Cool things seen on FlightRadar
Discussion
Steve_D said:
Bear with me here as I'm not a pilot but how the hell do you fly such a perfect circle, in this case at least twice?
Steve
That aircraft has some very clever equipment on it, that allows it to do just that. My understanding is that to calibrate any instrument system you need to be able to place your aircraft exactly where those systems should be, and then the calibration work begins to get that system exactly in the right place.Steve
The DME of a VOR/DME stands for digital measuring equipment. Very simply, it tells you how far away from the beacon you are in nautical miles.
To fly a circle like that, you just need to maintain a constant distance from the beacon whilst banking in a turn. If the number decreases, you're getting closer to the beacon and so reduce the angle of bank you're flying. Likewise, if the number increases then increase the angle of bank slightly.
Modern flight computers on bigger planes are able to follow a DME arc automatically
To fly a circle like that, you just need to maintain a constant distance from the beacon whilst banking in a turn. If the number decreases, you're getting closer to the beacon and so reduce the angle of bank you're flying. Likewise, if the number increases then increase the angle of bank slightly.
Modern flight computers on bigger planes are able to follow a DME arc automatically
Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff