plane & pilot

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why so many plane crashes?

I sometimes hear non-aviation folks asking aloud why pilots “like reading about crashes so much?” We don’t. In late June, a Beechcraft King Air 350 crashed on takeoff at Addison Airport, seven miles north of Dallas Love Field. The two pilots and all eight passengers perished in the crash. The NTSB is investigating and is months away from issuing a statement of probable cause. But accidents of this type—an apparent loss of control on takeoff—are most often the result of the loss of power in one of the engines at a high angle of attack and resultant roll into the good engine and into the ground, or in this case, into the side of a hangar. On the day of the crash, I covered the story on planeandpilotmag.com and for our eNews…

altitude

Altitude of first powered flight (1903): 20 ft. Time airborne: 12 seconds Distance traveled: 120 ft. Modern record by ground-launched airplane: 123,523 ft. Aircraft: MiG-25 fighter Max speed of MiG-25RB: Mach 2.83 Typical airliner service ceiling: 45,000 ft. Average cruising altitude: 35,000 ft. Miles from ground: 7 Altitude loss during moderate turbulence: 10-20 ft. How much it feels like to passengers: Hundreds Americans with aviophobia (fear of flying): 6.5% Service ceiling of Cessna 172: 13,000-15,000 ft. ASL Cirrus SR22: 17,500 ft. Turbine-engine helicopters: 25,000 ft. At hover: 10,000-13,000 ft. World record for helicopter flight: 42,489 ft. Model: AS350 B2 “Squirrel” Lowest airshow maneuver by the Blue Angels: 50 ft. Maneuver name: Sneak Pass Speed performed: 700 mph Speed of sound: 767 mph Average underwear changes by public after Sneak Pass: A lot Maximum climb rate of F/A-18: 30,000 ft./min. Altitude requiring oxygen by pilots at all times: 14,000 ft. Elevation of highest city in the…

twa flight 800

BACKGROUND On July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747-131 with 230 passengers and crew on board, exploded mid-air shortly after takeoff. The flight was scheduled to depart JFK International Airport for Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport at 7 p.m. EDT but was delayed by over an hour due to issues with ground equipment and a problem that gate agents had in matching luggage to one of the passengers. It eventually departed in dusk conditions at 8:19 p.m. Weather in the area was calm, with light wind, scattered clouds and visibility greater than 10 nm, so it’s safe to assume that weather wasn’t a factor. After takeoff from Kennedy, the pilots were issued a series of altitude and directional changes by ATC. The pilots’ last communication with ATC was with…

cross check

ACROSS 1 Tecnam P2002 ____ Mk2 4 The G in RGLs 8 Leonardo’s Flying ___, aka “ornithopter” 10 ____ Petrel S 11 FAA’s domain 12 Race track circuit 13 Windy 14 Approved 15 Vanity 16 Little bit 17 Comedian 19 Legend ___ 21 Log 24 Response to a captain 25 __-pilot 26 __plane 28 Inert gas used in airships 30 Dangerous 31 Moniker 32 Motorless flier 33 ____ RV-12 DOWN 1 Machine for practice flights on the ground 2 Used a parachute, perhaps 3 ____ Skyreach 4 More than breezy 5 Final path before landing 6 Ventured 7 German high wing, 2 words 9 __ __ rule (usually) 18 Concept plane that is being piloted by Airbus and Dutch Airline KLM, 2 words 20 Held up 22 Flight Design ___ 23 Established line for a flight 24 __ Dhabi 27 ___storming, acting like early pilots 28 Be greedy about 29 Spoil Check your answers at planeandpilotmag.com/article/september-2019-crossword-key…

news of note

EVIATION LAUNCHES ELECTRIC AIRPLANE An Israel-based start-up called Eviation recently unveiled a non-flying prototype of its nine-seat electric commuter, whose unique design includes a rear pusher-motor as well as dual motors on the wingtips. The company says the airplane, dubbed Alice, is slated to fly for 650 miles and at 240 knots. TESLA VET TAKES HELM AT CIRRUS Zean Nielsen, a former high-level executive at James Hardie and Tesla Motors, has replaced Cirrus Aircraft’s co-founder, Dale Klapmeier, as CEO of the Duluth- and Knoxville-based manufacturer. Klapmeier, who founded Cirrus with his brother Alan in the 1980s, will move into an advisory role at the company. DAHER PURCHASES QUEST AIRCRAFT Daher is broadening its footprint in the GA world with the acquisition of Idaho-based Quest Aircraft, maker of the Kodiak 100 turboprop. The French company, known…