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Do pilots need to be good in math?

A would-be pilot who calls him or herself padmaraj has posted a question on Ask a Flight Instructor regarding the math skills required to be a pilot:

I would like to become a pilot, but math has never been a strong subject for me. Are strong math skills necessary to become a pilot?

However, its not clear what kind of pilot padmaraj intends to become e.g. a general aviation, commercial or military pilot.

John D. Collins responded by writing that average math skills will suffice using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division plus most calculations can be performed on a calculator or by using flight planning software. John noted that pilots will need “to be able to read and use performance charts for flight planning takeoff and landing distances, climb performance, time in route and fuel consumption, do weight and balance, and a few other tasks.” John also added that the most complicated math a pilot needs to use operationally is to determine the effect of winds on performance and the correction in heading to maintain a course, but even these calculations can be done using a calculator (which is permitted on the knowledge exam) or a mechanical E6B flight computer.

Heather H then added that what confused her math-rise as a student was the interpolation of performance charts or finding the winds aloft temperatures/speeds/directions at a specific altitude for cross country planning. However, she added that a E6B will do much of the in-flight math for you.

Obviously all of the new technology today (e.g. glass cockpits, iPad apps etc) means that most general aviation pilots today probably don’t need good math skills (heck, airplanes can almost fly themselves!), but we would like to ask any readers, whether commercial or general aviation pilots: Did or do you think that having poor math skills would hinder your ability to become or be a pilot, especially a commercial or military pilot?

McDonnell Douglas military aircraft warranty registration and customer survey card…

This was posted very briefly on the McDonnell Douglas Website by an employee there who obviously has a sense of humour. The company, of course, does not have a sense of humour, and made the web department take it down immediately (for once).

The ‘IMPORTANT’ note at the end is worth a read too.

Thank you for purchasing a McDonnell Douglas military aircraft. In order to
protect your new investment, please take a few moments to fill out the
warranty registration card below. Answering the survey questions is not required, but the information will help us to develop new products that best meet your needs and desires.

1. Title/Name/Location
[_] Mr.
[_] Mrs.
[_] Ms.
[_] Miss
[_] Lt.
[_] Gen.
[_] Comrade
[_] Classified
[_] Other

First Name: …………………………………
Initial: …….
Last Name:…………………………………..
Password: …………………….. (max. 8 char)
Code Name:………………………………….
Latitude-Longitude-Altitude: …………………

2. Which model of aircraft did you purchase?
[_] F-14 Tomcat
[_] F-15 Eagle
[_] F-16 Falcon
[_] F-117A Stealth
[_] Classified

3. Date of purchase (Year/Month/Day): 20……./……./……

4. Serial Number:……………………………

5. Please indicate where this product was purchased:
[_] Received as gift / aid package
[_] Catalogue / showroom
[_] Independent arms broker
[_] Mail order
[_] Discount store
[_] Government surplus
[_] Classified

6. Please indicate how you became aware of the McDonnell Douglas product you have just purchased:
[_] Heard loud noise, looked up
[_] Store display
[_] Espionage
[_] Recommended by friend / relative / ally
[_] Political lobbying by manufacturer
[_] Was attacked by one

7. Please indicate the three (3) factors that most influenced your decision
to purchase this McDonnell Douglas product:
[_] Style / appearance
[_] Speed / manoeuvrability
[_] Price / value
[_] Comfort / convenience
[_] Kickback / bribe
[_] Recommended by salesperson
[_] McDonnell Douglas reputation
[_] Advanced Weapons Systems
[_] Backroom politics
[_] Negative experience opposing one in combat

HMS Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales: Making sense of their scale

Hat tip to David Cenciotti for posting a couple of graphics on his Aviationist blog that give an idea of just how big the HMS Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales, the Royal Navy’s future flagships, will be:

As David pointed out, the Royal Navy’s future aircraft carriers will not be as big as those in the US Navy; but at 280 meters and 65,000 tons, they will pack a punch. In fact, the aircraft carriers will be as long as 28 London buses and three times the size of Buckingham Palace.

In addition, the Daily Mail has posted this computer generated video of the aircraft carriers:

Storing your aircraft for winter

Winter is already well underway for the northern latitudes and that probably means storing your aircraft for the duration of the winter. If you have not already done so, you might want to take a look at the detailed winter primer that AVWeb has which also comes with detailed instructions for the Lycoming and Continental engines. In fact, the article has step-by-step instructions for how to deal with engines to get them ready for winter.

In addition, a pilot named Josh recently posted a question on the Ask a Flight Instructor site about keeping an aircraft battery alive for the winter:

I have a PA-24 Comanche and I live in Maine. The temps here are often near zero in the winter even if its sunny. I just put a new battery in the plane but the cold weather is too much and I am finding myself hot proping the airplane to start it, which doesn’t excite me on an icy ramp. What could I do to keep my battery alive? I have a float charger on it, but it doesn’t seem to be cutting it. The battery is in the tail of the plane.

John D. Collins responded by saying he uses a product called Battery Minder that has a temperature probe and adjusts the voltage for temperature while Bob Watson pointed out that there are battery warming wraps for cars that go around the battery, but these are usually already out of stock by the time winter comes. However, Brian responded by saying that unlike car batteries today, most airplane batteries are acid filled and are not sealed batteries. That means:

If the highly flammable acid gases are not sealed in tight and if that blank shorts…well let’s just say it might be worth doing some investigation before putting one on an unsealed battery.

Finally, Sam Dawson wrote a lengthy response pointing out that battery manufacturers recommend the use of a battery for start in cold weather because it helps warm up the battery plus they have a blurb that states if the battery is not used for start, it may not be sufficiently charged for emergency operations. Sam ended his comment by saying pilots should read the operator manual for their battery and that it probably recommends the use of a battery minder below a certain temperature.

Insane landing video: Would you go flying with this pilot?

AVweb recently posted an undated LiveLeak video of a pilot of a Dornier taking about two minutes to go from what looks like an altitude of 12,000 feet or 3,600 meters to unload a few skydivers to then land at an airport somewhere in Europe (various comments suggest its in Poland or perhaps Germany while LiveLeak says the video was taken in Brazil). The real dicey maneuver (as if the whole video of the flight is not jaw dropping enough) comes in at around the 2:30 minute mark as the pilot does a low and hard bank above some woods and then lands at the airport:

It also appears that this following video from YouTube was taken from the ground and shows the pilot performing that last maneuver:

After the video was posted on AVweb, editor Paul Bertorelli then wrote a piece entitled: Should We Have Published This Video? Paul pointed out that skydiving operations tend to push envelope a bit when it comes to risk and that dropzones “often have enough tension with the local airport operators without making it worse by pushing outside the envelope of acceptable behavior in the pattern.” Otherwise, he concluded that there was no “defensible reason for that kind of horsing around” plus he added in the comments section:

This is pretty cool stuff to watch and before the crash, everyone says great piloting. After the crash, it’s what a dumb ass.

Other comments pointed out that the aircraft used is super durable and has STOL capabilities plus the pilot is obviously experienced.

With the videos along with all of the comments they have garnered on AVweb and LiveLeak in mind though, we would like to ask you our readers: Would you go flying with this pilot in real life or would you want to just stick to playing with the Microsoft Flight Simulator? Moreover, should this type of flying even be allowed?

James May’s Toy Stories: Flight Club

In the latest episode of James May’s Toy Stories (Flight Club), he attempted to achieve the first flight across the English Channel by an engineless, home-made supersized toy glider to break the British distance record in the process. There was one major problem: French bureaucrats would not budge to allow the flight to take place – meaning the 22 mile flight had to take place across the Bristol Channel as a substitute for the English Channel.

Otherwise and what’s also interesting about the episode is that James looks into the possibility that British school children were the real pioneers of aviation by making paper airplanes or paper darts (some of which resembled the Concorde) more than 100 years ago.

The Love Planes’ blog has pointed out that if you missed the episode, you can watch it online from the BBC directly depending upon your location (or click on TV Guide here to find out when the show will repeat). However, a quick search on YouTube reveals the episode has been posted by a couple of users (and so far BBC has apparently not noticed them!).

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-k41z_ujop4&w=480]