Air Facts

JULY 15, 2024

Though wind is reported using such simple numbers like 270@15G20, I’ve come to believe that 20 knots here is not always the same as 20 knots there. I did a checkride in 30 knot winds in the flatlands of Kansas, almost straight down the runway. Then came the landing in 20 knots in the Hill Country of Texas, west of Austin.

Knot 98

Knot Crosswind Rudder Turbulence 98

Plane and Pilot

MARCH 7, 2025

It was short, stubby, very tall, and had two wings and two tails. To that he added wings and tail, and placed the pilot behind all this. The unique twin tails completed this one-of-a-kind design and became the signature feature of the entire line. The fuselage is 9 feet tall, just about even with the top of the twin rudders.

Tail 53

Tail Horizontal Stabilizer Gross Weight Pilot 53

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 29, 2024

The FAA weather said a thunderstorm was forecast, gusts to 6 knots. I lamented that there was no tail tie-down until I remembered that I had brought three welded rebar tie-downs and a heavy hammer to drive them in. After turning the corner, I was rewarded with tailwinds of up to 22 knots, so the big detour cost me only 15 minutes.

Weather 74

Weather Runway Knot Rudder 74

Vintage Aviation News

OCTOBER 18, 2024

What you do is you sit up high for takeoff and as you add power and the tail comes up almost immediately, very quickly. “I started to make a normal landing, but as I was getting ready to touch down, I pulled the power off and the tail just fell out from underneath me,” he said. The landings are a little tricky, if you will.

Airplanes 125

Airplanes Crosswind Tail Cockpit 125

Airspeed Junkie

AUGUST 2, 2024

Notable design changes included the introduction of a swept tail design in 1960 and a new cowl design in 1961, which improved aerodynamics and performance. Another interesting model is the 172RG Cutlass RG, which features retractable landing gear and a more powerful Lycoming O-360-F1A6 engine, offering a cruise speed of 140 knots.

Knot 98

Knot Cockpit Pilot Gross Weight 98

Pilot Institute

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

Adverse yaw is a side effect of aileron use, countered by rudder input. 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. Most of the ailerons mass lies behind the hinge, making it tail-heavy.

Aileron 90

Aileron Weight-Shift-Control Rudder Longitudinal Axis 90

Air Facts

MARCH 26, 2025

Those familiar phrases more right rudder, watch your airspeed, flare, flare, flare! The airspeed indicator registered 55 knots, close to the Cessna 172s stall speed. Just before touching down, I checked my airspeed and the pit in my stomach deepened: 85 knots far above the 172s normal landing speed of 65 knots.

Knot 52

Knot Runway Pilot Tail 52

Vintage Aviation News

APRIL 25, 2025

The aircraft had to land into a 15-knot crosswind, and the plane landed at a speed of 115 mph, well below the standard landing speed of between 150-175 mph. (Historic Chicago) On September 28, 1992, the Boeing 727 took off from Chicagos OHare International Airport on the short flight to Meigs.

Cockpit 55

Cockpit Pilot Ceiling Rudder 55

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 29, 2024

The FAA weather said a thunderstorm was forecast, gusts to 6 knots. I lamented that there was no tail tie-down until I remembered that I had brought three welded rebar tie-downs and a heavy hammer to drive them in. After turning the corner, I was rewarded with tailwinds of up to 22 knots, so the big detour cost me only 15 minutes.

Weather 52

Weather Runway Knot Rudder 52

Aerotime

JULY 19, 2024

The aircraft was powered by three General Electric CF6 turbofan engines, with one mounted under each wing and a third located above the rear fuselage in the base of the tail. On scanning the engine instruments, it quickly became apparent that the number two tail-mounted engine had failed. The plane entered a descending right-hand turn.

Runway 288

Runway Horizontal Stabilizer Airline Airlines 288

Plane and Pilot

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

Its connected, along with a safety weak link, to the tail of the airplane. Its not button pushing but rather intuitive rudder coordination. The pilot continued to mush along at 55 knots, passing three open parks that could have served as relatively safe drop locations. Its cool flying.

Drag 72

Drag Airplanes Pilot Rudder 72

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. Alongside a nearby highway, some recognizable bits of airplane, the vertical stabilizer and rudder, a horizontal stabilizer and elevator, fell separately to Earth.

True Airspeed 88

True Airspeed Indicated Airspeed Horizontal Stabilizer Aileron 88

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. Alongside a nearby highway, some recognizable bits of airplane, the vertical stabilizer and rudder, a horizontal stabilizer and elevator, fell separately to Earth.

True Airspeed 86

True Airspeed Indicated Airspeed Horizontal Stabilizer Aileron 86

Air Facts

OCTOBER 7, 2024

It was a beefed up, militarized version of the Beechcraft Bonanza with a narrowed fuselage and conventional tail, seating two pilots in tandem cockpits with controls and indicators configured similarly to tactical aircraft of the period. Dropping like an inverted dart tail first, Morris, from his aft cockpit perch exclaimed,“Wheeeee!”

Cockpit 98

Cockpit Rudder Tail Indicated Airspeed 98

Photographic Logbook

JANUARY 25, 2025

With as much as 25 knots of tailwind, we made the flight from Sodus to Alton Bay in only two hours. More vintage cred: a V-tailed Beechcraft Bonanza! Unfortunately, this also meant meager ground speeds topping out around 85 knots. I countered with aggressive right rudder and barely succeeded in keeping the plane on the runway.

Runway 68

Runway Airplanes Threshold Approach 68

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

Plane and Pilot

JANUARY 7, 2025

She flew like a big, lumbering Cub of sorts, complete with a wooden rudder bar, tall wooden stick, and instruments that seemed like they were straight out of World War One. Cruising around 200 knots, the Rocket is a fantastic cross-country machine or around-the-patch sunset flier. A time capsule, indeed.

Airplanes 98

Airplanes Tail Pilot Jet 98

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. My feet danced on the rudder pedals as I fought to keep the plane going straight down the runway. They saw the tail of the air craft, about a mile west of the airport and 300 feet below. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

Runway 52

Runway Altimeter Pilot Lift 52

Vintage Aviation News

JUNE 10, 2024

But just as Vraciu and his wingman, Ensign Lou Little, who were at the tail-end of the formation and about to make their dives, Vraciu spotted a flight of A6M Zeros between 2,000 and 3,000 feet above him and Little coming from their 7 o’clock position.

Cockpit 128

Cockpit Tail Pilot Stability 128

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 77

Airplanes Rudder Knot Aileron 77

Plane and Pilot

DECEMBER 16, 2024

Planespotters note the F2’s separate ailerons and flaps, conventional tail. Out back, theres an entirely new tail. Theres an unusual duck tail between the two elevator halves that provides a measure of anti-stall behavior. You might ask what happens with crosswind landings when you take away rudder authority.

Airplanes 98

Airplanes Rudder Aileron Crosswind 98