Category: Uncategorized

First, lets discuss the wrong explanation. Conventional explanation goes something like this. The airplane rolls into a bank. This transfers some of the vertical lift into a horizontal force. The horizontal force becomes the centrepetal force that pulls the airplane in a circular path. The above explanation may sound reasonable, but at the very least…

Basic Theory The basic rule of an aircraft engine is that each cubic inch of displacement produces roughly 0.5 horse power. But I have rarely seen how this number is calculated. So that is the purpose of this post. We will walk through the math so that we can see how the thermodynamic calculations lead…

The Europa uses two different epoxies. Laminations are done using Aeropoxy PR 2032, and structural bonds are done using Araldite 420. The latter is also sold as Epibond 420 in the U.S. It is a pretty useful product not just for aircraft, but also as a general high strength adhesive. I’ve used it in my…

First lets get a few facts straight: Fuel efficiency and speed are inversely related. It doesn’t matter if it is a motorcycle, car or an airplane. You pay for speed with reduced efficiency. You also pay for weight. These are fundamental facts. The only place where those rules don’t apply is in outer space (no…

Carburetors are supposedly volumetric (i.e. they’re supposed to deliver a constant air:fuel ratio by volume). As a consequence of the constant volume ratio, the mixture will automatically become richer when the air density decreases. Therefore, the mixture knob is used to restrict the flow of fuel to maintain the same mass flow ratio between fuel…

For pilots using Xplane for maintaining proficiency or for flight training, it is important to have a cockpit layout similar to their real airplane. Unfortunately, Xplane does not make this process simple. Creating the same look and feel of your own airplane requires building new instruments and applying custom textures. Documentation on how to do…

My setup is a bit atypical because the whole thing (antenna, receiver and raspberry pi) is contained inside a plastic box and mounted at the top of a rooftop mast. A more typical setup is to mount the antenna on the mast, and run a coaxial cable to the Flightaware receiver dongle attached to a…

This is an article I wrote to the Dayton Daily News, which appeared on Saturday May 5 2012. Tom Hausfeld, the pilot of the ill-fated flight on April 1, might be alive today if not for the poor decisions to erect buildings on the approach path of incoming airplanes. While fear is being raised about…

Let me start with a disclaimer that I am not the expert on international flying. My experience comes solely from having made several trips between Ohio and southern Ontario to visit friends and family. When I first checked into this, I received all kinds of totally irrelevant information, such as international flight plans, radio licenses,…

The vast majority of pilots use the VOR as a command instrument – turn left when the needle deflects left, and turn right when the needle deflects right. Then they learn about reverse sensing. If the OBS is set to the reciprocal course, the commands become reversed – turn right when the needle deflects left,…