Learning Zone

To keep my posts on the shorter side, I keep from explaining many different things related to aviation and the airplane. I hope this page will help answer some of the questions you may have.

The airplane:

daviddarling.info

Flight Controls:

• Ailerons - used to control the aircraft in roll, which results in a change in heading (turning the airplane).
• Flaps -  Used to increase lift (usually during takeoff), or to increase drag (in flight or during landing).
• Elevators -  They make the aircraft nose-up or nose-down (to climb or descend).
• Rudder - Used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor (to remain coordinated).

  
The basic airplane instrument panel:

learnerstogether.net

  

 Click on an instrument's name for more information:

• Altimeter (feet)
• Airspeed Indicator (knots)
• Turn Coordinator (turn direction and coordination)
• Vertical Speed Indicator (feet per minute)
• Attitude Indicator/ Artificial Horizon (attitude indication)
• Directional Gyro / Heading Indicator (degrees)

VOR Indicator:

en.wikipedia.org

• VOR, short for VHF omnidirectional radio range, is a type of radio navigation system for aircraft.

Traffic pattern for the airport:

commons.wikimedia.org

Holding Pattern Entries- required training for an instrument rating.

Wikipedia diagram

"The primary use of a holding pattern is to delay aircraft that have arrived at their destination but cannot land yet because of traffic congestion, poor weather, runway unavailability, etc.

• A direct entry is performed exactly as it sounds: the aircraft flies directly to the holding fix (the point you see on the diagram), and immediately begins the first turn outbound.
• In a parallel entry, the aircraft flies to the holding fix, parallels the inbound course for one minute outbound, and then turns back, flies directly to the fix, and continues in the hold from there.
• In a teardrop entry, the aircraft flies to the holding fix, turns into the protected area, flies for one minute, and then turns back inbound, proceeds to the fix and continues from there."
• Definitions provided by Wikipedia

ILS Approaches:

Diagram from Forums.surclaro.com

• "An instrument landing system (ILS) is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), such as low ceilings or reduced visibility due to fog, rain, or blowing snow. " - Wikipedia

Other:

• Do you want to see videos on how to fly an airplane? Here's a great YouTube page full of informative videos:  YouTube Playlist

*More to come!!*