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1500 questions
64
votes
2 answers
How was I able to just plug in my headphones and listen to ATC and pilot chatter?
I was travelling from Mumbai to Newark Liberty Intl on United Airlines 49, a Boeing 777-200. I was sitting in the economy section, last row, last seat to the plane's left, basically, I was literally the passenger on the last seat of the…
Di437
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64
votes
11 answers
Are the guns on a fighter jet fixed or can they be aimed?
Are the (built-in) guns on fighter jets fixed, or can they be elevated up and down or panned right and left for aiming?
In other words are fighter jet guns aimed by pointing the whole aircraft at the target or can they be aimed independently?
MemphisGuru
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64
votes
6 answers
Why is being a commercial pilot stressful?
Being a commercial airline pilot regularly appears around the top of "most stressful jobs" lists. I do not doubt that this is a stressful job, but as an outsider with no aviation experience whatsoever I do not understand why. I am curious to hear…
Curious
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64
votes
7 answers
How does the Space Shuttle slow down during re-entry, descent, and landing?
Yesterday, my little brother asked me to help him build his new Space Shuttle Lego set.
When we finally finished building it, he started to play with his new toy and asked me to be the "Mission Control". After some time playing, he told me that he…
Gabriel Brito
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63
votes
6 answers
How do fighter pilots manage food, drink & toilet?
There doesn't seem to be any place to bring food or drink.
And what about WC?
And for single seat combat planes?
carbalona
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63
votes
8 answers
Can a human get sucked into a jet engine?
Can a human get sucked into the jet engine of a normal modern airliner? if so has it ever happened and what is the minimum or maximum weight that these engines can suck? As a safety measure, wouldn't light weight but high strength retracting safety…
securitydude5
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62
votes
2 answers
Did these parts come from a T-33 crash?
A Lockheed T-33 crashed near my hometown (Outer Cove, Newfoundland) in 1956. This year we have had some very strong storm surges, and a piece of metal has washed up on the shore. I am posting this picture to see if anyone can tell if it is part of…
CiderJoe
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62
votes
4 answers
How can a two-engine B787 create three contrails?
Today I noticed overflying aircraft (over Sydney at FL400) which appeared to have three contrails. When I checked Flightradar24 app, I saw that this overflying aircraft is B787.
What would be the reason for three contrails with only two engines?…
kris
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62
votes
5 answers
How is a missile lock detected?
How can a fighter aircraft involved in a face-off detect a missile lock from a trailing aircraft so that it can make evasive maneuvers?
Amod
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62
votes
3 answers
Is the NTSB hostile to pilots, as depicted in the movie 'Sully'?
This is based upon events portrayed in the movie Sully. If the film is taken at face value, what we basically see is a (fairly brazen) stitch-up attempt by the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board), where they try to steer an investigation…
aroth
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62
votes
5 answers
How do friendly stealth planes locate each other?
Stealth planes can't be seen (very well) on radar. So one stealth plane should be unable to locate another stealth plane on its radar and vice versa.
So how would one stealth plane locate another, friendly, stealth plane?
Registered User
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61
votes
4 answers
Why can't jet engines operate with supersonic air and how do they slow it down?
Typically jets cannot operate when intake airflow is supersonic relative to the engine. Why is this so? Also, why are scramjets able to use supersonic air?
To slow down the air to subsonic speeds, the air passes through a shockwave (if I understand…
Dylan
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60
votes
5 answers
Why would a fighter drop fuel into a drone?
According to the BBC:
A feed from a camera fitted under the fuselage of the surveillance drone shows a Russian SU-27 making two extremely close passes while releasing, what appears to be, fuel as it approaches
Looking at the video it seems that…
Elerium115
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60
votes
10 answers
Why is there really only one basic design for passenger airplanes?
So when I look around on the airport, I don't really see many differently shaped airplanes.
They all look pretty much the same, only subtle differences.
Image: Aircraft Recognition
Why is this design so common? Why don't we have more extravagant…
oliver_siegel
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60
votes
6 answers
Is it possible to fly a B-24 under Bixby Bridge?
If that sounds like a ludicrous question it's because I believe it is, but here is why I'm asking.
My grandfather flew B-24s in WWII and there was something of a local legend that he once flew a crew-laden Liberator under Bixby Bridge (near Big Sur…
masterofnone
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