Author: Gareth

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Video answers: Why do planes fly so slowly?

Here are the answers to last Friday’s video, enjoy!

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. In 60s commercial aircraft began to break the sound barrier.
  2. Supersonic travel didn’t last because of the extremely loud supersonic boom and the inefficient use of afterburner engines that made them very expensive.
  3. They fly at between 900 and 930 km per hour.
  4. Nowadays modern planes are a little slower, but they’re wider, less noisy, more manoeuvrable, more comfortable, less expensive to maintain, more fuel efficient and cheaper overall.
  5. There’s no reason for them to fly faster. If they fly faster they’ll only arrive, on average, 30 minutes earlier at their destination. The downside to this is that they’ll be more expensive to operate.

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Video: Why do planes fly so slowly?

This week’s video describes why modern planes fly at their current speed and not faster.

Try to answer the following questions about the video and come back on Monday for the answers.

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. What monumental barrier was broken by commercial aircraft in 60s?
  2. Why didn’t this breakthrough last?
  3. What speed do modern wide-body aircraft fly at?
  4. What characteristics of planes have changed since 60s?
  5. What reason is there for medium-sized planes to fly a little faster?

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Have a great weekend!

WHY DO WE FLY SO SLOWLY?

TechZone ► https://goo.gl/Gj3wZs Perhaps you’ve heard that lately planes are flying way too slow. After all, if you can launch a Tesla into space, why not make planes a little faster? Some people think that it is the fault of lazy engineers and designers who don’t want to create something better.

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Structure: Word categories

This time in our structure help we talk about word categories in English. This is vital to understand why certain words are acceptable in some situations, while other words aren’t acceptable.

When we think about word categories some of the most common categories are; nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and prepositions.

Nouns can refer to people (or other creatures), places or things.
Examples: Peter, friend, cat, table, book.

Verbs are words that relate to actions or states.
Examples: work, eat, fly.

Adjectives are describing words.
Examples: big, fast, happy.

Adverbs are formed by a large group of words that is impossible to go through here. However, some of the most common adverbs are ones that express ‘how something happens’ (slowly, quickly, easily etc…) or ‘how often something happens’ (usually, normally, never, sometimes etc…).

Prepositions are words that connect parts of a sentence and show the relationship between them.
Examples: in, on, at, with etc…

A good student’s dictionary like the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English tells you the category of a word you search for. By knowing the category of a word you can more easily use it in sentences. This is also a good way to build vocabulary because words often have different forms; a verb, adjective and noun for example. By knowing each of these individual forms you are more easily able to use the correct one when necessary.

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Have a great day!

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Structure: too vs either

The difference between ‘too’ & ‘either’

This time in our structure help we talk about the difference between too and either. These two words are used in the context of adding a secondary point which is negative, however there is an important difference between them. Look at the following example.

We didn’t have good weather two days ago and we didn’t have good weather yesterday either.

In this case we can use either (but not too) when we have; negative statement + negative statement. Let’s look at when we can use too.

I spoke to the chief pilot, but I didn’t speak to the captain too.

In this case we can see that the structure is a little different, with too we use; positive statement + negative statement. We can use as well and also in the same way as too. Here are some more examples.

I didn’t send the report on Monday and I didn’t send it on Tuesday either. (negative + negative)

I had a simulator session in the morning, but I didn’t have one in the afternoon too / as well / also. (positive + negative)

We didn’t have to go around and the flight after us didn’t have to go around either. (negative + negative)

I met the captain for a coffee, but I didn’t meet the co-pilot too / as well / also.

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Video answers: The most valuable airspace in the world

Here are the answers to last Friday’s video, enjoy!

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. Around half the world’s economic activity happens in these two regions.
  2. Russia lies between these two economic powerhouses.
  3. Travel between these two regions was very difficult during the cold war.
  4. They were able to connect Europe and Asia by flying via Anchorage, Alaska and thus avoiding USSR airspace.
  5. They saw a reduction of around 50% in the flight time between Europe and Asia by flying via Alaska.
  6. The fall of the USSR and subsequent agreement of overflight rights made travel between Europe and Asia much faster and convenient.
  7. Russia hasn’t signed this agreement because it wants to use its strategic position for political gain.
  8. Norwegian has tried and failed to gain overflight rights from Russia, which essentially prevents it from flying direct to many Asian cities.

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Video: The most valuable airspace in the world

This week’s video describes the enormous value that one particular piece of airspace in the world has. Watch to find out where it is.

Try to answer the following questions about the video and come back on Monday for the answers.

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. How much economic activity occurs in the two regions mentioned?
  2. What country lies between these two economic powerhouses?
  3. When was travel between these two regions very difficult?
  4. What ‘other way’ did the airlines find to connect these two regions?
  5. What reduction in flight times did airlines have by using this ‘other way’?
  6. What event suddenly made flights between the two regions much easier?
  7. Which big country hasn’t signed the International Air Services Transit Agreement and why?
  8. What is preventing Norwegian from starting routes to Asian cities?

Follow us on twitter here, Facebook here or Google+ here for more great content!

Have a great weekend!

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