Veritable Aviation Blog

Turning is a normal procedure in flight, allowing for a pilot to readjust the aircraft heading to change their direction. Rather than simply rotate a steering wheel such as one would do in an automobile, pilots must take advantage of various flight surfaces and controls in order to efficiently turn. Additionally, they also have to take into consideration gravity, lift, thrust, and other various forces that may affect heading and orientation. In this blog, we will discuss how airplanes turn in the air, allowing you to better understand the control of such vehicles. 

The flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) are both crucial parts of aircraft, allowing investigators to determine the factors that may have caused a crash. Despite both devices being well protected with intensely rigorous housing and construction, it can be difficult to locate them in the case of a catastrophic accident, especially those in large bodies of water. In order to better ensure the timely recovery of flight data recorders and cockpit voice recorders, some manufacturers have begun experimenting with an alternative device known as automatic deployable flight recording systems (DFRS).

As a primary component of aviation design, tires have evolved over the years to assist aircraft in handling the stressors of takeoff, landing, and fluctuating environmental temperatures. When landing, a great amount of friction is applied to the aircraft tires. For modern aircraft to support the weight of the vehicle and all passengers within, the tires need to be capable of enduring constant abuse not otherwise withstandable by standard car or rubber tires. It is paramount that aircraft tires are flexible, made out of a material resistant to heat and designed to meet the needs of a specific aircraft. Within this blog, we will discuss the basics of aircraft tires, what they are composed of, and how they can be properly maintained.

Gyroscopic instruments are common to aircraft, and they include those such as attitude indicators, heading indicators, and turn indicators. Such flight instruments garner their measurements with the use of a mechanical gyroscope, that of which is a device that may measure orientation and angular velocity through a wheel or disc placed on a free rotational axis. When used for aviation, gyroscopic instruments are either electrically or vacuum driven, though some modern installations have since begun using laser gyros. 

A propelling nozzle is a nozzle that converts the internal energy of a working gas into a propulsive gas. The presence of a nozzle, which forms a jet, is what differentiates a jet engine from a gas turbine engine. Depending on an engine’s power setting, the nozzle’s internal shape, and the pressure at entry & exit of the nozzle, propelling nozzles can accelerate gases to subsonic, transonic, or supersonic speeds. The internal shape of a jet engine can be convergent or convergent-divergent (C-D). C-D nozzles can accelerate the jet to supersonic velocities within their divergent section, while convergent nozzles can only accelerate the jet to sonic speeds.

Emergency locator transmitters, or ELTs, are carried on nearly all general aviation aircraft in the United States. Should an accident occur, the ELT is designed to transmit a distress signal on the 121.5 and 243.0 MHz frequencies. New ELTs can also transmit signals on the 406 MHz frequency. Per a congressional mandate from 1973, ELTs are required to be affixed on nearly all civil aircraft registered in the United States, including general aviation aircraft.

While flying during daylight hours allows pilots to use both visual references from outside the windshield and instrument readings to conduct standard operations, night flying can open up more complexity. When pilots need to rely on visuals from out of the windshield during night hours, they need to use a Night Vision Imaging System (NVIS). NVISs can be highly beneficial for increasing visibility, but they can also create safety hazards if the equipment is incompatible with the aircraft, hasn't been set up properly, or if flight crews are unable to operate such systems correctly. In this blog, we will discuss some of the common factors that affect the safety of NVIS use, allowing you to enact the proper measures during such operations.

In the days before electronic flight displays and modern flight instruments, distance measuring equipment (DME) served as a critical asset for conducting flight. As a radio system that could determine the distance between an aircraft and a VOR station, DME helped many pilots navigate much easier and safer. As the electronic flight display and modern flight instruments became more common, however, the original DME system quickly became outdated and the term eventually spread to include any navigation system that could provide accurate distance measurements to stations.

While a majority of fixed-wing aircraft are designed for operations in the air and on land, there are also many that specifically cater to landing and taking off from water. Known as seaplanes, such aircraft are fitted with a variety of components that allow them to easily traverse on water and undertake more diverse operations as compared to a conventional land-based aircraft. In this blog, we will discuss the common features of the seaplane and their functionalities, allowing you to better understand how they are used to carry out various operations on and from water. 

While aircraft fuel leaks are something that no pilot ever wants to face, they are always a possibility that one should be prepared for. By knowing what to do in the event of a fuel leak or aircraft fuel spill, pilots can ensure that they efficiently resolve the situation and safely operate the aircraft for the wellbeing of all on board. Furthermore, understanding the situations that cause leaks can help you prevent fuel leakage before it occurs, allowing operators to best care for their aircraft.