Pilot's Life Blog

JANUARY 12, 2025

Aircraft Controls: Primary ControlsAilerons, Elevators, Rudder The three primary flight controls ailerons , elevators, and rudderare essential for piloting an aircraft. Elevators, found on the tail, manage its pitch, or up-and-down motion. The rudder, also on the tail, adjusts yaw, which affects left and right turns.

Aileron

Plane and Pilot

MAY 3, 2025

Depressions in the vertical stabilizer and rudder, as well as stabilator skins and ailerons, all help increase panel stiffness while allowing less under-skin structure. I think twice of all the times we’ve flown, we’ve woken up and said, you know what, the weather’s not working out, let’s just drive it, he says.

Approach

Plane and Pilot

DECEMBER 30, 2024

In addition to repairing the left gear leg, the right gear and rudder were removed for recovering. Coordinating schedules and weather took almost six months. Andrew with the Taylorcraft in the 1980s, before it received the checkerboard tail. With the airplane up on blocks and tied down in the hangar, I sent Andrew a photo.

Airplanes

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. Despite the fabric on the wooden blades being slightly frayed, they were not deemed to be too damaged to press on, and weather reports indicated improving conditions in Washington, D.C.

Airplanes

Pilot Institute

NOVEMBER 23, 2024

PARE: Power idle, Ailerons neutral, Rudder opposite, Elevator forward. A flat spin happens when the center of gravity shifts too far aft (toward the tail), and the aircraft’s rotation becomes more horizontal. Rudder: Full opposite input to the spin direction. Ready to become a safer pilot? Let’s get started! Ailerons: Neutral.

Center of Gravity

Plane and Pilot

JULY 1, 2025

Probable cause(s): The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from trees after takeoff, during high density altitude weather conditions. John Espe Cruiser Buhl, Idaho/Injuries: None NTSB Report: WPR23LA29 The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, during the landing, he encountered a gusting tail wind.

Density Altitude

Photographic Logbook

JUNE 29, 2025

During the fall of 2024, I planned a flight to Massey Aerodrome (MD1) in Maryland that I cancelled due to weather. The tail number caught my ear as familiar and when the mental gears finally meshed enough to process that it spelled out "Tiger", I realized that I was hearing Bruno from Fly with Bruno who was out doing what Bruno does.

Runway

Fear of Landing

JUNE 28, 2024

The Cabri G2 comprises a shrouded tail rotor, usually referred to as a “Fenestron” (a registered trade mark of Eurocopter) that was proven to provide excellent maneuverability in every flight condition, in every direction of flight up to 40 kt at least. The weather was clear. The helicopter continued rotating left.

Rudder

Air Facts

OCTOBER 9, 2024

This particular Sunday, the weather was forecasted to be a gem of a day. Autumn weather in the Northeast is the best time to fly in my opinion; cool crisp mornings usually followed by temperatures in the mid 70’s with low humidity. Instead of a Sunday Drive, we opted for a Sunday Flight.

Hangar

Plane and Pilot

AUGUST 18, 2024

Most of the time, I would turn the floatplane setting the tails of the floats onto the shore in order to make our departure a simple matter of climbing in, starting the engine, and with a burst of throttle, sliding into the deeper water and going about our day. To put it mildly, it is a very risky maneuver. Back to the shore of Heckman Lake.

Airplanes

Plane and Pilot

AUGUST 18, 2024

Most of the time, I would turn the floatplane setting the tails of the floats onto the shore in order to make our departure a simple matter of climbing in, starting the engine, and with a burst of throttle, sliding into the deeper water and going about our day. To put it mildly, it is a very risky maneuver. Back to the shore of Heckman Lake.

Airplanes

Airspeed Junkie

AUGUST 2, 2024

Notable design changes included the introduction of a swept tail design in 1960 and a new cowl design in 1961, which improved aerodynamics and performance. Several incidents involving the Cessna 172 have been documented, typically attributed to pilot error, adverse weather conditions, or mechanical issues.

Knot

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 29, 2024

This was another satisfying trip, full of ADM, IMSAFE, and trade-offs—and weather. The weather was… interesting. Fussing with the avionics to keep tabs on the weather gave many more knob touches than the airplane itself. The FAA weather said a thunderstorm was forecast, gusts to 6 knots. Lesson learned.

Weather

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 elevator, situated on the horizontal tail surface, adjusts pitch, raising or lowering the nose for ascent or descent.

Torque

Photographic Logbook

SEPTEMBER 16, 2023

But space in the main hangar is incredibly limited and that relegates several other aircraft to sitting out in the weather. Pitch was controlled by varying the angle of incidence of the upper wing (forward and aft motions of the stick) and roll was initiated by the oversize rudder (left-right motion of the stick).

Torque

Air

MAY 21, 2025

Pilots must use specific techniques, applying rudder and aileron inputs, to maintain directional control and keep the aircraft aligned. Headwind component (Vf), either on the face or tail, is calculated with the cosine function. Learn Your Reports: Get thoroughly familiar with interpreting METARs, TAFs, and other weather products.

Crosswind

Plane and Pilot

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

Missing its tail, pointing almost straight down, a Van’s RV-7A single-engine, two-seat homebuilt plummeted out of the blue and into the rocky ground. Alongside a nearby highway, some recognizable bits of airplane, the vertical stabilizer and rudder, a horizontal stabilizer and elevator, fell separately to Earth.

True Airspeed

Plane and Pilot

SEPTEMBER 20, 2024

Missing its tail, pointing almost straight down, a Van’s RV-7A single-engine, two-seat homebuilt plummeted out of the blue and into the rocky ground. Alongside a nearby highway, some recognizable bits of airplane, the vertical stabilizer and rudder, a horizontal stabilizer and elevator, fell separately to Earth.

True Airspeed

Pilot Institute

APRIL 5, 2024

But don’t hang up your headset just because the weather isn’t perfect. Your ailerons and rudder will be neutral once you’re in the crab position. We use the rudder to align the aircraft’s longitudinal axis with the centerline. Simultaneously, we apply ailerons opposite the rudder input.

Crosswind

Air Facts

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024

In 1998, I joined a venerable flying club, Stick and Rudder Flying Club of Waukegan National Airport (KUGN). We were out for a beautiful evening flight in perfect weather. We slowed, tapped the tail first, and the nose came down solidly, causing the now open passenger door to come off in Diane’s hand. And she was not kidding.

Pilot

Photographic Logbook

JANUARY 25, 2025

But getting there from Rochester, NY is never a simple task and not only requires the runway to be open with favorable conditions, but the weather between here and there must be amenable to a six hour round trip there and back again. More vintage cred: a V-tailed Beechcraft Bonanza! Oh, because of the purple.

Runway

Airspeed Junkie

FEBRUARY 24, 2025

It has been a supersonic, twin-engine, all-weather, multi-role combat aircraft since 1995. However, rear fins stabilize the aircraft, and rudders allow the jet to turn. The F-18 Fighter Jet: A Review The F-18 Fighter Jet has become one of the most iconic military aircraft in history. It is a single-seat aircraft.

Jet

Fear of Landing

OCTOBER 18, 2024

Weather reports from the Naval Auxiliary Landing Field on the island warned of a low cloud ceiling, overcast at 700-800 feet. My feet danced on the rudder pedals as I fought to keep the plane going straight down the runway. They saw the tail of the air craft, about a mile west of the airport and 300 feet below.

Runway

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 my recommendation is to find a very early Bonanza for your first V-tail experience. The Cessna 195 is known for its round tail and flashy looks.

Airplanes

Chess In the Air

JUNE 24, 2022

The Rifle ASOS recorded a gust of 43 mph from the south: a 100-degree shift in direction, putting it right on his tail. He frequently hosted visiting pilots, providing them with detailed briefings of the area and the weather. There was no opportunity to recover and it hit the ground hard, thankfully just out of camera view.

Pilot

Photographic Logbook

SEPTEMBER 22, 2024

He's at full takeoff power and he's got the tail up! However, turning the wheel actuates the rudder (instead of the ailerons). A little weather en route home. Where is he going?! Surely our 100 year old barnstormer doesn't mean to take off by himself in the Great Lakes?! 1931 Great Lakes (reproduction). What is happening?!

Airplanes