Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In aviation, a climb or ascent is the operation of increasing the altitude of an aircraft. It is also the logical phase of a typical flight (the climb phase or climbout) following takeoff and preceding the cruise. During the climb phase there is an increase in altitude to a predetermined level. [1] The opposite of a climb is a descent.
On 6 December 1959, during the proving phase of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, an early version of the aircraft (the XF4H-1) performed a zoom climb to 30,040 m (98,557 ft) as part of Operation "Top Flight".
Cruise is the phase of aircraft flight that starts when the aircraft levels off after a climb, until it begins to descend for landing. [1] Cruising usually comprises the majority of a flight, and may include small changes in heading (direction of flight), airspeed , and altitude .
By climbing gradually throughout the cruise phase of a flight, pilots can make the most economical use of their fuel. Originally, a simple cruise climb was used by pilots. This amounted to a simple, continuous, very gradual climb from an initial cruise altitude to a final cruise altitude, and made the most efficient use of fuel.
The top of climb may be calculated manually with considerable effort. [ 1 ] 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).
An aircraft is streamlined from nose to tail to reduce drag making it advantageous to keep the sideslip angle near zero, though an aircraft may be deliberately "sideslipped" to increase drag and descent rate during landing, to keep aircraft heading same as runway heading during cross-wind landings and during flight with asymmetric power. [1]
The on-ground angle of attack of the wing has to be established during the design phase. The main and nose-gear leg lengths are chosen to give a negative angle of attack relative to the ground. This ensures the wing will have negative lift until the pilot rotates the aircraft to a positive angle of attack. During landing, the reverse happens ...
Best rate of climb speed with a single operating engine in a light, twin-engine aircraft – the speed that provides the most altitude gain per unit of time following an engine failure, while maintaining a small bank angle that should be presented with the engine-out climb performance data. [20] [44] V ZF: Minimum zero flaps speed [49] V ZRC