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Top Of Descent
In aviation, the top of descent, also referred to as the TOD or T/D, is the computed transition from the cruise phase of a flight to the descent phase, or the point at which the planned descent to final approach altitude is initiated. The top of descent is usually calculated by an on-board flight management system, and is designed to provide the most economical descent to approach altitude, or to meet some other objective (fastest descent, greatest range, etc.). The top of descent may be calculated manually as long as distance, air speed, and current altitude are known. This can be done by finding the difference between current altitude and desired altitude, dividing the result by the desired rate of descent, and then multiplying that figure by the quotient of the ground speed (not airspeed) and 60. ((C-T)/RoD)*(KGS/60)=TOD. The result dictates how far from the destination descent must begin. See also *Flight management system *Autopilot An autopilot is a system used to contr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as hot air balloons and airships. Aviation began in the 18th century with the development of the hot air balloon, an apparatus capable of atmospheric displacement through buoyancy. Clément Ader built the "Ader Éole" in France and made an uncontrolled, powered hop in 1890. This was the first powered aircraft, although it did not achieve controlled flight. Some of the most significant advancements in aviation technology came with the controlled gliding flying of Otto Lilienthal in 1896. A major leap followed with the construction of the '' Wright Flyer'', the first powered airplane by the Wright brothers in the early 1900s. Since that time, aviation has been technologically revolutionized by the introduction of the jet engine which enabl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Cruise Phase
Cruise is the phase of aircraft flight from when the aircraft levels off after a climb (aeronautics), climb until it begins to descent (aeronautics), descend for landing. Cruising usually comprises the majority of a flight, and may include small changes in aircraft heading, heading (direction of flight), airspeed, and altitude. Airliner cruise Commercial or passenger aircraft are usually designed for optimum performance around their cruise speed (V speeds#VC, VC) and cruise altitude. Factors affecting optimum cruise speed and altitude include payload, center of gravity, air temperature, and humidity. Cruise altitude is usually where the higher ground speed is balanced against the decrease in engine thrust and efficiency at higher altitudes. Common narrowbody, narrowbodies like the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737NG cruise at , while modern widebody, widebodies like the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 cruise at . The typical cruising altitude for commercial airliners is . The speed which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Final Approach (aeronautics)
In aeronautics, the final approach (also called the final leg and final approach leg) is the last leg in an aircraft's approach to landing, when the aircraft is lined up with the runway and descending for landing.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 213 and 241. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. In aviation radio terminology, it is often shortened to "final". The last section of the final approach is sometimes referred to as short final. In a standard airport landing pattern, which is usually used under visual meteorological conditions (VMC), aircraft turns from base leg to final within one-half to two miles of the airport. For instrument approaches, as well as approaches into a controlled airfield under visual flight rules (VFR), often a "straight-in" final approach is used, where all the other legs are dispensed within. Straight-in approaches are discouraged at non-towered airports in the United States. Approach slope An approach slo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Flight Management System
A flight management system (FMS) is a fundamental component of a modern airliner's avionics. An FMS is a specialized computer system that automates a wide variety of in-flight tasks, reducing the workload on the flight crew to the point that modern civilian aircraft no longer carry flight engineers or navigators. A primary function is in-flight management of the flight plan. Using various sensors (such as GPS and INS often backed up by radio navigation) to determine the aircraft's position, the FMS can guide the aircraft along the flight plan. From the cockpit, the FMS is normally controlled through a Control Display Unit (CDU) which incorporates a small screen and keyboard or touchscreen. The FMS sends the flight plan for display to the Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS), Navigation Display (ND), or Multifunction Display (MFD). The FMS can be summarised as being a dual system consisting of the Flight Management Computer (FMC), CDU and a cross talk bus. The modern F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Air Speed
In aviation, airspeed is the speed of an aircraft relative to the air it is flying through (which itself is usually moving relative to the ground due to wind). In contrast, the ground speed is the speed of an aircraft with respect to the surface of the Earth (whether over land or presumed-stationary water). It is difficult to measure the exact airspeed of the aircraft (true airspeed), but other measures of airspeed, such as indicated airspeed and Mach number give useful information about the capabilities and limitations of airplane performance. The common measures of airspeed are: * Indicated airspeed (IAS), what is read on an airspeed gauge connected to a pitot-static system. * Calibrated airspeed (CAS), indicated airspeed adjusted for pitot system position and installation error. * True airspeed (TAS) is the actual speed the airplane is moving through the air. When combined with aircraft direction, wind speed and direction, it can be used to calculate ground speed and d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Rate Of Descent
In aeronautics, the rate of climb (RoC) is an aircraft's vertical speed, that is the positive or negative rate of altitude change with respect to time. In most ICAO member countries, even in otherwise metric countries, this is usually expressed in feet per minute (ft/min); elsewhere, it is commonly expressed in metres per second (m/s). The RoC in an aircraft is indicated with a vertical speed indicator (VSI) or instantaneous vertical speed indicator (IVSI). The temporal rate of decrease in altitude is referred to as the rate of descent (RoD) or sink rate. A negative rate of climb corresponds to a positive rate of descent: RoD = −RoC. Speed and rate of climb There are a number of V speeds, designated airspeeds relating to optimum rates of ascent, the two most important of these are ''VX'' and ''VY''. ''VX'' is the indicated forward airspeed for best angle of climb. This is the speed at which an aircraft gains the most altitude in a given horizontal , typically used to avoi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Ground Speed
Ground speed is the horizontal component of the velocity of an aircraft relative to the Earth’s surface, also referred to as "speed over the ground". It is vital for accurate navigation that the pilot has an estimate of the ground speed that will be achieved during each leg of a flight. Theoretically, an aircraft diving vertically and unaffected by wind would have a ground speed of zero. Information displayed to passengers through the entertainment system of airline aircraft usually gives the aircraft ground speed rather than airspeed. Ground speed can be determined by the vector sum of the aircraft's true airspeed and the current wind speed and direction; a headwind subtracts from the ground speed, while a tailwind adds to it. Winds at other angles to the heading will have components of either headwind or tailwind as well as a crosswind component. An airspeed indicator indicates the aircraft's speed relative to the air mass it is flying through. The air mass may be moving ov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Flight Management System
A flight management system (FMS) is a fundamental component of a modern airliner's avionics. An FMS is a specialized computer system that automates a wide variety of in-flight tasks, reducing the workload on the flight crew to the point that modern civilian aircraft no longer carry flight engineers or navigators. A primary function is in-flight management of the flight plan. Using various sensors (such as GPS and INS often backed up by radio navigation) to determine the aircraft's position, the FMS can guide the aircraft along the flight plan. From the cockpit, the FMS is normally controlled through a Control Display Unit (CDU) which incorporates a small screen and keyboard or touchscreen. The FMS sends the flight plan for display to the Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS), Navigation Display (ND), or Multifunction Display (MFD). The FMS can be summarised as being a dual system consisting of the Flight Management Computer (FMC), CDU and a cross talk bus. The modern F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Autopilot
An autopilot is a system used to control the path of a vehicle without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator's control of the vehicle, allowing the operator to focus on broader aspects of operations (for example, monitoring the trajectory, weather and on-board systems). When present, an autopilot is often used in conjunction with an autothrottle, a system for controlling the power delivered by the engines. An autopilot system is sometimes Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''"George"'' (e.g. ''"we'll let George fly for a while"; "George is flying the plane now".''). The etymology of the nickname is unclear: some claim it is a reference to American inventor George De Beeson (1897–1965), who patented an autopilot in the 1930s, while others claim that Royal Air Force pilots coined the term during World War II to symbolize that their aircraft technically belonged to Ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Top Of Climb
In aviation, the top of climb, also referred to as the TOC or T/C, is the computed transition from the climb phase of a flight to the cruise phase, the point at which the planned climb to cruise altitude is completed. The top of climb is usually calculated by an on-board flight management system and is designed to provide the most economical climb to cruise altitude or to meet some other objective (fastest climb, greatest range, etc.). The top of climb may be calculated manually with considerable effort. Alternatively, when manual planning and monitoring a VFR flight, TOC is an elegant and efficient way for a pilot to eliminate all the vaguery and variability of departing any airport (the turns assigned, changes of runway the pilot cannot control). TOC establishes a "starting gate" for the en route portion of a flight to allow timing and tracking along the course. A clearly determined TOC is predicated in planning along the intended route of flight far enough from the departure s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
