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1500 questions
33
votes
11 answers
How could "aggressor" pilots fly foreign aircraft without speaking the language?
Context
I watched a couple documentaries recently and found one where they were mentioning the training of American forces against Mi-24 that were captured and brought back to the US to test fly them. Shortly afterward General Chuck Yeager tweeted a…
Pierre Chevallier
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2 answers
What did the controller say during my approach to land (audio clip)?
I recorded this ATC audio clip during a recent flight.
I'm not sure but he may be saying,
6CP, cancel lining clearance......(missing)....traffic will be in position.
Can you complete this transcript? And I don't understand what "cancel lining…
gusdyd88
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33
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8 answers
Do any aircraft carry boats?
A small boat could be part of general cargo, but that would typically just mean it's unloaded at an airport and transported to the nearest body of water by land infrastructure. This is not what I'm looking for.
Instead, is there any aircraft that…
SE - stop firing the good guys
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4 answers
What is it exactly about flying a Flyboard across the English channel that made Zapata's thighs burn?
CNN's French inventor makes 'beautiful' flight across Channel on hoverboard reports that:
"French inventor Franky Zapata has successfully crossed the Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard for the first time, after a failed attempt last month.
Later…
uhoh
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33
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1 answer
Why does the A380 not have front windows on the top floor?
The title says it all.
On the 747, the cockpit is in the upper level and in the lower there's equipment (radar, avionics, etc.)
But on the A380, the cockpit is in the lower floor and there's no equipment in the upper floor. So I think it could be…
orique
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33
votes
4 answers
What do flight attendants do if a passenger asks what is going on in case of a potential emergency?
This is related to, but not the same as, another question I asked on Interpersonal Skills.
I was on a flight last year, on a route I fly on a fairly frequent basis. Shortly after takeoff, I heard the three double chime signal, which is commonly used…
gparyani
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33
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1 answer
Can the dome gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress shoot the plane's tail off?
I was at the California Capital Airshow on Mather AFB over the weekend, and came across a beautifully maintained B-17 Flying Fortress. The crew were kind enough to allow people to go inside and take a look - what a magnificent machine!
While…
SnakeDoc
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33
votes
7 answers
Why pull up on the rollout after landing, after the nose wheel is down?
I'm a student pilot learning on a Piper Cherokee 180. When I land and the nose wheel touches down my instructor wants me to keep pulling back on the stick through the landing roll.
For soft field landings this makes sense as you don't want the…
DLH
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33
votes
5 answers
Why, until recently, were smooth nose sections not popular?
Why, until recently, were smooth nose sections not popular? By smooth I mean without a break between the nose and windshield. (The question focuses on airliners.)
Seeing the Starliner (left) and DC-7 (middle), which were vying for the transatlantic…
user14897
33
votes
2 answers
Why didn't the Concorde have flaps or slats?
It's well known that the Concorde had no flaps or slats. The lack of high-lift devices considerably reduced lift at low speeds, requiring the Concorde to take off and land at higher speeds and angles of attack than if it had been equipped with…
Vikki
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33
votes
7 answers
Why don't 747s use unreliable, but cheap, jet engines instead?
I'm a neophyte who was reading a little bit about jet engines, and the economics behind them. In particular, I was curious about what makes jet engines so expensive compared to piston engines.
A recurring theme that came up, again and again, was the…
user79126
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33
votes
5 answers
What does "CC (Charlie Charlie)" mean when pilots reply to ATC?
I heard a pilot replied "CC" to ATC instruction.
I can't remember the exact situation, but does anyone knows what it means?
Jihoon
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33
votes
4 answers
How dangerous was this approach of a Dash8 Q400 really?
There is a video going viral here of a Dash8 landing during a recent media hyped storm:
According to the description and imagery it is a Dash8 Q400 (registration D-ABQD), Eurowings flight EW9203. It did land during a storm with alleged 110km/h…
PlasmaHH
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33
votes
1 answer
Why did the DC-3 have wing sweep?
When looking at the silhouette of a DC-3, one can clearly see that the wings are swept. This design is from 1935, before the high-speed research work on wing sweep was ever implemented, and the DC-3 was not very fast anyhow.
Leading edge sweep was…
Koyovis
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33
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7 answers
Would a helicopter with the blades on the bottom fly the same, if at all?
I've heard that the pendulum rocket fallacy applies to rotorcraft as well. As stated above, I'm curious to know if a helicopter with blades on the bottom of the body would experience any effects from this. (Yes I know it's impractical and landing…
clintonamoar
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