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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

From the first days of flying to the evolution of supersonic jets, historic aircraft offer a road map for comprehending the ideas guiding aeronautical engineering. Particularly in battle aerodynamics, drag reduction, and structural durability, early aircraft teach engineers today important insights.

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Flight Test Files: The Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket – Chasing Mach 2

Vintage Aviation News

They flew a total of 313 missions, collecting invaluable data on pitch stability, lift, drag, and buffeting in transonic and supersonic flight. The jet- and rocket-powered aircraft exceeded expectations, performing better than predicted in high-speed wind tunnel testsparticularly in drag performance above Mach 0.85.

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

Pilot Institute

Why do jet pilots talk about speed in terms of Mach number? Jet aircraft often fly at speeds close to the speed of sound. When you reach around 36,000 feet (11,000 m) near the tropopause, the temperature stabilizes at around -56.5 °C. Lift, drag, and handling correlate well with IAS in the lower atmosphere. Here’s why.

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Throttle Mismanagement: A T-38 Lesson That Stuck

Air Facts

Throttle Mismanagement: A T-38 Lesson That Stuck Air Facts Journal An Air Force instructor teaches a powerful lesson on throttle finessein a jet that doesnt forgive overcorrections Have you ever been in a car or plane where the person driving or piloting is constantly adjusting the throttle? He replied, Ive got the jet.

AGL
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Airspeed and Altitude Control Simplified: Tips for Stable Flying

Pilot Institute

In high-speed and high-altitude scenarios, like for military and commercial jets, compressibility affects the accuracy of your IAS. For instance, an aircraft maintaining a steady IAS at 30,000 feet will have a faster TAS than at sea level due to reduced drag from thinner air. This means less drag and faster ground speed.

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Everything You Need To Know About Ailerons

Pilot Institute

What Is Aircraft Stability? Stability is the aircrafts tendency to maintain its attitude or orientation. This means that they have to be effective enough to counter the aircrafts inherent lateral stability. Lateral stability depends on the aircrafts design. What Materials Are Used in Ailerons?