Most popular questions

236 What is the dark spot visible below the cockpit on A-10s? 2014-03-06T03:55:22.593

181 Can Microsoft Flight Simulator help me learn to fly (or make me a better pilot)? 2014-01-08T14:22:33.703

149 Why does XKCD say that autogyros will crash if the pilot reacts to a stall as in a normal airplane? 2018-03-27T14:46:26.927

122 Is this plane landing or departing? 2017-01-11T16:55:29.043

116 How do jet fighters get to war? 2014-09-19T08:29:36.070

111 Why does it take so long to develop modern military jets? 2017-06-11T13:25:16.223

110 Why is the maximum speed of current fighter aircraft lower than those from the 1960's and 1970's? 2015-10-14T15:07:10.347

109 Why did this plane fly in a zigzag pattern? 2016-07-05T04:15:04.650

105 Can a fighter jet be stolen? 2017-04-11T05:36:33.083

104 Is there a maximum possible size for an airplane? 2016-05-06T15:18:14.463

103 Why do airlines follow these routes between Barcelona and Düsseldorf? 2015-03-24T12:15:28.447

101 Can a passenger realistically replace suddenly incapacitated pilots? 2014-10-08T05:28:03.917

98 Why are planes generally painted white? 2014-03-17T02:56:14.237

96 Why is "Affirm / Negative" used instead of "Yes / No"? 2016-03-01T20:29:01.977

95 Can someone actually "fly under the radar"? 2014-04-01T17:29:33.167

94 Why are the cockpit controls of airplanes so complicated? 2014-03-29T15:45:00.737

90 If my parachute fails to open, why should I aim for land rather than water? 2017-11-08T09:23:31.437

89 Why do fighter jets still have guns/cannons? 2014-09-22T18:54:09.720

89 Are wings any more efficient at creating lift, versus orienting the engine's thrust downwards? 2017-04-18T09:15:28.500

87 Why do we still use pilots to fly airplanes? 2014-02-19T02:22:03.430

85 Do pilots really wear "pilot's watches"? 2015-09-17T06:05:12.583

85 What is this plane flying in overlapping circles pattern doing? 2020-08-18T15:41:36.827

84 Why does the F-111 sometimes squirt a giant fire plume behind it? (NOT afterburners!) 2014-10-14T00:06:57.870

84 If a pilot ejects, what is the autopilot programmed to do? 2018-06-22T14:56:42.093

84 Why do we need to starve the engine before turning it off? 2018-11-20T10:49:11.207

83 Why haven't quadcopters been scaled up yet? 2014-04-09T18:41:17.607

80 How miraculous was the miracle on the Hudson? 2016-09-13T05:24:09.520

80 What is the slowest fixed-wing airplane? 2017-06-27T05:24:10.770

79 Why do aircraft models end their life as freighters? 2017-02-22T16:24:33.907

78 I just flew into class B airspace without a clearance, what should I do now? 2013-12-17T21:15:39.547

78 Why are Russian cockpit panels painted in turquoise? 2015-06-30T12:37:33.573

78 Why do control towers have tilted glass panels? 2017-10-25T16:03:35.330

76 Why does the B-52 take off without rotating? 2015-10-05T06:58:02.503

76 How is tire rubber removed from the runway? 2018-03-19T14:16:44.237

76 Has any passenger airliner ever offered forward-facing windows? 2018-08-06T07:05:24.450

76 How did the 9/11 hijackers find their way to New York City? 2018-10-07T19:02:08.100

74 How do civilian pilots and ATC verify that other people on the radio are who they claim to be? 2018-07-25T14:33:26.397

73 Is it considered good or bad practice to raise the flaps right after touchdown? 2014-01-20T22:21:13.480

73 What happens when an airplane stalls and why do pilots practice it? 2014-01-29T19:52:32.060

73 Is a firm landing an indication of the pilot inexperience? 2016-06-28T06:12:55.450

73 Do helicopters use more fuel when hovering? 2017-11-11T19:09:09.513

72 What happens if a language other than English is used over the radio? 2015-11-18T03:44:01.847

71 Why do all commercial aircraft have carpets? 2017-04-17T10:26:35.120

71 Why are fuel tanks in the wings filled first, and why are they used last? 2017-08-03T17:32:27.880

71 What do aircraft accident investigators do in between incidents? 2017-10-16T19:48:08.957

71 Why are there no "sleeper" planes? 2018-02-27T12:10:09.297

70 Why don't commercial jet aircraft have a break-apart, parachute escape system? 2014-10-20T20:58:29.910

70 Why don't commercial airplanes carry Earth-observing instruments? 2018-11-29T08:26:13.687

69 Why would seaplanes use a curved takeoff run? 2016-01-21T05:26:36.883

68 Why are aircraft tires not pre-spun prior to landing to preserve them? 2014-05-03T22:36:46.657