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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? Why don’t they use Indicated Airspeed just like the pilots who fly slower aircraft? Key Takeaways Mach number is a dimensionless ratio of true airspeed to local speed of sound. Lift, drag, and handling correlate well with IAS in the lower atmosphere.

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Classic Theory Meets Digital Computer; Status Quo Emerges Unscathed

Flying Magazine

First published 45 years ago, Carsons essay became a point of reference for the wonkier class of pilot, to whose vocabulary it contributed a couple of novel phrases: Carson Speed and the least wasteful way of wasting. Naval Academy, approached the problem by setting lift-drag ratio, L/D, as his metric of efficiency.

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Airspeed and Altitude Control Simplified: Tips for Stable Flying

Pilot Institute

If you’re aiming to get comfortable with managing both airspeed and altitude in flight, you’ll need to understand the difference between indicated airspeed (IAS) and true airspeed (TAS). Key Takeaways Airspeed and altitude are directly linked to each other throughout different phases of your flight. miles per hour.

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Mastering Stalls: How to Recognize, Prevent, and Recover Safely

Flight Training Central

If the bank increases, the loss of vertical lift component tends to lower the nose. If simulating a maximum performance takeoff, the flaps should be extended if called for in the pilot’s operating handbook. The main factors which determine the angle of attack of a wing are, airspeed, weight, and load factor.

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Air pressure and density

Professional Pilot

A lighting the runway with under 1000 ft to go, the pilots breathed a sigh of relief. However, they underestimated their climb from the lift off point and, with the sluggish rate of climb, the saddle ridge across the departure path suddenly became a dangerous obstacle they might not clear. C per km (–3.6 °F/1000

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Let’s Play it Safe

Plane and Pilot

A pilot friend and I decided to fly my 1976 Cardinal over to Sedona Airport (KZEZ) for a late lunch. So, what was a pilot new to the high and hot world of density altitude flying to do? But more than that, what we as thinking pilots do when faced with these high, hot, and even humid days is key to flying safely. It all adds up.

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How Hybrid Air Vehicles Is Making World’s Longest Aircraft Longer

Flying Magazine

Helium contributes only about 60 percent of the lift—the shape of the balloon forms a giant wing, providing the rest. READ MORE: Airlines and Pilots Don’t See Eye to Eye on Autonomous Flights Aerodynamic lift and vectored thrust come from two pairs of ducted propellers running on kerosene-powered engines, mounted outside the main hull.