What Do Runway Light Colors Mean?

Airports at night time can be quite beautiful and mesmerizing to view as a passenger whether from the air or on the ground. But, they are equally as daunting and complex to navigate as a new pilot. The vast array of colorful lights serves a very particular purpose and is actually a source of vital visual information for the pilots to ensure they stay on the right track.

Runway light colors are used to indicate to pilots where they are currently or are approaching when maneuvering around an airport. Steady illuminated blue and green are used on taxiways, and white, yellow, and red for runways and prohibited areas. Approach lighting systems help pilots line up when landing.

On larger, international airports lighting is mandatory and defined by standards set forth by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) and then implemented by the regional aviation authority for that country (FAA, EASA, etc.). Having standardized airport lighting across the globe dramatically reduces pilot mistakes, especially when flying into unfamiliar, international airports.

These light systems and colors are an important part of an airport’s infrastructure particularly if the airport is expected to be operational at night or during bad weather that reduces pilot visibility like heavy rain, fog, mist, and dust.

In today’s article, we’ll have a look at what the different colors on an airport signify and how they help pilots in low visibility or nighttime operations. Also, we’ll look at some additional colored visual aids pilots use in day-to-day operations.

Light Colors Found on an Airport:

According to the FAA, each light color on the runway or taxiway needs to provide particular information to the pilot when maneuvering around the airport, when taking off, or when landing.
The most common colors found on major airport runways and taxiways include:

Green
Blue
White
Red
Yellow

For airports that do not have instrument approaches attached to them or are small municipal airports the amount and color of lights they have can be none, to very basic. The more lights and colors the airport has, the busier it is and the higher the landing capabilities are for poor weather operations.

We will have a look at each of these lights in detail below:

Taxiway Lights – Blue, Green & Yellow

To safely get an airplane from the terminal gate to the runway or vice-versa the taxiways are lit with green and blue lights. This helps pilots instantly differentiate them from runways when on approach to land in poor visibility.

As you can see in the header image for this article it is very obvious to see which is a taxiway and which is a runway once you have read through our explanations. There have been instances when aircraft have landed or almost landed on larger taxiways when the visibility has been incredibly low from thick fog.

Blue Lights

Blue lights signify taxiway edge lighting. These lights are omnidirectional that delineate the edges of taxiways at night or during poor weather and ensure that the pilot does not inadvertently go off the taxiway. They are spaced 50 to 200 feet apart depending on the size of the airport.

Heavy Airplanes Sink Instantly When Leaving a Taxiway!

Taxing off a taxiway at night or in poor visibility at a major airport can create a logistical nightmare for ground traffic controllers while the airplane is being recovered from sinking into the ground. The blue lights act as a warning to pilots they are about to leave the pavement.

Green Lights

Green-colored lights are used to mark the taxiway centerline that pilots follow when transiting a taxiway.

Taxiway centerline lights are omnidirectional green lights and they are spaced 50 or 100 feet apart to match the blue taxiway edge lights, but on corners or curved areas, they are positioned closer together to help keep the pilots on center.

The taxiway center lights are illuminated at a lower intensity just so pilots on the ground can see them, but pilots on approach to land have a harder time seeing them and not mistaking the taxiway for a runway.

Yellow Lights

To prevent pilots from accidentally taxiing onto a runway each runway entry point has a ‘Hold Short’ line. Pilots are not allowed to cross this line from a taxiway to a runway without the direct permission of the tower controller.

Depending on the size of the airport the Hold Short line may consist of two alternating flashing yellow lights placed on either side of the taxiway at the hold short line, or may also consist of a line of solid yellow lights across the taxiway, or a line of alternating flashing yellow lights across the taxiway.

This is by far one of the most important sets of lights on the airport surface and yellow is designed to be highly contrasting to the green and blue lights of the taxiway and the white lights of the runway around it.

Learn More…
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* How Big are Aircraft Runways?

Runway Lights – White, Yellow, Green & Red

Runway lights are a combination of white, yellow, red, and green. White is the predominant color to allow pilots to easily distinguish a runway from a taxiway and ensure they land on the right part, especially in very poor visibility.

Runways contain the following lights:

Runway Edges – White & Yellow
Runway Centerline – White & Red
Touchdown Zone – White
Runway Ends – Green & Red

Runway Edge Lights

Runway edge lights are omnidirectional, steady-burning white-colored lights that provide pilots with visual cues regarding where are the edges of the runway.

Runway edge lights are spaced 200 feet apart and they have variable intensity settings such as Low-Intensity Runway Lights (LIRL), Medium-Intensity Runway Lights (MIRL), and High-Intensity Runway Lights (HIRL).

The light intensity is controlled by the air traffic controller or by the pilot using a Pilot-Controlled Lighting System (PCLS).

If you would like to find out more about the PCLS please check out this article:

Can Pilots Turn On Runway Lights From Their Aircraft?

On instrument approach runways, the edge lights change color to a steady yellow in the last 2000 feet or half the runway length, whichever is lesser, to alert the pilots that the runway is ending. This is known as the Caution Zone.

This is a very effective way to discreetly indicate to the pilots how much runway is left if they are dealing with a landing emergency or they landed a long way down the runway.

The yellow lights can only be seen in the direction of landing. To an airplane approaching from the other way all they see are steady-burning white runway edge lights shown above.

Runway Centerline Lights

Runway centerline lights are steady-burning white-colored lights spaced at 50 foot intervals along the centerline of the runway.

On an instrument runway, the white lights are installed until the last 3,000 feet of the runway, after which the white lights start alternating with red for the last 2,000 feet of the runway, and the last 1,000 feet of the runway have red centerline lights.

Again, this is a subtle way to let pilots know how much runway is remaining.

In addition, the runway centerline lights are usually offset by a maximum of two feet to either the left or right side of the runway centreline paint to prevent the nosewheel of airplanes running over them causing a bumping sound and placing undue stress on the tires and landing gear structure.

Touchdown Zone Lights

The touchdown zone lighting (TDZL) on an instrument approach runway consists of two rows of transverse white lights placed symmetrically across the runway centerline.

The purpose of these lights is to help the pilots with the landing flare during touchdown in inclement weather conditions.

They can start from 100 feet beyond the runway threshold and extend to 3,000 feet or to the midpoint, whichever is less.

Runway End Lights

To ensure pilots are lining up with the BEGINNING of the runway while on approach to land the runway is equipped with red and green lights across the thresholds.

A row of green lights across the front edge of the runway (The Threshold) shows the start of the runway and a row of red lights across the far end of the runway denotes the end of the runway.

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Approach & Glide Slope Lighting System Colors

For airports that operate at night, they will be equipped with approach and glide slope lighting systems to help visually guide the pilot down the approach path for the runway. Each runway will have an approach lighting system but the level of lighting complexity increases with the landing limitations for that runway.

For runways that allow aircraft to land in the poorest of visibility conditions, they will have the highest complexity of approach lighting systems, whereas small, municipal airports may have just a basic approach lighting system and /or visual slope indicator.

The two systems are broken up into:

Visual Slope Indicators
Approach Lighting Systems

1. Visual Slope Indicator Colors

This is exactly what it sounds like. It is a series of lights that visually show the pilot if they are on the correct approach angle (known as glide path) to the runway. Most runways have a 3° approach slope that is free of obstacles for the pilots to funnel down to the touchdown zone on the runway.

These visual slope indicators will show the pilot if they are on the 3° glide slope, or above it, or below it. They are very handy to ensure the pilots approach the runway within the designated obstacle-free safe zone.

There are two types of Visual Slope Indicator:

VASI – Visual Approach Slope Indicator
PAPI – Precision Approach Path Indicator

VASI:

The VASI uses two light bars placed on the left side of the runway. To stay on the correct 3° glide slope the pilot needs to stay seeing Red over White. If the pilot does not descend quickly enough and goes above the recommended glide slope they will begin to see the top light bar also go white.

If the pilot descends too fast and drops below the recommended glide slope they will begin to see both light bars show red.

Below Glide Slope

On Glide Slope

Above Glide Slope

When learning to fly, a simple Memory Rhyme is taught:

White, White = Fly All Night
Red Over White = You’re Alright
Red, Red = You’re Dead

When lined up correctly on the VASI it will ensure obstacle clearance within +/-10° on either side of the extended runway centerline out to 4 miles from the runway threshold. At night VASI lights are visible out to 20nm and 3-5nm during the day.

Tri-Color VASI:

Tri-Color VASIs are a common sight at heliports and smaller municipal airports. They work by projecting 3 light colors from a single transmitter allowing them to be installed in a smaller location.

When on the correct glide slope the pilot will see green, when above slope they see yellow, and below they see red.

Because the light emanates from a single transmitter the light projection can also be directed out horizontally at any angle from the transmitter that obstacle clearance allows.

This makes them a perfect visual slope indicators for rooftop helipads, or downtown heliports for example where safe routes in and out of the helipad were surveyed.

PAPI:

PAPI is short for Precision Approach Path Indicator. It consists of a single row of four lights usually located on the left side of the runway, or on both sides at major airports that are prone to heavy fog. They are visible from 20 miles during the night and 5 miles during the day and like the VASIs, provide vertical guidance to the pilots while on approach.

The PAPI’s individual bulbs change color between red or white depending on the aircraft’s position relative to the 3° glide path:

If the aircraft is too high, the PAPI’s will display all White
If the aircraft is slightly too high, the PAPI’s will display all 3 White and 1 Red
If the aircraft is On glide slope, the PAPI’s will display all 2 White and 2 Red
If the aircraft is slightly too low, the PAPI’s will display all 1 White and 3 Red
If the aircraft is too low, the PAPI’s will display all Red

High Above
Glide Slope

Slightly Above
Glide Slope

On
Glide Slope

Slightly Below
Glide Slope

Below
Glide Slope

Pilots use the same ‘White, White, Fly All Night/Red, Red You’re Dead’ rhyme for flying the PAPIs too. The best part of the PAPIs is they give the pilot a little more precision while on approach and this is why you will find these installed by every major runway around the world.

2. Approach Lighting System Colors

All airports that are used by aircraft at night will have some form of approach lighting system to help the pilots stay on the centerline while using the PAPI or VASI to maintain their descent path. The busier and more capable instrument runways will have more complex approach lighting systems like the ALSF-1 or ALSF-2, while smaller municipal airports will be more likely to have the MALSR or ODALS.

You will most likely to have seen the structures for each light crossing over roads and areas outside of the airport perimeter. This is because these lighting systems can fan out to as much as 3,000 feet from the end of the runway.

ALSF-2

ALSF-1

MALSR

ODALS

ALSF-2

High-Intensity Approach Lighting System with Sequenced Flashers

Used on the runways with the lowest landing visibility minimums. This complex set of white and red lights stretches out to 3,000 feet in front of the runway threshold. As the aircraft crosses over the first full runway width row of white lights this indicates the pilot is roughly 2,000 feet or 1/3 mile from touchdown.

By following the red sets of lights on either side of the approach lighting center lights the pilots will know they are on track and lined up horizontally with the touchdown zone of the runway. On approaches blanketed in thick fog, the pilots may not see these red lights until several seconds before touchdown.

ALSF-1:

Approach Lighting System with Sequenced Flashers

By far the most common approach lighting system used around the world at airports that contain runways with a non-precision instrument approach procedure.

When on glide path the pilot should be flying directly down the center using the ‘Line Tracing’ strobe lights (Triangles) and upon crossing the white row of lights known as the ‘Roll Bar’ they should also be roughly 100 feet above the ground and 2,000 feet or 1/3 mile from touchdown.

MALSR:

Medium Intensity Approach Lighting System with Runway Alignment Indicator Lights

A common site at many older international airports. This approach lighting system used to be the benchmark until technology evolved allowing for airplanes to land in much worse visibility conditions.

Consisting of just an array of steady-burning white lights and a sequence of white strobe lights designating the runway centerline, this is by far one of the simplest systems out there.

Stretching out to 2,400 feet from the start of the runway, this lets pilots know they should be roughly 100 feet above touching down when crossing the horizontal row of 15 steady-burning white lights.

ODALS:

Omni-Directional Approach Lighting System

When flying into small unmanned and municipal airports this is by far the most common approach lighting system you will see. Like the MASLR, it too uses just white lights but consists of just flashing/strobing lights.

The two lights on the corners of the threshold flash as a pair and the row of white centerline line lights flash in sequence toward the runway. When lined up for approach on the runways’ extended centerline it is very easy to stay on target with the system.

This lighting system is common with the PCLS (Pilot Controlled Lighting System) mentioned above.

Airport Beacons – White, Yellow, Green & Red

Airport beacons are also called Rotating Beacons or Aeronautical Beacons and their primary purpose is to identify the type of airport and its location to a pilot in the distance. It is mounted on a tower or at some heightened place so that it is prominent from every direction.

The Airport Beacon & its Obstruction Lights at Portland-Hillsboro Airport, Oregon (KHIO)

As a pilot flying at night, an airport can become lost in the vast sea of city lights, especially if the pilot is flying under visual conditions (VFR) and is on the opposite side of the city. The rotating beacon is also a high-intensity light so it helps to stand out.

When looking for the airport at night I will hone in on the rough location of the airport then look for the brightest, slow-flashing light. The color of that light then tells me if I’m looking at the correct airport and not a military air base or similar.

The lights of an airport beacon inform the pilot about the type of airport.

Light Color	Type of Airport
Alternating White and Green	Lighted Civilian airport
Alternating White and Yellow	Lighted Water airport
Double White Flashes followed by a Green	Lighted Military airport
Alternating Green, White, and Yellow	Lighted Heliport

In addition to rotating beacons are obstruction lights. Any structure that is over 150 feet (45m) tall and within 1.8 miles (3000m) of a runway must be lit with some form of obstacle light beacon. Most are a steady-burning, omnidirectional red lights attached to buildings, towers, antennas, and structures within close proximity to the airport.

Tower Cranes with their Red Obstruction Beacons

As obstructions get taller and larger, multiple sets of lights may be required up the sides of the obstruction with the addition of flashing red or white strobe lights, especially when taller than 200 feet (60m).

Learn More…
Try These Articles:
* Finding the Right Runway: How Do Pilots Know Where To Land?
* How Do Pilots See At Night? Everything You Want To Know!

How Does a Helicopter Change Speed?

We have all heard a helicopter flying overhead and when you look up some seem to be rocketing through the sky, some can be flying slowly and some not moving at all. With an aircraft capable of such a variety of speeds how do pilots select and control the speed they wish to fly at in a helicopter?

Helicopter pilots change the speed of the helicopter by applying forward or aft cyclic to tilt its main rotor disk. This increases or decreases lateral thrust but also makes the helicopter climb or descend. Pilots cancel out the altitude change using the collective to maintain altitude as airspeed changes.

When learning to fly, the mastering of balancing all the flight controls takes time, but once mastered helicopter pilots can select and maintain any airspeed they wish with ease. To find out how pilots do this please read on…

What Controls the Speed of a Helicopter?

To control the speed of the helicopter the pilot has to primarily use the Cyclic with their right hand and the Collective in their left hand:

The speed of the helicopter is controlled by how much lateral thrust the main rotor disk is applying to the air around it. By pushing the Cyclic in a forward direction the main rotor disk tilts down towards the front creating a horizontal thrust vector.

The more the main rotor disk tilts, the faster the helicopter moves.

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The cyclic controls the direction in which the main rotor disk tilts. It does this by changing the pitch of each main rotor blade during its orbit. To tilt the disk forward, the pilot pushes the Cyclic forward. This adjusts the pitch angle of each main rotor blade to be maximum at the rear and minimum at the front.

This causes each blade to rise when at the rear and descend when rotating around to the front. This is how the disk tilts. We call it a disk because when the main rotor system is turning the blades make it look like a disk.

Now that we know how the pilot changes speed on the most basic level we have to talk about the other things that happen any time the pilot moves the Cyclic.

As seen, the Cyclic is used to vary the airspeed of a helicopter, but to effectively change the airspeed, three components come into play:

Rotor Disk Tilt
Altitude
Trim

How Do Helicopters Accelerate?

For a helicopter to accelerate, some of the upward lift has to be transformed into horizontal thrust (a force that moves the helicopter fuselage horizontally). To achieve this, the pilot smoothly moves the Cyclic control forward using their right hand and maintains altitude with the Collective.

Rotor Disk Tilt

This tilts the rotor disc downwards at the front of the helicopter and generates forward thrust causing the helicopter to begin accelerating. However, this also causes the helicopter to begin losing altitude.

It does this because some of the power used to maintain the hover or its last flight condition is now being directed into the thrust vector instead of it all going into the lift vector. This causes the helicopter to descend. The further the Cylic is moved, the more power is being moved from lift to thrust, and the more the helicopter descends.

Altitude

To stop the helicopter from descending, the pilot raises the Collective slightly using their left hand. By raising the Collective, it increases the pitch angle of ALL the main rotor blades at the same time (Collectively) causing them to create more lift. This increase in lift stops the helicopter from descending by adding more to the lift vector.

But, whenever the pitch angle of the main rotor blades increases, so does the amount of drag they create. If nothing is done to overcome this drag it will cause the RPM of the main rotor system to slow down. This is not good as it is the RPM of the main rotor system that is acting as a wing and keeping the helicopter airborne!

As the pilot raises the Collective control with their left hand a mechanical linkage or digital signal tells the engine to increase power. This increase in power drives the main rotor system harder to overcome the increased drag being created by each main rotor blade and maintains the RPM of the main rotor system.

Now this is all good, but we have a further situation now that the power has changed – Torque. Because of Newton’s Third Law – ‘For Every Action there is an Equal and Opposite Reaction‘, this causes the heading of the helicopter to change too!

Trim

As the engine and main transmission turn, they drive the main rotor blades in one direction, but the torque pushes the fuselage of the helicopter in the opposite direction. To prevent the helicopter from spinning around its main mast it uses a tail rotor system to provide a horizontal thrust in the opposite direction.

When torque and tail rotor thrust balance, the helicopter maintains its heading.

When the pilot raises the Collective and the engine increases power, the torque on the fuselage also increases. To keep the helicopter pointing straight ahead the pilot must adjust the amount of thrust coming out of the tail rotor system to balance the torque. They do this by using foot pedals:

By pressing on the right foot pedal it moves the nose of the helicopter to the right, left foot pedal and the helicopter rotates left.

To Summarize:

To accelerate, the pilot:

Pushes Forward on the Cyclic
Raises Collective
Maintains Heading with Pedals

When done in unison and in the correct amounts the helicopter will smoothly accelerate, maintain its altitude, and maintain its heading – Learning this coordination is what takes time when learning to fly!

I Hope That Makes Sense! If not, take a look at this video where I talk you through it while in flight;

How Do Helicopters Decelerate?

To achieve deceleration, the pilot places slight rearward pressure on the Cyclic to tilt the rotor disc downward at the rear of the helicopter and generate rearward thrust. This rearward thrust acts against the forward momentum of the helicopter if it’s in flight, and begins to slow it down.

For deceleration, it’s basically the opposite of acceleration.

The pilot places aft pressure on the Cyclic to tilt the disk aft. When this happens however, the helicopter will begin to ‘Balloon Up’ and gain altitude as the up-tilted disk now acts like a sail. To overcome this the pilot lowers the Collective to maintain altitude.

Because the Collective has been lowered, it reduces engine power which reduces torque, so the pilot now has to remove the pedal input they placed in during acceleration or forward cruise flight so stay pointing straight ahead.

Again, all the control inputs have to be done in unison and in the correct amounts so the helicopter will smoothly decelerate, maintain its altitude, and maintain its heading.

Once the helicopter slows enough the pilot will center the Cyclic and bring the helicopter into a hover or slower forward airspeed. If the pilot continued to hold the deceleration, the helicopter would slow down, stop, then begin traveling in reverse.

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How do Helicopter Pilots Select a Speed?

The operating speed of a helicopter is just the same as in your vehicle. The pilot accelerates or decelerates to achieve the desired speed and then configures the helicopter for the desired speed.

To achieve the desired speed the pilot maintains the Cyclic control in the position that gives them the desired airspeed (Say 60 knots for example). Then they adjust the Collective until they are neither climbing nor descending.

Helicopter pilots have several speeds they will generally use depending on the operation they are conducting:

Hover Taxi:

This is used to get from Point A to Point B which is only a short distance away. If it’s too far to climb and descend helicopter pilots will conduct a hover taxi. Typically when moving around a large airport for example.

A typical hover taxi will be around 40knots (46mph) and under 100 feet above the ground.

Orbiting:

Commonly used by Police and News helicopters when overhead a scene. A single point on the ground is of interest so the pilot will fly an orbit around this scene to keep it in view for their observer crew/camera operator.

Utility pilots will also use an orbit to assess a landing site that is in a field, clearing, highway etc for objects and ensure it is clear and safe to land.

A typical orbit speed for most helicopters is 60knots (70mph)

Max Continuous Power Cruise:

Helicopter manufacturers will issue a power limit recommended by the engine manufacturer. This is a limit based on how hot the engine gets or how much power is being delivered to the transmission. Pilots can fly around all day long under this limit – Hence: Max Continuous.

Remember how I told you the Collective increases engine power, this is what the pilot uses to select a max continuous cruise speed. They will raise the Collective until they reach the power limit on their engine gauge/s. They then apply forward pressure to the Cyclic to speed up the helicopter to a speed where they no longer climb, nor descend.

An experienced pilot will raise the Collective and apply forward Cyclic at the same time.

At this point the max power and airspeed balance. The airspeed at which this balances varies based on how many people are in the helicopter, cargo carried, fuel onboard (its weight), and atmospheric conditions (temperature/humidity).

A typical Max Continuous Cruise Speed for a helicopter will vary based on its power available. A small Robinson R22 may cruise at 85knots, whereas a large, powerful Leonardo AW139 may cruise around 155knots.

Endurance Cruise:

A max power cruise may get you to the destination faster but what if the pilot wants to remain airborne for the longest time possible? This all comes down to fuel. A max power cruise will have a high fuel consumption rate, so aircraft test pilots find the best speed to give the lowest fuel consumption during initial aircraft certification.

An Airbus AS350 News Helicopter – Source: Jarrett Friend

This is very useful for helicopters conducting search missions or news helicopters wanting to stay on scene to catch the action. Pilots will fly at the endurance speed recommended in the aircraft’s flight manual.

For Example:

Airbus AS350 Astar Max Continuous Cruise = 125knots = 2.5 hours flight time
Airbus AS350 Astar Endurance Cruise = 55knots = 4 hours flight time

Range Cruise:

When a pilot is wanting to cover a large distance with the helicopter they will select the recommended range cruise speed. This has been calculated based on the distance gained for the given fuel consumption. This is typically used when pilots are ferrying machines across the country or traveling in remote areas where fuel stops are limited.

Typical Range cruise speeds are around 110-120knots.

Do Helicopter Blades Change Rotation Speed?

There is a misconception that a helicopter’s main rotor blades change rpm to alter the speed or height of a helicopter. Main rotor RPM is maintained at a set speed throughout all phases of flight via a mechanical or electronic fuel control governor no matter what controls the pilot moves.

A function of creating lift is airspeed over the airfoil. Because the helicopter’s main rotor blades are its airfoils they have to be maintained at the optimum speed. Power from the engine is constantly changing to overcome the airfoil drag to ensure the rotor RPM stays within limits.

For example, the Airbus AS350 maintains the main rotor rpm around 390, whereas a Boeing CH-47 Chinook maintains 230 rpm.

Learn More…
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Why Do Airplanes Have Different Shaped Wings?

We all know that wings are the reason behind aircraft being able to fly but for those of you with a keen eye, you may have noticed that not all wing shapes are the same. The questions are why do different aircraft have a particular shape of wing instead of all using the same shape?

Airplane wing shape is the culmination of design compromises. Aerodynamics, aircraft weight, operating speed, and the aerodynamic stress and loads imposed on them all require different shapes with the most efficient shape being used for that particular aircraft and its envelope of operation.

The most common airplane wing shapes are:

Rectangular
Elliptical
Tapered
Swept Back
Swept Forward
Delta

Each wing shape has both positive and negative aspects and during the design phase of the aircraft, the engineers have to spend hundreds of thousands of hours designing and testing the wing for the new aircraft.

No wing shape is perfect so the design team has to come up with the most efficient shape to create high lift and low drag at all speeds within the aircraft’s flight envelope. They can use additional devices like winglets, spoilers, and flaps to help with low-speed flight, but they are secondary to the main design.

As you can imagine the flight speeds and operational envelope of a simple training aircraft is very different from that of a commercial airliner, which in turn, is also very different from a high-performance military combat jet.

Because these operational areas are so different from one another, the designers have to find the best wing shape to give the aircraft its highest performance within that operational area. The final design may be a particular wing shape or a combination of several shapes to get the highest-performing wing.

As an airplane’s speed increases, the drag the wing creates also increases. This requires more power to overcome. Also, as an airplane’s speed increases and its altitude increases the controllability of the aircraft changes.

Airplanes flying at slow speeds and relatively low altitudes can have very basic wing designs because the lift and drag the wing produces changes very little. The stresses imparted on the aircraft are also very subtle because pilots elect to fly slow and steady.

As an aircraft gets faster and higher the wing shape needs to be changed to allow the drag created to be reduced and allow controllability to be maintained. If you then add in abrupt, high-G flight maneuvers the stresses imparted onto the wing can be considerable.

Basic wing constructions would fail under these conditions hence why different shapes are used.

Before hopping onto different shapes of wings, let’s discuss a basic wing construction that any wing, irrespective of its shape will possess.

Airplane Wing Construction

No matter the size and type of aircraft, all wings are built using the same similar design. Even from the dawn of aviation, the wing construction design has stayed very similar, only with today’s modern aircraft using different materials and innovations to improve the wing.

All wings are constructed using the following components:

Main Spar:

The “I” beam kind of structure or ‘Spine’ that runs parallel to the lateral axis of the aircraft from wing root to wing tip. It acts as a primary load-bearing structure of each wing. Spars are connected to the fuselage structure to join the wing to the aircraft body.

Spars allow for the wing to flex up and down like a bird flapping its wings during turbulence and high-load moments.

Ribs:

Ribs are numerous structures running spanwise along the wing, each rib is fixed to the main spar fixed and provides a secondary structure that takes the load from the leading edge to the trailing edge. The ribs create the curvature of the upper and lower surfaces to form the wings’ shape.

Stringers:

Stringers are pieces that run parallel to the main spar and connect each rib to one another. Stringers help to keep each rib parallel to its neighbor and help prevent twisting of the wing. There are numerous stringers that run along the wing from root to tip and these help the wing stay strong, yet flexible.

Skin:

Metal sheets are placed on the wing spars and ribs, stressed and riveted to form not only the wing surface but also the housing for fuel. The latest generation of aircraft are now using composite materials and woven carbon fiber to create the wing’s surface making them even stronger than traditional aluminum and considerably lighter.

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What are the Different Types of Aircraft Wing Shape?

Rectangular Wings

They are most commonly used on training and personal airplanes where smooth control and stable flight is paramount. Construction of a rectangular wing is simple as it doesn’t have complex curves or any change in dimensions leading to low-cost manufacturing and maintenance.

Because of the low-speed flight (<150kts) and relatively low altitudes (<20,000ft) these aircraft fly at the best design choice is the rectangular wing. Another bonus of this shape is its more desirable stall characteristics which begin at the wing root making it less severe. A stall at the wing tip causes an airplane to roll.

This type of stall condition allows for lots of time for the pilot to recover should they find themselves flying into a dangerous flight characteristic.

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Elliptical Wings

Supermarine Spitfire – Source: Airwolfhound

Pretty much the only time you will see an elliptical wing shape is on the Supermarine Spitfire of WWII. A revolution in its design in the 1930s.

The designers wanted a wing that was thick at the root to be able to house the landing gear, machine guns, and fuel tanks, but thin at the wingtip. They also needed a wing that produced the least amount of drag at high speed to allow the top speed of the aircraft to be as high as possible to outmaneuver the German competition.

The elliptical design gave the best shape as it allowed for relatively easy manufacturing while reducing both the thickness and the taper from root to tip, but also reduced the wing tip air recirculation which dramatically increases drag. The elliptical wing tip provides the smallest area for the vortices to work on thus reducing the drag and allowing for more power to be used for airspeed.

The main problem with this wing shape, however, is that it can easily stall when flown at low speed. Because of this, pilots would fly them fast at all times, even when landing!

As aviation came out of WWII and the requirements for wings to house machine guns and be highly maneuverable made this wing shape obsolete. The very little warning for the onset of a stall also made them undesirable to the aviation world trying to focus on safe cargo and passenger transportation.

For more information on Wingtip Vortices and the Drag they create please read this article:

What are Airplane Wingtip Vortices?

Tapered Wings

To find a balance between rectangular and elliptical wings, tapered wings were introduced.

The leading edge and the trailing edge of the wing taper toward the tips, constantly reducing the width from root to tip. This helped in reducing the induced drag created by the wing and was also cheaper to manufacture.

The tapered design gives a small wing tip allowing for faster airspeeds compared to a rectangular wing due to the lower amount of wingtip vortices that act on the wing tip. Because of this, airspeeds up 415knots/475mph were achievable with good control throughout the speed range.

One downside to the tapered wing is the almost equal lift produced along the entire wing. The wing when it stalls, stalls entirely and gives the pilot very little time to react, but due to this wing becoming popular on early commercial aircraft the speed limitation pilots were to abide by made this issue non-existent.

You can find tapered wings in use in gliders, smaller commercial commuter aircraft like the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 above, or on the Lockheed Martin U2 spyplane (Wiki Link) which flies up to 70,000ft but is relatively slow to allow for reconnaissance images to be collected.

When airspeeds begin to go above 500mph drag becomes a major issue for wing designers and an alternate shape is required.

Swept Back Wings

Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner – Source: pjs2005

Modern airliners have swept-back wings due to the speed in which they fly. This is known as Transonic Speed and varies with atmospheric conditions, but generally is around the 0.8 – 1.2 Mach (615-920mph).

As a rectangular wing moves through the air in this speed range, areas of subsonic and supersonic airflows begin to form around the wings leading edge. As a rectangular wing goes supersonic (approaching the sound barrier) the wing begins to experience unsteadiness, areas of irregular lift, and higher areas of drag. This can cause the wing to stall and lead to a loss of control by the pilot/s.

To overcome these aerodynamic issues designers found that if they reduced the depth of the wing from leading edge to trailing edge (known as the ‘Chord’) this would slow the airflow down enough to prevent the onset of transonic airflow.

However, to gain enough lift from a wing with a thin chord would require wings to be incredibly long which does not work on a large commercial jet. Designers found that by gradually tapering or reducing the chord width from root to tip and sweeping the wings back it allowed the airflow to meet the wing at an angle and kept the airflow subsonic while providing enough wing surface area to create sufficient lift for the airplane.

Swept Forward Wings

Forward-swept wings have been tried by several countries and aircraft manufacturers but have never been put into mass production. The design of this type of wing was used to improve the performance of the ailerons at both low and high speeds.

On a conventional wing, the tip begins to stall first, either at high speed from Transonic airflow or by wingtip vortices. Because the ailerons are mounted close to the wing tips these stalled areas affected how well the ailerons worked. By sweeping the wings forward, designers found the root would stall before the tip, thus improving the performance of the ailerons, thus improving maneuverability and controllability.

With these advantages the military was keen to develop this style of wing further but due to the aircraft needing advanced composites to build the wing to prevent excessive twisting of the wing tips and although highly maneuverable it was very unstable to fly, especially during certain high-speed maneuvers, the technology was never developed further.

Delta Wings

When flying around the sound barrier shockwaves form as they meet the wings leading edge. The shockwaves reduce lift and increase drag. For early fast jet and bomber designers, the Delta Wing allowed the rest of the wing to remain behind the shockwave created at the wing root.

By doing so the majority of the wing stayed in smooth airflow allowing for maximum lift production at high speed. Concorde was the most noticeable Delta Wing aircraft with its steep leading edge on its delta.

Delta wings allow for a cavernous volume to be stored inside them making them perfect for large fuel or bomb loads, depending on the aircraft. Delta wings are now confined to military aircraft due to the size of wing needed for commercial aircraft to be very, very large and less efficient than the swept-back wing we see on all commercial airliners.

A Eurofighter Typhoon with Canard Wings Upfront

Delta wings can add much more maneuverability to a military fast jet, but in doing so can create controllability issues. To help overcome these issues most modern delta jets will use a combination of fly-by-wire computers and additional wings called Canards.

Learn More…
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* How Much Fuel Do Airplanes Carry? (With 15 Examples)
* Vertical Tail Fins – Why Do Aircraft Have Them?

What are the Parts of an Airplane Wing?

To most passengers, the wings are just part of the airplane however, they are one of the most technologically advanced parts of an aircraft. They carry not only the load of the passengers and fuel but also of the aircraft itself.

They are fundamental in the creation of lift that makes airplanes fly in the first place but they are also the preferred place for mounting engines, storing the fuel, and controlling how the aircraft flies. In addition to this, they have to do it efficiently over a whole spectrum of flight regimes.

Airplane wings are made up of spars, ribs, and stringers and contain items to control how the aircraft flies. Ailerons, spoilers, slats, flaps, engine pylons, winglets/sharklets, lights, and vortex generators are all found on modern wings as well as storing fuel within them.

We all know that wings are what produced the lift to make the airplane fly but what are all the added extra parts that a keen eye may see moving during various parts of a flight?

If you want to know what makes up a modern airplane’s wing please read on…

Common Terms Used on Airplane Wings:

Before we jump into what components are found on an airplane’s wings, we need to have a look at some common terms regarding airplane wings:

1. Leading Edge:

The leading edge is the front of the wing as seen while standing in front of the airplane. It provides the attachment for the pylon where the engine is attached. It also contains a number of other components such as slats and Krueger flaps.

2. Trailing Edge:

The trailing edge is the back of the wing as seen from the rear of the aircraft. It has a number of components attached such as ailerons, flaperons, trailing edge flaps etc.

3. Wing Root:

The point where the wing attaches to the body of the aircraft is known as the wing root. Usually, the wing is the thickest at the wing root.

4. Wing Tip:

The point of the wing furthest from the body of the aircraft is known as the wing tip.

Common Components on an Airplane Wing

Pretty much all airplane wings are primarily composed of spars and ribs. Think of spars as parallel support structures that start from the wing root all the way to the wing tip. They create the spine of the wing and take most of the load.

Ribs are perpendicular support structures that run from the leading edge of the wing to the trailing edge. Spars and ribs provide the basic structure for the wing. Just like the ribs in our own bodies, they create the profile shape of the wing and create the cavity within the wing.

Modern wings are made from light, yet strong materials such as carbon fiber, reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC), and other composite materials. In addition, advanced manufacturing techniques such as 3-D printing, honeycomb structure design, and computer modeling are used to make wings lighter yet capable of carrying heavier loads than before, with even less drag and more lift created.

Components on a Wings Leading Edge:

The leading edge of a wing features the following components:

1. Krueger Flaps / Slats:

Krueger Flaps are lift augmentation devices positioned between the wing root and the inboard side of the engine. Their main purpose is to allow the inboard section of the wing to create a larger amount of lift at slower speeds. The amount of lift created by a wing is based on airspeed, among a few other factors.

They are mainly used at takeoff and landing to allow more lift to be generated during these low-speed portions of flight. More lift generated allows for shorter runway distance to be used on takeoff and slower landing speeds during approach.

Slats however are positioned from the outboard side of the engine to the wing tip. The primary purpose of a slat is to increase the surface area of the upper portion of the wing and alter the shape of the wing to be more efficient at slower speeds.

Just like how airspeed affects how much lift is produced, so does surface area. By increasing the surface area of the wing this allows more lift to be produced at slower speeds.

Without the Kruger Flaps and Slats, airplanes would need a higher speed to land and take off to create the required amount of lift meaning more runway used leaving a smaller margin for aborted takeoffs and landings.

Slats / Krueger flaps can be operated either hydraulically or electrically on most aircraft by the pilots. The flaps and slats can be deployed to set positions depending on the current performance of the aircraft for the given runway length and atmospheric conditions.

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2. Engine Pylon

The engine pylon connects the engine with the wing. Pylons are designed to be highly aerodynamic and reduce air resistance as much as possible while providing an extremely strong, yet flexible mounting point for the engine.

Typically each engine is pinned to the pylon with 4 bolts known as ‘Fuse Pins’.

A Pylon with Engine Cowls Removed – Source: Mgw89

In addition to the mechanical connection, they also hide the electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, fuel, and oil connections from the engine to the rest of the aircraft and vice versa. Because the fixing points need to be strong they are constructed out of Titanium to keep the weight down. Using steel would dramatically increase the pylon weight by several hundred pounds each.

Learn More…
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* Vertical Tail Fins – Why Do Aircraft Have Them?
* Do Airplanes Use Hydraulics?

Components on a Wings Trailing Edge:

The trailing edge of a wing includes the following components:

1. Trailing Edge Flaps:

Trailing edge flaps are located at the rear of the aircraft wing. Their main purpose is twofold; first, they provide the same amount of lift at a slower speed, second, they reduce takeoff, approach, and landing speeds to within acceptable limits.

Just like the slats of the leading edge of the wing, they increase the surface area and alter the shape of the wing to produce more lift. By slowing the aircraft down and deploying the flaps the wing creates the same amount of lift but at lower speeds.

Flaps can also be deployed to various positions depending on the aircraft’s speed and weight during takeoff and approach. Here are typical flap settings for a Boeing 737:

Flap Position	Up to 117,000lbs / 53,070Kg	Above 117,000lbs / 53,070Kg	Above 138,500lbs / 62,823Kg
Flaps Up	210kts	220kts	230kts
Flaps 1	190kts	200kts	210kts
Flaps 5	180kts	190kts	200kts
Flaps 10	170kts	180kts	190kts
Flaps 15	150kts	160kts	170kts
Flaps 25	140kts	150kts	160kts
Flaps 30	Final Approach Speed	Final Approach Speed	Final Approach Speed
Flaps 40	Final Approach Speed	Final Approach Speed	Final Approach Speed

For Boeing 737 – 300/400/500

During the approach to land, the pilots will deploy more flap as the airspeed decreases. This helps to create more lift and allows for better control as the aircraft slows and nears the ground.

During braking, the pilots deploy the spoilers which allow the airflow around the wing to escape through the flaps and turn them into a large sail.

When used in conjunction with the spoilers, reverse thrust from the engines, and the wheel brakes the aircraft can be slowed dramatically in a fairly short length of runway.

Depending on the aircraft, trailing edge flaps are of the following types:

On all large commercial airplanes, trailing edge flaps are deployed either electrically or hydraulically. However, on most light aircraft, trailing edge flaps are deployed using a system of rods, cables, and pulleys due to the requirement to save weight thus eliminating heavy hydraulic and electrical deployments systems.

2. Ailerons / Spoilers:

Ailerons are the primary control surfaces used to roll the aircraft along its longitudinal axis. They function by increasing or decreasing the amount of lift produced on each wing. Ailerons used in combination with flaps are called flaperons.

Low-speed ailerons, positioned towards the wingtip, are locked out once the aircraft exceeds a certain speed due to the amount of rolling force they would generate at high speeds.

Spoilers are secondary control surfaces positioned close to the trailing edge. They have three main purposes:

To slow the airplane down
To provide a steeper descent
To assist the ailerons

On the ground, spoilers are deployed as soon as the aircraft touches down, these increase the drag over the wing by acting like a sail or parachute and creates a downward aerodynamic force placing more weight on the aircraft wheels thus enabling the brakes to work more effectively.

Other Wing Components:

1. Vortex Generators:

Vortex generators are small aerodynamic tabs fitted near the leading edge of the wing. Their main purpose is to create small vortices within the air flowing over them. By mixing these vortices with the sluggish airflow near the surface area of the wing they help to increase the airflow speed.

By doing so they help to decrease aerodynamic stalling on the wing and increase control surface efficiency.

2. Winglets/Sharklets

Winglets (Boeing) and Sharklets (Airbus) are designed to stop air flowing from the underside of the wing, around the wingtip, and onto the topside of the wing.

When this occurs it alters the airflow over the wing area nearest the tip creating less lift to be produced. By adding these ‘Fins’ they act like a wall to the air trying to flow around the tip. Instead of the circulating air affecting the airflow on the main wing, it now interacts with the air flowing around the winglet leaving the wing to create lift along its entire length.

If you would like more specific information on Winglets and Sharklets please read this:

What are Airplane Wingtip Vortices?

3. Lights:

The wing of an aircraft contains landing lights, navigation lights, and anti-collision strobe lights.
The landing lights are powerful and are located right next to the wing root.
The navigational lights are red and green and positioned near the wingtip.

The anti-collision strobe lights are the flashing white lights on the wingtip. They are switched on when entering an active runway and switched off when vacating the runway.

4. Fuel Tanks:

Fuel tanks are created using the inside of the wing structure. A normal setup would be to have an inner tank and outer tank on each wing along with a center tank mounted in between the two wing roots. Fuel is transferred from one side to another using cross-transfer pumps to ensure the airplane’s center of gravity remains within limits

On most commercial airplanes fuel is transferred to the engines using engine-driven pumps located on each engine along with two electric pumps in each tank. Ideally, fuel is used up first from the center tank and then the wing tanks as this allows for optimal weight distribution.

Learn More…
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* How Long to Refuel an Airplane? – 15 Most Common Planes

Why is Learning to Fly So Expensive?

When I first began looking at what it took to become a pilot the one thing that stood out by a mile was how much it costs to learn how to fly! At that time I was in my late teens and the cost just ruled it out for me being a regular Joe. Surely the only people that can become a pilot are the wealthy!

Learning to fly is expensive due to the high hourly rental costs of the aircraft & the large number of hours required to meet the requirements to take flight tests. Aircraft costs like fuel, insurance, instructor, depreciation, maintenance & school facilities are all included in the hourly rental cost.

After many years and lots of research, I found a way to be able to afford the cost of flight training and I became a full-time helicopter pilot. In this article, I’m going to discuss why it costs so much to learn how to fly, but also give you tips and tricks on how you can make it cheaper!

The cost of learning to fly is broken down into two parts:

The hourly rental cost of the aircraft
The number of hours required to take the flight test

The culmination of these two numbers is what the final bill will come to once you have gained your pilot’s certificate. For pilots wishing to fly just for recreation the aircraft they learn to fly in can be simpler and cheaper and will require fewer hours to gain their pilot certificate – Thus costs less.

For those pilots who wish to fly as a profession, they will require multiple pilot certificates and require training on various aircraft with increasing hourly rental costs – This costs a lot!

If you wish to see what it costs to become any kind of pilot I highly recommend you take a read of this aritcle:

Cost To Become A Pilot: All the Licenses Compared!

What Goes Into Hourly Aircraft Rental Costs?

Aircraft are an expensive vehicle and they cost the owner money every year to keep them airworthy no matter if they fly or not. To offset these costs the aircraft is budgeted to fly a set amount of hours per year to which these fixed costs can be divided.

When an aircraft is then flown, the cost to fly it is added to that hourly cost. The more it flies, the cheaper the hourly rate becomes.

To cover the cost of the training aircraft the flight school owner needs to include the following in the hourly cost to remain profitable:

Aircraft Costs:

Planned & Unplanned Maintenance

All aircraft have to have regular inspections based on time flown or per calendar date. These inspections require a licensed aviation mechanic to do the inspection which includes their labor, the facility space for the inspection, and then the lost revenue of the aircraft being taken off the flight line.

Aircraft Maintenance Engineers are the Best! – Source: Peter F.A. van de Noort

Parts will need to be replaced with regular wear and tear and some items need to be replaced or completely overhauled at a set amount of hours flown. For example; a typical airplane engine may require a complete overhaul at 2000 hours with a cost of $20,000-$30,000.

When students mess up and bend or damage part of the aircraft that unexpected cost has to be absorbed by the school to have the parts replaced, time for the mechanic, and loss of time from the flight line.

Aircraft maintenance can be by far one of the biggest components of an aircraft’s hourly rental cost.

Fuel & Oil

We all know how much fuel prices keep increasing! The same happens with flight schools. Aircraft are thirsty and even the smallest training airplanes and helicopters can guzzle their way through around 7-10 gallons of aviation gasoline (Avgas) per hour at roughly $5.50/gal.

This equates to around $55/hour alone.

Engine oil is also consumed at a fairly rapid pace with regular oil changes required to ensure the engine runs at peak performance. This also gets added to the hourly rental cost.

Instructor

To learn how to fly you need someone crazy enough to be sat in the seat next to you showing you what to do and rescue the aircraft when the student loses control. It happens a lot during the first couple of hours, especially when learning to fly a helicopter!

My days as an instructor were great fun and the flight school had to charge for my time for them to pay me.

Schools will typically charge the instructor anywhere from $40-$70 per flight hour.

Insurance

As you can imagine, the insurance costs to cover the aircraft, the student, the instructor, and then any damage to persons or property on the ground is very high. Flight training is a risky business and aviation as a whole has a bad stigma for accidents, which usually end up with fatalities.

Insurance premiums the flight school must pay are high and those must be passed onto the students within the hourly rental rate.

Purchase Cost & Depreciation

Nobody can learn how to fly and gain their pilot certificate without being an aircraft at some point. To purchase that aircraft is not cheap, even a small used Cessna 152 with good time remaining on it can cost $100,000. If the school wishes to purchase a new aircraft they are looking at over $300,000.

To recoup the initial purchase cost the school will take the estimated life of the aircraft in hours and divide that by the cost needed to recoup the investment, then add a portion of that cost to each flight hour over the aircraft’s life.

Regulatory Compliance

To maintain high standards of safety the FAA or aircraft manufacturers can release AD’s (Airworthiness Directives) that aircraft owners must comply with. These can be in the form of an increased inspection schedule of a component or maybe even the upgrade of aircraft avionics.

The cost of complying with the AD’s need to be covered by the flight school but ultimately will be passed onto the student in the hourly rental cost.

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Flight School Costs:

In addition to the cost just to keep the aircraft airworthy are the costs to run and maintain the school. This is a cost that can be reduced by students if they wish to purchase their own aircraft and have an instructor teach them in it, or by using a local instructor who has their own aircraft.

When a student attends a flight school the running costs also need to be included in the hourly rental costs of each aircraft to ensure a roof remains over their heads.

Here are some of the typical facility costs added onto each aircraft flight hour:

Facility Rent/Mortgage/Lease

Most flight schools will lease their facility and hangar space from the airport on which it resides. This means monthly lease fees unless the owner was/is lucky enough to have purchased the facility outright.

No matter who owns the building, the cost of ownership must be covered and again, this goes into the cost per hour for each aircraft.

Landing Fees

For airports to remain open they need to make money off the aircraft utilizing them to pay for and maintain the airport property, and save for future airport improvements. To do this, airports lease out the hanger and office spaces mentioned above, but they also charge each aircraft a fee every time it lands.

Most flight schools will have a fixed-fee contract with the airport management based on the number of landings the school’s aircraft completed in the previous years, but again, this cost is passed onto the hourly aircraft rental cost.

Utilities

When students are not flying they need a place to be taught ground school and study, the staff need a place to work and the engineers need a place to maintain and repair the aircraft.

The HVAC, electricity, natural gas, water/sewer, insurance, and taxes must all be paid to keep the school up and running. These fees are broken down and spread across the aircraft fleet.

Staff

All good flight schools need great staff to ensure it runs well. The smaller the school, the fewer staff members are required, but typically the school will have at least the following:

Owner
Reception/Admin/Dispatcher
Instructor/s
Maintenance Engineer/s

Larger schools may also have:

Accounting
Marketing
Human Resources
Chief Pilot/s
Operations Managers
Student Liaisons

Staff do not come cheap and the bigger the school, the higher the salary budget becomes. To cover these salaries the costs are split up over the fleet hours for the year and then each bit is added onto the hourly rental cost of the aircraft.

Marketing

For any school to become successful they need to get students in the door. Most flight schools will have a healthy budget allocated for national and sometimes global advertising across all media platforms.

Social media ads, digital brochures, and promotional videos are not cheap so again, these costs are passed onto the student.

Profit

No matter how well the school appears to be the student’s best friend, they are all a business and need to make a profit. No profit means the business can become cash poor and unable to absorb unforeseen costs like a student starting up a brand-new helicopter with the throttle fully open!

Yes, it did happen during my time there to a student on one of their solo hour-building trips and the cost for a replacement Robinson R22 helicopter engine was probably close to $100,000. Without cash in the bank, this could have folded the flight school.

All of the components that make up the hourly rental costs are totaled up and then a few more dollars are added to each hour to ensure the business is run profitably to ensure its success.

As of writing this here are some typical total hourly rental costs for common training aircraft:

Aircraft	Hourly Rental Cost
Cessna 152 Airplane	$155/hour
Cessna 172 Airplane	$180/hour
Robinson R22 Helicopter	$345/hour
Robinson R44 Helicopter	$515/hour

Now that we know how much the aircraft costs we need to look at how many hours are required by the FAA to become a pilot!

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What is the Cost of Flight Training?

The FAA has split up its pilot certificates into a variety of categories to allow everyone to select the type of pilot they wish to become. Each certificate has its own requirements that must be met for it to be awarded to the applicant upon successful completion of the flight test.

The FAA has pilot certificates in the following categories:

Recreational Pilot – Airplane
Sport Pilot – Airplane
Private Pilot – Airplane & Helicopter
Commercial Pilot – Airplane & Helicopter
Airline Transport Pilot – Airplane & Helicopter
Certified Flight Instructor – Airplane & Helicopter

There are many classes within these pilot certificates that cover other aircraft like Hot Air Balloons, Gliders, Paragliders etc, but they have been left out for the relevance of this article.

For most pilots, the Private Pilot Certificate is the usual starting point for their flying endeavors and is what we will cover below:

Cost To Become an Airplane Private Pilot?

On average, it takes a student around 60 hours and $11,000 to gain their Private Airplane Pilot Certificate. Flight training will cost around $8,800, examinations around $700, ground study training around $1,000, and $400-$500 of extras like a headset, books, and flight training materials.

The FAA requirements to become a Fixed Wing Private Pilot are:
14 CFR Part61 Subpart E §61.109(a)

Minimum Age:	17
Any Previous License Required:	Student Pilot, Sport Pilot or Recreational Pilot
Total Flight Hours Required:	40
Dual Hours Required:	20
Solo Hours Required:	10

Costs:

Flight Training:

40 hours is the minimum required by the FAA, although most students complete the training in around 60 hours. Of the minimum 40 hours, 20 must be with an instructor, 10 must be solo, and 3 must be at night, although more hours are usually undertaken.

Average Hourly Rate of Cessna 152 Aircraft = $110/Hour
Average Hourly Rate of Flight Instructor = $45/Hour

FAA Minimum:
40 Total:
30 hours Dual x ($110+$45) = $4,650
10 hours Solo x $110 = $1,100

Total = $5,750

Student Average:
60 Total:
50 hours Dual x ($110+$45) = $7,750
10 hours Solo x $110 = $1,100

Total = $8,850

Ground School or Theory:

All students will require between 10-20 hours of one-on-one ground school with an instructor to cover aspects of flight, maneuvers, emergency procedures, etc. This ground is to prepare the student for the Practical Flight Examination (Checkride).

In addition, the student will need to complete some form of Home-Study course to prepare them for the Knowledge Written Examination.

Average Ground Instructor Hourly Rate = $45/Hour
Average FW Private Pilot DVD/Online Training Course = From $250

Examinations:

Medical Examination = At least a Third Class Medical Certificate. Average $60 (Ranged from $40-$80) or BasicMed
Written Examination = Average $150 (Ranged from $140-$175)
Flight Examination = Average $500 (Flight Examiner Ranged from $400-$600)

Extras:

Most students will require around $500 extras that can consist of:

Headset ($300)
Books
Charts
Aircraft Inspection Tools
Flight Planning Tools

Total Private Pilot – FW Costs:

FAA Minimum:
40 Hours Total:

30 hours Dual x ($110+$45) = $4,650
10 hours Solo x $110 = $1,100
Home-Study Theory Training = $250
Medical Examination = $60
Written Examination = $150
Flight Examination = $500
Extras = $500

Total = $7,210

Student Average:
60 hours Total:

50 hours Dual x ($110+$45) = $7,750
10 hours Solo x $110 = $1,100
15 hours One-On-One Ground Training x $45 = $675
Home-Study Theory Training = $250
Medical Examination = $60
Written Examination = $150
Flight Examination = $500
Extras = $500

Total = $10,985

Cost to Become a Helicopter Private Pilot?

On average, it takes a student around 60 hours and $23,000 to gain their Private Helicopter Pilot Certificate. Flight training will cost around $20,000, examinations around $1,150, ground study training around $1,200, and $400-$500 of extras like a headset, books, and flight training materials.

The FAA requirements to become a RW (Helicopter) Private Pilot are:
14 CFR Part61 Subpart E §61.109(c)

Minimum Age:	17
Any Previous License Required:	Student Pilot, Sport Pilot or Recreational Pilot
Total Flight Hours Required:	40
Dual Hours Required:	20
Solo Hours Required:	10

Costs:

Flight Training:

Average Hourly Rate of Robinson R22 Helicopter = $300/Hour
Average Hourly Rate of Flight Instructor = $45/Hour

FAA Minimum:
40 Total:
30 hours Dual x ($300+$45) = $10,350
10 hours Solo x $300 = $3,000

Total = $13,350

Student Average:
60 Total:
50 hours Dual x ($300+$45) = $17,250
10 hours Solo x $300 = $3,000

Total = $20,250

Ground School or Theory:

All students will require between 15-30 hours of one-on-one ground school with an instructor to cover aspects of aerodynamics, flight, maneuvers, emergency procedures, etc. This ground is to prepare the student for the Practical Flight Examination (Checkride).
In addition, the student will need to complete some form of Home-Study course to prepare them for the Knowledge Written Examination.

Average Ground Instructor Hourly Rate = $45/Hour
Average RW Private Pilot DVD/Online Training Course = From $250

Examinations:

Extras:

Most students will require around $500 extras that can consist of:

Headset ($300)
Books
Charts
Aircraft Inspection Tools
Flight Planning Tools

Total Private Pilot – RW Costs:

FAA Minimum:
40 Hours Total:

30 hours Dual x ($300+$45) = $10,350
10 hours Solo x $300 = $3,000
Home-Study Theory Training = $250
Medical Examination = $60
Written Examination = $150
Flight Examination = $950
Extras = $500

Total = $15,260

Student Average:
60 hours Total:

50 hours Dual x ($300+$45) = $17,250
10 hours Solo x $300 = $3,000
20 hours One-On-One Ground Training x $45 = $900
Home-Study Theory Training = $250
Medical Examination = $60
Written Examination = $150
Flight Examination = $950
Extras = $500

Total = $22,560

Learn More…
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* Helicopter or Airplane: Which is Easier To Fly?

What Do Pilots Do Between Flights? A Pilot Explains

As an airline pilot, I often get asked what pilots get up to in between flights. Depending on the type of flight routing we have will dictate how much time we get between flights and thus what we can get up to.

During quick turnarounds between flights, most pilots will check the weather, the aircraft loading sheet, get some food and use the bathroom. On long-haul flights where overnight stays are required then trips into the city to experience local culture and cuisine is a popular choice for many pilots.

If you want to know just what typical pilot breaks are like and what we get up to please read on…

Since commercial short-haul flying is my day-to-day let’s start with this one.

What Do Pilots Do Between Short Haul Flights?

So what are short-haul operations? Short haul operations are flights from A to B taking no longer than 3 hours per flight leg and always ending up back at your base airport. So no hotels, no overnights, and no out-of-base operations.

In short-haul flying the pilots prepare everything on the same day and usually fly 2 or 4 legs or, also known as ‘Sectors’ within the industry. This number can extend up to 8 sectors per day if the flights are in the region of 30 minutes each, basically 4 round-trip journeys.

So what is that we do between flights then? Let’s start at the beginning before even the first flight.

Pilots usually meet up an hour to 45 minutes before the flight to discuss the possible threats (Factors that can affect flight safety) and other operational requirements for the day. The fuel calculation and weather condition checks usually take place before every flight, even though the flight planning department gives the pilots all the information.

The pilots and cabin crew will then have a group briefing, again, about the threats of the day, turnaround times, weather, turbulence, and other special requests either the cabin or the flight crew has to ask. This might be something like checking the door handles before securing the cabin for example if the company has found that small errors have been made on multiple occasions throughout the fleet.

The preflight briefing takes place only once before the first flight of the day although nothing prohibits the crew of rebriefing if anything happens during the shift, but most of the time, it’s only once.

Between sector 1 and sector 2 the airline planning department usually creates the lowest turnaround time increment, giving the crew as little as 25 minutes for a turnaround!

For the cabin crew, this includes: Deboarding the passengers, cleaning the cabin, securing the cabin (looking for illegal items left behind by passengers), and boarding the new passengers.

During this time the pilots have to finish their paperwork for the flight that just landed and then prepare the aircraft for the next sector.

What kind of paperwork? These days everything is inserted into the iPad so it is not actually paperwork, but you get the point. This includes takeoff time, fuel on takeoff, passenger load, cargo load, fuel checks every 30 minutes, landing time, and any additional information required. All this has to be sent into HQ before the next flight.

The pilots then spilt the flying duties equally throughout the day for each sector. A usual pattern in a 4 sector day (2 round-trip flights per day) is that the First Officer flies the 1^st and the 4^th sectors and the Captain flies the 2^nd and the 3^rd sectors. This gives the Captain time to check the aircraft’s documents and to fill out the aircraft’s technical log at the beginning and end of each day.

After the paperwork has been completed the designated PF (Pilot Flying) has to prepare the aircraft for the next flight. The Pilot Flying role is decided usually during the initial briefing before the first flight of the sector, as mentioned above.

The PF then prepares the aircraft for the next flight. What does that include? First, the pilot check checks the weather to decide on the fuel required for the next flight, they also check the NOTAMS (Notices to Airmen – these consist of pertinent information to pilots about taxiway/runway closures, closed airspace, navigation beacon outages etc), and then the threats in case anything has arisen the could disturb the normal operation of the next flight.

After all this is done the PF starts preparing the FMS (Flight Management System) computer of the aircraft to basically program the autopilot. That means, inserting the new route, the new data for the weight and balance of the aircraft, flap, and trim settings, and the initial routing after takeoff.

While the Flying Pilot (PF) is inside readying the cockpit the other pilot usually referred as PM (Pilot Monitoring or PNF, Pilot Not Flying) is outside checking the aircraft externally for any visual damage, bird strikes, and any other thing that might come up. They will be in contact with the ground staff and the airport staff and also orders the fuel required for the next flight leg.

Refulling Needs Careful Attention to Ensure Correct Quantity is Delivered – Source: Ilya Plekhanov

Once all this is done, the PM returns to the cockpit so now the two pilots have time to brief the next flight and especially the takeoff. Airlines use different procedures but concentrate on the one used at many airlines is called T.R.I.B.E.T.S.

T – Threats and Error Management
R – Route Check
I – Instrument Cross Check
B – Briefing for Takeoff
E – Emergency Brief
T – Taxi
S – Standard Instrument Departure (SID)

This is a model covering all the needs for taxiing and takeoff and is widely used across the globe. It gives the pilots a chance to discuss all the important aspects of the takeoff portion and allows each other to know exactly what needs to be done, especially if an emergency arises.

It also gives the pilots a chance to double-check each other to ensure they are using the correct takeoff data, information, procedures and allows for mistakes to be found before they are implemented.

After the briefing and setup of the aircraft come the performance calculations. Using an iPad, the pilots insert passenger and cargo loads, wind, temperature, and flap settings to get the takeoff performance numbers like the speed of the aircraft and the engine thrust setting to be used. More importantly, this is done to check if the aircraft can safely lift off within the available runway distance for the current atmospheric conditions.

After the performance calculations, the last thing the pilots do is the checklist. The checklist is one of the most important parts of the turnaround and it is never skipped or rushed for any reason whatsoever. The checklist is there to prevent any mistakes done on the setup or any other thing that might have been forgotten during the setup or during the briefing.

The checklist should be followed by both pilots and there should be no interruptions in between.

After all that is done, the pilots request Clearance to the destination and the Taxi instructions from air traffic control.

Well done! You just made a 25 minute turnaround!

Learn More…
Try These Articles:
* How Do Airlines Calculate Passenger Weight?
* Are Pilots Allowed to Leave the Cockpit During Flight?

What Do Pilots Do Between Mid-Haul Flights?

Mid-haul operations are the most common way airliners operate. Mid-haul operations vary between 1-4 sectors, but the most usual pattern is 3 sectors.

Starting from your base airport (A), for your first sector you land at the airport of destination (B).
Then from (B) you fly again to your base (A)
On your last sector, you fly to the (C) point and you have an overnight there.

For Example:

Home Airport (A) = Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport
Fly To (B) = Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Sector 1)
Fly To (A) = Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (Sector 2)
Fly To (C) = Denver International Airport (Sector 3)
Overnight in Denver, Colorado

After at least 12 hours of rest, you are ready to fly back to your base but this time you fly from (C) to (A). Then from (A) you have 2 sectors that eventually lead you back to your base.

Current Airport (C) = Denver International Airport
Fly To (A) = Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (Sector 1)
Fly To (B) = Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Sector 2)
Fly To Home Airport = Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (Sector 3)

This is a typical 2 day crew pairing that is very common. Fly, Spend the night, Fly, Finish, and Go Home

Between each flight on mid-haul operations, the pilots do exactly the same as on the short haul operations with the exception of the overnight stay.

Eating the ‘Best Pizza in Town’ is Always a Crews Favorite!

Crews will spend the night doing a variety of things. Some crews like to socialize together while others prefer the solo life. Each crew member is different.

Many of the common things crews like to do can include:

Going to local restaurants for an authentic meal
Going for a walk around the city and exploring
Working out in the hotel gym
Catching up with family video messaging and phone calls
Watching a movie
Studying for a promotion
etc

Depending on when a flight crew arrives at the hotel will dictate what they are able to do. Flights that arrive late in the evening usually only allow the crews to sleep and then have a few hours free in the morning, or those that arrive earlier in the day may have the opportunity for an evening meal in a restaurant other than at the hotel.

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What Do Pilots Do Between Long Haul Flights?

Long haul operations usually only have 1 flight per day unless a technical or refueling stop is required somewhere in between the flight. This is typically a trans-continental or trans-oceanic flight with a duty day from 7 to 12 hours.

Before the flight the planning is almost the same but this time pilots plan for the entire flight instead of just a sector at a time. They will look at the weather for both now and during the entire flight duration.

Let’s take, for example, a flight connecting New York and London. This flight takes approximately 8 hours. Upon reaching London the pilots by law have at least 12 hours of rest in between but this time is usually more than a day.

Depending on the time between flights, pilots can pretty much do whatever they want. Between the incoming flight and the outbound flight the pilots and the cabin crews are practically off-duty, out of base. That means that each crew member is entitled to extra money for food, hotel, and entertainment.

Yes, companies pay their crews to have fun in between flights when out of base. Of course, it’s the responsibility of each of them to be well-rested and in great shape to operate the return flight!

Snorkeling is a Great Choice for Long Haul Rest Days!

The crew is allowed to drink alcohol but they are also required to be sober at least 12 hours before their next duty. These longer overnight stays give the crews much more time to explore the local area as these routings are usually of 3 days in duration:

Day 1 = Fly Out
Day2 = Rest Day
Day 3 = Fly Back

I have known pilots to become a tourist and go on excursions to visit places of interest, go snorkeling in crystal clear oceans and rivers, relax on the beach, and work on their tan. Even though crews are free from duty, they do have to be sensible during their overnight stay.

Activities that involve added danger and risk are frowned upon as an injury then requires that crew member to be replaced at short notice by the airline. This can mean a crew member being flown out as all the other crews are already assembled for their own flights.

Header Image Source: Kristoferb

Learn More…
Try These Articles:
* How Long Can Airplanes Fly For? – Top 10 Routes!
* How Do Pilots Avoid Jet Lag?

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Light Colors Found on an Airport:

Taxiway Lights – Blue, Green & Yellow

Blue Lights

Green Lights

Yellow Lights

Runway Lights – White, Yellow, Green & Red

Runway Edge Lights

Runway Centerline Lights

Touchdown Zone Lights

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Approach & Glide Slope Lighting System Colors

1. Visual Slope Indicator Colors

VASI:

Below Glide Slope

On Glide Slope

Above Glide Slope

Tri-Color VASI:

PAPI:

High AboveGlide Slope

Slightly AboveGlide Slope

OnGlide Slope

Slightly BelowGlide Slope

BelowGlide Slope

2. Approach Lighting System Colors

ALSF-2

ALSF-1

MALSR

ODALS

ALSF-2

ALSF-1:

MALSR:

ODALS:

Airport Beacons – White, Yellow, Green & Red

What Controls the Speed of a Helicopter?

How Do Helicopters Accelerate?

Rotor Disk Tilt

Altitude

Trim

How Do Helicopters Decelerate?

How do Helicopter Pilots Select a Speed?

Hover Taxi:

Orbiting:

Max Continuous Power Cruise:

Endurance Cruise:

Range Cruise:

Do Helicopter Blades Change Rotation Speed?

Airplane Wing Construction

Main Spar:

Ribs:

Stringers:

Skin:

What are the Different Types of Aircraft Wing Shape?

Rectangular Wings

Elliptical Wings

Tapered Wings

Swept Back Wings

Swept Forward Wings

Delta Wings

Common Terms Used on Airplane Wings:

1. Leading Edge:

2. Trailing Edge:

3. Wing Root:

4. Wing Tip:

Common Components on an Airplane Wing

Components on a Wings Leading Edge:

1. Krueger Flaps / Slats:

2. Engine Pylon

Components on a Wings Trailing Edge:

1. Trailing Edge Flaps:

2. Ailerons / Spoilers:

Other Wing Components:

1. Vortex Generators:

2. Winglets/Sharklets

3. Lights:

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High Above
Glide Slope

Slightly Above
Glide Slope

On
Glide Slope

Slightly Below
Glide Slope

Below
Glide Slope