Weathervaning or weathercocking [1] is a phenomenon experienced by aircraft on the ground and rotorcraft on the ground and when hovering.
Aircraft on the ground have a natural pivoting point on a plane through the main landing gear contact points [disregarding the effects of toe in/toe out of the main gear]. As most of the side area of an aircraft will typically be behind this pivoting point, any crosswind will create a yawing moment tending to turn the nose of the aircraft into the wind. [2] [3]
It is not to be confused with directional stability, as experienced by aircraft in flight. [4]
The term also refers to a similar phenomenon in fin-guided small rockets which, when launched vertically, will tend to turn into a flight path that takes them upwind. [5]
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long-range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 1971, by American Airlines.
Aircraft flight control surfaces are aerodynamic devices allowing a pilot to adjust and control the aircraft's flight attitude.
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called alighting gear by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin Company. For aircraft, Stinton makes the terminology distinction undercarriage (British) = landing gear (US).
A ground proximity warning system (GPWS) is a system designed to alert pilots if their aircraft is in immediate danger of flying into the ground or an obstacle. The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) defines GPWS as a type of terrain awareness warning system (TAWS). More advanced systems, introduced in 1996, are known as enhanced ground proximity warning systems (EGPWS), a modern type of TAWS.
The Grumman F6F Hellcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft of World War II. Designed to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat and to counter the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero, it was the United States Navy's dominant fighter in the second half of the Pacific War. In gaining that role, it prevailed over its faster competitor, the Vought F4U Corsair, which had problems with visibility and carrier landings.
A slip is an aerodynamic state where an aircraft is moving somewhat sideways as well as forward relative to the oncoming airflow or relative wind. In other words, for a conventional aircraft, the nose will be pointing in the opposite direction to the bank of the wing(s). The aircraft is not in coordinated flight and therefore is flying inefficiently.
Aquaplaning or hydroplaning by the tires of a road vehicle, aircraft or other wheeled vehicle occurs when a layer of water builds between the wheels of the vehicle and the road surface, leading to a loss of traction that prevents the vehicle from responding to control inputs. If it occurs to all wheels simultaneously, the vehicle becomes, in effect, an uncontrolled sled. Aquaplaning is a different phenomenon from when water on the surface of the roadway merely acts as a lubricant. Traction is diminished on wet pavement even when aquaplaning is not occurring.
In aviation, aircraft compass turns are turns made in an aircraft using only a magnetic compass for guidance.
Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport is a general aviation airport located within the city limits of Fort Lauderdale, in Broward County, Florida, United States, five miles (8.0 km) north of downtown Fort Lauderdale. It is a division of the Transportation and Mobility Department of the City of Fort Lauderdale.
JetBlue Flight 292 was a scheduled flight from Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, California, to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. On September 21, 2005, Captain Scott Burke executed an emergency landing in the Airbus A320-200 at Los Angeles International Airport after the nose gear jammed in an abnormal position. No one was injured.
United Air Lines Flight 553 was a scheduled flight from Washington National Airport to Omaha, Nebraska, via Chicago Midway International Airport. On December 8, 1972, the Boeing 737-222 serving the flight, City of Lincoln, registration N9031U, crashed during an aborted landing and go around while approaching Midway Airport.
Aircraft upset is a dangerous condition in aircraft operations in which the flight attitude or airspeed of an aircraft is outside the normal bounds of operation for which it is designed. This may result in the loss of control (LOC) of the aircraft, and sometimes the total loss of the aircraft itself. Loss of control may be due to excessive altitude for the airplane's weight, turbulent weather, pilot disorientation, or a system failure.
A helicopter is susceptible to a rolling tendency, called dynamic rollover, when close to the ground, especially when taking off or landing. For dynamic rollover to occur, some factor has to first cause the helicopter to roll or pivot around a skid, or landing gear wheel, until its critical rollover angle is reached. Then, beyond this point, main rotor thrust continues the roll and recovery is impossible. If the critical rollover angle is exceeded, the helicopter rolls on its side regardless of the cyclic control corrections made.
Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1628 was a UFO incident that occurred on November 17, 1986, involving a Japanese Boeing 747-200F cargo aircraft. The aircraft was en route from Paris to Narita International Airport, near Tokyo, with a cargo of Beaujolais wine. On the Reykjavík to Anchorage section of the flight, at 17:11 over eastern Alaska, the crew first witnessed two unidentified objects to their left. These abruptly rose from below and closed in to escort their aircraft. Each had two rectangular arrays of what appeared to be glowing nozzles or thrusters, though their bodies remained obscured by darkness. When closest, the aircraft's cabin was lit up and the captain could feel their heat on his face. These two craft departed before a third, much larger disk-shaped object started trailing them. Anchorage Air Traffic Control requested an oncoming United Airlines flight to confirm the unidentified traffic, but when it and a military craft sighted JAL 1628 at about 17:51, no other craft could be distinguished. The sighting lasted 50 minutes and ended in the vicinity of Denali.
The landing flare, also referred to as the round out, is a maneuver or stage during the landing of an aircraft.
Flight Express, Inc. was a cargo airline owned by Bayside Capital. Bayside Capital acquired Flight Express on November 4, 2008. Flight Express, Inc. operates as an air courier company in the Southeast and Midwest United States. It offers air freight and ground courier services. The company also operates aircraft. It specializes in the transport of cargo for banking and financial institutions, life sciences organizations, newspaper publishers, overnight freight delivery companies, and payroll and photographic processors. It operates 84 aircraft from facilities in eight states. It was founded in 1985 and is based in Orlando, Florida, USA.
Continental Airlines Flight 603 was a scheduled McDonnell Douglas DC-10 flight between Los Angeles International Airport and Honolulu International Airport. On March 1, 1978, it crashed during an aborted takeoff, resulting in the deaths of four passengers.
A power-off accuracy approach, also known as a glide approach, is an aviation exercise used to simulate a landing with an engine failure. The purpose of this training technique is to better develop one's ability to estimate distance and glide ratios. The variation in each angle refers to the degrees an aircraft must turn to be aligned with the runway. Consideration of the wind and use of flaps are important factors in executing power-off accuracy approaches.
Overseas National Airways (ONA) Flight 032 was a non-scheduled positioning flight operated by Overseas National Airways with a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF. On November 12, 1975, the flight crew initiated a rejected takeoff after accelerating through a large flock of gulls at John F. Kennedy International Airport, resulting in a runway excursion. Of the 139 aircraft occupants, all survived, while the aircraft was destroyed by an intense post-crash fire. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the probable cause of the accident was bird ingestion into the right-hand engine, causing an uncontained engine failure that ruptured several landing gear tires and disabled the engine's hydraulic system, in turn partially disabling the spoilers and the landing gear brakes. Contributing to the accident was the resultant failure of the affected engine's thrust reverser and the wet runway. The accident aircraft is claimed to be the largest commercial airliner ever destroyed due to a bird strike.
Capitol International Airways Flight C2C3/26 was a chartered McDonnell Douglas DC-8 Military Airlift Command (MAC) contract flight operated by Capitol Air from McChord Field in Tacoma to Cam Ranh Bay in Southern Vietnam via stopovers at Anchorage and at Yokota Air Base in Japan. The aircraft crashed after a botched take-off attempt from Runway 6R at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on November 27, 1970. Of the 229 persons aboard the jet, 47 perished due to the post-crash fire with 49 persons injured.