Most Popular
1500 questions
32
votes
6 answers
Are there any Boeing 747 still flying for commercial use?
No American airline flies it anymore, but the Jumbo has been mythic for decades:
ANA B747-400. Wikimedia, photo by Kentaro Iemoto
Is it still possible for a passenger to board a Jumbo Jet?
Which airlines are still operating the B747 in 2018?
mins
- 72,728
- 27
- 308
- 441
32
votes
4 answers
Why isn't the APU a standard diesel generator?
Why isn't the APU a standard diesel generator? Jet-A and diesel are interchangeable (with the addition of a lubricant). So why not use a cheaper piston engine as opposed to a jet turbine?
V.S.
TayE
- 6,595
- 8
- 43
- 83
32
votes
5 answers
How do commercial pilots keep situational awareness of their current call sign?
Air transport pilots operate flights with a variety of flight numbers, often with multiple flights in the same day. This means, as a result, the callsign that they are using changes as well. Also, according to this answer, sometimes the callsign is…
Jacob
- 533
- 5
- 9
32
votes
2 answers
What does a typical discovery flight consist of?
I've been considering taking up flying as a hobby and have been looking into flight schools around me. One does offer an option of a discovery flight but upon contacting them they really didn't pass along to much information on what it consist of.…
Zissouu
- 819
- 1
- 9
- 14
32
votes
3 answers
How serious is an impact like the 10/2017 Delta Airlines suspected bird strike?
Recently, there was an incident where a Delta Airlines charter flight carrying the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team was struck by an "unidentified object". Delta's official statement claims that
Delta flight 8935, operating from Minneapolis to…
jmcph4
- 455
- 4
- 6
32
votes
5 answers
Why don't airplane piston engines have mufflers?
It is understandable jet engines couldn't have mufflers, but even long before the jet age, airplane piston engines never had mufflers the way cars do.
Is there any specific reason?
vn2000
- 447
- 1
- 4
- 3
32
votes
8 answers
Why do some companies perform their freight flights only during the night?
I heard that for example FedEx among others performs the majority of their flights during the night, the same goes for TNT. Is the reason for that is that during the day all of the freight is being collected and then loaded for delivery in the…
John Mayne
- 863
- 1
- 9
- 13
32
votes
3 answers
How large are the banners that are trailed behind small planes for advertising?
How large are the banners that are used for aerial advertising, and how much do they normally weigh?
Example:
source: © Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Wikipedia page on Aerial Advertising
user22543
32
votes
7 answers
Why tap the brakes on take-off in fixed gear aircraft?
The Socata TB10 checklist indicates that you should touch the brakes after lift-off. I assume this is to stop the wheels from turning, but why?
In a retractable gear aircraft this would make sense to avoid using anything in the wheel-well to stop…
falstro
- 11,774
- 9
- 62
- 102
32
votes
9 answers
Is it correct that a jet fighter can be used as a non-lethal (sonic) weapon?
Imagine you have a crowd of people, who want to go to a certain territory (e. g. close to the border). An airplane flies over them such that when it reaches supersonic speed, there is a loud bang. People hear it, it hurts, and for several days they…
user20083
32
votes
7 answers
Why are jet aircraft never designed with a slower cruise speed?
All jet airliners have a cruise speed between Mach 0.82 and Mach 0.85.
At those speeds the aircraft are flying at their maximum subsonic speed. Any greater cruise speed would only be possible with major design changes.
My question is about fuel…
ant Bldel
- 1,132
- 11
- 12
32
votes
2 answers
Why doesn't the Concorde have any wing fences?
A Wing Fence is a straight, vertical "fence" running from forwards to backwards down the wing.
This MiG-17 has three fences per wing. I've also seen them on delta-winged aircraft such as the MiG-25.
The purpose of the wing fence is to prevent the…
DrZ214
- 17,711
- 17
- 99
- 207
32
votes
4 answers
Why are the fan blades mounted loosely?
In this question it is mentioned that the fan, compressor and turbine blades are mounted loosely in the disc. This is well demonstrated by this video posted by RedGrittyBrick.
What is the reason for this?
TomMcW
- 28,459
- 21
- 106
- 227
32
votes
4 answers
Can large airliners be operated without ground support?
I'm wondering if large A3x0/B7x7 airliners could be operated without ground support. Short of using the inflatable slides, I guess at least stairs would be required to load/unload passengers. Apart from that, assuming fuel and push-back is not…
abey
- 2,140
- 3
- 21
- 43
32
votes
2 answers
Can we replace an attitude indicator with a ball half full of liquid?
Attitude indicators (artificial horizons) use a gyro to display pitch and bank.
I was wondering if it would work to use a ball half full of liquid to replace the artificial horizon (using the water level as reference)?
Tony
- 449
- 4
- 8