Pilot Institute

JULY 11, 2025

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. Mach number is simply a ratio of your true airspeed to the local speed of sound. on dry thrust alone. Here’s why.

True Airspeed

Professional Pilot

JULY 7, 2025

Every pilot knows that aircraft fly because the forces of lift and thrust balance or exceed the weight and drag countering them. Both thrust and lift rely on airfoils (eg, wings, turbine blades, and propellers) so any time temperature is higher than ISA or pressure is lower, density is below normal, reducing both lift and thrust.

Density Altitude

Thrust Flight

JULY 24, 2024

In this article, we’re going to compare indicated airspeed with true airspeed and help you get a deeper understanding of the difference between the two. Like its partner in crime, the altimeter, your airspeed indicator gives you vital information about the plane you’re flying.

True Airspeed

Air Facts

MAY 10, 2024

For example, some aircraft limit flaps and gear in icing until on approach or forbid the use of speed brakes or require a minimum thrust setting. Particular attention to true airspeed vs. turn radius. What specific indicated airspeed will be flown/adhered to during the circling maneuver?

Approach

Pilot Institute

MARCH 26, 2025

These include lift, propeller thrust, and engine combustion. This means that if you encounter these conditions on a particular day, you would need to achieve a higher true airspeed to produce the same lift that would be generated at lower airspeeds in denser air. Air density is fundamental in aviation.

Density Altitude