11–20 of 41 posts
and this, just a bit of yarn on a halyard. sometimes with a cone on the end!
Not criticising but what is behind the (feels like extreme) over-representation of aeroplane, aeronautic, airline industry in the HN topic rotation?
Reminds me of tell-tales on sailboats which are similar bits of string attached to sails which give feedback about how you might need to adjust your sails to keep the wind moving over them smoothly.
The purpose is slightly different though: on sails their goal is to detect turbulence and stalls.
This is one of multiple instruments that, according to the author of See How It Flies[1] indicate important readings to the pilot, but don't exist at all in a default airplane. A couple of other examples are an adjustable indication on the windscreen of where "straight in front of you" is, as well as an angle of attack indicator. Angle of attack, pitch angle, and yaw commonly don't have their own indicators, as impor…
Aircraft are kind of silly in many ways. The default speedometer doesn't actually tell you how fast you're going, and the default altimeter doesn't actually tell you how high you are.
As to altitude there isn't a single always applicable definition of "altitude" hence pilots have to adjust it based on their current task, there simply isn't a way around that. You could try to always use "true altitude" in WGS-84 or something, but that's far more complex than a simple pressure altimeter. For example it generally cannot be done without external inputs, such as very accurate pressure maps or gps-like navigation aids. More complex = more failure opportunity.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The purpose is slightly different though: on sails their goal is to detect turbulence and stalls.
Airplanes can also have these fitted on the wings. Although not as common as yaw strings and usually for demonstration purposes.
This is one of multiple instruments that, according to the author of See How It Flies[1] indicate important readings to the pilot, but don't exist at all in a default airplane. A couple of other examples are an adjustable indication on the windscreen of where "straight in front of you" is, as well as an angle of attack indicator. Angle of attack, pitch angle, and yaw commonly don't have their own indicators, as impor…
But once you’ve been flying a while, you don’t really need it, you can feel it.
it's funny that simple mechanical things are so useful on planes. Angle of attack is just a weight on a horizontal hinge, airspeed is done with basically a mass airflow sensor - that is, you heat some mass next to a thermocouple and see how long it takes the mass to cool down. Obviously non-MEMS gyroscopes count, too, as well as non-MEMS compasses. and this, just a bit of yarn on a halyard. sometimes with a cone on t…
This is one of multiple instruments that, according to the author of See How It Flies[1] indicate important readings to the pilot, but don't exist at all in a default airplane. A couple of other examples are an adjustable indication on the windscreen of where "straight in front of you" is, as well as an angle of attack indicator. Angle of attack, pitch angle, and yaw commonly don't have their own indicators, as impor…
Many gliders and helicopters have yaw strings. Airplanes don’t, because they usually have a slip/skid indicator which tells you the same thing. But once you’ve been flying a while, you don’t really need it, you can feel it.
it's funny that simple mechanical things are so useful on planes. Angle of attack is just a weight on a horizontal hinge, airspeed is done with basically a mass airflow sensor - that is, you heat some mass next to a thermocouple and see how long it takes the mass to cool down. Obviously non-MEMS gyroscopes count, too, as well as non-MEMS compasses. and this, just a bit of yarn on a halyard. sometimes with a cone on t…