Aeroplane landing !!

Till a few decades ago, flying on an aeroplane was the privilege of elite few – most people had only seen planes from a very long distance – in the film Ninaithale Inikkum’ – some hailed cameraman BS Lokanath for showing aircraft landing !

 

An Aeroplane is a wonder object – irrespective of the no. of times one may have flown, one looks with interest the air craft, especially its take-off and landing.  

An aircraft getting back to land after flying on air, is an awesome sight !  To land, the airspeed and the rate of descent are reduced such that the object descends at a low enough rate to allow for a gentle touch down. Landing is accomplished by slowing down and descending to the runway. This speed reduction is accomplished by reducing thrust and/or inducing a greater amount of drag using flaps, landing gear or speed brakes. When a fixed-wing aircraft approaches the ground, the pilot will move the control column back to execute a flare or round-out. This increases the angle of attack. Progressive movement of the control column back will allow the aircraft to settle onto the runway at minimum speed, landing on its main wheels first in the case of a tricycle gear aircraft or on all three wheels simultaneously in the case of a conventional landing gear-equipped aircraft, commonly referred to as a "tail-dragger".  

A variety of technological navigation aids all help pilots achieve a smooth and safe landing. Early pilots didn't worry about keeping away from other aircraft and landed in any direction on an open field that gave them the best angle relative to the wind. As traffic grew and more aircraft began to use airports rather than farms or fields, landings became limited to certain directions, and descending aircraft, competing for the same course, were in danger of colliding.  

The earliest landing aids were people-powered. Flagmen provided aircraft separation and direction control. They stood on the field waving red, green, or white cloths that told pilots if they were approaching a clear field at the correct angle. Green flags would indicate a clear field or the proper direction; red flags meant danger or told the pilot to circle until further instruction.

 
Interesting !
 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
22.7.2024