Aviation Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [commercial-aviation]

Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation, whether general aviation, non-scheduled service, or scheduled airline service, that involves operating aircraft for hire to transport passengers or cargo.

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Why are the lights inside commercial airplanes turned off during take off and landing?

Before landing and taking off, I notice the lights inside commercial aircraft are greatly reduced. I don't buy the explanation of power saving in case full thrust is needed as nowaday lights don't need a lot of energy and the crew says we can use…
Manu H
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How many lives would be saved if the airlines turned all the seats around?

The psychology and history of forward-facing seats has been answered well already here. I ask instead about how bad it is that seats are forward-facing. For context, I was looking through Wikipedia's list of airline flights that required gliding,…
JupyterUser
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How are the in-flight meals cooked?

When I traveled on a commercial aircraft, I had a meal which came in a small box, I was wondering if the meal is precooked and then re-heated or if it is cooked on the plane?
L.Halfpenny
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Which is longest Oceanic crossing for any commercial flight route?

During oceanic crossings, there are limited to no terrestrial radio communications available, so I would think that most flight routes are designed to minimize ocean crossing time. Which commercial flight route have the longest oceanic crossing?
NitinG
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What is this? Multiple small cracks in passenger window

I have seen this many times in typically older aircraft passenger windows and on a recent flight from Sydney to Melbourne I took the following pictures. It appears as if there are small cracks in the window or one of the laminate layers used to…
Ian Aitken
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Is there any reason for why the cabin temperature would suddenly become very high?

I was flying a Fokker 100 a few months back over central Europe. We had probably just reached cruising altitude when the cabin temperature suddenly skyrocketed without reason, with the air coming out probably around 30 degrees (Celsius). After…
Thunderstrike
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Why would a copilot's window be shaded/covered?

I'm sitting in a small regional airport in Vietnam and I've noticed something odd about the aircraft I've seen arriving and departing. All of these aircraft appear to have the copilot-side window covered or shaded. (The windows are covered from the…
Roddy of the Frozen Peas
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Are there any aircraft that come with interchangeable flightdecks?

With the new Boeing 787 where Boeing has provided the capability to swap engine types if the aircraft goes to a new operator quite quickly, I'm wondering if there are any interchangeable flightdecks? Say that you might have a legacy 737 for…
Thunderstrike
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How long have commercial aircraft been continuously in the sky?

In 2018, it's obvious that at any moment of the day, there is at least one (and in fact many) commercial aircraft in the sky. In 1908, this was not true. Which was the last year there might have been a moment with no commercial aircraft in the sky?…
user30834
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What is a Second Officer?

I've seen the position of Second Officer being advertised for some short-haul airlines, but I don't entirely understand what roles and responsibilities they have on the flight deck. I know a second officer exists on long-haul flight, which allows…
Alex Davies
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Flight engineers - commercial aviation

Apologies for being so broad in the title but this will consist of a couple of questions in one. As I'm sure most of use are aware modern commercial aircraft being manufactured no longer incorporate a flight engineer, this role - as far as I know -…
user1352057
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What is the reason for the T- shaped rudder trim tab on the DA42?

Why does the rudder trim tab on the DA42 have a T-shape?
Rohan
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If a passenger steps in for the crew, are they eligible for a reward as in maritime law?

Purely hypothetical question on aviation law. In maritime salvage if your craft rescues/tows/supplies crew to a stricken vessel then you can claim a reward based on the value of the craft and cargo. Let's assume that you are flying off somewhere…
AndyW
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Why don't turboprop planes have push engines that use thrust more effectively?

The Piaggo P-180 is one of the fastest private planes out there and uses the push system.
Ethan
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What is the difference Between Minimum fuel and Mayday Fuel?

what is the difference Between Minimum fuel and Mayday Fuel ?
Mohammad Gohardoust
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