Not that it matters terribly much, but there's a few things I don't get. On a WAC, which is a Lambert chart, a straight line is more or less a great circle, right? However, to fly a great circle, you have to constantly adjust your heading. I still can't conceptually work out why, I must say....

Come across another thing that has puzzled me (big surprise). Here's a transcript from the manual: "Under full throttle operations (such as takeoff and climb) the engines of the aircraft have been adjusted to provide 43 inches of manifold pressure at seal level and standard temperature. It is...

.... why does an increase in temperature mean an increase in the speed of sound? That's got me confused. Hotter = less dense. Thanks in advance.

I remember coming across the answer somewhere, but I've lost it. Anyone know? TIA

.... when using pressure pattern nav techniques, what's a standard way for working out groundspeed for flight planning purposes? Do you take the forecast curved route and divide it up into segments and average it out? TIA

I remember that sin c = excess thrust/weight What step do I then do to convert sin c into degrees above the horizon? TIA

I was trying to explain to a non-pilot why increased power is required with altitude. She said "isn't the air thinner up there so there isn't as much resistance?" I said "yes, but the plane needs to fly fast enough for the air over the wings to feel like it does down low. So the speed required...

Gettin' a bit confused here. (nothing new in that) In the big sprawling thread I started down below, there's been a couple of themes that have come up. One is that I am pretty sure that for the same IAS (not TAS) at a higher altitude, more power is required. However, one contributor to the...

If you had to do a bit of crystal ball gazing, what do you think the engines of the GA fleet will be drinking in 10-15 years time? The same avgas as today, just much more expensive? Jet-A in diesel engines? Something else?

Thrust from a propeller drops as speed increases to a theoretical zero. When this happens, what is providing the thrust to overcome drag? The forward momentum of the aircraft? If so, is it a case of the speed very slightly and imperceptibly dipping below the zero thrust speed, getting a little...

Was reading an article in an Australian mag about an LED based AoA indicator in a homebuilt. The author stated that in many ways it "replaced" the AI for him. Anyone have experience with them?

I understand the "power required" curve as plotted against velocity, but the concept of "power available" plotted against velocity is escaping me. How is this curve derived? And why is it "curved"? Thanks in advance.

I understand the theory vis a vis lowest L/D TAS and the power available/power required chart, but let's say you're in flight in a normally aspirated prop plane, your destination is blown up, your alternate is unservicable for some reason or other and you need to stretch the fuel you have the...

Every time I think I have it sort of worked out, I fall in a heap. I've read through "See How It Flies", but it's still a bit beyond me. I can understand why a spinning ball would create a circular flow around itself, but I can't really grasp why a wing would. Does anyone have a lay explanation...

OK. These numbers are based on an extract from a power setting table for a Lycoming 180HP :- For 55% rated power with a FF of 7.4G/h at SL with an RPM of 2100, the MP is 20.9. For 55% rated power with a FF of 7.4G/h at 12,000 ft PA, again with an RPM of 2100, the MP is 18.2. I understand (and...

When a power setting table shows a "best economy" and "best power" setting for a given power level (say 75%) using a given MP and RPM this is just a starting point, right? Once the MP and RPM has been set and the leaning done, the actual power settings would be more like 78% for best power, and...

.... for a normally aspirated piston occurs at sea level and full power, but for a turbonormalised engine it will be at critical altitude, right? Thanks in advance.

For me, it's the King Air. Other opinions?

As a relative latecomer to the group, I'm behind the curve on what his basic argument is. It's something to do with the relative risks of GA flying isn't it? He claims that it's actually higher than is admitted or something like that? TIA.

On this page, there's an animated diagram (aptly done in shockwave) about normal shockwave formations:- http://selair.selkirk.bc.ca/aerodynamics1/High-Speed/Page2c.html Something confuses me though. As diagrammed, the red pressure wave at the rear has a low frequency at the front and a high...