The past few weeks have seen extraordinary weather events in all parts of the United States. Unusually cold temperatures have brought everything from ice storms to blizzards, even in places that don’t usually expect white winters. Pilots must keep the weather in mind when preparing for any flight. You can
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Today, we’re featuring an excerpt from the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-8083-25).
Most aircraft are equipped with either a 14- or a 28-volt direct current (DC) electrical system. A basic aircraft electrical system consists of the following components:
- Alternator/generator
- Battery
- Master/battery switch
- Alternator/generator switch
- Bus
Aircraft are flown at high altitudes for two reasons. First, an aircraft flown at high altitude consumes less fuel for a given airspeed than it does for the same speed at a lower altitude because the aircraft is more efficient at a high altitude. Second, bad weather and turbulence may
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Today we’re featuring an excerpt from The Pilot’s Manual: Ground School (PM-2).
Many sophisticated engines have fuel directly metered into the induction manifold and then into the cylinders without using a carburetor. This is known as fuel injection.
A venturi system is still used to create
…The propeller is a rotating airfoil which produces thrust by creating a positive dynamic pressure, usually on the engine side. Some exceptions include the Piaggio Avanti, shown below which uses propellers mounted in what’s often referred to as the pusher configuration.
The propeller, the unit which must absorb the power output of the engine, has passed through many stages of development. Today we’ll feature an excerpt introducing the general concepts of a propeller from our recently released book Aircraft Systems for Pilots.
…Today, I would like to recap Monday’s post on the aircraft engine cooling system and go over some typical questions you will likely see on your FAA Private Pilot knowledge test. First off, we learned about the effects of operating with an excessively high aircraft engine
…Today’s post is excerpted from Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge.
The burning fuel within the cylinders produces intense heat, most of which is expelled through the exhaust system. Much of the remaining heat, however, must be removed, or at least dissipated, to prevent the engine from
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