Category: Video answers

Posted on by

Video answers: ‘Airbus side stick’

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

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. It allows control of both pitch and roll.
  2. If both pilots use their side sticks at the same time the computer sums up the inputs, however the sum is limited to the maximum deflection of a single side stick.
  3. There will be a green flashing side stick priority light and a continuous aural warning of ‘dual input’.
  4. It has two switches; a dual function autopilot disconnect switch which can also be used as a priority takeover push button. At the front of the side stick is a communication push to talk switch.
  5. When the autopilot is engaged the side stick is locked in a neutral position. This can be heard and felt by a click but can also be overridden with sufficient pressure if necessary.

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

Posted on by

Video answers: ‘Is the 747 in trouble?’

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

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. It’s been dubbed as the queen of the skies.
  2. They recently retired their last 747s.
  3. Only a handful of airlines operate the 747 today.
  4. British Airways has the biggest fleet of 747s nowadays.
  5. They recently spent millions retrofitting some of them.
  6. Low oil prices has persuaded them to keep the plane in service.

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

Posted on by

Video answers: ‘Why airlines sell more seats than they have’

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

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. It’s called the no-show rate.
  2. They base their estimates on complicated systems that take into account the route and date.
  3. Many passengers miss their connections because 25% of domestic US flights arrive late.
  4. Passengers miss Sunday flights less because they are likely to be travelling for work on the following day.
  5. They choose passengers who have the ‘least merit’ to be on a flight or who have the ‘least value’ to the airline on paper. The computer will choose those people who checked in last or have a low or no frequent flier status.
  6. Passengers can check in early, even online, and get their boarding pass to help their chances of not being bumped off a flight. Having a frequent flier account, even with few points in it can also help make sure passengers fly on their flight.

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

Posted on by

Video answers: ‘SOFIA’

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

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. It’s forty years old.
  2. There’s a hole in the fuselage to allow SOFIA to do its work.
  3. It stands for ‘stratospheric observatory for infrared astronomy’.
  4. They thought it was crazy because it was extremely challenging and there were many problems.
  5. It’s different because it looks at ultraviolet light while SOFIA looks at infrared light.
  6. SOFIA is flexible because different kinds of instruments can be placed on board to make different kinds of observations, and because it’s a flying telescope, it can be positioned anywhere in the world.

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

Posted on by

Video answers: ‘Mysterious objects on the A320’

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

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. They are used as a reference to allow flight attendants to quickly select the best window to view the leading edge and trailing edge of the wings. They can also be used as guidance as to where to seat passengers on a flight with a low load factor.
  2. The purpose of the piece of metal is to attach an escape rope to during an emergency evacuation from the overwing exits. It allows passengers to move more safely over a wet wing.
  3. It doesn’t have them because the A321 doesn’t have overwing exits.

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

Posted on by

Video answers: ‘The economics of airline class’

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

Suggested ICAO level for video: 5+

  1. They make money with premium cabins.
  2. The business class section makes the airline the most money.
  3. First, business and premium-economy class generate the majority of an airline’s revenue.
  4. It happened in the 40s and 50s and at that time a first-class fare usually got you a non-stop flight to your destination, while an economy-class fare usually got you a mail flight that left at a very late time and had several stops along the way.
  5. Airlines started selling the same flight for different prices in 1952.
  6. The ‘tourist’ class ticket had no flexibility and had to be bought in advance while the ‘standard’ class ticket could be bought at any time and had some flexibility.
  7. Firstly, the standard ticket holders were sat at the front, and then airlines started blocking the middle seat, giving them more space, eventually they received better, bigger seats.
  8. They avoided the first-class market because they believed that Concorde would be for first-class passengers.
  9. It’s going away again because business class is much more profitable than first class.

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