On Wed, 21 Jan 2009 09:26:03 -0600, Douglas Johnson
wrote:

LouB wrote:

Smitty Two wrote:

How does your friend happen to know the speed the pilot chose?

You can see speed and altitude for the flight he
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/A.../KLGA/tracklog

Chose?? With no power how does he choose?

This is a misconception running through this whole thread. The primary flight
control for speed is the fore and aft movement of the stick, not throttles. The
throttles are the primary flight control for altitude. All the flight controls
interact with each other, but those are the primaries.

Consider an airplane in stable flight. It could be climbing, descending, or
level, but the pilot has trimmed it so it can fly "hands off". This is the
normal flight condition. Let's assume straight and level for simplicity.

If the pilot increases the power, the plane will go up, the airspeed will stay
constant. If the pilot decreases the power, the plane will go down, the
airspeed will stay constant.

If the pilot pulls back on the stick, the airspeed will go down, the altitude
will increase. (That's the interaction I mentioned). If the pilot pushes
forward on the stick, the airspeed will go up and the plane will go down.

That's not obvious for people who haven't piloted a plane, but true anyway. A
classic book on the subject is Wolfgang Langewiesche's "Stick and Rudder"

http://www.amazon.com/Stick-Rudder-E.../dp/0070362408

Well worth reading if you are interested in the subject.

Now, a show of hands. How many folks think the rudders turn the airplane?

-- Doug
The rudders just skid the plane (and help co-ordinate the plane by
lifting or dropping the tail as ir follows the plane around the "cone"
instigated by the ailerons banking the plane.