Remove Airplanes Remove Altimeter Remove Descent
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The Pitot-Static System: How It Works

Pilot Institute

” The answers come from a clever little setup on your airplane: a metal tube sticking into the airstream and a tiny hole on the fuselage. It helps measure how fast the airplane is going by measuring the air pressure. The other important part of the system is a tiny hole on the side of the airplane, called a static port.

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Airspeed and Altitude Control Simplified: Tips for Stable Flying

Pilot Institute

Using the VSI and Altimeter for Stability The vertical speed indicator and altimeter are your best tools for maintaining a steady altitude. The altimeter , when set correctly, shows your actual height above sea level. When climbing or descending, check the altimeter frequently to ensure you’re on target.

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The Six Pack: Basic Flight Instruments

Pilot Institute

When you first laid your eyes on the instruments inside an airplane, they probably went wide with a mixture of joy, confusion, and slight apprehension at the thought of having to learn how to read them. This information is used to determine altitude, rate of climb or descent (i.e., The altimeter has two needles, one long and one short.

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Flight Instruments vs. Avionics

WayMan

Altimeter: Shows the altitude of the aircraft above a designated reference point, essential for flight level assignment and terrain clearance. Heading Indicator (Directional Gyro): Indicates the airplane’s magnetic heading and provides a more stable directional indication than an ordinary magnetic compass.

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RNAV Approaches Simplified: A Guide for New Pilots

Pilot Institute

These would guide them when they couldn’t see anything outside their airplane. The satellites then send the corrected signals back to your airplane. LNAV Approach An LNAV (Lateral Navigation) approach helps guide you left and right toward the runway, but it doesnt tell you how to control your descent. Thats up to you!

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Trial by Ice

Air Facts

Flying a single engine airplane, under IFR, in the clouds, in a non-radar environment and without an autopilot, adds a great deal to the pilots work load. With three airplanes, we departed Springfield for Fairfield, Iowa to compete in an NIFA competition against five other schools. This was the situation on Friday, December 1, 1972.

VOR
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Phugoid Motion in Aviation: What It Is and Why It Matters

Pilot Institute

Thats why, for a passenger, phugoid motion feels like a series of slow climbs and descents instead of pitching up and down. Notice the altimeter needle swing up and down gently, up to a few hundred feet. The Vertical Speed Indicator (VSI) will show a cycle of shallow climbs and descents. As it descends, it regains speed.