HOW DO AIRCRAFT HOLD DOORS WORK?
Why don’t we all admit it? Even though it may seem a bit daft, we’ve all wondered at least one in our lives what would happen if the aircraft hold door opened while the plane was flying. Well, the good news is, it’s impossible!...
WHAT MATERIAL IS AN AIRCRAFT MADE OF?
In this section, one of the most loved by our readers, we have often wondered “what is it made of?”. However, still talking about airplanes, it is time to change question…
WHAT MATERIAL is an aircraft made of?
Let’s start from the most obvious parts. The...
IN-FLIGHT REFUELLING
In this space dedicated to our geek readers, we often cover tools and manoeuvres that are used in military aviation.
In-flight refuelling, which we are about to cover the history and secrets of, is precisely one such topic. The reason is obvious: airliners take off...
WHAT EXACTLY IS AEROPLANE LANDING GEAR?
Out of all of the many aircraft features, the one that most stands out, even for those who know very little about aeroplanes, is the landing gear. The wheels on which an aeroplane sit look extremely small compared to huge fuselages and wings, but...
THE VARIOMETER
Welcome back to those of you who would rather sit next to the window to watch the aircraft wing flaps than gaze at the clouds ;)
In this article we’ll analyse another component of the cockpit: the variometer or vertical speed indicator. First of all,...
HOLDING PATTERNS
There is no signage in the air. There are neither signs nor lines of demarcation, no traffic lights and no lanes. So, obviously, there are very strict standards to organise air traffic, especially near the most congested airports.
In order to allow all airplanes to...
WHY CAN AEROPLANES FLY?
The moment has come to step back in time to your school desk, specifically to your Physics classroom. Whether you’ve always been a geek or are relatively new to the experience, today we’re going to brush up on Newton, Bernoulli and Lavoisier in an...
VHF OMNIDIRECTIONAL RANGE: VOR
Welcome back geek friends!
A quick warning before we start: the post you’re about to read is perhaps the most technical article on the “How does that work?” blog…
If you’re keen to unleash the volts and open up the panels concealing the technological marvels that...
LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!
Heavy snowfall has its charms. Flying over the Dolomites, we wouldn’t expect anything else.
But sometimes, heavy snowfall brings with it gridlock, temporary bus and train cancellations, issues in towns and cities and for those who have upcoming travel plans.
So… How do aeroplanes behave when...