Air Facts

JULY 1, 2024

He was in his forties when we flew together in his V-tail Bonanza. Upon reaching five knots before the rotation speed, I merely tugged on the manual trim slightly and the aircraft rose without hesitation. I put the gear down one dot above the glideslope and let the drag bring the aircraft down at its 550 foot-per-minute descent rate.

Knot 97

Knot Approach Pilot Runway 97

Pilot Institute

MARCH 26, 2024

High-wing aircraft might need more power or pitch to arrest the descent. Make sure not to pull back too hard, or you could cause a tail strike. High Descent Rate If you have a high sink rate on approach, you’ll have a tough time arresting the descent during the roundout. This will likely result in a hard touchdown.

NOTAMs 52

NOTAMs Runway Approach Descent 52

Pilot Institute

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

Increasing The Aircraft Speed Small, light, and low-powered aircraft such as the Cessna 172 have a relatively narrow operational speed range ranging from 40 knots up to about 160 knots. Commercial airliners fly at speeds above 300 knots but also need to be controllable at speeds below 150 knots.

Aileron 90

Aileron Weight-Shift-Control Rudder Longitudinal Axis 90

AV Web

MAY 22, 2024

As the former owner of a vintage V-tail Bonanza, I always pay attention when one of them crashes. Both invoke traditional assumptions about V-tails, and even vintage Bonanza lovers like me acknowledge there is at least a grain or two of truth in each. Never exceed speed (Vne) for the V-35 is 192 knots.

Tail 105

Tail Instrument Meteorological Conditions Knot Groundspeed 105

AV Web

MAY 22, 2024

As the former owner of a vintage V-tail Bonanza, I always pay attention when one of them crashes. Both invoke traditional assumptions about V-tails, and even vintage Bonanza lovers like me acknowledge there is at least a grain or two of truth in each. Never exceed speed (Vne) for the V-35 is 192 knots.

Tail 98

Tail Instrument Meteorological Conditions Knot Groundspeed 98

Plane and Pilot

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

Its connected, along with a safety weak link, to the tail of the airplane. The pilot continued to mush along at 55 knots, passing three open parks that could have served as relatively safe drop locations. Immediately the plane rolled and yawed right then rapidly descended in a nose-down left spiraling descent, crashing seconds later.

Drag 76

Drag Airplanes Pilot Rudder 76

Plane and Pilot

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

Missing its tail, pointing almost straight down, a Van’s RV-7A single-engine, two-seat homebuilt plummeted out of the blue and into the rocky ground. This wasn’t the first Van’s homebuilt to experience an in-flight tail separation. The vertical descent rate reached the data-recording limit of 9,999 feet per minute.

True Airspeed 91

True Airspeed Indicated Airspeed Horizontal Stabilizer Aileron 91

Plane and Pilot

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

Missing its tail, pointing almost straight down, a Van’s RV-7A single-engine, two-seat homebuilt plummeted out of the blue and into the rocky ground. This wasn’t the first Van’s homebuilt to experience an in-flight tail separation. The vertical descent rate reached the data-recording limit of 9,999 feet per minute.

True Airspeed 90

True Airspeed Indicated Airspeed Horizontal Stabilizer Aileron 90

Vintage Aviation News

AUGUST 22, 2024

“Load’s” relatively safe haven high in the tail section left him hanging upside down on steel-wire control cables, emulating a tree sloth. Descent check!” Landing on a short field required full flaps and the slowest possible safe airspeed, a couple of knots above stall. That was about 89 knots, as I recall.

Weight-Shift-Control 52

Weight-Shift-Control Tail Cargo Airplanes 52

Chess In the Air

JUNE 24, 2022

The Rifle ASOS recorded a gust of 43 mph from the south: a 100-degree shift in direction, putting it right on his tail. This is consistent with Rick’s report, which referenced 9 knots of wind. The Rifle ASOS recorded a gust of 43 kt from the south: a 100-degree shift in direction, putting it right on his tail.”

Pilot 52

Pilot AGL Wind Shear Runway 52

Fear of Landing

OCTOBER 18, 2024

The wind favoured runway 22, as usual, but at only 5-7 knots, it wasn’t really a factor. According to ADSB data , they were just 75 feet above ground when the aircraft entered a rapid descent of 1,700 feet per minute as they passed the departure end of the runway. There were no survivors.

Runway 52

Runway Altimeter Pilot Lift 52

Pilot Institute

FEBRUARY 15, 2025

Horizontal wind speeds near the surface can be as fast as 45 knots, resulting in a 90-knot wind shear from headwind to tailwind across the microburst. In seconds, an aircraft can be forced into an uncontrollable descent, leaving you with barely any time to react. Formation of Microbursts Where does it all start?

Wind Shear 66

Wind Shear Weather Descent Approach 66

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 3, 2024

True, a slightly higher aspect ratio wing was desired, which in turn required a larger vertical tail and thus a little extra mass, but the size, approximately 20% larger than a Widgeon, was set. We routinely taxi at 1200 rpm due to the low spray…[we] can cruise at 10 knots” in displacement mode, something a Goose can’t do.

Airplanes 79

Airplanes Rudder Knot Aileron 79