TAIL NUMBER
It is with fondness that we remember when Italian kids used to play the number plate game in the car. On old number plates, ‘VR’ stood for Verona and ‘BO’ for Bologna. ‘KR’, Crotone, was worth 3 points. Foreign number plates were worth 5...
HOW DO GLIDERS FLY?
If you love flying, you’ll know that you don’t always need an engine to fly.
Just like boats, planes can also fly using sail power. And that’s exactly how gliders fly.
Gliders are heavier-than-air aircraft, also called aerodynes, with a highly tapered fuselage and extremely long...
THE LIFE OF A PILOT. INTERVIEW WITH FIRST OFFICER GRIGORY SHEVANDIN
Working as a pilot is a rewarding profession.
FLIGHT is a superpower that shortens geographical distances and overcomes gravity. Through technology, humans are capable of overcoming the forces of nature. The possibility of flight touches at the heart of what it means to be human.
We...
HANGARS
How were the hangars born?
To answer this question, it’s interesting to start with the etymology of the term ‘hangar’.
It’s very likely that the word came from the Frankish haimgard, which means ‘enclosure annexed to the house’.
Do you remember the aviation pioneer Louis Blériot.
Well, during...
MARKINGS ON RUNWAYS
If you drive a car or ride a scooter or bike, you’ll certainly be familiar with the markings painted on the tarmac. You know when to stop, overtake or watch out for pedestrians crossing the street.
Markings are a fundamental tool for managing mobility on...
PROFESSION: PILOT. INTERVIEW WITH CAPTAIN MARINO PALLA
What does being a pilot mean? And how do you become a pilot?
We asked these questions to Captain Marino Palla. With 16,000+ flight hours, he’s been a pilot for Air Dolomiti since 1997, a flight instructor since 2000 and Director of the Verona...
THE AUTOBRAKE
You wouldn’t be reading an article from our #AvGeek column if you thought that applying the brakes was enough to make an aeroplane land or stop.
Whilst you do also need to ‘apply the brakes’ in some sense, engaging thrust reversal and the air brakes,...
FIVE APPS FOR SPORTS TRAVELLERS
Tourism, business, personal reasons: these are the main reasons why many of us choose to fly somewhere.
There is, however, one category of traveller that we at Air Dolomiti particularly love (since we operate in some of the airports connected with the most beautiful ski...
WHO ARE PLANE SPOTTERS?
Are you familiar with birdwatching?
It’s an activity, somewhere between a hobby and studying, involving observing birds in their natural environment.
Swap birds for aeroplanes and you get plane spotting. :)
Plane spotters are passionate about aeroplanes and sometimes also photography. They lie in wait in strategic...
AEROPLANE TAILS
Last but not least on an aeroplane comes the tail, also known as the empennage. A fundamental part of an aeroplane, the tail is structured in both horizontal and vertical planes, the ratio of which changes according to the aeroplane configuration. For example, there...