The complex airplane
Retractable gear, constant-speed propeller, and the systems that come with faster, heavier airplanes.
- 1What makes an airplane complexThe three-part regulatory definition, why it takes all three together, and what actually changes in the cockpit.12 min
- 2Retractable landing gearThe trade-off, the two common actuation systems, the safety devices and their limits, and the emergency extension.15 min
- 3The constant-speed propellerThe governor, how manifold pressure and rpm work together, and the order the levers move in.15 min
- 4Pressurization and oxygenThe cabin altitude, the differential limit, decompression, and the 91.211 oxygen rules.14 min
- 5Complex airplane systemsHydraulics beyond the gear, higher-capacity electrics, and anti-ice and deice equipment.13 min
- 6Performance at commercial levelReading takeoff, climb, cruise, and landing charts precisely, with real numbers worked step by step.16 min
- 7Emergency equipment and survival gearThe ELT and its limits, survival equipment chosen from the route, and the two systems that fly the airplane when the pilot cannot - with the passenger briefings a commercial operation owes.13 min
- 8After landing, parking and securingThe last four minutes: clearing the runway before touching anything, shutting down a complex airplane, the postflight walkaround, paying passengers on a live ramp, and writing the discrepancy down.12 min