Galen, one of our pilot readers, writes: Hello, I have always wondered why the left magneto is to the right on the keyswitch, and the right magneto is to the left.
Questions from the Cockpit
Questions from the Cockpit: Where’s the other end of the tape measure?
Where is AGL measured from? As with most things in life — and aviation — it depends.
Questions from the Cockpit: Why are pilot watches so big?
Linda, an FBO employee in California, writes: What can you tell me about pilot’s watches? It seems like all the pilots I see — especially the men — wear HUGE watches. Is this something they actually need? Or is it a style thing? And are they as expensive as they look?
Questions from the Cockpit: I reckon so
Phillip, working on his commercial ticket in Florida, writes: “Settle a bet for us here at the flight school: Why is dead reckoning called dead reckoning? Online, there seems to be a lot of difference of opinion about the origin of the term.”
Questions from the Cockpit: In defense of running out of gas
While I agree that it sure seems like a lot of airplanes are running out of gas, to be honest, I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more often. And the reason for that boils down to two issues: First, there’s no way to know how much gas you have in your tanks, and second, there’s no way to know how much gas you’ll need for your flight.
Questions from the Cockpit: Low passes, low blows
I, like many of you, know perfectly well what a low approach is. What I didn’t know is that there are apparently quite a few people who don’t know what a low approach is. That affects my safety.
Questions from the Cockpit: Legend of the Phoenix
Is it true that if an airplane is completely destroyed, except for the data plate, that you can completely rebuild it, and it’s the “same” airplane?
Questions from the Cockpit: How do bugs fly?
Almost nobody on the planet truly understands insect aerodynamics — and the few who do can’t explain it to the rest of us. So in that regard, insect aerodynamics are absolutely identical to airplane aerodynamics. Except for the fact that they are, you know, totally different.
Questions from the Cockpit: Rotate what, exactly?
Riley, a CFI candidate’s non-pilot flying companion from Florida, asks: “So what’s rotating when you say ‘rotate’ during takeoff? It seems to me to be more of a pull-back than a spinning motion.”