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The airplane: engine and systems

The piston engine and everything bolted around it: what happens under the cowling, what fails, and what the pilot can do about it.

  1. 1The four-stroke piston engineIntake, compression, power, exhaust: how a light-airplane engine turns fuel into thrust.13 min
  2. 2Carburetor and fuel injectionHow a float-type carburetor meters fuel, why it ices in warm weather, and how fuel injection differs.12 min
  3. 3The ignition systemMagnetos, dual ignition, the pretakeoff mag check, and the ground-safety rules that follow from it.9 min
  4. 4The fuel systemTanks, selectors, pumps, vents, sumps, and the habits that prevent fuel starvation and contamination.11 min
  5. 5Oil and engine coolingWhat engine oil actually does, how the engine sheds the rest of its heat, and how to read the temperature limits.10 min
  6. 6Propellers: fixed and constant speedWhy propeller blades are twisted, how a governor holds rpm constant, and what limits propeller efficiency.11 min
  7. 7The electrical systemAlternator, battery, bus bars, circuit breakers, and how to recognize and respond to a charging failure.10 min
  8. 8The vacuum systemThe vacuum pump, which gyroscopic instruments depend on it, and why its failure is easy to miss.9 min
  9. 9Weight and balanceArm, moment, the CG envelope, and shifting weight -- worked with real PHAK numbers from start to finish.17 min
  10. 10Airplane performanceDensity altitude and the POH charts: how weight, wind, and altitude change takeoff, climb, cruise, and landing.17 min
  11. 11Secondary flight controls, landing gear, and the cabin environmentFlaps, leading edge devices, spoilers and trim; tricycle and tailwheel gear, fixed and retractable, the brakes; and the systems that heat, ventilate, pressurize and oxygenate the cabin.15 min
  12. 12Starting the engineThe start as a procedure with hazards: clearing the ramp, the brakes and the throttle hand, oil pressure in thirty seconds, cold and hot starts, external power, hand propping, and the conditions that mean stop.12 min