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Old 28th Jul 2011, 06:20
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john_tullamarine
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I am always amazed at the knowledge one can pick up on PPRuNe -

These I shall tuck away for future training anecdotes -

(a) the lift fairies get scared and they don't fall off cause they can see the ground

(b) who cautioned him to not add power harshly during a close-to-the-runway go-around, because he'd "blow the lift out from under the wings."

(c) as the plane gets closer to the earth the shadow scare all the little insects which then all flap their wings in unison. The resultant draught keeps the plane up longer

If there are any other gems I've missed I'm sure I'll catch them on a re-read.

A bit like a lot of stuff in aerodynamics - we can observe it, measure it, usually predict it. As for why it really happens the way it does .. mmm ? Lots of stories for different levels or need, some of which go into lots of sums but not necessarily elemental understanding across the board.

Generally, we leave agonising over the wheres and whys to the pure theoretical physicists .. the average engineer just wants to get the beast designed, tested, certificated, manufactured and delivered to the customer.
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