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What Hacker News says
- > Do you have any book or youtube recommendations
For a low-math text on aeronautical engineering at its core, the FAA's Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge [1][2] is hard to beat. It won't talk much about jet engines, though.
Real Engineering [3] and Mustard [4] tend to do a decent job surveying specific plane designs. And the Wikipedia pages are decently peppered with references.
Otherwise, getting into the weeds on engine design [5] and launch mechanics [6].
[1] https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/a...
[2] https://www.amazon.com/Pilots-Handbook-Aeronautical-Knowledg...
[3] https://www.youtube.com/@RealEngineering
[5] https://www.amazon.com/Jet-Engines-Fundamentals-Theory-Opera...
[6] https://www.amazon.com/Design-Rockets-Launch-Vehicles-Second...
- As a flight instructor, I refer to the AIM frequently. It is a good reference. The Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge + the Airplane Flying Handbook are what I use to teach brand new students.
- FL180 is the floor of Class A airspace, "the flight levels", where airliners etc. operate.
Relevant chapter from FAA "Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge": https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/17_phak_ch15.pdf
In the "Flight Levels", altitudes are referred to not in feet above sea level but as "FLxxx" where xxx is a nominal altitude in 100s of feet.
Altimetry is done using barometric pressure. Since this varies with weather, airplanes at lower altitudes set their altimeters to the local barometric pressure for a reasonably accurate reading. In the flight levels, where planes are typically covering ground quickly and there is very little chance of your path conflicting with the surface of the Earth, every plane sets to an agreed-upon reference of 29.92 inches of mercury as the altimeter setting.
- > lede asks "why you need to add back pressure and power" and then only explains back pressure
It's a good question. From 5-22 of the FAA's Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge:
"An aircraft is not steered like a boat or an automobile. In order for an aircraft to turn, it must be banked. If it is not banked, there is no force available to cause it to deviate from a straight flight path. Conversely, when an aircraft is banked, it turns provided it is not slipping to the inside of the turn. Good directional control is based on the fact that the aircraft attempts to turn whenever it is banked. Pilots should keep this fact in mind when attempting to hold the aircraft in straight-and-level flight.
Merely banking the aircraft into a turn produces no change in the total amount of lift developed. Since the lift during the bank is divided into vertical and horizontal components, the amount of lift opposing gravity and supporting the aircraft’s weight is reduced. Consequently, the aircraft loses altitude unless additional lift is created. This is done by increasing the AOA until the vertical component of lift is again equal to the weight. Since the vertical component of lift decreases as the bank angle increases, the AOA must be progressively increased to produce sufficient vertical lift to support the aircraft’s weight. An important fact for pilots to remember when making constant altitude turns is that the vertical component of lift must be equal to the weight to maintain altitude.
At a given airspeed, the rate at which an aircraft turns depends upon the magnitude of the horizontal component of lift. It is found that the horizontal component of lift is proportional to the angle of bank—that is, it increases or decreases respectively as the angle of bank increases or decreases. As the angle of bank is increased, the horizontal component of lift increases, thereby increasing the rate of turn (ROT). Consequently, at any given airspeed, the ROT can be controlled by adjusting the angle of bank.
To provide a vertical component of lift sufficient to hold altitude in a level turn, an increase in the AOA is required. Since the drag of the airfoil is directly proportional to its AOA, induced drag increases as the lift is increased. This, in turn, causes a loss of airspeed in proportion to the angle of bank. A small angle of bank results in a small reduction in airspeed while a large angle of bank results in a large reduction in airspeed. Additional thrust (power) must be applied to prevent a reduction in airspeed in level turns. The required amount of additional thrust is proportional to the angle of bank."
The article just omitted the last paragraph.
(You may notice the outside/downward aileron causing the bank by increasing lift also increasing drag, thereby causing the plane to yaw outward [2].)
[1] https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/07_phak_ch5_0.pdf Page 5-22
- The other two replies covered your questions well, so I'll just add that wakes don't descend particularly fast. According to the FAA's Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge[1] (page 14-28), "Tests have also shown that the vortices sink at a rate of several hundred feet per minute, slowing their descent and diminishing in strength with time and distance behind the generating aircraft."
Considering the Challenger's encounter with the A380's wake, it took 1-2 minutes for the Challenger to hit the wake, so the wake probably had 1-3 minutes to make the 1000-foot descent. That very roughly fits the expected "several hundred feet per minute" descent rate.
Considering the case of refueling, the wake's motion downward is much slower than the aircrafts' horizontal motion, so it wouldn't have descended much by the time it's left behind entirely.
[1] Available for free at https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/a...
- See also FAA's pub: Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge
"The Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge provides basic knowledge that is essential for pilots. This handbook introduces pilots to the broad spectrum of knowledge that will be needed as they progress in their pilot training. Except for the Code of Federal Regulations pertinent to civil aviation, most of the knowledge areas applicable to pilot certification are presented. This handbook is useful to beginning pilots, as well as those pursuing more advanced pilot certificates. "
http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/av...
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