Hey Copper, yoke question
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In videos I see of a pilot flying, such as just as they are landing, it seems the yoke (the thing they hold) is ridiculously “loose”. Moving all over the place for the most minor corrections.
I’m not sure what my question is other than...do pilots just get a “feel” for it? I’m surprised how much it moves considering how precise you have to be when landing.
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The craft itself is moving in a non-static fluid so steering isn’t all that precise.
If you’ve driven a boat, it’s a good analogy. The fluid is moving too so it’s nothing like steering a car.
In fact the first time I flew, it immediately reminded me of driving a boat but in 3 dimensions rather than two.
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The wind makes a a lot of corrections necessary. And this gets more turbulent as you get closer to the ground.
As the wind comes over the trees or buildings it drops and bounces off the ground, goes back up then comes down and bounces again.
In warm weather there are convective currents that might push you up as you get over the warm runway, this is more noticeable if you have much cooler grass off the end of the runway.
The airplane in front of you can create a lot of turbulence. Over time this turbulence drops so if you are landing in a small plane, following a big plane you should stay above his glidepath so you don't get hit by vortexes falling off his wings. If you are following a larger plane on takeoff you should leave the ground at a point before the point where he left the ground.
If it is a nice calm day and you are skilled you can set the controls and hardly touch them for the final half mile.
And I think some guys just like to move the yoke a lot because it feels good to them.
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Copper, is an airplane increasingly unsteady with flaps extended?
In turbulent weather, when I watch in horror as the flaps are extended, the plane starts to rock and bounce a lot. Then there are those tiny little flaps that jump up and lay down, and seem to make no difference at all.
I suspect the cockpit is soundproof, to muffle the pilot screaming?
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Flaps change the shape of the wing to create more lift and more drag at low speeds. I think they usually make the plane feel more stable. But, of course you deploy them as you are descending into air that is generally more turbulent.
Those tiny little flaps are probably spoilers. They reduce lift and slow the plane. They are nice to have when you want to stop flying and land.
