Got a hypothetical for aircraft pilot's (Small planes).?
Here's the hypothetical that I've been thinking about: Say a pilot of a Cessna Skyhawk 172R, wants to plan a trip from HNL (Honolulu) to LAX (Los Angeles), but knowing the total distance on a fuel tank of fuel can only cover 696 nmi (801 miles) before going empty. Could the pilot make the trip if he or she takes the plane to it's maximum ceiling of 13,500 ft and cutting the engine to glide then starting it up again in order to climb back up to it's original altitude and repeats. Would such a trip be possible if repeatedly doing the same plan (Hitting max ceiling, gliding then repeat)?
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Really depends who you think your audience is. Lay people may just want to know how a plane flys or why certain things happen on commercial flights. Pilots may want to learn about skills/ratings they havent acquired yet, recent incidents.
It's quite permissible to do so, however a general aviation pilot in a low performance plane should be ready for fast instructions and quite a bit of maneuvering to stay out of the way. The best time to do it would be at night. Here's a youtube video of one doing it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKvWn317tpU
For the foreseeable future there will be a good demand for pilots. Some planes can already auto land with no pilot input but it will be many years before pilots disappear and there is almost always a pilot shortage.
Older planes are usually very good purchases, IF they have been well maintained over the years. Airplanes have to be inspected annually by an A&P mechanic with an Inspection Authorization so they are usually very well maintained. Any purchase should include having an A&P mechanic review the airframe and engine logs and evaluation of the plane, including looking at how many hours the engine has since overhaul and checking compression. I had a 1966 Cherokee 140 for several years and finally sold it when I bought my current Experimental aircraft (a BD-4). It helps a LOT if you can get an A&P license and maintain you own plane though.
There are some speed limits for certain types of airspace. Airliners are always in contact with air traffic control and in order to keep the required separation of aircraft sometimes the controllers will ask the pilot to maintain an airspeed. More than likely you experienced a slowdown while your plane was beginning an approach, During approach controllers have to maintain specific spacing between aircraft and often must slow them down behind slower aircraft. Your plane very likely was slowing down from approx 570 knots to 250 knots or less for the approach.
it is the relative direction around the aircraft using a clock face. 12 oclock is in front of the pilot, 6 oclock behind. 3 oclock to the right etc. it is also used with high, level or low. for example, a contact off to the right and above the flight level of the pilots aircraft would be 2 oclock high.
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