Holding Patterns IFR
The shape of the holding pattern was based upon a requirement that older gyro instruments be allowed to settle down in a turn. The one minute straight legs gave the gyros the time to settle down before beginning another turn. A holding pattern of continuous turns would cause precession and unreliable indications.

Why We Squawk
During " x 10" x 10" radar transceiver. It would respond to a radar interrogating signal by responding with a coded transmission. A code would allow the land based radar station to distinguish British from German aircraft on their radar screen. The radio also contained an internal thermite bomb which, when triggered by an inertial switch (crash), would destroy the interior of the set. This was supposed to prevent German discovery of the codes. (A reverse ELT?) The British code named the system Parrot. The United States Army Air Forces version of the system was called IFF, for Identification Friend or Foe.

As with many Parrot allowed detection of these German aircraft since their (primary) return would not have a distinctive code.

To control the operation of the airborne coded set to the best advantage, the ground based radar station would radio instructions regarding the operation of "Parrot". The aircraft would be directed to "squawk your parrot", meaning to turn on the set for identification; or to "strangle (not kill) your parrot" as a directive for turning the set off. The power of the transponder signal would often hide other targets.

The only vestige of this that remains today, other than the entire ATC system itself, is the term "Squawk", as an ATC directive for operation or code for the transponder. Old time ATC controllers may still have you "strangle" your parrot (x-ponder)

Today the transponder usually has a four position switch; off, stby (standby), on (mode A), and alt (altitude Mode C), a test button, and ident (identification) button, a response light, and four selector switches with numbers from 0 to 7. Certain aircraft letters and numbers cannot be reproduced but frequently the discrete code can be seen to represent a specific aircraft due to their similarity.

ATC has a system by which the code used on the transponder shows a specific type of operation. Operations such as VFR without advisory, VFR with advisory, IFR, specific airport operation, TCA, ARSA, Local IFR, Tower enroute IFR, X-country IFR, emergency, hijack, and radio failure all have differing first two digit codes which tell ATC controllers your situation.

There are 4096 possible code selections on a transponder from 0000 to 7777. This is a Base 8 number system which is used by computers as a short method of storing Base 2. Base 2 is the number system of computers.

The four places of the transponder from right to left are 1's, 8's, 64's, and 512"s. We know it is a base 8 because the highest digit is 7. The eight possible digits are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Counting in Base 8 proceeds as follows: Base 10 Place Values 512 64 8 l equivalent
0 0 0 0 = 0
0 0 0 1 = 1 (1 one)
Set as transponder to code numbers. 0 0 0 7 = 7 (7 ones); 0 0 1 0 = 8 (1 eight, no ones) ; 0 0 1 1 = 9 (1 eight and one one) to 0 0 7 7 = 63 (7 eights, 7 ones); 0 1 0 0 = 64 (1 sixty-four, no eights, no ones) ; 0 1 0 1 = 65 (1 sixty-four, no eights, one one); to 0 7 7 7 = 7 sixty-fours, 7 eights, and 7 ones) 448 + 56 + 7 ones =511; to 7 7 7 7 = 4095; 4095 added to 0000 makes the possible 4096 transponder codes. More than you ever wanted to know?
Emergency 7 7 0 0 = 4032 in base 10
Nordo 7 6 0 0 = 3968
Hijack 7 5 0 0 = 3904
VFR 1 2 0 0 = 640

Absolute Altitude:
Absolute altitude is obtained by the use of radar. The first radar altimeter was the A/N 718. I worked with it during All airline pilot training, commercial pilot training, air force pilot training, fighter pilot training, pilot training schools, flight training schools, flight attendant training, helicopter flight training, accelerated flight training, airline flight training, flight training florida, flight attendant training schools, instrument flight training, cpl flight flying school training training, flight training simulator, flight training academy, atp flight training, helicopter flight training schools, california flight training, professional flight training, data flight training, orlando flight training, corporate flight attendant training, flight nurse training, warrant officer flight training, flight training device, lufthansa flight training, flight training san diego, alien alien flight flight training, military pilot training, sport pilot training and private pilot training.

WHY PILOTS WALK FUNNY
Ever wonder why propeller pilots walk funny? They do. The P-factor explanation from the instructors handbook tells the instructor how to explain this to the student. It has nothing to do with how much liquid consumed? Part of the difficulty comes from having two or more generations of pilots, none of whom have had the opportunity to drive a team of Missouri Canaries. Mules that is. This educational and experience deficiency can be partially overcome while explaining the P-factor. Thereby leading to the ultimate answer of the initial question.

Start with an airplane which has the training wheel under the nose. A Cessna 152 will do. With all three wheels on the ground the student should be carefully walked around the propeller to note that, when the aircraft and propeller is horizontal, the blades each form approximately an 11 degree angle in pitch from the vertical. The airplane should be imagined as a wagon and the painted tips of the blades as harnessed to two mules of identical size and strength. In this configuration the wagon (airplane) would be pulled straight ahead until made to gee or haw. Gee meaning right and haw meaning left. O.K. so far?

Now have the instructor hold the aircraft tail down while the student observes the angle from vertical the pitch of each propeller blade. The left blade is near vertical while the right blade has doubled its angle. Now the airplane/wagon suddenly has two completely different mules. The left blade mule becomes of donkey size or less while the right blade becomes a dray that once pulled a beer wagon. Now which way will the wagon, nee airplane, go? Will it gee or haw?

More often than not our last two generations of student pilots will chose the wrong direction. The odoriferous experience of mule driving having been denied them. Using the wing struts to move the airplane should show the student the error of his ways. Then it follows as the night the day that in a climb attitude an appropriate application of right rudder is needed to keep the airplane on the straight if not narrow. Whatever it takes to prevent a "haw" Which, of course, leads us in the great cyclonic circle to the answer of the initial question. It takes a lot of "Gee" Leg to prevent a "Haw".

Shirt Tails.
There has been a long tradition in aviation related to cutting off the shirt tails of newly soloed student pilots. One story has it that the practice began because of the student need to clean his goggles.

Pilots had scarves to use in keeping their goggles clean but the student had to use a shirt tail. The cutting of the shirt tail was giving the student the symbolic scarf of a pilot.

At one time trainers were two place tandem seat airplanes. The instructor sat in the back seat. Some trainers had a speaking tube that worked so that you could hear

It was noisy in the airplane and the instructors learned that the way to get the students attention and direct him was to reach under the panel and yank on a shirttail!

At student solo, the removal of the shirt tail, eliminated the way the instructor used for directing the student. The student was now a pilot and didn't need the jerking on a shirttail to fly.

Society of Automotive Engineers:
In 1917 the SAE had an Aeronautical Division which diagrammed and identified the stick controls and rudder used to control aircraft.Altitude Control diagrammed the forward and back movement of the stick to give up-down control through elevator movement. Balancing Control diagrammed the left/right sides of machine down by means of side movement of stick through aileron movement. Right and Left Control was done with the feet through rudder movement. SAE had merged with the Aeronautical Society in 1916 and has been instrumental in setting government standards for aircraft construction, maintenance and safety.

The Johnson Bar
One unlikely aircraft feature was derived from the steam engine. The Johnson bar was used to control the amount of steam and hence the power of the engine. The Johnson bar is a term used to describe the long handles used in earlier Cessnas and nearly all Pipers to operate the flaps. The term has also been used with reference to the bars used on Mooney aircraft to hand operate the manual gear.

Trim Tab Inventor
Also known at the servo trim was invented by Anton Flettner, a German aeronautical engineer. He worked for the Zeppelin Company in Germany. (Will try to find out if his invention installed on Zeppelin before airplanes.) Came to U. S after
First gyroscopic instruments were test flown on blimps.
First reversible propellers were installed on airships.

Pitot Tube Inventor
The pitot tube was invented by Francais Pitot, a French physicist and dentist born in 1695. His tube was first used to measure water flow. It measures the difference between ambient and dynamic pressures. Only the very, very old or very, very new aircraft do not use a pitot tube to determine airspeed. The pitot tube measures only pressure. There is no air movement through the pitot tube.

Names and What
Bell decibel
Morse code
Doppler frequency change
Mach speed of sound
Pitot speed tube
Venturi suction tube
Bernoulli pressure
Newton laws of motion
Pascal pressure
Buys-Ballot wind/pressure
Coriolis force
Fahrenheit thermometer
Celsius metric thermometer
Kelvin absolute scale
Hertz frequency cycle
Kollsman altimeter window
Lear ADF
 Esnault-Pelterie  Joy stick

Continue To Next Page