from coast to coast. A flight from LA to New York? Yeah, that’s about as “cross-country” as you can get! What is the Definition of a Cross Country Flight? (According to FAA) For pilots, the term

The National Airspace System is complex. Getting your first pilot’s license is sometimes called your “license to learn.” For all the technicalities involved in flying a plane, manipulation of the controls is the easy part. SIDs and STARs are one element in a much larger system of routes that airplanes fly. SIDs, or Standard Instrument

Besides making airplanes look cool, designers also want to make them fly well. To do this, they work hard to make airplanes that are stable. Many little things keep an airplane pointed in the direction you want it to go, some of which you may have never thought about or noticed. Keel effect is one

Turning an airplane seems very easy, even when you’re sitting in the cockpit. Move the control yoke or stick to the left or right, and the plane will follow. Planes are designed to be stable and easy to fly, after all. But when you take a deep dive into the aerodynamics of what keeps a plane