Pilot's Life Blog

JANUARY 12, 2025

Understanding the Basics of Flight Principles of Flight: Lift, Weight, Thrust, and Drag Flying a plane for the first time requires a basic understanding of the forces that make flight possible. Thrust, produced by the engines, moves the plane forward, while drag, or air resistance, slows it down.

Aileron 52

Aileron Drag Rudder Descent 52

Fear of Landing

FEBRUARY 7, 2025

The autobrake engaged, reverse thrust was deployed and they began to decelerate. avoided the wheel brakes and cancelled the reverse thrust. With the crosswind, the wet runway and no autobrake or reverse thrust, they needed a lot more runway than usual but they still had enough distance to come to a halt, if only they could stay on it.

Crosswind 52

Crosswind Rudder Knot Runway 52

Fear of Landing

APRIL 19, 2024

The operator confirmed that the tail rotor had been installed the day before the accident. A mechanic had found a worn feathering bearing in the tail rotor hub and blade assembly. The tail rotor’s responses and vibrations are measured in order to adjust the weights of the rotor blades and/or the alignment of the rotor assembly.

Torque 98

Torque Indicated Airspeed Tail Knot 98

Vintage Aviation News

FEBRUARY 11, 2025

Around this time, the USAAF was also developing its first jet fighters, but knew that all-jet aircraft at this time were short-ranged and burned fuel quicker than propeller-driven aircraft, and so the optimal design was to feature a propeller-driven engine in the front for long range performance and a jet engine in the tail for high speed in combat.

Thrust 52

Thrust Tail Jet Drag 52

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 25, 2024

As we pushed back, the colors popped on the various tails parked down the row of gates, and we sat in line for takeoff with the low sun angle perfectly lighting a yellow Spirit Airbus against an ominous dark sky, save for the rainbow that arched high across the vista. Welcome to LaGuardia, Tom,” I said. You’ve checked that box now.”

Runway 66

Runway Approach Knot Jet 66

Vintage Aviation News

FEBRUARY 19, 2025

Air Force and NASA to explore using vectored thrust to transition from vertical and horizontal takeoffs to achieve level flight before making a vertical landing. It was also the first VTOL aircraft to use a jet thrust diverter system for vertical lift. He compared its glide rate to that of a Cessna 206.

Thrust 94

Thrust Center of Gravity Descent Cockpit 94

Flight Training Central

JANUARY 27, 2025

As the airplane contacts the ground, the tail will be forced down very rapidly by the back-elevator pressure and by inertia acting downward on the tail. Recovery from this situation requires prompt and positive application of power prior to occurrence of the stall.

Airplanes 89

Airplanes Runway Accelerated Stall Lift 89

Plane and Pilot

AUGUST 11, 2024

The “Model 27,” as it was originally called, was powered by the experimental Westinghouse J34 jet engine, which produced 3,000 pounds of thrust. Its five tail surfaces, one vertical, two angled, and two ventral, fit neatly within the B-36 bomb bay and featured ruddervators similar to a contemporary V-tail Bonanza.

Tail 80

Tail Jet Pilot Turbulence 80

Flight Training Central

MAY 6, 2024

Then in 1956 Cessna moved the tail-wheel on the 170 to the nose and the resulting high wing 172, with well over 40,000 copies, became the best-selling civilian aircraft in history. Both low wing and high wing aircraft will be affected by lift, weight, thrust and drag. Why the success of high wings?

Lift 97

Lift Drag Airplanes Ground Effect 97

Ask Captain Lim

SEPTEMBER 6, 2024

On July 19, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232, a DC-10, crash-landed at Sioux City Airport after a catastrophic failure of its tail engine had caused a loss of all hydraulic control. He then resorted to unconventional methods, using asymmetric thrust to make minimal directional changes.

Runway 59

Runway Descent Thrust Tail 59

Vintage Aviation News

OCTOBER 24, 2024

The tail section, minus horizontal stabilizer, came from a crashed TF-104G that was found in an Ontario, California junkyard. Even with 1,100 gallons of fuel the 18,000 pound thrust J79-GE-10 engine gave the Red Baron a thrust-to-weight ratio greater than 1:1, better than any fighter of the day including the F-15 Eagle.

Horizontal Stabilizer 124

Horizontal Stabilizer Airplanes Approach Thrust 124

Pilot's Life Blog

MARCH 15, 2024

Vital Components of a Plane in the Tail Assembly The primary function of the empennage or tail assembly of an airplane is to keep the aircraft stable despite the rotational energy of relative wind. Of all the sections of an aircraft, the tail assembly is perhaps the most important for keeping an airplane in the air safely.

Horizontal Stabilizer 52

Horizontal Stabilizer Aileron Air Traffic Control Lift 52

Pilot Institute

MARCH 28, 2025

The exhaust coming out of aircraft engines looks pretty dangerous, generating huge amounts of thrust and pushing back tons of hot air. As seen from the aircrafts tail, the vortex rotates in the anti-clockwise direction on the right wingtip and the clockwise direction on the left wingtip. Whats Happening Inside the Vortex?

Turbulence 97

Turbulence Lift Drag Runway 97

Vintage Aviation News

JANUARY 6, 2025

The engines were also coupled with the General Electric D-23 turbosupercharger to utilize the engine exhaust as additional thrust. The aircraft would be fitted with two Continental XI-1430 inverted V-12 engines that were expected to produce 1,350 hp. Elliot was able to make an emergency landing at Lambert Field.

Gross Weight 98

Gross Weight Cockpit Pilot Airplanes 98

Pilot's Life Blog

FEBRUARY 11, 2025

The elevator, situated on the horizontal tail surface, adjusts pitch, raising or lowering the nose for ascent or descent. The rudder, attached to the vertical tail fin, manages yaw, enabling the nose to move left or right. These controls work in harmony to navigate the aircraft through various flight maneuvers.

Torque 52

Torque Lift Airplanes Stability 52

Northstar VFR

JULY 21, 2024

As air flows over it, a force like lift results, and the tail is pulled in the opposite direction of the deflection. But instead of an upward force of lift on a wing, it’s a horizontal force pushing the tail of the plane causing the nose of the plane to move left and right. The pilot controls the throttle to create thrust.

Rudder 52

Rudder Airplanes Pilot Stability 52

Professional Pilot

MARCH 6, 2025

Between circular plates at each end, 6 blades provide both lift and vectorable thrust as they change pitch angle during each rotation. It has 4 lift propellers on booms connecting the gull wing with a wide V-tail. In Linz, Austria, CycloTech has opted for a unique propulsion technology. They make for uncommon maneuverability.

Lift 68

Lift Payload Cargo Pilot 68

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 25, 2024

As we pushed back, the colors popped on the various tails parked down the row of gates, and we sat in line for takeoff with the low sun angle perfectly lighting a yellow Spirit Airbus against an ominous dark sky, save for the rainbow that arched high across the vista. Welcome to LaGuardia, Tom,” I said. You’ve checked that box now.”

Runway 52

Runway Approach Knot Jet 52

Vintage Aviation News

OCTOBER 5, 2024

Each had conventional straight wings and tails, with power coming from an Allison J35-A-11 turbojet engine producing some 5,000lbs of thrust. The Skystreak, unlike most American high-speed aerial research vehicles of the day, took off from the ground under its own power. Only three of a planned-for six Skystreaks were completed.

Pilot 52

Pilot Thrust Hangar Tail 52

Pilot Institute

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

Most of the ailerons mass lies behind the hinge, making it tail-heavy. Tail-heavy ailerons droop downwards when they arent being pulled by the control system. potentially reverting the aileron back into a tail-heavy state. These aircraft have three engines; one on each wing and one mounted on the tail ahead of the rudder.

Aileron 90

Aileron Weight-Shift-Control Rudder Longitudinal Axis 90

Pilot Institute

APRIL 12, 2025

This principle is fundamental in generating lift, thrust, and maneuverability, allowing aircraft to fly. Thrust (how it moves forward). Thrust and Propulsion Systems A wing has to move fast enough through the air to generate lift effectively. That force is called thrust. Thrust relies on Newtons Third Law as well.

Lift 52

Lift Thrust Torque Aileron 52

Charles Ryan's Flying Adventure

APRIL 15, 2024

Anyway, for our flight, we were flying with the tail wind reducing our flight time, therefore the flight time was shorter but due to the heavy traffic at Singapore, we had to circle around for a few times before being given the green light to land at the airport, so even with the delay, we arrived about 40 minutes ahead of schedule.

Runway 52

Runway Airline Airlines Final Approach 52

Fear of Landing

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

There are a number of tail strike incidents caused by the take-off weight being logged as lower than it actually was. The description of the event clearly represents what was understood at the time: During the takeoff from RWY35L, the aircraft suffered a tail strike after the rotation. This transition of lifting off is called rotation.

Tail 96

Tail V Speed Knot Runway 96

Charles Ryan's Flying Adventure

OCTOBER 15, 2024

Reverse thrusts were deployed and our aircraft slowed down to taxi speed. This Air India's A320neo's tail design features Mahatma Candhi. At this point, we were on final approach as landing gears were deployed and flaps were set. On final approach onto runway 20R. Welcome to Changi Airport! The home of Singapore Airlines!

Cabin Crew 59

Cabin Crew Weather Turbulence Descent 59

Aerotime

JULY 26, 2024

At approximately 17:47 local time, the B-1B supersonic bomber, tail number 85-0085, crash-landed outside Runway 13 at Ellsworth Air Force Base. However, the aircraft experienced wind shear, dropped below the glideslope and became thrust deficient.

Wind Shear 276

Wind Shear Instrument Landing System Final Approach Runway 276

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 304

Runway Horizontal Stabilizer Airline Airlines 304

Simple Flying

MAY 12, 2024

The Mitsubishi X-2 is a twin-engine, fixed-wing demonstrator with canted tail fins and thrust vectoring. It is the first home-grown Japanese experimental stealth fighter, making Japan the fourth to develop and test a stealth fighter (after the US, Russia, and China).

Thrust 116

Thrust Tail 116

Vintage Aviation News

OCTOBER 30, 2024

Though the fabric on the wings would be recovered in 1952, the structure of the wings, tail, and rudder remained original to 1910. Hartman, and a tachometer and an ice scale used by Hartman to measure the pounds of thrust generated by the engine before takeoff.

Airplanes 105

Airplanes Jet Pilot Weather 105

Vintage Aviation News

MARCH 18, 2025

Randy Malmstrom photo] The tail fin has been made asymmetrical as per the late Bf 109 specifications (unlike that of the smaller Buchn rudder and vertical stabilizer). The tail markings also indicate homage to the aircraft’s original Hispano markings as s/n 193.

Tail 59

Tail Rudder Thrust Stability 59

Airspeed Junkie

FEBRUARY 24, 2025

They have powerful turbine engines that create thrust. In addition, they have two engines F414-GE-400 which can give a static thrust of 22,000 pounds (9,977 kg) each. The engine afterburners will provide a powerful thrust to help this F/A-18 attack the enemy and escape quickly. It is a single-seat aircraft.

Jet 52

Jet Thrust Stability Cockpit 52

Vintage Aviation News

AUGUST 29, 2024

MiGs on your tail! Functioning exactly as designed, those flat-plate boards sticking into the airstream were creating beaucoup drag, battling against the J-79s’ thrust. Four o’clock!” Break right! Break left! What the….? Had we been hit? All cockpit gauges confirmed critical systems were humming and happy. Firing missiles!”

Drag 52

Drag Thrust Pilot Rudder 52

Aerotime

MARCH 27, 2025

Following D-Day, as the war began to tail off, Yeager returned to fly combat missions, as Eisenhower yielded to Yaeger’s demands. A USAAF rule prohibited airmen who had been shot down over enemy lines from returning to fly combat sorties over enemy territory. Eisenhower himself.

Pilot 284

Pilot Drag Airplanes Thrust 284

Plane and Pilot

JANUARY 7, 2025

The tail comes off the ground before you even realize the airplane is ready, climbs like a bat out of you know where, handles like its on rails, and can land almost anywhere in a matter of a couple hundred feet. But my recommendation is to find a very early Bonanza for your first V-tail experience.

Airplanes 98

Airplanes Tail Pilot Jet 98

Plane and Pilot

DECEMBER 18, 2024

Power is turned into thrust by three-bladed Hamilton Standard constant speed, full-feathering propellers. The guns from nose to tail were as follows: The electrically powered and hydraulically actuated Bendix chin turret (B-17G only) was operated by the bombardier when he wasnt head down in the Norden bombsight.

Airplanes 105

Airplanes Descent Pilot Stability 105

Pilot Institute

FEBRUARY 15, 2025

A massive explosion followed, and the tail section skidded backward. Calm down and follow these steps: Apply maximum thrust immediately. During final descent, it flew into a microburst, causing a rapid loss of altitude. The aircraft struck a highway, hitting a car before crashing into a water tank. What do you do? Dont lower the nose!

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. The Mallard—it’s a trike—has a tail stinger because it otherwise falls on its tail when loading.”

Airplanes 77

Airplanes Rudder Knot Aileron 77

Vintage Aviation News

SEPTEMBER 29, 2024

50 caliber machine guns as opposed to the F4F-4’s six, and the installment of wing-mounted hard points for two 250 lb bombs or six unguided rockets, and does not have the tall tail associated with the FM-2 to counteract the torque from an upgraded engine.

Hangar 116

Hangar Torque Ferry Flight Pilot 116