2.3 The Operating Environment and Aircraft Performance

      Humidity and high temperatures are some of the many environmental factors that directly affect an aircraft's performance. As we learned in chapter 11 density altitude, when increased, affects the aircraft performance negatively by decreasing its performance. Contrarily, when the density altitude is decreased the performance of an aircraft is increased. "Water vapor is lighter than air so, moist air is lighter than dry air" (FAA, 2016). Due to this, as water content in the air increases (higher humidity) the air becomes less dense which increases the density altitude. Therefore, decreasing the aircrafts performance. Takeoff and landing distance, rate of climb, speed, maneuverability, and stability are all affected by when a higher humidity and temperature is in play.  

 


    
    I believe that one way we could mitigate this environmental factor is to incorporate longer runways to airports and takeoff stations. For this will assist in the takeoff and landing distance situation. Another strategy is to constantly maintain, monitor, and check temperature and dew point percentages in the air to confirm the safety and possibility of a flight. 
  

References

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). (2016). Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (PHAK). Retrieved https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1.4 What Does Ethics in the Aviation Profession Mean to You?

Image
     What does it mean to be ethically correct in the aviation industry? To answer this, we must first define the word itself. According to Merriam Webster, the definition of ethics is "the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation" (2021). In his book, Life Principles: Feeling Good by Doing Good, Bruce Weinstein once stated a perfect statement as to what I believe ethics is in the aviation industry. This statement was, "Do no harm, make things better, respect others, be fair, and be loving" (Weinstein, 2005).      Like many other professions, I believe that safety is the number one priority for ethical behavior in the aviation industry. As a pilot, you would never willingly do something that could either jeopardize or threaten the safety of both your crew and passengers. You are responsible for delivering your passengers safely to their destination, and if harm does arise, a pilot will do everything in their power to mitigate t
Read more

5.3 Team Based Human Factors Challenge

Image
    Human factors in aviation to me can best be described as the safety and efficiency humans are capable of while using equipment, systems, aircraft, and other people. The FAA defines human factors as the limitations that humans can do while carrying out their work (FAA, n.d.) Human factors or human error are terms that have grown in popularity in the aviation industry due to the number of accidents that have occurred (Boeing, 1999). According to the FAA, human error has been documented as a primary contributor to more than 70 percent of aircraft accidents (FAA, 2016). This means that today, rather than mechanical failure, human error is the predominant cause the most accidents and incidents in the aviation industry.      One team-based activity is the air traffic controllers. Air traffic controllers experience human factors every day. Some of these include, Health conditions Psychological conditions Societal issues Work conditions Environment conditions Training      They must all me
Read more