Archive: The Flying School
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Oct 25, 2011
No CommentsQualifications To Be A Pilot
If you can do arithmetic in your head quickly, multi task like a woman and keep your cool under extreme pressure, then you probably have some qualities which would make you a good pilot. There are no set rules concerning qualifications to be a pilot but given the nature of the knowledge you will have...
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Sep 13, 2011
No CommentsTake Off Speed
I just love the thunderous sound of a large jet like the A-380 taking off. I know the noise and pollution aren’t the best friends of Mother Nature, but boy what an awesome racket! With a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of around 600 tons, it amazes me how this beast of a machine can lift...
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Jul 05, 2011
No CommentsHow To Control A Plane
The lift generated by a plane’s wings is all well and good, but if you can’t control the amount of lift produced, you can end up with a situation on your hands! In the years preceding 1903, when the Wright Brothers flew their first flight at Kitty Hawk, controlling an aircraft was both a comical...
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Jul 04, 2011
2 CommentsHow Planes Fly
When I was aged five, I had my first trip on a jet aeroplane. It was on an Ilyushin 62, a four engined long haul jet which was part of the Aeroflot fleet at the time. We flew to Kuala Lumpur from London Heathrow, with re-fueling stops at Moscow and Karachi en-route. The excitement I...