Pilot Institute

NOVEMBER 1, 2024

Additional Dangers of Ice Accumulation Icing also makes your aircraft heavier and can even change the position of the center of gravity. It most commonly forms on the leading edges of your aircraft, including the wings, tail, and horizontal stabilizer, as well as on the propeller blades and pitot tubes.

Pitot Tube 52

Pitot Tube Drag Lift Airfoil 52

Pilot Institute

NOVEMBER 23, 2024

A flat spin is a thrilling (and potentially dangerous) flight phenomenon that pilots must prepare for. In reality, flat spins can challenge even experienced pilots, making it important for you to understand what they are and how to handle them. Ready to become a safer pilot? An aft center of gravity increases flat spin risk.

Center of Gravity 98

Center of Gravity Weight-Shift-Control Aileron Rudder 98

Pilot Institute

JUNE 2, 2025

Well discuss how phugoid motion relates to your aircrafts stability, what you can do to counter it, and even look at what it can do to an aircraft in severe cases. Pilots can let the aircrafts natural damping resolve the issue or make small, well-timed inputs. This could be a wind gust or a pilot making a control input.

Stability 52

Stability Tail Pilot Descent 52

Pilot Institute

APRIL 12, 2025

Newton’s Third Law helps pilots and engineers improve flight safety and aircraft performance. If the pilot increases the wings angle of attack too much, the airflow can separate from the wings surface, causing a stall – an abrupt loss of lift. What does Newtons Third law tell pilots about thrust?

Lift 52

Lift Torque Thrust Aileron 52

Vintage Aviation News

DECEMBER 14, 2024

It was certainly a most unusual aircraft, distinguished by its forward swept wing and canard horizontal stabilizers. One of the biggest challenges for the X-29 was the unusual center of gravity, which was affected by the rear-mounting of the forward-swept wings and made the X-29 inherently unstable.

Horizontal Stabilizer 96

Horizontal Stabilizer Center of Gravity Tail Drag 96

Pilot Institute

NOVEMBER 11, 2024

How an aircraft handles Dutch roll depends on its dynamic stability. The aircraft’s design influences its dynamic stability. Large aircraft use yaw dampers while small aircraft rely on piloting techniques to counter Dutch roll. To understand the aircraft’s response to a disturbance, you need to understand aerodynamic stability.

Stability 52

Stability Center of Gravity Aileron Rudder 52

Flying Magazine

MAY 6, 2025

Adventurous aerobatic pilot Frank Christensen, owner of Christen Industries, which built the Pitts Special series and the Christen Eagle II aerobatic biplane kit, watched as biplane sales fell during the early 1980s. In 1995, businessman, backcountry, and aerobatic pilot Stu Horn bought the company and changed its name to Aviat Aircraft Inc.

Gross Weight 78

Gross Weight Horizontal Stabilizer Airplanes Rudder 78

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 3, 2024

When spelled geoduck it represents a grotesque, oversized mollusk, or clam to we pilot simpletons. Much depends on the aircraft’s weight, pilot skill and, surprisingly, “how much abuse you want to experience. Checking the oil is the main attraction to the pilot. The airplane will handle more than you want to.”

Airplanes 79

Airplanes Rudder Knot Aileron 79

AV Web

APRIL 15, 2025

Student pilots get a free pass, because theyre adorable skittering off runways in Loss of Directional Control (LODC) events that vex the best among us. But assumptions spiraled for this private pilot in a 1953 Bell 47D helicopter (think M.A.S.H) No mention if the Cessna pilot noticed. at Marana, Arizona, on 2021s first day.

Pilot 52

Pilot Airplanes Runway Descent 52