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AvGeek

Technology and curiosities from the world of aeroplanes

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!...

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...

IN-FLIGHT REFUELLING

in-flight refuelling AirDolomitiBlog
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...

PITOT TUBE

i-adjnNose_Tubo di Pitot
Once again, in this section dedicated to fans of physics, engineering, technology, nuts and bolts, we’re looking at a fundamental component of aeronautics: the pitot tube. The pitot "tube" or "probe" is a fundamental tool for flight data measurement on board an aircraft. Technically, it’s...

VHF OMNIDIRECTIONAL RANGE: VOR

Air_dolomiti_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...

FLIGHT INSTRUMENTS

If you aren’t a pilot, a flight attendant, a specialist or an aeronautical engineer, you’ve probably never seen a cockpit. However, if you’re fascinated by words such as “turn and slip indicator”, “radar altimeter” or “machmeter”, this article and maybe the whole column #AvGeek...

AIRPLANES ENGINES

Motori_AirDolomiti_blog
You’re taxing on the runway and you hear a sound coming from outside, the airplane slows down, stops and that soft sound becomes a rumble filling up the cockpit, while the shadow takes off in few seconds: the best music for any aviation lover. The...

AIRCRAFT LIGHT

le luci degli aerei
How many times during a nice evening outdoors have you squinted up at a little light in the sky and asked yourself ‘is that a star or an aeroplane?’. It takes a few seconds to work it out. As you focus on that distant...

A CERAMIC COATING COULD MAKE THE HYPERSONIC PLANE A REALITY

Heat has always been the main obstacle to the development of hypersonic aircrafts. Travelling at Mach 5 generates ultra-high temperatures well above 300°C and, up until now, materials subjected to this type of heat have literally disintegrated. But all this is about to change....