The session started off on a lighter note, perhaps an important one that is the evolution and classification of Aircrafts. It was interesting to know how man started thinking about the various ways to fly which has eventually led to the sophisticated aircrafts we have today because of their amazing foresight. To name a few like the ornithopter by Leanardo Da Vinci in 1500, Lighter than Aircraft by Francisco De Lan-Terzi in 1670, Airplane which was George Cayley's model in 1804, Glider by Otto Lilienthal in 1896 and here comes the milestone that is the Flyer which was the first powered, sustained and controlled flight by the great brothers Orville and Wilber Wright on december 17, 1903.
We then moved on to study the classification of aircrafts based on various parameters like,
1.Based on the Space they operate
(Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Ionosphere)
2.Based on Propulsion
a>Propelled b>Unpropelled
3.Based on Crew
a>Manned b>Unmanned
4.Based on Wings
a>Fixed wings b>Rotary wings
5.Based on Type of wings
a>Monoplane b>Biplane c>Triplane
6.Based on Landing mode
a>Sea b>Land c>Amphibian
7.Based on Engines
a>Propeller b>Turbofan c>Turboprop
8.Based on Number of engines
a>Single b>Twin c>Multiple
9.Based on Function
a>Fighter b>Bomber c>Transport
We then discussed about a few special types of aircrafts like the Reconnaissance which has a very high speed and difficullt to chase and shoot;example is a Microplane and the AWACS(Airborne Warning and Control System);example is Aerial Refuelling which ejects tentacles for the purpose. The other special types are the Vertical Take Off which has a tilt rotor and it takes off and lands like a helicopter and the Stealth which is for conventional and nuclear weapons. The best part of stealth is that it cannot be detected by any radar in the world and is naturally very expensive making it less affordable by all countries. Light was thrown on the very mysterious Bermuda Triangle which is a nightmare for the aircrafts and ships because of its rough weather and electromagnetic radiations.
We were then exposed to a case study on an aircrash of Avianca flight 052 which ocurred on 25th January 1990. The transparent reasons for the crash were,the bad weather of JFK airport, miscommunication between the pilots and the ATC, the lack of alertness among the ATCs when it came to transfer of vital details and information among themselves, the poor english of the main pilot due to which he had to depend on his co-pilot for handling the critical situations and the usage of the word 'priority' instead of 'emergency' by the first officer which did'nt make the ATC serious enough. During such a situation a pilot can also use the word 'MAYDAY' thrice which means accute emergency state. The pilots had to go for a 'holding pattern' which eventually led to flame out of the engines and the plane crashed killing many lives. I was in tears looking at it but realised that rather than crying, its time for us to work on improving the systems to avoid any such errors to save the precious lives.
Another interesting concept of the day was the ILS(Instrument Landing System). The aircraft has to allign itself to the centre of the runway at around 10km which is the lateral guidance and the vertical guidance guides the aircraft vertically at the required height. ILS antennas are placed at the end of the runways. These antennas emitts two waves of radio frequencies, 90Hz and roughly 121Hz. The aircraft receiver reads the two waves, analyses the dominance and alligns itself accordingly. Thus the session ended with a note by our SME to think on systems and scenarios for Airtraffic Landing Schedule. Looking forward to the 5th session.....
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