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Why do pilots say positive climb?

The call of positive rate (or climb) is made by the PM as an indication that the aircraft is safely climbing away from the ground. This is confirmed by checking that the altimeter indication is increasing. At this point, it is safe to retract the landing gear.



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Once the crew completes the pre-flight gear inspection, it's time to ignite the engine and take to the sky. These days however, it's much more common to hear pilots announce that the plane is “cleared for takeoff” — particularly on commercial flights — for the sake of brevity.

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But if you've ever felt compelled to applaud the pilot for landing safely, think again. Pilots actually hate it when passengers clap. According to a Q&A on internet forum Quora, Scott Kinder, who identified himself as a 737 captain of a major US airline, said it is ignorant. “Don't even think about it.

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Why do pilots tell you how high you are? Answer: It is normally part of the welcome aboard announcement as a matter of interest. We provide the time of the flight, the cruise altitude, landmarks of interest along way and the weather.

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And the jet pilots don't feel a sonic boom from the cockpit, just as passengers on a boat don't feel the effects of the wake behind them, she added.

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The word heavy means a larger aircraft type, with a Maximum Takeoff Weight of 160 tonnes or more. These aircraft create wake turbulence from their wings and require extra separation between following aircraft, and the use of heavy reminds other pilots of that fact.

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During the takeoff roll, the pilot monitoring the displays (PM) will call out the two important speeds: V1 and rotate. This indicates to the pilot flying the aircraft (PF) when they are beyond the safe stopping speed and when to rotate the aircraft into the air.

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The number of “souls” on an aircraft refers to the total living bodies on the plane: every passenger, pilot, flight attendant and crew member, according to Lord-Jones. Pilots often report the number of “souls” when declaring an emergency, she says, so rescuers know the amount of people to search for.

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An unplanned touch-and-go landing is also called a rejected landing or balked landing. Touch-and-go landings can perform a crucial safety role when a plane lands with not enough space to come to a complete stop, but has enough space to accelerate and take off again.

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If the aircraft is arriving and the approach and runway are busy the flight may be direct into a pattern to wait it's turn to approach and land. Circling is a traffic management system that is infrequently used today. Most often it is employed to manage air traffic during difficult weather conditions.

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In strong crosswinds, partial de-crab is highly recommended, so the aircraft lands with the nose pointed partly sideways. This prevents high bank angles which reduces the risk of the wing tip touching the runway.

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A takeoff may be rejected for a variety of reasons, including engine failure, activation of the takeoff warning horn, direction from air traffic control (ATC), blown tires, or system warnings.

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Pan-Pan, short for “possible assistance needed,” is used to communicate an urgent, but not emergency, situation over VHF radio, in the case of aviation, to air traffic control. Examples could include a recreational pilot getting lost, or perhaps needing to climb to a higher altitude to sort a problem out.

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Pilots and ATCs talk fast because both parties understand that they are small parts of a very big, very efficient system.

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