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Tailless Aircraft: How Airplanes Fly Without a Tail

Pilot Institute

A tailless aircraft is a fixed-wing airplane without a horizontal stabilizing surface. With this type of aircraft, the functions of longitudinal stability and control are incorporated into the main wing. A tailless airplane is one where everything needed to fly, like lift, control, and stability, is built into the main wing.

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Learning Aeronautical Engineering From Historic Aircraft Designs

Vintage Aviation News

Studying historical aircraft helps students understand the development of flight and learn from early engineers about problems of lift, propulsion, stability, and material constraints. The Boeing 707 (1957) proved that big passenger planes could be both profitable and efficient, hence launching the modern airline sector.

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Mach Number Explained: What It Is and Why Pilots Use It

Pilot Institute

When you reach around 36,000 feet (11,000 m) near the tropopause, the temperature stabilizes at around -56.5 °C. For example, an airliner might indicate only 250 knots at 35,000 feet, but its true airspeed could be over 430 knots. Commercial airliners aren’t designed for supersonic flight. roughly) up to about Mach 5.0.

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Recognising NASA Technology on Modern Airliners

Fear of Landing

This is an exploration of how NASA research has influenced modern airliners through research and technology. The resulting “supercritical airfoil” shape, when integrated with the aircraft wing, significantly improves the aircraft’s cruise efficiency. You can click through for a larger version of the image.

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Is Flying a Helicopter Harder Than Flying a Plane? A Comparative Analysis

Pilot's Life Blog

The wings are designed with an airfoil shape, curved on the top and flatter on the bottom, creating a pressure difference when air flows over them. Each rotor blade acts as an airfoil, and as it rotates, it moves air over its surface, generating lift. This pressure difference produces lift, allowing the aircraft to ascend.