How do I achieve maximum endurance in a piston airplane?
In order to achieve maximum endurance in a piston airplane fly at the lowest safe altitude with the propeller turning as slowly as possible to maintain level flight. The easiest way [...]
How do we know what the wind strength is just by looking at the windsock?
As per Transport Canada standards, a windsock will extend horizontally in a wind of 15 knots or more. At 10 knots the windsock will be 5° below the horizontal. At 6 [...]
Why do we lean the mixture as we climb?
We lean the mixture as we climb because of the decrease in air density. We are trying to keep the ratio of fuel to air by mass constant, not by volume. [...]
What is Dihedral?
Dihedral is a type of wing design in which the wings appear to bend upwards from the fuselage to the wing tip. This is not to be confused with washout. Although [...]
What are Vortex Generators?
Vortex Generators are little tabs the stick up from the wing surface. Their function is to mix the lower velocity air of the boundary layer with the higher velocity air outside [...]
What is “washout”?
Washout is a type of wing design where the angle of incidence reduces from the wing root to the wing tip. The angle of incidence is the angle between the longitudinal [...]
What are the 4 strokes of a 4-stroke engine?
Intake, compression, power, exhaust.
What is valve overlap?
Valve overlap is when the intake and exhaust valves are both open at the same time.
What effect does weight have on glide distance?
Weight has no effect on gliding distance provided the lift to drag ratios are the same. A lightly loaded plane will have greater glide endurance but will glide the same distance [...]
What is a trim tab?
Trim tabs are used to balance control forces. If there was not a trim tab the pilot would constantly need to hold the control column in place to maintain the desired [...]