Any vehicle traveling on the ground moves in the direction it is steered or headed to, and is relatively unaffected by wind thanks to friction between the vehicle and the ground. After all, the wind might be moving, but the ground, the medium by which the vehicle is traveling, is not. Aircraft in flight however, seldom travel in exactly the direction they are headed in because of the wind effect. Read more >>

Even the most basic aircraft trainer includes gyroscopic instruments, due to their overwhelming importance for flight and navigation. The three most critical of these instruments are the artificial horizon, heading indicator, and turn indicator. If used properly, these indicators allow a pilot to fly using instruments alone, even if the view outside the cockpit is completely obscured by weather. Read more >>

Wings provide the critical force of lift that an aircraft needs to achieve flight. They do so because the shape of the wing, or airfoil, is such that as air passes over and under it, the air traveling under it is moving faster and creating more pressure, thus generating lift. This phenomenon is called Bernoulli’s principle, after the Swiss mathematician who first described the effect. The shape of the wing depends on a variety of design factors, such as the amount of lift generated, balanced, and stability, and can be straight or swept back, rounded or squared at the tips, or tapered or not. Read more >>

Aircraft Engine Cooling systems are designed to control and reduce the temperature of an engine, particularly, cylinder barrel heads. Without a cooling system, temperatures would rise to such high extremes that it would be unsafe to operate; engine failure would be unavoidable. There are two types of cooling systems that aircraft use today: air-cooling and liquid-cooling. Read more >>

When someone needs to purchase an aircraft part, they cannot just walk into a building and buy what they need right off of the shelf. Aviation parts procurement is highly regulated and involves many steps and interactions between buyers and sellers. The process involves making a Request for Quote (RFQ), a Purchase Order (PO), order acknowledgment, shipping, invoicing, etc. Read more >>