Why is the fuel:air ratio of a turbojet engine not around ~1:15 (the stoichiometric ratio)?

Edit: to honor my original answer, I shall keep it as it is. The question was edited so much I think it would have constituted a whole new question. In it's original form, the Q presented jet engine f/a ratio as 1/4 - 1/3 and compared it to the stoich ratio of 1/15.
Your numbers seem way off, except for the stoichiometric fuel/air ratio (for kerosene).
Please see the following NASA article: Beginner's Guide to Propulsion and EngineSim
Fuel and Air Relationships
Activity
A quote from there:

For jet engine combustion, the important parameter is the fuel/air ratio (f/a) which is the ratio of the mass of fuel to the mass of air being burned in the engine.

The stoichiometric ratio of 1/15 can also be written as approximately 0.067
The article further elaborates on the subject:

For example, at sea level an airliner taking off at 375 mph with the throttle at 100% has an f/a of .017

This 0.017 translates into about 1/59
No matter how you look at the ratio, mass or volume, in no case will a jet engine run at f/a of 1/4~1/3. The mixture will simply be too rich to ignite and burn.
Here is a link to a Wikipedia graph about the range of typical jet engine air:fuel ratios:
Combustion stability limits of aircraft gas turbine.svg
Please note the graph displays the ratio in reverse order from what was used before in this answer, ranging from ~25/1 to ~180/1.


Do military bases still employ wheel watchers?

No

They do not continue this practice anymore. This is likely because landing gear are more reliable now than they were in the 70's. There is also the practice of Air Traffic Control prompting military pilots to check their gear is down, by verbally adding "Check Gear Down" to their landing clearance.

Source: Checked in with some of the Air Force / Air National Guard pilots in the office. They're not aware of any such practice and decided it must have been before their time. Oldest pilot started in the 90's, so that leaves you with a 20 year gap where they abolished the practice.


Does a multi-engine ATP with single-engine commercial privileges provide single-engine instrument privileges?

Note this is my interpretation of part 61. Double check with the FSDO for a more legally biding answer.

Since the Instrument addon is by category, not class, aka Instrument Airplane, or Instrument Rotorcraft, the ATP Multi-Engine Airplane, counts for Instrument Airplane for the Commercial Single.


What is the effect of flow separation on lift, pressure distribution and drag?

You need to distinguish between boundary layer flow and outer flow.

Separation means that a parcel of low energy air moves with the wing (here the pressure is about -0.2, expressed as a pressure coefficient). For the outer flow, the contour of the airfoil changes to one of the original airfoil plus the parcel of separated flow. Since this is on the rear upper side of the airfoil, the airfoil "looks" thicker and longer, effectively presenting to the outer flow a body of less camber and angle of attack.

This in turn will reduce the suction in the region of attached flow right past the nose, where normally a high suction peak produces both lift and nose thrust. With a reduced suction peak, the airfoil produces more drag and less lift.

Viscous and inviscid pressure distribution at 12° AoA, calculated with XFOIL 5.4. The dashed lines show the inviscid pressure distribution where flow separation does not happen, while the solid lines show the viscous pressure distribution with separated flow over the last 20% of the upper side. The lines around the airfoil contour show the boundary between the boundary layer and the outer flow. Separation thickens the boundary layer, substantially altering the shape around which the outer flow streams.

The altered airfoil shape causes a reduction in the effective angle of attack, so both the suction on top and the pressure on the bottom are lower. This means that separation causes lift loss; once separation starts, the lift curve slope becomes flatter and can reverse (which indicates a full stall).

In the sample shown above, only on the last 12% of the upper side would separation cause pressure to be lower than in the inviscid case. Note that pressure on the bottom is also lower, so the difference between both (which causes lift) is quite unchanged by separation. Without separation, viscous and inviscid pressure distribution are quite similar, therefore the inviscid distribution is a valid first-order approximation of the viscous pressure distribution without separation.

The reduced suction peak at the nose and the higher suction on those last 12% is what causes more pressure drag. Note that the area around the suction peak points forward and that near the trailing edge points a little backward (especially at high angle of attack). This means that less of the nose thrust pulls the airfoil forward and also there is less pushing from the pressure near the trailing edge.

To estimate the drag increase due to separation of the full airplane configuration, assume a drag increase as if the lift would increase linearly, without separation taking place, including induced drag. Combine this drag with the "real" lift, including losses due to separation, and you will arrive at a surprisingly realistic lift-to-drag ratio of the aircraft between separation onset and stall.


Where is helicopter rotor attached on Allison Model 250 engine?

It's not. The engine is connected to a gearbox that transfers power to the rotor head. I don't know of any helicopter where the engine is directly connected to the rotor head. If it were, the helicopter would not be able to autorotate after an engine failure, unless the failure allowed the engine to continue to rotate.


Which commercial aircraft are capable of computer-only landings, without human assistance?

None. While a number of aircraft are certified for autoland with automatic rollout until safe taxi speed, and some can have the autopilot control rollout until the aircraft completely stops, no commercial aircraft has autopilot control of various critical parts for landing such as the flaps and the landing gear.


Where is the airspace not covered by primary Radar?

There are a few spots not covered by primary radar. Here are a few I can think off:

Afghanistan, not really what you'd expect from flying between Europe and South East Asia. I was told though by the pilots that the Americans were keeping an eye on us. I'd imagine there are a few holes in the CIS countries as well.

Multiple areas in Africa, but this is improving I believe. There's a post on PPrune. Apparently known as the 'dark continent' for spotty coverage and consistency. South Africa has good coverage, and I'd guess the same for much of northern Africa as well.

A few remote areas in South America, then again, improving.

Oceans are not covered.

Determining factors are population density, aircraft density and economic development.

As more you Malaysia map, if there's a radar at Kota Bharu [KBR] airport, here's the map assuming a range of 200 Nm for the radar. It should in theory be well within reach.

(source: gcmap.com)
And an extended version:
SGN Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) [Tan Son Nhat Intl], VN
KUA Kuantan [Sultan Abmad Shah Airport (Pedang Geroda Airport)], Pahang, MY
KUL Kuala Lumpur (Sepang) [Intl], Selangor, MY
KBR     Kota Bharu [Sultan Ismail Petra], Kelantan, MY

(source: gcmap.com)
Just for the interested, here's a map showing Japanese military radar, just to get an idea of coverage in a country full of people and planes.

Maps from http://www.gcmap.com/


How do I calculate this question? find the position of the centre of gravity in %

I believe that the Length of the Aerodynamic Chord is $19\ m - 13\ m = 6\ m$, and that the CG is $2 m$ from the Leading Edge of the Mean Chord (LEMC).

Therefore, I believe that the CG in percent is:
$$
\mathrm{\frac{CG}{Length\ of\ Chord}} = \frac{CG - LEMC}{TEMC - LEMC} = \frac{15-13}{19-13} = \frac{2}{6} = 33\%
$$


Will this specially shaped can produce any lift?

Any body that is asymmetrical w.r.t. the flow field will produce lift, possibly negative, but certainly not zero.  To estimate the sign and magnitude of the lift, this body is simple enough to just build and try from a moving car, instead of theorizing or running a CFD simulation.


What is this device on the nose of an MD-11?

Enhanced flight vision system

or a different angle

wiki says:

  An Enhanced flight vision system (EFVS, sometimes EVS) is an airborne system which provides an image of the scene and displays it to the pilot, in order to provide an image in which the scene and objects in it can be better detected.


Is there a general approach for designing a Trimmable Horizontal Stabilizer?

You always look at both in combination.

The first step is to use tail volumes that have worked before. This is enough for preliminary design.

When the design advances further, you have load cases to cover which combine trim and manoeuvring demands and you use trim settings and elevator deflections in combination. The useable deflection range changes with trim settings, because when the tailplane needs to produce a sizeable downforce to trim deflected fowler flaps on the wing, it cannot tolerate the same positive elevator deflection as in straight flight with lightly loaded tailplane.

Also, speed, load factor and loading determine the downwash angle on the tail. The useable stabilizer range varies with the downwash angle, so each load case needs to be looked at by itself.

Next, you pick the tailplane size and deflection range which covers all load cases and verify the result in the wind tunnel and flight test.


What is the highest muzzle velocity of a gun on any fighter aircraft?

The muzzle velocity of guns is based on multiple factors and generally sees a wide range. Most importantly how the bullet is loaded (gun powder wise) and what mass the bullet is. For example the P-51 mustang carried 6 50 caliber BMG's (M-2). Which (although not available at the time) is capable of accepting the Caliber .50, Saboted Light Armor Penetrator, M903 round which has a quoted muzzle velocity of 4,000 ft/s (1,219 m/s). It should also be noted that the base muzzle velocity of an M2 is 2,910 ft/s (890 m/s) for M33 ball round. So it really depends what round you are loading in.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has the GAU-22 Gatling Gun which with the TP HEI ammunition has a quoted muzzle velocity of 3,560 feet (1,085m) per second (15 m/s faster than the GAU-8 on the warthog).

(Not sure about you guys but I often test my gatling guns with my multi-meter...)
image source


Does the weather condition of the runway affect the braking of an aircraft with regards to wheel braking and reverse thrust?

On a 737, you have essentially two detents for reverse thrust, which for lack of a better term you could call "normal" and "maximum".  You can use levels of reverse thrust other than that by raising the reverse thrust levers to some intermediate position, but the performance numbers are all predicated on either no reverse thrust, normal detent, or maximum.

The condition of the runway absolutely affects how effective the wheel brakes are, and when there is a lot of snow coming down -- even with a freshly plowed runway, you really don't gain much by using less reverse thrust than you have available. Plus, if anything bad were to happen, it's easier to explain yourself when the flight data recorder shows that you went immediately into max reverse thrust right after touchdown & had the anti-skid cycling all the way down the runway -- you used everything you had available to stop the aircraft.

On a long, dry runway, you have lots of choices you can make. You can use reverse thrust and a long rollout to minimize brake wear; you can use no reverse thrust (if your airline permits that option; not all do) and more wheel braking to minimize noise -- which I've experienced at Frankfurt in the early morning; or you can use a good bit of brakes & reverse thrust to make an early turnoff from the runway -- nice if your parking spot is closer to the approach end of the runway than the departure end of the runway.

With contaminated runway conditions, those options boil down to, let's get this thing slowed way down as early and as certainly as we can.  Quiet isn't so much of a concern, brake wear isn't so much of a concern, taxi routing isn't so much of a concern; we'll use all the tools we have to reduce all the risks as much as we can.

So yes, you could well see more thrust reverse being used on a snowy day than you might see on a clear, dry day.  The relative contribution of the reverse thrust and the wheel brakes is one of those engineering questions that needs a lot of specific numbers to answer... just how slick is the runway?  (Braking will be less effective, so the contribution of the TR's will be higher.)  How cold is it? (Reverse thrust is more effective in cold air -- more thrust.)  How quickly did the braking get into the anti-skid cycling? (You somewhat expect the anti-skid to be cycling on a snow-covered runway -- that means you're getting all you can out of the wheel brakes, given the friction with the runway they have to work with.)  And etc.  As a pilot, the salient point isn't that X% of my stopping came from the one and y% came from the other; it's that we used them both & reached the gate, on time & with zero groundspeed!


How do aircraft batteries power the engine/APU?

Yes battery power will supply both the APU's igniter system and its starter/generator (a single motor that switches to generator mode after start, similar to turboprops).  So you need the APU to start the engines (notwithstanding other bleed sources) but you need the battery to start the APU (or an external DC power source - the APU will be fed from a DC bus; whether the bus is being energized by a battery or a DC ground cart, the APU doesn't know or care).


Closest RL Match for Fictional Helicopter Design?

Possibly the Bell 47J:

Source: Wikipedia

The Bell 47 was configurable with floats more in-line with the image originally posted, but I can't find a lot of images with the full skin frame and floats, but here is one:

Source: Goodall Aircraft History


Flow at the forward stagnation point of an airfoil is laminar, because the local velocity will be zero. The boundary layer originating form the stagnation point will usually not remain laminar for long, but some airfoils like the NACA 6 series were optimized to conserve this laminar flow as far down the chord as possible.

A laminar boundary layer is thinner and offers less drag, so it is desirable for aerodynamic efficiency. One of the more famous laminar wing designs was the P-51 Mustang, which used the NACA 66-(1.8)12 (a=0.6) airfoil at the wing roots.

In reality the boundary layer will transition at some point before reaching the trailing edge, and become turbulent. In the case of the P-51, a shot down example was analyzed by H. Schlichting. He found that the transition point was at the 50% chord point for $Re=4\cdot10^6$ and as far forward as 20% of the chord for $Re=7.5\cdot10^6$, which suggests that the Mustangs performance had more to do with the polished finish and flush rivets of the wings than with the airfoil used.


Does my 1st class medical give me 2nd and 3rd class medical privileges after it expires?

A first class medical issued to a 35 year old pilot on 15 Jan 2012 will let that pilot:

exercise privileges of an ATP certificate until 23:59 31 Jan 2013
exercise privileges of a commercial certificate until 23:59 31 Jan 2013
exercise privileges of a private, recreational, student or CFI certificate (if the CFI is acting PIC) until 23:59 31 Jan 2017

Your first class medical is always a first class medical -- you don't get private pilot privileges for 5 years because a first class medical grants third class privileges, rather you get private pilot privileges for 5 years because that is what a first class medical grants you.

These durations are from the table of 61.23 (d).  You don't see this language in the text above the table because they are not concerned with the duration of the privileges but only the minimum required medical class for specific operations.

For example, 61.23 (a)(2)(ii) says you must hold at least a second class medical to exercise the privileges of a commercial certificate and 61.23(d)(1)(iii) and 61.23(d)(2)(i) list the duration that each of an first and second class medical can be used to for this purpose.


Where does the Oxygen for the emergency gas masks come from?

On commercial aircraft the oxygen supply of the masks in the cabin comes either from a chemical oxygen generator or a centralized oxygen bottle system. The flight deck is always equipped with pressurized oxygen masks.

The chemical oxygen generators generate lots of heat when they are activated. When normally placed in their overhead compartments the heat is slowly dissipated. However, oxygens generators are hazardous when canisters are not in their appropriate place. The ValuJet Flight 592 crash into the Everglades on 11 May 1996 was caused by a fire after improperly packed oxygen generators in the cargo hold were accidentally activated.

Pressurized oxygen bottles also are hazardous. Not only because the oxygen can turn a small fire into a blaze but if the high pressure bottles explode they cause substantial damage. On
25 July 2008 an oxygen bottle installed in a Qantas Boeing 747 ruptured and propelled itself upward through the floor into the cabin.


Can the Apache detect infrared (IR) lock?

I think I have answered my own question from a little bit of research.

Warfare systems such as Laser and Radar are detectable because they are active emissions (i.e. They have to make their own emission, wait for it to reflect back, then lock onto it).

Visual and Infrared are not easily detectable because they are passive. The IR Launcher or TV-Guided missile only requires the targets emission to lock onto, not its own in the example above, so there is no way you can detect being locked onto.


What instructions should I give to an untrained passenger for Hand propping Cessna 172N as a pilot?

That is crazy.  DON'T just rely on an person who's new to airplanes and only training is 5 minutes of showing them what to do, who may or may not react correctly when it springs to life, as the only thing preventing the plane from heading off somewhere while you try to dive clear.  Don't. Do. It.

Tie the tail. To something.  Anything.  Use the passenger and show them what to do and give them a careful briefing, but tie the tail down anyway.  You don't know how the passenger is going to react if things go off kilter.  And if tying the tail is simply not an option, and you have no choice because you have to leave because zombies are approaching, at least point the airplane toward some obstacle just beyond the normal turning radius, like a wire fence, for it to run into when it takes off with your passenger confused and frightened because they pushed the throttle in too much and let off the brakes when the thing jerked forward on them, with you diving for your life.

Once it's running at idle and everything is kosher, set the parking brake and you can walk back to untie it with your passenger ready to switch the ignition off if it starts to roll away.

And make sure to use the correct terminology with your assistant.  Don't say "switch on/switch off".  It's "Switch off" for ignition off, and "Contact" for ignition on (it's old fashioned sounding, but it works).

I have been personally burned by a guy who did things the usual way, when I said "switch off", then repeated "switch off" to make sure he heard it.  He thought I'd said "Switch off" then "Switch on" when I'd just said switch off twice.  I neglected to brief him on the use of the word "contact" so it was my fault in the end.  Anyway, I got a nice noisy surprise when I turned the prop over thinking ignition was off.

Hand propping is quite a dangerous operation, especially on tri-gear airplanes where you have to lean forward to do it.  I trust you yourself have been properly trained, and know things like not to hook your fingers over the blade so you don't get pulled into it if it kicks back, that sort of thing.


The fly-by-wire means that in the aircraft, the (pilot or autopilot) control inputs are fed to the (flight) computer, which processes them and determines the required control surface movements and transmits this by electrical signals (through wires, hence the term fly-by-wire) to the appropriate actuators.

This is in contrast with the mechanical system, where the pilot control inputs are directly transmitted to the flight control actuators, through push-pull rods or cables. The following figure shows the schematic of a mechanical and fly-by-wire system.

Source: euroaviasevilla.es

The first aircraft to use this mode of control was the Avro Arrow, which used a dual-channel fly-by-wire system made of analog circuits. The flight control mechanism on the Apollo Lunar Module was fly-by-wire, the Primary Guidance, Navigation, and Control System, which was referred to as PGNCS, pronounced 'pings'.

Later, NASA tested the fly-by-wire system in a F-8 aircraft, a schematic of which is shown below. Note that it uses Apollo flight computer.

Image from Computers Take Flight- A history of NASA's Pioneering Fly-by-wire Project

In civil aviation Concorde and A320 (which had a digital-fly-by-wire system) introduced fly-by-wire systems, while in military, it was the F-16. At present, almost all combat aircraft and large airliners use fly-by-wire systems.

As an extension, the system is called fly-by-light (or fly-by-optics) is the signals are transmitted through optical cables. If the wires are eliminated altogether, it is called fly-by-wireless.


Should I fly if conditions are VFR but the flight briefer says "VFR Flight Not Recommended"?

"VFR Flight Not Recommended" is a judgement call made by the flight briefer. It means, as you noted from the AIM, that the briefer doesn't think flying around VFR is a smart idea based on what they're seeing.

The usual reasons for a briefer using this phrase are:

The weather is currently below VFR minimums somewhere along your intended route.
The weather is currently "Marginal VFR" somewhere along your intended route.
The weather is forecast to be marginal VFR or below somewhere along your intended route.
Some other adverse condition (like mountain obscuration) exists along your route or in the area you intend to fly.

The briefer's recommendation is just that: a recommendation -- it is not binding. How you evaluate the flight to make a Go/No-Go decision when the briefer provides this recommendation is your choice as pilot in command. You will need to consider why the briefer is telling you VFR flight is not recommended, and apply your own knowledge and judgment.

A couple of examples:

If the briefer is telling you this because Airmet Sierra is active for mountain obscuration and you intend to fly through some mountain passes prudence suggests that proceeding VFR into mountains that may be obscured by clouds would be a Bad Idea.
If the briefer is telling you this because the weather is currently marginal VFR, but it's forecast to improve and you only plan to shoot a few touch-and-go landings at your home airport you might proceed with the flight anyway.

For evaluating the huge swath of conditions in between those two extremes consider your familiarity with the area (typical weather patterns, topography, obstacles, etc.) and the conditions of flight (especially day-vs-night). Thomas P. Turner's site has a nice set of guidelines which I happen to broadly agree with, but each flight needs to be carefully evaluated to determine if you believe you can complete it safely under the conditions reported to you by the briefer.

The safest approach is obviously to cancel the flight (or complete it under instrument flight rules) if you have any doubt.


Was the oxygen mask, on this flight, out of order?

According to this Airbus training manual, pages 10 and 11, that's the test door stop.

As you can see in the video you added, resetting the masks is a pain, so the little red stop is there to catch the door and stop it from fully opening.

  Manually operated doors stops are fitted on the container doors to allow an operational test of the mask release system.
  When set to test position the door stops will prevent doors from fully opening and masks from dropping out of the Container.


How do I find the historical arrival procedure GOLDN6 for SJC that is no longer valid?

I'd google it & look thru the results until you find one that has the arrival depicted.
Understand that the numeric part of the arrival (6 in GOLDN6, for example) changes over time. Maybe the FAA adds, or removes, or changes a speed restriction at a given waypoint on the arrival. The number will go up, and the new version will be effective on a given date. Then in some number of months, something else changes, and the number increments again. When it gets to 9, the next revision goes back to 1.  (Which is okay, since the last GOLDN1 was now years in the past, and what's important is differentiating the current procedure from one that was recently superseded.)
Typically, these revisions are pretty minor, and when airspace gets revised on a large scale, the old procedure names are all retired, and all new procedures are published with all new names.
All of that to say, if you search for "GOLDN arrival SJC" (and don't let the search engine helpfully substitute 'golden' in the query), you may find a chart of the GOLDN4 or GOLDN5, which would most likely be quite similar to the one you're interested in.
I imagine that the FAA TERPS office keeps archival copies of everything that they've ever published, as (probably) would OAK Center and the NORCAL TRACON, and (almost certainly) Jeppesen, but those avenues start becoming a lengthy research project, trying to get in touch with the right person in the right office.
So I'd peruse search results first.


Can you please explain aircraft spin in simple non-mathematical terms?

A spin is a kind of aggravated stall in which one wing becomes more stalled than the other one.  This imbalance in lift results in an autorotative motion abound a vertical axis, generally passing through the inboard wing of the aircraft.  Spins can be initiated be stalling the airplane in a uncoordinated turn, which causes the inboard wing to enter a deeper stall than the outboard wing.  An airplane must always 1) be in an aerodynamic stall in 2) uncoordinated flight in order to enter a spin.


Can the "G" and "VRB" wind conditions be combined in METARs?

Yes, it is possible for a METAR to contain both VRB and G. VRB10G25KT is valid.

The reason it rarely happens is because, as wind speed increases, major variations in wind directions tend to disappear.


Why can't helicopters fly at high altitudes?

Don't believe everything you see in the movies. Doubly so if the movie originated in Hollywood.

The world altitude record for a helicopter is 40,814ft (12440m), some 11,000 feet (3353m) higher then Everest, set in 1972 Reference: Wikipedia

In 2005 Didier DelSalle famously touched down on the summit of Everest in an AS350 Squirrel Reference: Wikipedia. See below for a video.

Both feats involved specially prepared aircraft and highly experienced crew.

As has already been pointed out, a helicopter, just like any other aircraft, has a ceiling above which they cannot fly. Since it's clear that it is possible to fly helicopters to the required altitude in certain conditions, this is just a red herring.

The real reason helicopters don't routinely fly to those altitudes is that they're not designed to. As with everything in aviation, performance is a trade off between engineering, aerodynamics and commercial pressures.

There's a big market for helicopters that can fly up to, say, 12-15,000ft (3600-4500m). The market for helicopters capable of rescuing climbers from the top of Everest is, at best, limited, and the technical demands of building a craft routinely capable of such a flight will push the costs up dramatically.

In short, they don't because nobody will pay for it.


How to reduce altitude in a passenger jet without gaining forward speed in an emergency?

Ah that's a good question indeed. You asked

  How to reduce altitude in a passenger jet

Normally most of the passenger jets have spoilers They are effective and can be deployed at any speed.

Now what happens in case you don't have spoilers for any reason. I was discussing the subject with a pilot many years ago and he told me the trick you mentioned: you apply rudder to one direction (I assume opposite to the engine rotation to avoid unpleasant surprises). That increases dramatically the forward surface of the plane against the relative air flow. That results in increased drag and thus speed loss.

But yaw causes roll (and vice versa). Also the wing of the side you are yawing to, has less lift because it is shaded from the forebody of the plane. This is where the aileron is needed. You need aileron to maintain lateral stability and prevent the aircraft from rolling. See the image bellow. The orange lines denote the area of increased drag by the fuselage. The green area is the "shaded" area of decreased lift of the wing.

Top view from wikipedia. Derivative work by me.

According to that pilot, this is more effective than spoilers. But there is a trap: You need to be careful not to yaw the plane too much because the shaded wing will loose too much of its lift and will result in capsizing the plane.

EDIT: Finally, you mentioned emergency. There are different types of emergencies. Pressurization is an emergency situation but does not affect aircraft control (at least not directly). Hydraulics problems or engine loss is an emergency as well. But that will affect the way you will handle the aircraft. Here I cannot help you. A trained pilot perhaps can answer, though I believe that the answers will vary depending on each planes flight manual.


What is the requirement to become a flight attendant?

There is a (relatively) new requirement for Flight Attendants (on aircraft with more than 20 passenger seats) to be certified as per the FAA. This was done in the "VISION 100—CENTURY OF AVIATION
REAUTHORIZATION ACT", in section 814 if you want to read it.

The applicable CFR is 49 U.S. Code § 44728 - Flight attendant certification. In summary it says:

You have to have a certificate of demonstrated proficiency, this looks like a pilots license.
Demonstrated compliance with the air carrier approved training program.
Proficiency to read, speak, and write English
Comprehend written material in English
Ability to write incident reports and log entries/statements
Carry out written and oral instructions

Now, the actual physical requirements are up to the airline, as long as the individual can complete the training program, they are physically allowed to become a flight attendant (physical appearance requirements aside). As for "legally" allowed, they need to be able to pass the same TSA background checks that pilots are subject to. So legally, almost all airlines require:

U.S. Citizen or appropriate work visa
Be able to enter/exit the United States without any issues (no visa problems with other countries, although for regionals this may not apply)
Be able to pass a TSA/FBI background check
No DUI or felony convictions within the past 10 years

There isn't a lot more "legal" to it than that, they don't have to demonstrate the use of safety equipment if the airline's training program doesn't require it.


EASA: this is a European Union body, so yes, the UK is a member state.

CAA: There are many Civil Aviation Authorities worldwide, basically each is a national entity within the corresponding state. So, specifically for the UK, yes, there exists a body known as CAA that is a state entity, formally independent but in practice dependent on the UK Government (Dept. of Transport). Their web page is: http://www.caa.co.uk/

Due to the complex configuration of EU law, both EASA and the UK CAA can have their word to say on operations within UK territory. Though, as CAA say themselves:

  The CAA works closely with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to promote the highest common standards of safety and environmental protection in civil aviation.


Why did FAA regulations initially prevent passengers from making phone calls during a flight?

While there is a chance it can interfere with aircraft equipment there are lots of other reasons as well.

It's disturbing, you would not want a can full of people yapping on their phones for 5 hours while others tried to sleep. Lets be honest does asking someone to "Keep It Down" ever really work.
It's very taxing on the cell network itself. Without going into lots of detail about how cell phones work, the short and sweet of it is that when you are moving (say in a car) your phone is constantly hopping form tower to tower. At the speeds a plane moves at you would hop tower at a rate that would be far more taxing on the system than when you are in a car and could lead to dropped calls and other connection issues.
You need to listen up! While the laws on in flight entertainment have become more relaxed over time, one of the reasons you are not to use things during takeoff and landing is these are critical times in the flight (for something to go wrong) and if it does, you need to be attentive and able to listen to instructions. This, on some level, holds true for the whole flight as well I would think.
The phone itself occupies its own frequency band outside of the band that aircraft radios use however there is always a possibility when you have 2 EM waves that interference will occur.


While according to British Airways estimates quoted in the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) report on “Aviation and the Global Atmosphere” published in 1999 “only a very small percentage (on the order of 0.01%) of fuel used by the aviation industry each year is jettisoned”

https://greentumble.com/environmental-impacts-of-fuel-dumping/


General alerting sounds are chosen by the manufacturer of the cockpit systems. Stall warnings, autopilot disconnect alerts, fire alarms etc. are all not standardised, with the exception of the words spoken by the GPWS/TAW and TCAS system.

Whilst the exact sounds of these two systems are not standardised in the sense that a standard .wav file is to used by all manufacturers, the phraseology in their aural alerts is standard.

The Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS)/ Terrain Awareness Warning System (TAWS) will have to issue an aural warning 'PULL UP, PULL UP' if the aircraft is approaching terrain, and 'GLIDESLOPE' when the aircraft is deviating far below the glideslope. Also the cautions ('SINKRATE.', 'TERRAIN.', 'DON'T SINK.', 'TOO LOW, GEAR.', 'TOO LOW, FLAPS.', 'TOO LOW, TERRAIN.' and 'FIVE HUNDRED.')1 are standardised. Whether it is a male, female or robotic voice is up to the manufacturer of the system, but the words are uniform across all systems. Additional cautions and aural alerts are allowed as long as they are clear and unambiguous.

The same holds for TCAS; 'TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC.', 'CLIMB, CLIMB.', 'DESCEND, DESCEND.', 'INCREASE CLIMB,', 'INCREASE DESCENT,', 'REDUCE CLIMB,', 'REDUCE DESCENT.', 'CLIMB, CLIMB NOW.', 'MAINTAIN VERTICAL SPEED, MAINTAIN.', 'LEVEL OFF, LEVEL OFF.' (supersedes "ADJUST VERTICAL SPEED, ADJUST), 'MONITOR VERTICAL SPEED.', 'CROSSING.' and 'CLEAR OF CONFLICT' are all standard phrases which have to be implemented in this exact wording(2).

1FAA TSO C151c Table 4-1 (pages 16 -- 18)

2 RTCA DO-185B, Minimum Operational Performance Standards for
Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System II (TCAS II)
Version 7.1, Volume I section, 2.2.6.3: Aural annunciations)


What is the definition of mountainous area?

(I'm assuming you're asking about the USA.)

14 CFR 91.177(a)(2)(i) says (emphasis mine):

  In the case of operations over an area designated as a mountainous
  area in part 95 of this chapter, an altitude of 2,000 feet above the
  highest obstacle within a horizontal distance of 4 nautical miles from
  the course to be flown; or [...]

If you then go to 14 CFR 95, you'll see that it defines mountainous areas by latitude and longitude. It's entirely useless for practical purposes, but at least it's precise :-)

As for the MOCA, I can't find anything to support the different definitions that you mentioned. 95.1(e) simply says:

  (e) The MOCA assures obstruction clearance on an ATS route, ATS route
  segment, or other direct route, and adequate reception of VOR
  navigation signals within 22 nautical miles of a VOR station used to
  define the route.

The AIM and PC/G support that; there's no other definition that I could find.


What is the purpose of the three small bumps on the switches for landing lights?

The purpose is to make it distinguishable by touch or visual as explained in other answers and comments. And because generally, there are two main landing gear and a nose landing gear, it has been designed to be more like landing gears.

Edited:

There are two main questions about landing light switches in Aviation Regulation as it reads in FAR 23.1301 which is required to get AIRWORTHINESS COMPLIANCE certificate.

  Is the landing light switch located so as to be readily
  accessible to the pilot?

  Is the landing light switch adequately labeled as to operation
  and function performed?


Are there any airports which use a metro to transport cargo?

DFW Airport's original train system had cars built to carry mail and luggage.  Most of the system was never used because it was slow, and there were worries that it was hard to train employees to interface with it. I would guess that a lot of airports have not tried such as system because their trans are optimized for passengers, so it is faster to just move luggage across the tarmac on trucks.

Edit: Jonathan Walters mentioned that Denver also had a system, but it was buggy so they stopped using it.


Should I open a door or window when there is smoke in the cockpit?

If possible, you should do whatever the operating handbook for your aircraft says but don't hesitate to do something different if you think it's necessary (more on that below).

I checked a couple of POHs that I have to hand and they don't mention the doors specifically, but there is a slight difference in what they say about cabin ventilation.

The C172S checklist emphasizes avoiding drafts, including shutting air vents and ventilating only after fighting the fire:

  ELECTRICAL FIRE IN FLIGHT

  Master Switch -- OFF.
  Vents, Cabin Air, Heat -- CLOSED.
  Fire Extinguisher -- ACTIVATE.
  Avionics Master Switch -- OFF.
  All Other Switches (except ignition switch) -- OFF.

  WARNING

  AFTER DISCHARGING FIRE EXTINGUISHER AND ASCERTAINING THAT FIRE
  HAS BEEN EXTINGUISHED, VENTILATE THE CABIN.

  Vents/Cabin Air/Heat -- OPEN when it is ascertained that fire is completely extinguished.
  [...]

The PA28 checklist on the other hand says that the vents should be open:

  FIRE IN FLIGHT

  Electrical fire (smoke in cabin):
  Master switch....OFF
  Vents....open
  Cabin heat....OFF
  Land as soon as practicable

But practically speaking, fire in the cabin is a really extreme situation and it's hard to say that you should always follow the checklist (if you even physically can). For example, if the cabin fills with smoke and you can't see anything at all you might have to try to clear the smoke somehow just to keep control of the aircraft, even at the risk of feeding the fire. The Piper POH acknowledges that the pilot is the best person to decide what to do:

  The procedure given is general and pilot judgement should be the
  determining factor for action in such an emergency

For a real-life account of a cabin fire in a C172RG, see this AOPA Real Pilot Story. They had to open the door to be able to see and land, which reinforces the point about doing whatever you have to do in an extreme scenario.


In a turbofan what holds the spinning axis?

Stationary frames
The supporting structures of a turbofan are two stationary frames with their characteristic struts, located at the ends of the engine core: One is behind the OGV stator of the fan module, the other at the aft end of the turbine module:

CFM56 with the two frames visible (source)
Stationary frames to spinning shafts
In the case of an engine with two spools, the frames support the longest shaft (N1, low pressure), which in turn supports the coaxial N2 shaft (high pressure).

Shafts are centered within frames by bearings (drawn in magenta in the next picture).
Shaft to rotors
Disks of rotors on a spool are bolted together to form a continuous structure fixed to the related shaft. The structure is used as the inner wall for the related air duct:

Frames, shafts, bearings. Adapted from CFM56-7B Familiarization Manual
A view of the N1 shaft and the two frames, before adding the bearings and their oil sumps. The fan shaft (darker / trumpet-shaped) is fixed to the N1 shaft using grooves and can be considered part of the N1 shaft:

LP shaft, fan frame and turbine frame of a CFM56-7B
The bearings and the oil sumps are added to center the N1 shaft (blue tubes are used to pressurize air-oil seals of the fan sump). The clevises used to hang the engine under the pylon strut are (barely) visible on the top of the rear frame (see this question for details):

LP shaft, fan frame, turbine frame, bearings and sumps of a CFM56-7B
Another CG view which additional elements:

The fan disk bolted on the N1 shaft (actually fan shaft).

The fan cone and spinner bolted on the fan disk.

The two extremities of the N2 shaft coaxial to the N1 shaft.

Shafts of the CFM56-7B
The HP/N2 shaft (shown in red above) is centered on the LP/N1 shaft by bearings. All rotors of the HP spool form a single structure bolted to the HP shaft (shown in light blue below):

HP rotors of CFM56-7B. Adapted from CFM56-7B Familiarization Manual
Frames to core stators
Similarly, outer shrouds of stators and intermediate rings of a spool are bolted together to form continuous structures.
Four stationary structures are built:

The LP compressor (booster) stators assembly is fixed to the mid-box of the fan frame (on the fan side).
The HP compressor stators assembly is fixed to the mid-box of the fan frame (on the other side).
The combustion chamber is fixed to the HP compressor assembly.
The turbine stators assembly is fixed to the combustion chamber on one end and to the rear frame on the other end.

Overall CG view with some components highlighted:

CFM56-7B cutaway. Original CG model by vhfine3d, at DeviantArt
From frames to wing strut
The engine is supported by a pylon, which is supported by the wing. There are only two mount points connected to the pylon, located on the fan and rear frames. Thrust is usually transferred to the wing using the forward mount point.
If it is not practical to transmit the thrust from the forward mount, e.g. because space is lacking to build a strong mount, then thrust links are used to transfer thrust to the aft mount which transmits it to the pylon:

Sources: left, right
Other components
There are a few other components to support.

The air inlet is fixed on the fan case.

The fan case (which role is to create a duct for the fan and contain any broken fan blade piece) is fixed on the fan frame.

The nacelle, that is the fan cowls and the thrust reversers ducts, including the reversers, is fixed directly to the pylon. The nacelle is not really part of the engine.

The exhaust nozzle and cone are fixed to the turbine frame.

To sum up
Engine component are kept together using two frames.

Rotors are fixed to shafts, which are maintained within the frames by bearings.
Stationary components (fan case, stators, combustion chamber, etc) are bolted together and fixed the directly to the frames.


Could the Grumman G-21 Goose be started by punching the instruments?

No, punching would not cause engines to start because you'd need to hold the starter button down (or twist the key depending on the airplane) until the engine catches. It's possible that if there was bad wiring on the panel that punching it could make it work again, but that would likely be temporary.

It's just Hollywood.


What are the advantages of the Cri-Cri's tail and fuselage design?

The T-tail positions the horizontal stabilizer out of the turbulent "prop wash".  This reduces the strength and weight that would be required of the structure if it had to endure the aerodynamic stress behind the two propellers (which is terrific).

This simple shape has everything to do with parts and assembly simplicity and low cost for the homebuilder.  Drag increases exponentially with speed; so for slow aircraft, draggy shaped components are much less a problem.


Which airplanes are exempt from Europe's 2015 CPDLC (Link 2000+) requirement?

The European Commission has published the Commission Implementing Decision of 9.12.2011
on exemptions under Article 14 of Commission Regulation (EC) N° 29/2009 (the CPDLC rule)

It contains the following table of aircraft that are permanently exempted from the CPDLC implementing rule.

╔════════════════════════════╦════════════╦════════════════╗
║           Model            ║  ICAO Id   ║ Marketing Name ║
╠════════════════════════════╬════════════╬════════════════╣
║ Airbus A318 - 112          ║ A318       ║ A318           ║
║ Airbus ACJ - 319           ║ A319       ║ ACJ 319        ║
║ Airbus ACJ - 320           ║ A320       ║ ACJ 320        ║
║ Airbus A330 – 200/300      ║ A332/A333  ║ A330           ║
║ Airbus A340 – 200/300      ║ A342/A343/ ║ A340           ║
║              /500/600      ║ A345/A346  ║                ║
║ British Aeropace AVRO      ║ RJ1H       ║ AVRO RJ        ║
║     RJ100                  ║            ║                ║
║ Dassault Falcon 10 and     ║ FA10       ║ Falcon 10      ║
║     Falcon 100             ║            ║                ║
║ Dassault Fan Jet Falcon    ║ FA20       ║ Falcon 20      ║
║     Basic and              ║            ║                ║
║     Serie C/D/E/F/G        ║            ║                ║
║ Dassault Mystère-Falcon    ║ FA20       ║ Falcon 20      ║
║     200, 20GF and 20-      ║            ║                ║
║     C5/D5/E5/F5            ║            ║                ║
║ Dassault Falcon 50EX and   ║ FA50       ║ Falcon 50      ║
║     Mystère Falcon 50      ║            ║                ║
║ Dassault Falcon 900, 900B, ║ F900       ║ Falcon 900     ║
║     900C and 900 EX        ║            ║                ║
║ Dassault Falcon 2000       ║ F2TH       ║ Falcon 2000    ║
║     and 2000EX             ║            ║                ║
║ Gulfstream GIV             ║ GLF4       ║ Gulfstream IV  ║
║     and GIV-SP             ║            ║                ║
║ Gulfstream G300            ║ GLF4       ║ Gulfstream 300 ║
║ Gulfstream G400            ║ GLF4       ║ Gulfstream 400 ║
║ Gulfstream GV              ║ GLF5       ║ Gulfstream V   ║
║ McDonnell Douglas MD11-F   ║ MD11       ║ MD-11          ║
║      and MD11-CF           ║            ║                ║
╚════════════════════════════╩════════════╩════════════════╝


Where is there an FAA source that states that squall lines are non-frontal?

If you go back and look at the previous version of that AC, AC-006A, the index has this definition:

squall line - Any nonfrontal line or narrow band of active
thunderstorms (with or without squalls).

I guess that the question in the question bank was based on AC-006A, which was current until 2016. As for today, chapter 12 of the PHAK has a slightly different definition (p.12-23). It says that squall lines are not necessarily frontal:

Squall Line
A squall line is a narrow band of active thunderstorms. Often it develops on or ahead of a cold front in moist, unstable air, but it may develop in unstable air far removed from any front.

If you need more detailed information on squall lines and fronts you may get a better response on earthscience.SE.


What is the purpose and history of the FAA's tracking system for handbooks and manuals?

I must have too much time on my hands, because I actually looked this up in the handbook on handbooks that aeroalias referenced.

  5.1.2.3 Document identifiers

  The identifier for handbooks shall be placed in the upper right corner
  of the first page. The identifier as assigned by ATO-W Enterprise CM
  shall include the letters “FAA” followed by a hyphen, then any
  combination of numbers, letters, or dashes. It shall not include any
  other symbols.

  5.1.2.7 Handbook numbering.

  FAA handbooks are assigned traceability numbers by Enterprise
  Configuration Management organization following endorsement by the
  Systems Engineering organization. This alphanumeric designator will
  utilize the following format: FAA- HDBK-(XXX), where "XXX" equals a
  three digit number. The handbook number is placed in the uppermost
  right corner of the cover page.

Section 5.1.2.5.1 Superseding revisions doesn’t appear to be followed in any of the FAA handbooks I have.


What are those little rods that stick out of a planes fuselage?

Generally speaking you are most likely looking at the Pitot tubes

Some angle of attack indicators also look quite similar and in the case of some of the A380 the Pitot tubes and angle of attack indicator are combined into one unit.


Can the acting PIC sit in the rear seat?
There's no regulation or FAA interpretation I can find that requires the acting PIC to sit in a seat with access to the controls. For flight instruction specifically, 14 CFR 91.109(a) requires dual controls (usually) and the instructor must be at a "pilot station" (14 CFR 61.195(g)(2) and Williams interpretation, 2018). So no instructing from the rear seat.
Of course there's also 91.13 (careless and reckless operation). That's a deliberately broad regulation and I have no idea how risky your operation might be considered. If A and B already have experience in the aircraft and they'd be fine to fly it without C anyway (from the FAA's point of view), then arguably there's nothing careless or reckless happening. On the other hand, if something goes wrong and lawyers get involved to determine liability then it's anyone's guess what could happen.
Can all three pilots log PIC time?

A: yes, as sole manipulator of the controls (61.51(e)(1)(i))
B: yes, if they're giving instruction (61.51(e)(4)). That means A and B need to log it as instruction time in their respective logbooks (61.51(h)); they can't just say "let's call this instruction so we can both log PIC".
C: no, acting as PIC doesn't automatically allow you to log PIC time. 61.51(e)(1)(iii) doesn't seem to apply here because in your scenario neither the aircraft type nor the operation require a second pilot


Do I need a checkride for an initial SIC A320 type rating?

A PIC type supercedes and SIC type.  An SIC type is really just a formalism of 121 initial first officer training to satisfy specific ICAO requirements.  A typical route to an SIC type is airline ground school, FFS and then company checkride (no APD, no DE, just a check airman) and the issuance of the SIC type.  If you already had a PIC type you'd go through the same training and company check (required by company approved training), but you wouldn't get an SIC type as you already have a PIC type.

The FAA shouldn't require anything out of you if you are PIC typed already.  The company may require you to do the full FO training and the FO company checkride as part of its own FAA approved requirements.  If you want a more specific answer, you could provide more details about how your training is being conducted or you could ask your facilities training department or director of training.


How does retracting the gear affect weight and balance?

Yes the +780 inlb is the increase in the total moment aft of datum (I'm assuming it's the firewall) due to the center of gravity of the gear strut moving aft when it retracts.  It's like you had a lead weight at your feet and you moved it a foot or two aft.  Some retractable gear airplanes don't account for this but the Nanchang does seem to have a very long nose gear with substantial mass, so it looks like they decided they needed to take its movement into account.

The aircraft's CG envelope is a function of pitch stability at the aft limit and tail authority at the forward limit at various loadings and doesn't change.  You are concerned with the actual CG location relative to the limits and there shouldn't really be two envelopes, just two CG location values for any particular load case, a gear up one and a gear down one, that reflects the 780 in/lb influence of the nose gear's movement on the CJ-6.

Since gear retraction moves the CG aft, your main concern is that the actual CG location respects the potential two worst case conditions; that is, aircraft CG gear up is within the aft limit, and aircraft CG gear down is within the forward limit.

That's how it should work and if there are actually two CG envelopes, it suggests that there are aerodynamic effects of gear extension on pitch stability and/or tail authority that were uncovered in flight testing, and that go beyond just the CG of the nosewheel moving forward.  But in that case you would just expect to see a CG envelope that is more restrictive than it would otherwise be, to cater to the worst case possibilities, not two separate sets of forward and aft limits.


In the gyroscopic precession left turning tendency, why does a pitch down cause a forward force at the top of the propeller?

The prop is a big gyro.  It's the gyroscopic precession force created at the propeller when it's subjected to an input changing its axis of rotation, where, as with any gyro, the inertial resistance to the change in axis acts at 90 degrees rotationally to the input.

The airplane pitches down, rotating the axis (extending forward) of the propeller down, acting through the hub.  Being a gyro that is being forced to change its axis vertically, it results in precession feedback acting through the hub at 90 degrees (as if there was a thrusting force at 3 o'clock), yawing the airplane to the left.

It doesn't matter where the prop's axis is in relation to the rotational axis of the airplane in pitch, just that its axis changes as the airplane pitches.

The best way to experience it is to take off in a tail dragger with a large prop, like a Cessna 180, and force the tail up early in the takeoff run before the rudder is having any effect.  The swing to the left from propeller precession is pretty strong.


Generally, the only time fighter pilots are asked to remain airborne long enough where this is a factor are when ferrying aircraft across the ocean, (or for long distances over territory where there are no intermediate refueling bases.)  Generally this is always done in multi-aircraft flights or formations or two or more aircraft, so even in a single seat fighter, you are not completely alone.
Obviously, the average fighter cannot carry fuel sufficient to last that long, so (again, generally), when this happens they accompany a refueling aircraft  (or have pre-planned rendezvous with refueling aircraft every few hours). So there is no need to "wake up" - they remain awake the entire flight. They are flying manually in formation off the wing of the refueling aircraft, or one of the other aircraft in the flight. If the flight is long enough where alertness is an issue, or if the flight occurred during periods where the aircrew would normally have been asleep, we were sometimes issued Dexedrine tablets to take to help remain awake and alert.

In peacetime, we would never deliberately plan a flight where from start of pre--flight planning, until engine shutdown would exceed 12 hours. This rule of course could be violated in the case of wartime or national emergency, etc. etc.


Topics for high school chemistry project (IB Chemistry IA)?

I'd do aluminum corrosion. Long term, it's the number one lurking monster in any airline's back closet.

There is interesting chemistry, not just in oxidation processes, but how the different alloy compounds used in making the aluminum have different effects on corrosion susceptibility. For example, the alloy 2024 has copper in it, which makes it its own battery and it corrodes readily in moisture, so it is normally supplied with a pure aluminum coating as a protective layer (alclad).

Besides 2024, 7075 is the most common alloy in commercial aviation and has zinc, which makes it corrosion resistant, but it's resistance to fatigue cracking is not so good.

The alloy 6061 has silicon in it which makes it inherently corrosion resistant and you can weld it, but it's not as stiff or strong as 2024.  6061 is popular with homebuilt aircraft because it's cheaper and easier to form.

Then you have the issues of placing aluminum adjacent to other materials.  Aluminum isn't super happy being next to stainless steel (like using stainless hardware against bare alumimum in a moist environment - this is a big problem with sailboat masts) and really doesn't like being next to carbon fibre (on a jet design I was involved with, the floor beams were made of aluminum with carbon honeycomb floor panels and an inadequate barrier between them - it was a disaster in service and the rotted out beams had to be replaced with titanium ones).

Hard to beat as a topic with chemistry and a bit of drama potential to spice up your paper (corrosion is a very painful experience for an airplane owner).  I'd title it "Aluminum Oxide Never Sleeps".  If the teacher is old enough, he/she will get the gag.


Can tower clear aircraft for take off with traffic still on the runway?

According to the ATC orders controllers can indeed clear an aircraft for takeoff 'early':

  3−9−5. ANTICIPATING SEPARATION

  Takeoff clearance needs [sic] not be withheld until prescribed separation
  exists if there is a reasonable assurance it will exist when the
  aircraft starts [sic] takeoff roll.

A common scenario would be clearing an aircraft that's holding off the runway to take off while the landing aircraft is still on the runway. If the controller expects that the landing aircraft will be off the runway by the time the holding one turns onto it, then it would be allowed.

Section 3-9-6 lists the conditions for allowing an aircraft to start its takeoff roll. It's too long to quote here and you can read it yourself but the two main  conditions seem to be:

The other aircraft has departed and crossed the runway end or turned to avert any conflict
A preceding landing aircraft is clear of the runway


How to estimate runway length for airport master planning?

The airport planning manuals from Airbus do include take-off field length charts for various weights, temperature and airport elevation.
Those of Embraer contain similar charts.


How does the GE H75 eliminate the need for hot section inspections?

this is because the fact that GE H series engines do not have fuel nozzles and feed fuel into combustion chamber through a rotating shaft. this design is much less sensitive to the fuel quality and combustion deposits in comparison with usual fuel nozzles


Anybody know the reason for the ‘Star Wars’ themed STARs into KATL?

It's a long established practice for the procedure developers to build the procedures around a theme. It helps with coming up with the necessary distinct pronounceable names for the waypoints.

My personal favorite is the RNAV (GPS) RWY 16 approach into KPSM. Flying from the IAF to the MAP and the Missed Approach Holding waypoint you fly:

ITAWT --> ITAWA --> PUDYE --> TTATT --> IDEED

which mimics Tweety Bird's comment when he sees Sylvester the Cat chasing him (for those readers who didn't grow up watching Warner Brothers cartoons).


What does the FAA consider to be "good moral character"?

An examiner uses the contents of FAA Order 8900.1 - Flight Standards Information Management System (FSIMS)as guidance for doing their job.

As you might imagine, there is some guidance available for them there:

  VOLUME 5 (AIRMAN CERTIFICATION)
  CHAPTER 2 (TITLE 14 CFR PART 61 CERTIFICATION OF PILOTS AND FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS)
  Section 18 (Conduct an Airline Transport Pilot Certification, Including Additional Category/Class Rating)
  Paragraph 5-704 (ELIGIBILITY –ATP CERTIFICATE – AIRPLANE, ROTORCRAFT, AND POWERED LIFT):
  C. Good Moral Character Requirement:
  An applicant must be of good moral character. The inspector must ask an applicant if the
  applicant has been convicted of a felony. If the applicant’s answer is
  affirmative, the inspector should make further inquiry about the
  nature and disposition of the conviction. If an inspector has reason
  to believe an applicant does not qualify for an ATP certificate
  because of questionable moral character, the inspector must not
  conduct the practical test. Instead, the inspector will refer the
  matter to the immediate supervisor for resolution. The supervisor may
  need to consult with regional counsel for a determination concerning
  whether the applicant meets the moral character eligibility
  requirement.

That's the basic guidance that the examiners have, but there are also legal cases that have delved into this area and give more specific examples.  I found a blog which covers it in some detail at All About Airplanes.  Falsification of documents, embezzlement, and acting in a malicious manner towards others are cited as reasons that ATP certificates have been denied or revoked.


Why Pitch Trim Up/Down & Roll Left/Right switches on yoke or control stick?

I might be mistaken, but it appears to me that you're missing an important piece on how trimming works. It's not a button you press to magically remove the control forces, but rather, you need to adjust the trim tabs (on most smaller aircraft at least, some aircraft, especially new large ones, have other mechanisms, but that's outside the 'basics' scope) to achieve the desired result.

I'll use the elevator as an example, but it applies to ailerons and rudder as well. This is a common image used when showing trim tab movement:

Basically, the trim tab extends into the airflow, pushing the elevator in the other direction. This is key though, as it's using airflow, its effectiveness diminishes when airspeed is reduced and it becomes more effective when airspeed is increased, which is exactly how the elevator itself is affected. This means that, should the airspeed change, both elevator and trim-tab will be affected the same way and the forces, and as a consequence the elevator deflection, will remain in an equilibrium. Maintaining a specific elevator deflection will cause the (aerodynamically stable) aircraft to remain at a selected angle of attack and therefore airspeed. In order to change airspeed, you need to change angle of attack, and so you need select a different elevator deflection, prompting the need to 're-trim' fairly often during a flight, especially during departure and approach. This applies to elevator trim, I've never flown with (in-flight adjustable) aileron or rudder trim, but I assume it is primarily used to counter effects of engine torque and P-factor, so it would be adjusted whenever you're changing the power setting.

You could, theoretically, skip the trimming step and hold it with arm strength, but your arms would eventually go numb and it would be virtually impossible to keep it on airspeed while accomplishing the other tasks in the cockpit during high workload periods. The March/April 2014 issue of FAA Safety Briefing talks a bit about trimming, and mentions that the Weber-Fechner law, which discusses the concept of Just-noticeable difference, states that you need about 14% of difference to the pressure you're manually holding to notice a difference, so trusting the feel of your hand pulling the yoke is not a particularly good idea. I do believe some aircraft, in particular larger ones, would require more force than humanly possible for the needed elevator deflection in certain situations, suggesting the need to use trim, but I might be mistaken on that point.

The movement of the trim tab is sometimes driven by an electric motor (or otherwise powered, hydraulics for example) in which case you have up and down buttons, and sometimes it's manual, in which case you usually have a wheel which can be rotated to pull the tabs up or down.

Up and down, which is often referred to as 'nose up' and 'nose down', signify what kind of control forces you want to remove. If you find yourself constantly pulling the nose up to maintain the desired airspeed and attitude, you'll need to apply nose up (or 'up') trim while simultaneously releasing the back pressure and vice versa. This sounds harder than it is, it just means you hold the yoke in place, and you will notice the amount of pressure needed to hold it there drops until it's completely gone. This is one of those things which is actually harder to do in a home simulator than in real life, as you'll have to move the control while applying trim. Note that the 'up' and 'down' labels do not mean the tab will move up or down, remember the tab travels in the opposite direction of the elevator, and to pull the nose up, the elevator needs to move up into the airflow, meaning the tab will actually move down, as can be seen in the picture.

As a bonus; in aircraft with no autopilot and autothrottles, if you do not apply any control forces the aircraft (aerodynamically stable) will maintain a particular airspeed. This means that for a specific configuration (flaps, landing gear, weight, power, etc) it's possible to trim the aircraft for a specific speed, this is very handy when it's crucial to maintain a specific airspeed such as during departure or approach.

This also means, which might not be obvious for someone not familiar with aircraft, that it's not possible to trim an aircraft to maintain altitude. Sure, there's usually a specific airspeed which will keep the aircraft in level flight, but that's only until you enter the next up- or downdraft, or until you've burned off a bit of fuel and aircraft has become lighter. So you will either need constant speed or power adjustments to keep it on altitude, most aircraft without autothrottles use the former.


How to interpret the N and R sections in SNOWTAM

Yes, those are all apron names. You can see where they are on the airport chart.


How to manage anxiety just before flying?

It is normal to have anxiety when experiencing something new.  These "butterflies" of the stomach are your body's reaction to your minds confusion over a new situation.

This is where training and mental discipline are key.  Rationalize what is making you uncomfortable and focus on your task.

Looking down at my landing gear while flying along at 2000 feet somehow made me more nervous, so I learned to focus on the horizon and to calm down.

Put what is bothering you aside as best you can.  With experience, your mind will differentiate and sort out what should be making you nervous (losing a wing), from what should not.  Then your body will not react (by being nervous) to normal aspects of flying (departing, cruising, landing).  Enjoy the view!


Does Nitrogen inside commercial airliner wheels prevent blowouts on touchdown?

Apart from the paragraph you quoted, here are a few more reasons.

Dry nitrogen is specified for aircraft use. I believe the rules say that any gas used cannot exceed 5% oxygen content. Because its dry it reduces corrosion.
Nitrogen moleculeas are slightly larger than oxygen and takes longer to escape.. hence tyres stay inflated longer.
But more importantly, nitrogen has a lower rate of expansion/contraction than normal air. An aircraft wheel has to live in sub-zero (at 40,000ft) and blistering hot (IIRC about 500deg C will trigger hot brakes warning). A gas with a low expansion rate cf temp is desirable. This trait has been put to good use by unscrupulous 'performance auto shops' which claim better handling with nitrogen in the tyres...


Do dark conditions due to high-altitude smoke prevent ultralights from flying?

The only regulations that apply to ultralights are in part 103. Apart from the obvious visibility and cloud clearance (103.23) and daylight (103.11) ones I see two others that could apply:
103.9(a):

No person may operate any ultralight vehicle in a manner that creates
a hazard to other persons or property.

This seems to be the part 103 equivalent of 91.13 (careless and reckless operations) and it's also written broadly. If you do go flying and something goes wrong, the FAA might argue that flying in marginal conditions was creating a hazard to other pilots or - if you lost control of the aircraft - to people on the ground. Whether or not that's plausible would depend heavily on the specific situation, of course.
103.21:

No person may operate an ultralight vehicle except by visual reference
with the surface.

In low light conditions with a lot of cloud and smoke around, it could be difficult maintaining visual reference.
So, if you're flying at noon, maintaining the required flight visibility, maintaining visual reference with the surface, staying out of TFRs, and not doing anything dangerous, your flight is probably legal.
But the important question here is "is it safe?", not "is it legal?".


What is the relation of stall speed to the position of the center of pressure with respect to the centre of gravity?

The comment written by wbeard52 is correct however this does still not explain exactly why the stall speed is increased. As an airframe stalls at an angle of attack, which will result in CLmax.

If the CG is moved to a more forward position, more downward force will be required on the horizontal stabilator to counteract the higher moment of the lift generated by the wings. This will increase the apparent weight. As (apparent) weight is increased stall speed will increase. All other parameters are fixed, in this situation.

Stall speed formula : V = √( 2 W g / ρ S CLmax )


Could Airbus resume production of the A380?

The ability to restart production depends on:

is the tooling still available? Aircraft production uses giant jigs for production of the fuselage and wings. Sometimes these are stored when production ends (I've been in a hangar full of stored Airbus jigs), but sometimes they are scrapped.
is production space available? An A380 needs lots of space in the factory. If Airbus can use this floorspace to produce 3 A350s or one A380 per month, the question becomes what is more profitable for Airbus
is the infrastructure still available? The A380 was built at several sites, then assembled at Toulouse. Roads were widened to enable transporting the wings to the factory. Special vehicles were used etc. The French authorities won't start digging up the roads immediately, but in 10 years?

As noted in the comments, the A380 production line is still open, so it's easy to take new orders now. When the line closes, it becomes more difficult.

if the factory has been repurposed for other aircraft, you need to move your existing production to accommodate new A380 orders.
a few years after end of production, practical knowledge starts getting lost. The drawings etc. are still there, but things like optimal assembly sequences, how to move the giant wings in the most efficient manner, have to be rediscovered. When you assemble an aircraft every month for several years, you develop a routine. Restarting production means this routine has to be rebuilt, so the first year or so assembly will take more time and cost more.
when you close the production line, all contracts with suppliers also end. So they start clearing out their A380-specific tooling too. And when you restart, they need to retool and relearn, etc..

So the longer you wait, the higher the cost of restarting production will be. Upgrades can make the aircraft more attractive to customers, but developing the upgrade also costs lots of money ($1B to develop the A320neo), all of which you have to recoup by selling aircraft.
So it all comes down to how many orders you expect to get. A few dozen won't make it worthwhile to restart production once it's been shut down. A few hundred might.
Airbus has already worked on improved A380 variants. In 2015, they were talking about the A380neo:

On 15 June 2015, Reuters reported that Airbus was discussing a stretched version of the A380 with at least six customers. This aircraft, which could also feature new engines, would accommodate an additional fifty passengers. Deliveries to customers were planned for sometime in 2020 or 2021.[293] On 19 July 2015, Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier stated that the company will build a new version of the A380 featuring new improved wings and new engines.[294] Speculation about the development of a so-called A380neo ("neo" for "new engine option") had been going on for a few months after earlier press releases in 2014,[295] and in 2015 the company was considering whether to end production of the type prior to 2018[291] or develop a new A380 variant. Later it was revealed that Airbus was looking at both the possibility of a longer A380 in line of the previously planned A380-900[296] and a new engine version, i.e. A380neo. Brégier also revealed that the new variant would be ready to enter service by 2020.[297] The engine would most likely be one of a variety of all-new options from Rolls-Royce, ranging from derivatives of the A350's XWB-84/97 to the future Advance project due at around 2020.[298][299]
On 3 June 2016, Emirates President Tim Clark stated that talks between Emirates and Airbus on the A380neo have "lapsed".[300] On 12 June 2017, Fabrice Brégier confirmed that Airbus will not launch an A380neo, stating "...there is no business case to do that, this is absolutely clear."

In 2017, Airbus announced the A380Plus:

The A380Plus, which was announced ahead of the Paris Airshow, will boast a new wing design intended to improve aerodynamics.
Airbus also said the cabin had been optimised to allow up to 80 extra seats "with no compromise on comfort".
The European plane maker said the new version would burn up to 4% less fuel thanks to its new winglets, which are designed to reduce drag. It will also have an increased maximum take-off weight and need less regular maintenance checks. Airbus said that along with other enhancements, the plane would cut costs for airlines by 13% per seat.

The fact they cancelled the programme in February 2019 indicates the A380Plus didn't get enough interest to justify keeping the production line open.


When can I proceed inbound in a hold in lieu of a procedure turn when cleared for the approach?

You don't need to do a full turn around the holding pattern, you can just cross the IAF and proceed inbound. This is from the AIM 5-4-9(a)(5):

The holding pattern maneuver is completed when the aircraft is
established on the inbound course after executing the appropriate
entry. If cleared for the approach prior to returning to the holding
fix, and the aircraft is at the prescribed altitude, additional
circuits of the holding pattern are not necessary nor expected by ATC.


How "full-motion" is a full-motion simulator?

Full Motion is full in the sense that it can generate cues in all 6 Degrees Of Freedom: fwd/aft, left/right, up/down, pitch, roll, yaw. The term came in use to distinguish between 6-DOF systems and the earlier 3-DOF systems which only produced pitch, roll, heave cues.

  Do they just simulate the major motions of the airplane in response to the flight controls...

They simulate the aircraft response by stimulating the sensations felt by the inner ear, making use of its limitations as also mentioned in this answer.

The two side-questions about reproduced vibrations boil down to the frequency response of the motion system: the ability of the system to reproduce commanded vibration signals, as measured at the upper platform with the payload installed. Older hydraulic systems, such as depicted above, had a very limited frequency response - the servo valve opens and oil flows through, creating dynamic flow effects and springiness from the compressibility of the column of oil supporting the payload. Yes, oil is compressible. Maximum perceptible cues up to 5 Hz.

Electric systems have an electric motor at the bottom of the actuator. Electric field creation happens almost instantaneously when commanded and the connection to the upper platform is through the metal screwjacks inside the tubes: frequency response is almost an order of magnitude better than that of hydraulic systems. Maximum perceptible cues up to 30 Hz. Enough for engine vibration reproduction, severity depends on the magnitude of the amplitude.

The issues with reproducing severe vibrations at the motion upper platform are:

The cabin construction must be able to rigidly stay in one place and support the visual projectors without starting to wobble the image that the pilots are looking at - the rigidity of the upper construction must exceed the frequency response of the motion system. We've seen simulator cabins bobbing about like a gelatine pudding when subjected to serious amplitude/frequency combinations.
All instruments, electronics, cabling etc. are subjected to the alarming vibrations as well.

Both issues above are not an issue if the constructional design of the cabin etc. has incorporated the vibration inputs. The alarming vibrations are extremely effective training cues, and can be faithfully reproduced by an electric motion system plus suitable cabin construction.

Another way of producing severe high frequency vibrations are by means of a seat shaker or cabin shaker, used in the olden days of hydraulic motion, particularly with helicopter simulators for reproducing the main rotor vibrations. The seats would be mounted on up/down platforms with a stroke of several centimetres, actuated by a separate hydraulic small actuator.


Where can I look up FAA Letters to Airmen?

They are searchable at FNS NOTAM search: https://notams.aim.faa.gov/notamSearch/

A link is provided to a PDF, containing a link to the actual LTA.

(Filter by LTA, remember the agreement might not be with the airport, but with the ATSU, like the local TRACON/ARTCC, try searching by airport name + radius).

Expiry date is shown in the details view.


Is it legal/possible to request a flight-path change from Domestic to International minutes after take-off, for a privately owned jet?

Generally speaking, ATC doesn't care who you are or where you're going. Their only job is "a safe, orderly and expeditious flow of traffic." If you request to amend the destination on your flight plan, they'll just type it into their computer and give back the new clearance it spits out. Diverting is a fairly routine thing, actually, especially when bad weather is afoot. If they even ask why, it's to make sure it's not due to an emergency or urgency. What (if anything) happens once you're safely on the ground at that new destination is someone else's problem.

That said, the militaries of many countries may take exception to someone flying into their airspace without prior permission, which is a much more complicated topic.


Where does the final approach segment begin on an ILS approach?

No arguments needed, it's very specifically defined. According to the FAA's Pilot/Controller Glossary under SEGMENTS OF AN INSTRUMENT APPROACH PROCEDURE:

  c. Final Approach− The segment between the final approach fix or point
  and the runway, airport, or missed approach point. (See ICAO term
  FINAL APPROACH SEGMENT.)

So it starts at the FAF, which is defined in the same document as:

  FINAL APPROACH FIX− The fix from which the final approach (IFR) to an
  airport is executed and which identifies the beginning of the final
  approach segment. It is designated on Government charts by the Maltese
  Cross symbol for nonprecision approaches and the lightning bolt
  symbol, designating the PFAF, for precision approaches; or when ATC directs a
  lower-than-published glideslope/path or vertical path intercept
  altitude, it is the resultant actual point of the glideslope/path or
  vertical path intercept.

In your example, that means the final approach segment starts at JAKOR. I may be wrong here, but your original thought might have been that the final approach starts when you're established on the glideslope, which could be outside JAKOR. That makes sense in a general way, but it isn't how the term is defined.


Does the PFD/ND XFR work when the PFD is on the ND screen on the Airbus A320?

From the FCOM A320:

As you can see if you fail the PFDU and the PFD is transferred on the NDU, by pressing XFR PFD/ND you will have the ND appearing on the NDU

Full description:


METAR is a Meteorological Aerodrome Report which is for a specific place, at a specific time.

The first line is a report from Sao Paulo at 22:00 on the 17th.

You can use a service such as this one to decode METAR reports.

The rest of the lines are more reports for different time and days.

The groups are:

 SBSP       Reporting station ICAO code
 172220Z    Day of the month (17) and current time in UTC (2220) (Z for Zulu time)
 35008KT    Wind from 350 degrees true at 8 knots
 7000       Horizontal visibility on the ground in metres
 -RA        Current weather (RA = rain), the minus indicates light, plus indicates heavy
 BKN008     Broken clouds at 800 feet
 OVC070     Overcast clouds at 7000 feet
 15/14      Temperature 15C, dew-point 14C
 Q1018      regional atmospheric pressure 1018hPa / US systems use inHG / others use millibars


What factors affect the minimum time to go from point A to point B?

It looks to me like your airplane, starting with a very low velocity, is trying to climb a height of 46m (61m - 15m).

Because it has a low initial velocity, your basic choices are:

Start climbing immediately, demanding engine power both for velocity and climb rate, and climbing very slowly.
Fly level for a period of time to build up velocity, then begin the climb.
Use gravity and engine power together to get more velocity quickly, then begin climbing at a much faster rate.

The velocity you need to achieve is called $V_y$, or best rate of climb.
Based on the Yellow color on the main segment of the climb, it looks like this plane's $V_y$ is about 26 $m\over s$.

It looks like your software package chose #3.  While it makes intuitive sense, without the math behind it, I cannot tell you the details.


Why aren't the undersides of military aircraft painted bluey-grey to camouflage them against the sky?

Shades of Blue-grey you say? So.......
The F15

(source: boeing.com)
The Mig21

The AWACS

(source: airforce-technology.com)
The Eurofighter

(source: ausairpower.net)
To name a few I could think of from the top of my head. Almost every military aircraft has a variant that has been painted along the blue-grey spectrum at some point or another.


Why some WWII fighters still have fabric/wood control surfaces?

A metal control surface can also sustain some small arms fire without disintegrating -- aircraft with metal rudders and elevators used to routinely come home with bullet holes in those surfaces.

The real reasons wood and fabric surfaces might have been preferred (though they weren't always; several designs had all-metal control surfaces) are the classic reasons for everything in aviation: cost and weight.  In the late 1930s, when many of the aircraft used in WWII were designed, it was still possible to make a wood and fabric structure, especially a control surface (as opposed to a wing), that would give the needed performance and strength and come in lighter than an all metal one, and frequently at lower cost in volume manufacturing.

As performance specifications continually crept up (higher speed, higher loading, more vibration from a larger engine, etc.), metal surfaces gained the advantage.  They could ultimately be stronger than wood and fabric, hold their surface shape over a broader speed and pressure envelope, and as noted, wouldn't disintegrate if they took a few bullets -- in fact, they were usually more durable than wood and fabric, because metal is less prone to tears and splintering.


Is there statistical evidence of the benefits of CRM?

The benefits gained from CRM are not really applicable to a single pilot situation although solo pilots can apply CRM Ideals in their own regard. This FAA study touches upon it well in this study (numbers provided in the figures on page 2 of the study)

  Concern with the factors underlying these accidents led NASA
  researchers in the 1970s to conduct a series of interviews with line
  piLots to investigate their perceptions of aviation mishaps. Charles
  Billings, George Cooper, and John Lauber found that one mishap
  component consistently mentioned by pilots was inadequate training.
  Even more interesting, these researchers found that it was not
  technical training that these pilots felt they lacked, but training in
  leadership, communication, and crew management. In other words,
  traditional training had done an excellent job of imparting stick and
  rudder skills, but these pilots felt that they needed more training in
  crew oaordination. A subsequent analysis of jet transport accidents
  between 1968 and 1976 revealed more than 60 that involved problems
  with crew coordination and decision making (Cooper, White, & Lauber,
  1979).

CRM solves the problem of their being two brains in the cockpit. In other words one of the primary issues they found surrounding aviation incidents was the fact that there were two pilots who had communication troubles in the cockpit (with each other). In some regards a counter point can be made that removing the second pilot is safer by eliminating these possible issues. The study makes it clear that pilots across the board had satisfactory skills in identifying issues and flying the plane but encountered issues efficiently communicating the issues in the cockpit.

This is a tough topic as there are currently no single pilot certified airliners but there are some single pilot certified biz jets which makes that the next best place to look for info. A study was carried out on the difference in accident rates between single pilot and dual pilot situations which interestingly does not show a huge lean either way. The article does not talk about CRM but it could be a starting point for a meta study on CRM as it applies to that group of accidents.

On any note Captain Sullenberger makes it clear that good communication and CRM were key to the successful outcome of his ditching. There is a great interview where he talks about it here.

According to this paper poor CRM was one of the largest human factors in commercial accidents.

  Within the preconditions level, CRM failures were associated with the
  largest percentage of accidents. Approximately 29% of all
  aircrew-related accidents were associated with at least one CRM
  failure.

I can't find a whole lot of direct evidence that CRM has made airplanes safer but the FAA tends to take the approach of identifying the large issues (of which CRM seems to be) then working the problem through training. It is far harder to isolate and subsequently measure human factors. Engines that stop running, brackets that fail, wires that short, etc. are much easier to study...


The key to the lift generation is the curvature of the streamlines. Forget the popular, but unfortunately wrong explanations based on the non-equidistant particle paths.
The simplest example will be if you place a plate with an angle of attack in the subsonic flow: the streamlines will get curved on the both plate sides as the flow turns.
Therefore, even a flat plate will generate a lift once its angle of attack is different from zero. As the streamlines are turning on the upper surface, the pressure will get reduced from the free-stream to the airfoil surface.
In other words, moving away from the airfoil, the pressure will increase - in the direction of the radius of curvature of the streamlines.
Important to note is, that this pressure drop is normal to the streamlines. This change in pressure is simply an effect of turning the flow, i.e. changing its direction.
Mathematically, the pressure gradient normal to the streamline, dp/dn, can be expressed as
$$ \frac{dp}{dn} = \rho \times \frac{V^2}{R} , $$
where R is the radius of curvature the streamline. Derivation of this equation can be obtained if writing the momentum equations in the natural coordinates.


Is it possible to land a 737 on an aircraft carrier?

An unloaded 737, flown by a top-tier pilot can stop incredibly fast, generally in a shorter distance than a Cessna-172 flown by a student (typically around 900 ft:  I've seen planes at Boeing Field, land 32L and stop well before A9).

Because the brakes are meant to stop a fully loaded plane on a wet runway, they are extremely powerful when the plane is empty and the braking action is good.

Although it has never been attempted (to the best of my knowledge), I think a 737, near empty weight, in optimal conditions, could likely land on a carrier with a 1,000 ft deck steaming into the wind (lets estimate headwind + carrier speed for a combined effective wind of 50kts).

Another consideration, however, would be if there's enough space for the 737's massive wing span.


How to compute drag coefficient for falling book?

You have a very thin book. The answer depends on how you initially drop the book.
1. If you drop it flat about its front
It will very closely approximate a flat plate; in this case, the pressure drag will overwhelm the skin friction drag. Hoerner, Fluid Dynamic Drag has some empirical data on the drag coefficient of a bluff body (near 2.0):

To retrieve the 3D coefficient, dimensionalize it with the frontal area.
2. If you drop it broadside
The skin friction drag would dominate. You can approximate it via the flat plate friction drag. For a single side, the drag coefficient looks like (from Anderson, Fundamentals of Aerodynamics):

3. If it tumbles
Your book may also tumble at some point due to random perturbation about its major principal axis. This changes the drag even further; but once again, Horner has some empirical correction formula.


Airports are a wide, open space with a full environment. The attractiveness of vegetation is a balance between food presence, food accessibility, and protection against predators.

And these factors vary a lot for every bird or animal species.

Food
Food accessibility depends on vegetation height and density. Long, dense vegetation will inhibit most hazardous birds/wildlife from moving around, detecting and accessing the food. In addition, birds/wildlife feeding on seeds will avoid the airport if its vegetation is mowed during the flowering season.

Depredators
On the other hand, many species prefer to stay in the open space of short vegetation where they have a wide view to see predators well in advance to enable them to flee on time; and safeguard themselves from predators by hiding or fleeing.

(from AirportBirdControl Blog: 6 most asked questions and answers)


What are typical control surface deflections?

The maximum useable deflection angle depends on the relative chord of the control surface. A good first-order value is ±20° for a 20% chord. With increasing chord, the deflection range will become smaller, like ±15° for a 30% flap.

With ailerons, things are a bit different because they are part of a lifting surface. This gives them some pre-loading so the negative range (trailing edge up) will become larger than the positive range (trailing edge down). This is also useful to reduce control forces (aileron differential) so the useable range will be +10°/-25° for a 20% chord aileron.


Is it possible to load (and not activate) the approach procedure on a Garmin 1000 or 430?

If you take a look at the manual for the 430 you will see that you can only load one approach at a time.

Turn the large right knob to highlight ‘Load?’ or ‘Activate?’
(approaches only) and press the ENT Key. (‘Load?’ adds the procedure
to the flight plan without immediately using it for navigation
guidance. This allows the pilot to continue navigating the original
flight plan, but keeps the procedure available on the Active Flight
Plan Page for quick activation when needed.)

The 430 only allows one approach to be loaded then subsequently activate because this is the flow of a general IFR flight and the approach is not technically in the flight plan (its just "primed"). You should know the most likely approach based on winds and weather before even departing. Once en-route you may get assigned a different one but either way you can load the likely approach en-route. If you know your transition point you can even select that as your approach start. If you are unsure, VTF (Vectors To Final) is generally safe with a change when needed. Since the approach is somewhat side loaded and not in the actual flight plan, activating it will defeat all other navigation and take you to the chosen IAF (or nearest leg for VTF).
The other reason that the unit is built this way is approaches rarely follow each other in quick succession. There is often a hold in between or possibly more en-route flight, which is why the suspend button is there (and important for missed approaches).
You are likely missing some of the procedural work that occurs on a real IFR flight. Sims are fun to just hop from field to field flying the ILS but that is not the reality of an IFR flight plan so the hardware is not designed for that.

If you are flying X-Plane or the like and using the mouse to tune the G430 then the apparent programming time is much slower than reality as well. I would advise checking out something like this and you will see how much quicker you can really program a 430 when you have tactile knobs.


How is passenger baggage transferred, and how does it happen so quickly?

On big airliners, baggage is mostly stowed in containers, called Unit Load Devices. They are packed at the departure airport and pre-sorted to minimize the amount of sorting at a hub, but normally need to be emptied after arrival so the baggage can be re-sorted.

On regional jets and older aircraft which don't take ULDs, bags are still loaded individually and transported to and from the aircraft on open carts which are assembled to small trains (see picture below).

Airport baggage transportation (picture source)

Once the ULDs or the carts arrive inside the terminal, the bags are unloaded into the baggage handling system, a collection of conveyor belts, barcode readers and switch points. Since every bag received a sticker with a big barcode upon check-in, the reader can report the barcode of the next bag to a computer wich sets the switch point accordingly. Traditional systems employ humans with a portable barcode reader for putting the bags on the right belts.

Baggage tags (picture source)

The most recent systems put the bags on plastic trays which have RFID tags attached, and the RFID information is used for switching the conveyor belts. By loading the bags on standard size trays, the flow of bags is simplified. However, a baggage handling system is a complex piece of machinery, and some new airport terminals were delayed because the system did not work initially, or opened with lots of mis-routed or even mangled bags in their first months of operation. London's Terminal 5 and Denver airport, which went back to manual sorting after 10 painful years of trying to get their system working, come to mind.

When they are sorted, the bags are deposited either at a ULD packing station or an empty cart for transportation to their respective flight. At the end of their journey, they are routed onto baggage carousels for pick-up by their owners.

Baggage carousel (picture source)


Why is Heraklion airport a 'captains only' airport?

Along the approach path there is high terrain that causes turbulence and challenging winds. But it is also easyJet's call to classify any airport as they see fit. On a scale from A to C, they classify Heraklion as B. Other Cat B airports are where the takeoff performance calculations can be tricky as the excerpt below shows:

Category B translates roughly as "slightly out of the ordinary". A good example, according to Captain Martin Dudley, A300 fleet manager for Monarch, is Lanzarote: "There's a little bit of ground on the extended centre line that just comes into play in terms of our performance calculations for take-offs, and that makes it a 'Cat B'. There are a fair number of those."
The UK's biggest airline in terms of passenger numbers, easyJet, classifies Corfu, Dubrovnik, Heraklion, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Rome's second airport, Ciampino, as Category B.
(independent.co.uk)

It came up in the documentary (easy find thanks to searching through the automatic YouTube caption system) when a medical emergency made the crew check the alternate airports on the way, of which Heraklion, was classified by easyJet as captains only. The theme of the series seems to be pilots in training. They couldn't choose it because if the captain became ill, then the first officer would not be allowed to continue the approach.
Another over dramatized sequence in the documentary:
The crew received the latest weather report showing a crosswind that is gusting to 24 knots (if it's been gusting 34 knots then maybe it could have warranted the drama).
The crew consists of a senior first officer, Carl, and the captain is Chris Foster, the company's operations manager. Carl wanted to impress, but [due to company policy] the captain has to make the landing in those crosswind landing conditions, thus robbing Carl the chance to impress and gain experience toward getting his fourth-stripe (this is literally how they present it—a recurring theme in the show as far as I can tell).
(YouTube) Carl and Chris.
Nonetheless, there are tricky approaches out there, like London City, or Kai Tak (RIP). And many others where special training and approval are required. Added safety is not bad, even if it's for tricky windy conditions where experience and additional training do make a difference.

Charts source: http://www.aopa.org.il/userfiles/files/usefull/LGIR.pdf