Airplanes, Center of Gravity and Jet

Examining over 100 years of flight automation and the history of the autopilot

Aerotime

APRIL 3, 2025

Nowadays, modern aircraft are equipped with systems that can not only fly the aircraft but can also perform fully automated take-offs and landings and can even provide protection systems in the event of unusual flight situations that threaten the safety of the airplane and its occupants.

Weight-Shift-Control

Weight-Shift-Control Cockpit Pilot Stability

Tailless Aircraft: How Airplanes Fly Without a Tail

Pilot Institute

JUNE 4, 2025

Have you ever seen an airplane with no tail and no vertical fin, but with just a sleek wing? A tailless aircraft is a fixed-wing airplane without a horizontal stabilizing surface. A tailless airplane is one where everything needed to fly, like lift, control, and stability, is built into the main wing.

Tail

Tail Airplanes Weight-Shift-Control Drag

The Difference Between Category, Class, and Type of Aircraft

Pilot Institute

MARCH 28, 2025

Key Takeaways Category is the broadest grouping based on aircraft use, like airplane, glider, or rotorcraft. Heres a quick summary: Category: The broadest classification of aircraft based on their intended use and operating environment, such as airplane, glider, or helicopter (rotorcraft). What Is an Aircraft Category?

Weight-Shift-Control

Weight-Shift-Control Knot Approach Lift

Approachable Excellence

Plane and Pilot

MAY 3, 2025

Airplanes like the Piper Cherokee probably dont get their due. Ask a stranger to think of a small GA airplane, and theyll probably conjure something like a Cub. The rich can dream of jets and warbirds. His 1972 Piper PA-28-180, owned in partnership with Brian Bishop, is very nearly the perfect airplane for his needs.

Approach

Approach Airplanes Stability Weight-Shift-Control

Navigating ForeFlight Subscriptions: Which Plan is Right for Your Needs

iPad Pilot News

OCTOBER 31, 2024

The weight and balance tool calculates gross weight and center of gravity for a wide range of airplanes. This seems like a small thing, but once you’ve flown an instrument approach with your airplane’s position overlaid on the approach plate, it’s hard to go back.

Weather

Weather Approach Pilot Gross Weight

A Comprehensive Guide to Pilot Certificates and Ratings

Airspeed Junkie

NOVEMBER 7, 2024

Holding a Private Pilot Certificate grants individuals the freedom to fly single-engine airplanes under Visual Flight Rules (VFR), making it a popular choice for aviation enthusiasts. With a commercial pilot license, pilots can engage in a wide range of professional flying jobs, from corporate jet operations to aerial tours and crop-dusting.

Pilot

Pilot Instrument Flight Rules Weather Center of Gravity

Everything You Need To Know About Ailerons

Pilot Institute

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

Or how do modern airplanes reduce dangerous effects like aileron flutter or adverse yaw? Unstable aircraft designs are better suited for high-maneuverability aircraft like aerobatic stunt airplanes or military fighters. This shifts the ailerons Center of Gravity (C.G.) UA232 was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10, a tri-jet.

Aileron

Aileron Weight-Shift-Control Rudder Longitudinal Axis

Pilot Communications and “The Rehearsal Season 2” Documentary

Captain Laura

JUNE 2, 2025

Pilot Personalities and Natural Abilities: I want to start by expressing that who we are innately makes us drawn to flying airplanes. We are thinking about the specific jet we are about to fly, maintenance issues we may need to contend with, the weather which may affect us on departure, enroute, and destination.

Pilot

Pilot Air Traffic Control Center of Gravity Flight Deck

The Role of Newton’s Third Law in Aviation

Pilot Institute

APRIL 12, 2025

Application of Newton’s Third Law in Aviation When we talk about airplanes, we focus primarily on two forces: Lift (how the aircraft stays aloft). The principle is the same whether the aircraft gets thrust from propellers or jet engines. This has only been possible by understanding the laws of physics.

Lift

Lift Torque Thrust Aileron

A Rare Robin

Plane and Pilot

MARCH 2, 2025

I had never heard of a Pierre Robin R2160 before, and why should I have known about an obscure GA airplane that only has eight (10, actually, but more on that later) examples in the U.S.? Second Time Around Smith has owned some cool and unusual airplanes, including a Wilga, a Wren 460, and a Wing Derringer, to name a few.

Rudder

Rudder Pilot Airplanes Center of Gravity

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

Pilot Institute

JUNE 2, 2025

Weight Distribution Effects For example, moving the aircrafts Center of Gravity (CG) aft makes it less stable in pitch. Stability Control Systems Many modern jets are intentionally designed to have lower inherent stability to achieve better maneuverability or efficiency. This usually produces a gentler, well-damped phugoid.

Stability

Stability Tail Pilot Descent

What Is a Dutch Roll, and Is It Dangerous?

Pilot Institute

NOVEMBER 11, 2024

If you’ve ever been on a flight and felt the airplane swaying side to side, you might’ve experienced a taste of what’s known as a Dutch roll. Learning about the Dutch roll can make your next flight feel a little more grounded, even when the airplane isn’t. It may feel alarming if you’re not sure what’s happening.

Stability

Stability Center of Gravity Aileron Rudder

COMBAT VIETNAM: The Threat Inside My Aircraft

Vintage Aviation News

AUGUST 22, 2024

We now had a one-ton very angry creature running from one end or our airplane to the other. Besides, we had our hands full, fighting to maintain control of the airplane. That one-ton shift of weight drastically altered the aircraft’s center of gravity, unbalancing my landing trim setting. That damn buffalo got loose!”

Weight-Shift-Control

Weight-Shift-Control Tail Cargo Airplanes

Nothing Small About It

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 3, 2024

Since then, the team has advanced the airplane into a kit, one made out of carbon fiber and incorporating more than 1400 hours of the prototype’s operation. But now they are, and as no other Experimental—or certified airplane for that matter—can do what the Gweduck can, it’s time to take a good look at the program.

Airplanes

Airplanes Rudder Knot Aileron

Aviator Connection

Examining over 100 years of flight automation and the history of the autopilot

Tailless Aircraft: How Airplanes Fly Without a Tail

Trending Sources

The Difference Between Category, Class, and Type of Aircraft

Approachable Excellence

Navigating ForeFlight Subscriptions: Which Plan is Right for Your Needs

A Comprehensive Guide to Pilot Certificates and Ratings

Everything You Need To Know About Ailerons

Pilot Communications and “The Rehearsal Season 2” Documentary

The Role of Newton’s Third Law in Aviation

A Rare Robin

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

What Is a Dutch Roll, and Is It Dangerous?

COMBAT VIETNAM: The Threat Inside My Aircraft

Nothing Small About It

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