Pilot Institute

JULY 12, 2024

You can only begin improving the touchdown if you’ve mastered positioning your aircraft above the runway threshold correctly. For example, if you fly a high-wing aircraft such as a Cessna 172, you can use the point where the runway cuts the wing strut as a reference. See if the runway appears to move relative to the windshield.

Descent 52

Descent Weight-Shift-Control Crosswind Runway 52

Pilot Institute

NOVEMBER 1, 2024

And ice doesn’t just make things slippery, it messes with the airflow over the wings, cuts down on lift, and ramps up drag. This leads to a serious loss of lift and an increase in drag. This roughness adds to friction drag, which can reduce lift and increase drag by as much as 50% on a wing’s leading edge and upper surface.

Pitot Tube 52

Pitot Tube Drag Lift Airfoil 52

Pilot Institute

APRIL 12, 2025

The reaction in the form of increased thrust allows the aircraft to overcome drag and accelerate or climb. Lets break down the main control surfaces and how they use action-reaction: Ailerons Ailerons are flaps placed on the wings trailing edges. They work in opposite pairs: when one aileron goes up, the other goes down.

Lift 52

Lift Thrust Torque Aileron 52

Air Facts

OCTOBER 23, 2024

The base had switched runways from Runway 35 to Runway 17, so that when I came back into the base I was approaching the traffic pattern from the north. But I somehow had it fixed in my mind that I was approaching from the south, to Runway 35. The base should be to the right of the runway.” How can that be?

Runway 98

Runway Pilot Aileron Approach 98

Pilot Institute

APRIL 5, 2024

When the wind is blowing across the runway instead of along it, things get more challenging. However, the wind rarely aligns perfectly with the runway. Touching down with the aircraft’s longitudinal axis aligned with the runway. If the pilot makes no corrections, the aircraft gets blown off the runway centerline.

Crosswind 52

Crosswind Longitudinal Axis Aileron Rudder 52

Plane and Pilot

DECEMBER 16, 2024

Planespotters note the F2’s separate ailerons and flaps, conventional tail. But you can see the change to separate ailerons and flaps is just one part of preparing the F2 to grow into a four-place airplanebuying aerodynamic benefits now to spend later on a heavier, more powerful model. Out back, theres an entirely new tail.

Airplanes 98

Airplanes Rudder Aileron Crosswind 98

Photographic Logbook

SEPTEMBER 22, 2024

Though renowned for its maneuverability, the Triplane struggled to pull away from the Camel, fighting against the fundamental drag of its triple tiered wings. Naming it Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome (ORA), Palen built a turf runway and got those old airplanes flying again. Over time, he built an extensive flying menagerie. A Bristol F.2B

Airplanes 56

Airplanes Runway Pilot Aileron 56