Curiosities
1,987 news found
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... A as "Autorotation"
Rome, Italy - It is the equivalent of a glide with engine off in an airplane
We can call autorotation the emergency descent of a helicopter during an engine failure, simulated or real. During the descent the main rotor turns due to the vertical air flow through the rotor disc,... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... "Short Glossary" (2)
Rome, Italy - Used in the aeronautical sector
FLIR - Forward looking infrared G-LOC G - induced loss of consciousness GP - General Purpose GPS - Global positioning system HDG - Heading HUD - Head up display HYD - Hydraulic system ILS... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... "Short Glossary"
Rome, Italy - Used in the aeronautical sector
A/A - Air to Air AACQ - Automatic acquisition mode AB - Afterburner ABES - Amended Budget Estimate Submission ACLS - Automatic carrier landing system ACM - Air combat manoeuvring ACU - Avionics... more
CuriositiesAeronautical terminology in dribs and drabs... R as "Radio communications" (3)
Rome, Italy - The main Brevity Code communications used by Western military pilots
- Package: a series of airplane groups geographically isolated; - Padlocked: the pilot cannot avert his attention from an airplane without risking to lose visual contact (Tally / Visual); - Pince:... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... R as "Radio communications" (2)
Rome, Italy - The main Brevity code communications used by Western military pilots
- Gadget: radar or other transmitter on board - Gate: fly as fast as possible by using the afterburner or the maximum power allowed; - Genie: the transmitter is using the ECM; - Guns: use of the cannon... more
CuriositiesAeronautical terminology in dribs and drabs... R as "Radio communications"
Rome, Italy - The main Brevity Code communications used by Western military pilots
- ABORT: the mission or attack has been cancelled; - ACTIVE (system) ACTIVE (direction): the specified emitter is giving off radiations in a indicated position and given direction; - ALPHA CHECK: request... more
CuriositiesThai hostesses against the soap opera "Angels War"
Bangkok, Thailand - "We are not as they depict us"
In Thailand there is an open clash between the flight attendants union of Thai Airways and the producer of the soap opera "Songkram Nang Fah" ("Angels War"), which in the last two weeks was shown on the... more
CuriositiesTexas UFOs, the US Air Force: "There were our F-16s flying that night"
Washington, USA - But people say: "It was not a plane"
In the case of the sighting of an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) in the environs of Stephenville, Texas, the US Air Force has admitted now that on the night of January 8 there was an exercise of F-16s... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... S as "SEAD"
Rome, Italy - Suppression of Enemy Air Defence
The SEAD mission provides for the attack and destruction of the ground enemy air defences, both set and moving (radar, SAM, anti-aircraft artillery). This is carried out by ground attack aircraft and... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... A as "AW-101"
Rome, Italy - The new name of EH-101
Starting from June 2007 AgustaWestland, helicopter producer, has renamed the EH-101 helicopter as "AW-101". The helicopter was developed as a joint-venture between Westland Aircraft in the UK and Agusta... more
CuriositiesUK, commander of crash-landed 777 airplane pilloried by tabloids
London, United Kingdom - "He attended sex parties"
The British tabloids never had respect for the privacy of nobody, not even for the royal family's. Imagine if they could ever have pity for the common mortals, such as airplane pilots. The last prominent... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... P as "Point Intercept"
Rome, Italy - Against the airplanes identified as "Bandit"s
The main purpose of the Point Intercept mission is to intercept enemy targets in flight from a ground control. Usually, after the localization of a suspect airplanes by the radar site, a pair of interceptors... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... C as "CAS"
Rome, Italy - Close Air Support
The Close Air Support (CAS) is a type of mission carried out by ground attack airplanes or fighter-bombers to which is requested to attack the enemy ground forces that threaten the allies. The mission... more
CuriositiesHillary Clinton turns herself to hostess to win White House race
Reno, USA - For entertaining the journalists on board of her campaign aircraft
Hillary Clinton, first woman to run for the US Presidency, has a unique weapon on her side: the coquetry that only a woman can resort to. So there she is, travelling on board of her electoral campaign... more
CuriositiesUnidentified flying object sighted in Texas
Washington, USA - "More large, silent, fast and lower in height that an airplane"
Dozens of people, among which a pilot, a police officer and various shop owners, report to have sighted in the last days an unidentified flying object (UFO), in the thereabouts of the town of Stephenville,... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... C as "CAP" (2)
Rome, Italy - The types of Combat Air Patrols
Numerous types of Combat Air Patrols have been employed by US military forces since World War II. BARCAP: "Barrier Combat Air Patrol", in fleet terms, a mission flown between the battle group and the... more
CuriositiesFlying over crocodiles in Australia
Kakadu National Park, Australia - The Australian entertainment spreads its wings in Bamurru Plains
Australia reinvents the concept of entertainment for your holidays. The rich safari camp Bamurru Plains promises strong emotions, and maybe more. Starting from its location, in the enchanting Australian... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... C as "CAP"
Rome, Italy - Combat Air Patrol
A Combat Air Patrol (CAP) is an air patrol aimed at a specific area, the critical area of a combat zone, or an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying enemy aircraft before they... more
CuriositiesThe Germans' party flights
Frankfurt, Germany - Everybody to Palma de Mallorca for the week-end
The Germans are a hard-working people who, justly, like to party in their spare time. One of the possibilities they're having in the last years, are the party flights organized by various low-fares carriers... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... B as "BAI"
Rome, Italy - The Battlefield Air Interdiction
BAI - Battlefield Air Interdiction is an Air Force task within the framework of the AI mission. The AI attacks conducted against hostile land forces that are not in close proximity to friendly forces are... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... "F as Fighter (aircraft)"
Rome, Italy - Multi-role, interceptor, nightfighter, air-superiority, attack and all-weather
Multi-role fighter Nowadays fighter aircraft do not carry out only one task, but are able to carry out many of them: this because unit cost and maintenance costs are so high that such an expense would... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... A as "Airship"
Rome, Italy - There are three types
It is called an airship any balloon whose direction can be controlled through aerodynamic surface and/or aerodynamical thrust. There are three different types of airship: Rigid airships The rigid... more
CuriositiesUK: flying lessons at RAF for Prince William
Cranwell, United Kingdom - Following the prints of uncle Andrew
He must be following the prints of his uncle Andrew, Duke of York (who is a helicopter pilot): William, Prince of Wales, already officer and second in line of succession to the throne of England after... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... G as "Ground Speed"
Rome, Italy - It can also be detected by GPS
The Ground speed (GS) is the speed of an aircraft relative to the ground and it is variable in use of the wind. It is different from the IAS - Indicated Air Speed. To make the Ground Speed concept clear,... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... D as "Dive"
Rome, Italy - The manoeuvre opposed to the steep climb
The Dive is the manoeuvre opposed to the steep climb, in which the nose of the aircraft is pointed vertically down to ground. During the dive is developed a negative gravity acceleration as bigger as... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... T as "Thrust"
Rome, Italy - In an aircraft it is proportional to the mass of the air multiplied by the average speed of the airstream
The Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's Second and Third Laws. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction the accelerated mass will cause a proportional yet opposite... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... V as "Variometric speed"
Rome, Italy - Expressed in feet per minute
In aeronautics, Variometric speed represents the vertical speed of an aircraft, or the altitude variation in time. Generally, it is expressed in feet per minute (fpm) or metres per second (mps) and... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... P as "Power stall"
Rome, Italy - Due to an excessive incidence grade
Power stall is the situation in which the pilot of an airplane provokes the stall of its wings despite the relatively high speed given by the engine under power. The cause is an excessive incidence... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... S as "Steep climb"
Rome, Italy - The manoeuvre that allows to climb
The Steep climb is a manoeuvre that allows the aircraft to climb. The steep climb is carried out by pulling the control stick. The control acts on the horizontal tail plans of the aircraft - the stabilizers... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... G as "Ground effect"
Rome, Italy - A sort of air cushion that allows to fly parallel to the ground
Aircraft may be affected by a number of Ground effects, aerodynamic effects due to a flying body's proximity to the ground. One of the most important of these effects is the Wing In Ground effect, which... more
CuriositiesClipper: in Malpensa, New Year’s Day in flight with Livingston
Varese, Italy - An A-321/200 airplane will overfly the Alps and Lombardy
"Clipper (Italian association friends of aviation), based in Ferno (Varese), together with Club Frecce Tricolori 81st of Ghemme, in collaboration with the airline Livingston, of SEA - Airports of Milan... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... H as "Hovering"
Rome, Italy - Sustained flight at null speed and even altitude
Hovering is a manoeuvre carried out by an aircraft, usually a helicopter, and it consists in remaining floating, suspended, or fluttering in the air. On the radar screen, the route makes up a simple... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... <b>S as "Spin"<b>
Rome, Italy - It provokes a very unpleasant sensation that also can verge on panic
In aviation, a Spin is an aggravated stall resulting in rotation wherein the aircraft follows a downward corkscrew path. Spins can be entered unintentionally or intentionally, from any flight attitude... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... <b>S as "Stall"<b>
Rome, Italy - A flight phase very used by the acrobatic pilots
In aerodynamics, a stall is a sudden reduction in the lift forces generated by an airfoil. This most usually occurs when the critical angle of attack for the airfoil exceeded, about 14 to 16 degree. Because... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... <b>A as "Airfoil"<b>
Rome, Italy - It is the shape of a wing or blade, of a propeller, rotor or turbine
An Airfoil is the shape of a wing or blade (of a propeller, rotor or turbine) or sail as seen in cross-section. An airfoil shaped body moved through a fluid produces a force perpendicular to the motion... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... <b>A as "Angle of Attack"<b>
Rome, Italy - Also called ?
Angle of Attack (AoA, ?, Greek letter alpha) is a term used in aerodynamics to describe the angle between the airfoil's chord line and the relative airflow, wind, effectively the direction in which the... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... <b>R as "Roll"<b>
Rome, Italy - The rotation around the longitudinal axis
Roll is rotation around the longitudinal axis, an axis drawn through the body of the vehicle from tail to nose in the normal direction of flight, or the direction the pilot faces. The roll angle is... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... <b>Y as "Yaw"<b>
Rome, Italy - The rolling of a naval vehicle or an aircraft
The Yaw, to rotate about a vertical axis; used in naval architecture, navigation, aeronautics and flight dynamics. Rotation about horizontal axes are called pitch and roll. Yaw angle, the angle about... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... <b>P as "Prandtl's Vortical Theory"<b>
Rome, Italy - The aerodynamic behaviour's study of the real world wings interested several fluid mechanics scientists, among which Lanchester, Kutta, Joukowsky and Prandtl
Following earlier leads by Frederick Lanchester, Prandtl worked with Albert Betz and Max Munk on the problem of a useful mathematical tool for examining lift from real world wings. The results are known... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs ... <b> S as Sesquiplane <b>
Rome, Italy - Equipped of particular aerodynamic solution in the wing airframe
The sesquiplane is a biplane in which the lower wing has a span inferior compared to that of the upper one: in some cases the length is sufficient only to accommodate the structures that support the superior... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... <b> T as Triplane <b>
Rome, Italy - For the writer, among the most fascinating planes in aviation history
The triplane is an aircraft equipped with six semi-wings, each of the same dimension and mounted one on the other. Usually the lower wing is mounted in correspondence with the inferior edge of the fuselage,... more
CuriositiesAerospace terminology in dribs and drabs... <b>C as "COSMO-SkyMed"<b>
Rome, Italy - The second satellite will be launched this night
The COSMO-SkyMed satellite constellation is a low-orbit dual-use Earth observation satellite system operating in the X-band. Funded by the Italian Ministry of Research and Ministry of Defence the programme... more
CuriositiesSanta Claus lands in the airport of Orio al Serio
Bergamo, Italy - Arrival scheduled for Saturday morning
"Santa Claus lands in the airport of Bergamo-Orio al Serio together with his elves. The arrival of the popular character is scheduled at 9:30 am of Saturday, December 8th with a flight coming from Rovaniemi,... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... <b>P as "Polecat"<b>
Rome, Italy - Project funded internally by Lockheed Martin
The Lockheed Martin Polecat is an UAV - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle developed and funded internally by Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs division in Palmdale, California. The Polecat, designated... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... <b>A as "NATO Phonetic Alphabet"<b> (2)
Rome, Italy - The writer of some letters can change in some published versions, because this alphabet has been created to be spoken
A - Alpha B - Bravo C - Charlie D - Delta E - Echo F - Foxtrot G - Golf H - Hotel I - India J - Juliet K - Kilo L - Lima M - Mike N - November O - Oscar P -... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... <b>A as "NATO Phonetic Alphabet"<b>
Rome, Italy - Developed in the 1950s by ICAO
The Phonetic Radiotelegraph Alphabet, often called also NATO Phonetic Alphabet, was developed in the 1950s by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to be understandable (and pronounceable)... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs...<b> P as "English Aeronautic Phraseology"<b>
Rome, Italy - Some of the standard terms that pilots exchange between plane and plane and plane and control tower
Acknowdlege = Give me roger, let me know if you have received and understood the message. Affirm = Affirmative, yes. Approved = Permission granted. Break: word used to separate different parts... more
CuriositiesHow to load a Mangusta on a C-130J
Orio al Serio, Italy - It is a quick substitution for another one used in Afghanistan
In the last days, for the the first time in Italy, an A-129C "Mangusta" helicopter, of the Italian Aero Brigade "Friulia" has been loaded inside an Italian Air Force C-130J airplane for a quick deployment... more
CuriositiesOfficial aircraft of Real Madrid is no longer welcomed by players
Madrid, Spain - The "Saeta" would be too noisy for some airports
According to Spain's Real Madrid football club players, the new McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft, (see AVIONEWS), named "Saeta" (arrow) taken for three years by the Club organization with an agreement... more
CuriositiesAeronautic terminology in dribs and drabs... <b>M as "Mach"<b>
Rome, Italy - It is named after Austrian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach
Mach number (Ma) (pronounced: [m??k], [m?x], [mæk], see IPA) is a dimensionless measure of relative speed. It is defined as the speed of an object relative to a fluid medium, divided by the speed of sound... more