Pilot's Life Blog

JANUARY 12, 2025

Understanding the Basics of Flight Principles of Flight: Lift, Weight, Thrust, and Drag Flying a plane for the first time requires a basic understanding of the forces that make flight possible. Thrust, produced by the engines, moves the plane forward, while drag, or air resistance, slows it down.

Aileron

Pilot Institute

FEBRUARY 20, 2025

Adverse yaw is a side effect of aileron use, countered by rudder input. Unlike the elevators and rudder mounted close to the fuselage, the ailerons location at the end of the long, thin, and flexible wings makes them much more prone to flutter. This is where the rudder comes in. What Is an Aileron?

Aileron

Pilot's Life Blog

JANUARY 5, 2025

This configuration provides the necessary power for both climb and cruise, while also offering valuable training for managing asymmetric thrust in the event of an engine-out situation. When learning how to land a Piper Seminole, it is crucial to understand the role of each engine in the approach and landing phases.

Descent

Pilot Institute

NOVEMBER 2, 2024

Key Takeaways Power-off stalls mimic a stall during the flight’s approach and landing phase. On final approach, it can be the difference between recovering and crashing. Initiating a Power-off Stall Now, let’s dive into the stall: Reduce Power Simulate Approach Descent Watch for Stall Warnings 1. Why should this matter to you?

Descent

Pilot's Life Blog

JUNE 18, 2025

Skills Developed: It enhances coordination and control precision, forcing students to make small, deliberate inputs on the yoke and rudder. Types of Stalls: At Leopard Aviation, we cover power-on stalls, simulating situations like takeoff stalls, and power-off stalls, similar to approach or landing configurations.

Pilot

Pilot Institute

APRIL 12, 2025

This principle is fundamental in generating lift, thrust, and maneuverability, allowing aircraft to fly. Thrust (how it moves forward). Thrust and Propulsion Systems A wing has to move fast enough through the air to generate lift effectively. That force is called thrust. Thrust relies on Newtons Third Law as well.

Torque

Vintage Aviation News

OCTOBER 30, 2024

Though the fabric on the wings would be recovered in 1952, the structure of the wings, tail, and rudder remained original to 1910. Hartman, and a tachometer and an ice scale used by Hartman to measure the pounds of thrust generated by the engine before takeoff. Erickson, who was accompanied by a passenger, Captain W.J.

Airplanes

Northstar VFR

JULY 21, 2024

More right rudder!!” The airplane rudder is one of the most misunderstood of the primary flight controls. Yet the rudder is one of the most important and one of the most under-utilized. The rudder’s most important function is controlling the yaw of the aircraft, which moves the nose of the plane left and right.

Rudder

Plane and Pilot

SEPTEMBER 21, 2024

These were small pedals at the base of the rudder pedals that give the same differential control as toe brakes, but you push your heels in for brake application. Twice in the first few months after upgrading, I flew jets with a thrust reverser deferred, a situation I’d seen plenty of times as a first officer.

Rudder

Flight Training Central

JANUARY 27, 2025

This article dives into the most prevalent landing errors, shedding light on why they occur and how they can sneak into even the most carefully executed approaches. Ballooning can be dangerous because the height above the ground is increasing and the airplane may be rapidly approaching a stalled condition. Good landings take practice!

Airplanes

Plane and Pilot

SEPTEMBER 21, 2024

These were small pedals at the base of the rudder pedals that give the same differential control as toe brakes, but you push your heels in for brake application. Twice in the first few months after upgrading, I flew jets with a thrust reverser deferred, a situation I’d seen plenty of times as a first officer.

Rudder

Pilot Institute

MARCH 29, 2024

Common mistakes include neglecting clearing turns, delaying stall recovery, and misusing the rudder. Thrust : The force generated by the engine that propels the aircraft forward. Pilots must counteract the additional drag with more thrust to maintain altitude. Gradually reduce thrust from cruise power.

Lift

Pilot Institute

OCTOBER 16, 2024

Briefing A pre-landing briefing highlights essential points critical to the approach and landing phase. Brief that you will use the right rudder to align the aircraft straight with the runway and the left aileron to counteract drift. It also allows you to focus on flying during the last stages of the approach and landing.

Airplanes

Fly with Eva

FEBRUARY 24, 2018

I remember the emotions during the last approach into Barcelona airport. Now is my last approach and final landing with a cabin full of passengers. Every session we tick off training elements, from basics like steep turns and approach to stall recovery, TCAS RA, to engine failures, fires, evacuations, crosswind landings.

Approach

Jetwhine

JANUARY 17, 2024

You’d think pilot problems would be all about stick-and-rudder skills here,” he said. Steering happens through coordinated use of brakeless rudder pedals augmented by a handbrake, which looks like it was swiped from a 10-speed bike, attached to the control stick. Hold full right rudder and gently grab the handbrake.

Knot

Pilot's Life Blog

FEBRUARY 11, 2025

Control Mechanisms Airplane Controls In airplanes, pilots manage flight using three primary controls: the ailerons, elevator, and rudder. The rudder, attached to the vertical tail fin, manages yaw, enabling the nose to move left or right. Coordinating these controls demands continuous input and attentiveness from the pilot.

Torque

Aerotime

JULY 19, 2024

The primary flight controls on the DC-10 (ailerons, rudder, elevators, spoilers) were all operated by hydraulic pressure and the first officer was quick to realize that his controls were unresponsive to his inputs. During the final approach, Haynes noted a high sink rate alarm from the aircraft’s ground proximity warning syst em (GPWS).

Runway

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 9, 2024

We learn all about aerodynamics, thrust, drag, lift, and gravity, study flight manuals, emergency procedures, and FARs, take oral exams and check rides, and constantly review everything we can find about flying. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect.”

Runway

Photographic Logbook

APRIL 25, 2025

Sun 'n' Fun 2006 marked the airshow debut of the F-22 Raptor with its jaw-dropping vectored thrust capabilities. Rob was not just an artist with stick and rudder, but a genuinely kindhearted, warm soul who was an approachable, articulate advocate for aviation. My first real airshows were Sun 'n' Fun 2005 and 2006. Photo by Ed B.

Thrust

Vintage Aviation News

AUGUST 29, 2024

As we approached Hanoi, Lead wagged his wings, signaling us to maneuver into a fingertip formation. Lead banked and wagged his rudder, signaling us to maneuver back into a spread formation. As my heart rate slowed to something approaching normal, I swore undying allegiance to every tanker driver in the U.S. What the….?

Drag

Pilot Institute

OCTOBER 12, 2024

Stalling with a high-power setting takes more effort since there is thrust and a high-energy slipstream from the propeller, which prevents boundary layer separation. Poor Control Feel When the aircraft approaches a stall, the boundary layer separates from the wing. This requires rudder input to maintain directional control.

Stability

Plane and Pilot

JANUARY 7, 2025

She flew like a big, lumbering Cub of sorts, complete with a wooden rudder bar, tall wooden stick, and instruments that seemed like they were straight out of World War One. But this is my answer: In many ways, the Vans RV-4 is the downsized, affordable, approachable, insurable answer to what makes the P-51 amazing.

Airplanes

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 3, 2024

But it was apparent the smallest Grumman flying boat was too small and full of quirks—the cabin door won’t open if the flaps are down, for example—to justify something approaching a direct copy. An elegantly simple rope system inside the fuselage raises and lowers the Gweduck’s water rudder mounted inside the base of the main rudder (right).

Airplanes