Thursday, 26 October 2017
Tuesday, 24 October 2017
HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR VERY OWN PAIR OF SUNGLASSES FOR AVIATION???
When you think of sunglasses for aviation, are you
possibly thinking of that Gold Pair of RayBan Aviators you saw once in a shop
that look identical to the pair Tom Cruise "Maverick" wears in the
all-time best aviation movie (according to me of course), Top Gun? While picking
the right pair of sunglasses may not seem like a big deal, it's a task every
pilot should pay a considerable amount of energy in. Lets discuss some
important aspects of buying a good durable set of sunglasses. Unlike most
people, pilots are exposed to high quantities of sunlight on most flights that
occur during the day, this directly impacts your eyes, not only does it make it
difficult to see outside, it also harms your eyes in certain cases. Because
pilots are flying at higher altitudes, they have less of the ever so lovely
mass of air surrounding our Earth, otherwise known as the Atmosphere,
protecting them and their eyes and thus, they receive more sun rays than your
ordinary person, and therefore pilots are exposed to more ultraviolet radiation
than most people, and herein lies our problem as this is dangerous to the
pilot's health.
Quality of the Sunglasses
The quality of the sunglasses you decide to purchase is of paramount importance as it helps safeguard a pilot’s vision, one of the more important sensory assets of a pilot. A quality pair of sunglasses is essential in a flying environment due to optimising ones vision while flying in the cockpit and keeping a good look out outside of the cockpit. The harmful rays from the sun can, overtime effect ones vision, having a good pair of sunglasses can prevent this from happening or at least slow down the progression of any visual impairments this would cause.
The quality of the sunglasses you decide to purchase is of paramount importance as it helps safeguard a pilot’s vision, one of the more important sensory assets of a pilot. A quality pair of sunglasses is essential in a flying environment due to optimising ones vision while flying in the cockpit and keeping a good look out outside of the cockpit. The harmful rays from the sun can, overtime effect ones vision, having a good pair of sunglasses can prevent this from happening or at least slow down the progression of any visual impairments this would cause.
The Colour of each Lense
Red, green and brown lenses increase contrast, but distort other colours. These lenses will help with visual flying and not help with instrument flying, provided you are training and are required to wear foggles, however once in an airline you may very well have a flight plan that is filed to be flown under instrument flight rules while most of your flight will be in VMC conditions and in these cases, protective eye-wear as discussed in this post would be of assistance in protecting your eyes. These sunglasses are rather important during the PPL stages of your flying and the visual flying section of your Commericial Pilot Licence course, however should you start your Instrument Rating training these sunglasses will become less relevant as in most cases you will have to wear foggles, as mentioned above in this post. Grey lenses will help keep a large part of the sun's rays out, a primary use of sunglasses. With grey lenses you will still be able to see colors considerably well, however, you may have guessed it, but even grey lenses have a flaw and it is this, the contrast seen through grey lenses is not great. So when you choose the colour of the lenses you would like to purchase, keep these in mind, remember however, in aircraft such as the Boeing 737-800 and the likes, the Primary Flight Display, Navigation Display and Engine Monitor Screens all have certain colours, each colour tells us something about the aircraft, an example of this would be on the Primary Flight Display of the 737-800 we have something known as a "tape" that essentially shows us the limits in terms of speed when it comes to how slow we can fly before we stall or how fast we can fly, this is important and the "tape" is in red, why you ask? Because as we just covered, it's important, we need to know if we are going to fly faster than the aircraft can handle and so mixing colours due to our lenses might not be such a great idea in aircraft with these systems.
Red, green and brown lenses increase contrast, but distort other colours. These lenses will help with visual flying and not help with instrument flying, provided you are training and are required to wear foggles, however once in an airline you may very well have a flight plan that is filed to be flown under instrument flight rules while most of your flight will be in VMC conditions and in these cases, protective eye-wear as discussed in this post would be of assistance in protecting your eyes. These sunglasses are rather important during the PPL stages of your flying and the visual flying section of your Commericial Pilot Licence course, however should you start your Instrument Rating training these sunglasses will become less relevant as in most cases you will have to wear foggles, as mentioned above in this post. Grey lenses will help keep a large part of the sun's rays out, a primary use of sunglasses. With grey lenses you will still be able to see colors considerably well, however, you may have guessed it, but even grey lenses have a flaw and it is this, the contrast seen through grey lenses is not great. So when you choose the colour of the lenses you would like to purchase, keep these in mind, remember however, in aircraft such as the Boeing 737-800 and the likes, the Primary Flight Display, Navigation Display and Engine Monitor Screens all have certain colours, each colour tells us something about the aircraft, an example of this would be on the Primary Flight Display of the 737-800 we have something known as a "tape" that essentially shows us the limits in terms of speed when it comes to how slow we can fly before we stall or how fast we can fly, this is important and the "tape" is in red, why you ask? Because as we just covered, it's important, we need to know if we are going to fly faster than the aircraft can handle and so mixing colours due to our lenses might not be such a great idea in aircraft with these systems.
Polarisation
In short, DO NOT use polarized sunglasses. Polarized lenses are not compatible for a flying environment, due to the fact that the polarising effect interferes with how we see the aircrafts instruments and screens while flying.
In short, DO NOT use polarized sunglasses. Polarized lenses are not compatible for a flying environment, due to the fact that the polarising effect interferes with how we see the aircrafts instruments and screens while flying.
Gradients
The gradient on a pair aviation sunglasses can be externally useful since the
lower section of the lens is lighter than the upper section of the lens. This
would be very helpful with switching from visual flying to instrument flying,
you wouldn’t need to move your head as you can easily just move your eyes and
see everything you need to.
Interesting Facts of Aviation Sunglasses
jAviator sunglasses, or "pilot's glasses", were actually developed in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb for pilots to protect their eyes while flying, hence the name "aviators" was best suited. These sunglasses are credited with being one the first popularized types of sunglasses to be developed. The sunglasses developed were lighter, thinner, and “more elegantly designed”, and therefore overtook the original Flight Goggles.
jThe most used type of pilot sunglasses are the well-known Aviator by Ray-Ban. These are a pair of sunglasses that feel light and comfortable when you are wearing them, something you might want and need while flying. These are the most worn pair of aviation sunglasses for both genders because of the fashionable look as well as having the most desirable visual effect for flying.
jAviator sunglasses, or "pilot's glasses", were actually developed in 1936 by Bausch & Lomb for pilots to protect their eyes while flying, hence the name "aviators" was best suited. These sunglasses are credited with being one the first popularized types of sunglasses to be developed. The sunglasses developed were lighter, thinner, and “more elegantly designed”, and therefore overtook the original Flight Goggles.
jThe most used type of pilot sunglasses are the well-known Aviator by Ray-Ban. These are a pair of sunglasses that feel light and comfortable when you are wearing them, something you might want and need while flying. These are the most worn pair of aviation sunglasses for both genders because of the fashionable look as well as having the most desirable visual effect for flying.
Using a good pair of quality sunglasses decreases eye
fatigue, and protects ocular tissues from exposure to solar radiation. The
sunglasses one chooses will also aid the dark adaptation process, which is
caused by prolonged exposure to bright sunlight, very useful for flight during
the twilight hours.
Tuesday, 10 October 2017
ADVANTAGES OF FLIGHT SIMULATORS
What is a Flight Simulator ?
A flight simulator is a device or software that artificially recreates flight and the environment in which an aircraft flies. A simulator can be used for pilot training or during the process of designing a new aircraft. Flight simulators replicate the equations and laws that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to any input on the aircraft controls, the effects of other aircraft systems, and how the aircraft reacts to external factors such as air density, turbulence, wind shear, cloud, precipitation, etc. Flight simulation is used for a variety of reasons, including flight training (mainly of pilots), the design and development of the aircraft itself, and research into aircraft characteristics and control handling qualities. There are countless advantages to incorporating simulation into your flight training program.
Simulation is the future of flight training; there are so many advantages you can gain from utilising this technology right now.
1. Mindful of the Environment
Most aircraft nowadays are very fuel efficient, but they still emit fumes and gases into the atmosphere like most other forms of transport. Flight simulators will decrease the carbon footprint while you practice for hours without emitting any air or noise pollution into the atmosphere. With the present climate change situation, this is a small change that we can all feel good about.
2 . Savings
Aircraft require large amounts of AVGAS/Jet A1 (in other words, fuel) and maintenance (replacement of aircraft parts, oil etc.) to keep them running in pristine condition, this is costly, and then we have the aircraft's insurance to add to that, and excess insurance that is required to protect you in the event of an emergency. By jumping into a flight simulator, you "fly" right over all of these hurdles. You can also reduce the number of airborne lessons you need because you can master your moves on the ground first. Some pilots don’t agree with this philosophy, although simulation does aid as a beginner to sharpen your skills and technique, it all tallys up to some hard-earned savings to make your flight training much more affordable and accessible.
3. Practice Makes Perfect
The default installation allows you to hop into one of more than several different aircraft. It’s an engineering tool that can be used to predict the flying characteristics of an aircraft with incredible accuracy. When you start flight training, you need to learn a wide range of procedures such as climbing, descending, flying straight, turning, taxiing and how to recover from a spin, spiral dive and a stall. As the size, position and functionality of the instruments in most flight simulators are exact replicas of those you would find in a real aircraft, you can prepare for procedures before hopping into the real plane. You can also practice on the simulator between lessons to hone your skills. This speeds up your training process significantly as you just need to apply what you’ve learnt when you jump into the real aircraft and can move onto more advanced flight lessons much faster.
@ricardodossantosnortman
4. Explore the Globe
It allows you to hop in and explore the globe to your heart's content,
Flight simulators display visuals of a range of real locations and airports from around the globe. It would be impossible to practice flying over the Himalayas Mountains when you’re based in Johannesburg, or from London to Los Angeles and beyond, but flight simulators make this possible. Visit areas and airports you have never visited before. Simulators keep training fresh and exciting, while also showing you how many amazing experiences lay ahead, within your reach when you obtain your pilot licence.
5. Be Prepared
Flight Simulators are incredibly detailed, with little touches factored in such as detailed weather modeling and the potential for system failures. Nearly every component of a plane can fail randomly, which, while frustrating, helps create a more realistic simulation experience. Practising emergency situations is a vital part of your pilot training, but it’s hard to do this in an authentic way when you’re in the air when your well-being is highly likely to be at risk. Simulation allows you to practise your response time and techniques to challenging weather conditions and system failures while keeping both you and your instructor safe. This allows you to develop the range of complex risk assessment and management skills you need to be a great pilot.
6. Log Additional Flight Hours
You are also allowed to log the time spent in a flight simulators provided that the flight simulator used is approved for training by the aviation authority in your country, however, during training in most cases you are only allowed to log up to a certain amount of your simulator time towards your total time but do not let this discourage you from using a flight simulator to hone down your procedures and flying skills, it very well may be the difference between getting something on a first attempt in the real aircraft or having to do it again.
Flight schools use different types of flight simulators from different manufactures from all around the world, however, they all serve the main purpose of recreating the miracle that is, flight, and so all of them are very accurate for training purposes.
Please subscribe to this blog and my YouTube Channel.
rikathepilot@blogspot.com
A flight simulator is a device or software that artificially recreates flight and the environment in which an aircraft flies. A simulator can be used for pilot training or during the process of designing a new aircraft. Flight simulators replicate the equations and laws that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to any input on the aircraft controls, the effects of other aircraft systems, and how the aircraft reacts to external factors such as air density, turbulence, wind shear, cloud, precipitation, etc. Flight simulation is used for a variety of reasons, including flight training (mainly of pilots), the design and development of the aircraft itself, and research into aircraft characteristics and control handling qualities. There are countless advantages to incorporating simulation into your flight training program.
Simulation is the future of flight training; there are so many advantages you can gain from utilising this technology right now.
1. Mindful of the Environment
Most aircraft nowadays are very fuel efficient, but they still emit fumes and gases into the atmosphere like most other forms of transport. Flight simulators will decrease the carbon footprint while you practice for hours without emitting any air or noise pollution into the atmosphere. With the present climate change situation, this is a small change that we can all feel good about.
Aircraft require large amounts of AVGAS/Jet A1 (in other words, fuel) and maintenance (replacement of aircraft parts, oil etc.) to keep them running in pristine condition, this is costly, and then we have the aircraft's insurance to add to that, and excess insurance that is required to protect you in the event of an emergency. By jumping into a flight simulator, you "fly" right over all of these hurdles. You can also reduce the number of airborne lessons you need because you can master your moves on the ground first. Some pilots don’t agree with this philosophy, although simulation does aid as a beginner to sharpen your skills and technique, it all tallys up to some hard-earned savings to make your flight training much more affordable and accessible.
The default installation allows you to hop into one of more than several different aircraft. It’s an engineering tool that can be used to predict the flying characteristics of an aircraft with incredible accuracy. When you start flight training, you need to learn a wide range of procedures such as climbing, descending, flying straight, turning, taxiing and how to recover from a spin, spiral dive and a stall. As the size, position and functionality of the instruments in most flight simulators are exact replicas of those you would find in a real aircraft, you can prepare for procedures before hopping into the real plane. You can also practice on the simulator between lessons to hone your skills. This speeds up your training process significantly as you just need to apply what you’ve learnt when you jump into the real aircraft and can move onto more advanced flight lessons much faster.
It allows you to hop in and explore the globe to your heart's content,
Flight simulators display visuals of a range of real locations and airports from around the globe. It would be impossible to practice flying over the Himalayas Mountains when you’re based in Johannesburg, or from London to Los Angeles and beyond, but flight simulators make this possible. Visit areas and airports you have never visited before. Simulators keep training fresh and exciting, while also showing you how many amazing experiences lay ahead, within your reach when you obtain your pilot licence.
5. Be Prepared
Flight Simulators are incredibly detailed, with little touches factored in such as detailed weather modeling and the potential for system failures. Nearly every component of a plane can fail randomly, which, while frustrating, helps create a more realistic simulation experience. Practising emergency situations is a vital part of your pilot training, but it’s hard to do this in an authentic way when you’re in the air when your well-being is highly likely to be at risk. Simulation allows you to practise your response time and techniques to challenging weather conditions and system failures while keeping both you and your instructor safe. This allows you to develop the range of complex risk assessment and management skills you need to be a great pilot.
6. Log Additional Flight Hours
You are also allowed to log the time spent in a flight simulators provided that the flight simulator used is approved for training by the aviation authority in your country, however, during training in most cases you are only allowed to log up to a certain amount of your simulator time towards your total time but do not let this discourage you from using a flight simulator to hone down your procedures and flying skills, it very well may be the difference between getting something on a first attempt in the real aircraft or having to do it again.
Flight schools use different types of flight simulators from different manufactures from all around the world, however, they all serve the main purpose of recreating the miracle that is, flight, and so all of them are very accurate for training purposes.
Please subscribe to this blog and my YouTube Channel.
rikathepilot@blogspot.com
Thursday, 5 October 2017
WHAT DO THE BARS ON A PILOT'S UNIFORM MEAN?
What is an epaulette? An epaulette is an ornamental shoulder piece worn by pilots, simply put, it's the black and gold piece of material you see pilots wearing on their shoulders. Does it have a purpose? Yes! Other than looking "cool" and making pilots feel like they are the coolest bunch of people to roam the Earth, they primarily serve the purpose of showing rank.
The golden bars on the epaulette are an indication of the pilot's level of rank either during training or once a pilot is in an airline. They can also show certain qualifications, for example a pilot with a PPL (Private Pilot's Licence) will wear epaulettes that have two golden bars whilst a pilot with a CPL (Commercial Pilot's Licence) will in most cases wear one with three golden bars.
A Captain always; at least, most of the time sits in the left hand seat of the aircraft and wears a four barred epaulette. The Captain is in most cases, the most experienced pilot onboard and supervises all crew members and is responsible to, with the help of his/her First Officer, make the major decisions during a normal flight and during an emergency. He/she is responsible for the aircraft, cargo, all passengers and crew.
Usually a three barred First Officer also called the Second in Command sits in the right hand seat of the cockpit. I am sure you have heard of the saying “Right Hand Man” well this is where it comes from. Some companies have epaulets with two gold bars for Second Officers. These pilots generally have their Commercial Pilot's Licence but do not yet possess their Airline Transport Pilot's Licence. First Officers are qualified to operate the aircraft in all stages of flight, including takeoffs and landings, however in bigger aircraft, such as the Boeing 737 and the likes, the Captain of the aircraft performs the taxi phase of the flight using something called a tiller, this piece of equipment looks vaguely similar to a car's steering wheel and serves a similar purpose, to steer the nose wheel. The tiller is on the captain's side of the aircraft and thus the first officers in bigger aircraft do not taxi the aircraft before take-off and after landing.
While Airline Pilots wear golden bars, military pilots in the Navy and Air Force wear different insignia to indicate their level of expertise, experience and rank.
Epaulettes with one golden bar are not normally used for airline pilots but are sometimes used for Trainees. Bar colours sometimes vary from Airline to Airline and Company to Company. They are however, generally gold bars on a black or dark blue background.
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