Random facts about planes..
Discussion
You can be 2 hours into a flight from Amsterdam to Angola and if the toilets don't work they will turn around, land back in Amsterdam, try to fix the plane, crew change then .... well.... not sure as I'm still on the runway at Schipol.
Hope they take off soon or my visa will be cancelled. Which will mess up my work visa I just spent months and nearly 2k pounds sorting out.
Hope they take off soon or my visa will be cancelled. Which will mess up my work visa I just spent months and nearly 2k pounds sorting out.
The wing of the 747 develops 1 pound of lift for every square inch of top surface.
Concorde had 11 fuel tanks used to adjust the Centre of Gravity during flight. During hangar testing in Filton, an electrical "hanger pilot" fiddled with the electrical switches in the cockpit and, inadvertently, transferred fuel to the rear tank causing the whole aircraft to tip up on its arse !
The nose was up amongst the roof structure of the Brabazon hanger. The site was locked down and phones disconnected until cranes were brought in and straps slung beneath the fuselage. Fuel was then transferred back forward whilst the weight was taken by the cranes, bringing the plane back down to the ground !
The first VC10 converted to the flying tanker role, ZA141, was nearly lost during test flights. During a stall test, the plane could not be easily recovered and subsequently exceed its maximum speed in the dive before being recovered. During inspection back in the hanger, it was noticed that many rivet heads on the vertical tailfin had become proud of the skin. Inspection inside showed all the internal frames had shattered. The next flight would like to have caused the tail to fall off.
A replacement tail was taken from another aircraft at Wroughton and fitted. Flight testing then recommenced.
The inflight refuelling probe on the receiving aircraft was called the "donkeys dick" for obvious reasons !
Concorde had 11 fuel tanks used to adjust the Centre of Gravity during flight. During hangar testing in Filton, an electrical "hanger pilot" fiddled with the electrical switches in the cockpit and, inadvertently, transferred fuel to the rear tank causing the whole aircraft to tip up on its arse !
The nose was up amongst the roof structure of the Brabazon hanger. The site was locked down and phones disconnected until cranes were brought in and straps slung beneath the fuselage. Fuel was then transferred back forward whilst the weight was taken by the cranes, bringing the plane back down to the ground !
The first VC10 converted to the flying tanker role, ZA141, was nearly lost during test flights. During a stall test, the plane could not be easily recovered and subsequently exceed its maximum speed in the dive before being recovered. During inspection back in the hanger, it was noticed that many rivet heads on the vertical tailfin had become proud of the skin. Inspection inside showed all the internal frames had shattered. The next flight would like to have caused the tail to fall off.
A replacement tail was taken from another aircraft at Wroughton and fitted. Flight testing then recommenced.
The inflight refuelling probe on the receiving aircraft was called the "donkeys dick" for obvious reasons !
Shakermaker said:
Which it was. It had literally JUST taken off and was unable to get out of the way/stop etc. The underside of the KLM hit the upper half of the Pan Am
My father worked for "Willis Faber and Dumas" for a year in the 70's who were the insurers in this instance, he was assigned some of the paperwork to the case and frequently mentions it. I'll interrogate him over fish and chips this Friday and see if I can get some info.
The coefficient of lift for any aerofoil is a dimensionless number - it basically captures a shape within the lift equation.
The Wright brothers famous airplane did not adopt ailerons in order to cause a roll movement on their plane, instead they had an arrangement of wires which were pulled to deform the whole wing shape which would cause more lift on on side of the plane than the other.
Interestingly enough there is an amount of new research in to adopting this old concept to control aircraft roll via the use of new flexible and composite materials and modern avionics, with the end aim to give a reduction in weight and more effective/efficient control over the aircraft.
The Wright brothers famous airplane did not adopt ailerons in order to cause a roll movement on their plane, instead they had an arrangement of wires which were pulled to deform the whole wing shape which would cause more lift on on side of the plane than the other.
Interestingly enough there is an amount of new research in to adopting this old concept to control aircraft roll via the use of new flexible and composite materials and modern avionics, with the end aim to give a reduction in weight and more effective/efficient control over the aircraft.
Atomic12C said:
The Wright brothers famous airplane did not adopt ailerons in order to cause a roll movement on their plane, instead they had an arrangement of wires which were pulled to deform the whole wing shape which would cause more lift on on side of the plane than the other.
Many early aircraft used wing warping - both before and after the Wrights.
Eric Mc said:
Atomic12C said:
The Wright brothers famous airplane did not adopt ailerons in order to cause a roll movement on their plane, instead they had an arrangement of wires which were pulled to deform the whole wing shape which would cause more lift on on side of the plane than the other.
Many early aircraft used wing warping - both before and after the Wrights.Ayahuasca said:
Eric Mc said:
Atomic12C said:
The Wright brothers famous airplane did not adopt ailerons in order to cause a roll movement on their plane, instead they had an arrangement of wires which were pulled to deform the whole wing shape which would cause more lift on on side of the plane than the other.
Many early aircraft used wing warping - both before and after the Wrights.Due to packaging issues, the Hawker Siddeley Trident had a front landing gear that was offset from the centre line about 5 ft port.
The reason that the window blinds are opened during take off is so the crew can tell whether or not its safe to evacuate each side following a crash.
In a similar vein, the reason night take-offs are always carried out with the cabin lights dimmed is so that your eyes will adjust to the darkness faster if you have to evacuate.
Prior to the invention of GPS, many larger airliners used complex inertial navigation systems that actually recorded every bump, climb, turn and dive, along with airspeed, to establish where the plane was. They were surprisingly accurate given how implausible the idea sounds.
The Airbus A340 was designed for very long flights, often over huge deserted areas like the North pole. Because of this lengthy flight time, they were often equipped with a stretcher that fitted into a cooled locker, so that if someone died halfway across the pole, their body wouldn't have to be left propped up in a seat with other passengers.
The weird dog barking noise you hear on some airbus aircraft around taxiing and landing is the hydraulic pressure regulator housed under the cabin floor. Boeing use a different system that doesn't make the same noise.
Next time you worry about a plane falling out of the sky when it gets bumpy, remember that an airliner can easily withstand the kind of turbulence that would result in deaths or serious injuries to many of the passengers (from smashing around the cabin and/or hitting the overhead PSU)
Most airliners will glide a surprisingly long way without power. Air Transat Flight 236 lost power in all 4 engines while crossing the Atlantic, but the crew managed to keep the aircraft in the air for almost 20 minutes, during which time they had glided 75 miles where they then performed a safe landing at an airbase on the Azores.
The reason that the window blinds are opened during take off is so the crew can tell whether or not its safe to evacuate each side following a crash.
In a similar vein, the reason night take-offs are always carried out with the cabin lights dimmed is so that your eyes will adjust to the darkness faster if you have to evacuate.
Prior to the invention of GPS, many larger airliners used complex inertial navigation systems that actually recorded every bump, climb, turn and dive, along with airspeed, to establish where the plane was. They were surprisingly accurate given how implausible the idea sounds.
The Airbus A340 was designed for very long flights, often over huge deserted areas like the North pole. Because of this lengthy flight time, they were often equipped with a stretcher that fitted into a cooled locker, so that if someone died halfway across the pole, their body wouldn't have to be left propped up in a seat with other passengers.
The weird dog barking noise you hear on some airbus aircraft around taxiing and landing is the hydraulic pressure regulator housed under the cabin floor. Boeing use a different system that doesn't make the same noise.
Next time you worry about a plane falling out of the sky when it gets bumpy, remember that an airliner can easily withstand the kind of turbulence that would result in deaths or serious injuries to many of the passengers (from smashing around the cabin and/or hitting the overhead PSU)
Most airliners will glide a surprisingly long way without power. Air Transat Flight 236 lost power in all 4 engines while crossing the Atlantic, but the crew managed to keep the aircraft in the air for almost 20 minutes, during which time they had glided 75 miles where they then performed a safe landing at an airbase on the Azores.
A lot of aircraft do including Nimrod, C-130, Jetstream, and HS-125. They are gold film window-heating elements.
Aside from cutting down glare, they also help 'soften' (or at least reduce the brittleness) of the perspex which gives you a certain amount of protection against birdstrikes.
Aside from cutting down glare, they also help 'soften' (or at least reduce the brittleness) of the perspex which gives you a certain amount of protection against birdstrikes.
Edited by Ginetta G15 Girl on Wednesday 24th May 00:32
Ginetta G15 Girl said:
A lot of aircraft do including Nimrod, C-130, Jetstream, and HS-125. They are gold film window-heating elements.
Aside from cutting down glare, they also help 'soften' (or at least reduce the brittleness) of the perspex which gives you a certain amount of protection against birdstrikes.
Another random fact, if it has gold leaf as the heating element it's most likely made of glass, not perspex. Aside from cutting down glare, they also help 'soften' (or at least reduce the brittleness) of the perspex which gives you a certain amount of protection against birdstrikes.
Edited by Ginetta G15 Girl on Wednesday 24th May 00:32
tommyjj said:
Most airliners will glide a surprisingly long way without power. Air Transat Flight 236 lost power in all 4 engines while crossing the Atlantic, but the crew managed to keep the aircraft in the air for almost 20 minutes, during which time they had glided 75 miles where they then performed a safe landing at an airbase on the Azores.
Fact: From most points above the Atlantic, a 75 mile glide will do little to alter the eventual outcome.Dr Jekyll said:
LimaDelta said:
Fact: From most points above the Atlantic, a 75 mile glide will do little to alter the eventual outcome.
In 20 minutes it ought to be possible to cover more than 75 miles though. More importantly, it's potentially 20 minutes less in the water before rescue arrives.Gassing Station | Boats, Planes & Trains | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff