Tue Aug 14, 2018 1:53 pm
#1631204
The physics of how an aircraft flies, are fixed. Likewise the operating principles of engines. There are many oddball engine designs (see the Boeing personal flyer thread and scour youtube! )
But, these are of no concern...at PPL level, you'll be concerned with conventional 4-stroke piston-engines they all look different but all have the same operating-cycle.....a 2-stroke uses the underside of the piston and crankcase to simultaneously perform another of the 4 steps, while the space above is performing another. This means that a 2-stroke can produce a higher power output but at the expense of fuel-efficiency)
Weather still develops in exactly the same way, maybe we understand it a bit better, but it doesn't change the fundamentals.
Airframes can now use exotic glass/carbon/kevlar composites with plastic resin, but they still follow the same laws of physics.
Human performance.....we understand a bit more nowadays, but bodies and minds have not really changed a lot in the last few hundred years
Air Law....That's the only one that the goalposts are constantly shuffled around in order to keep pen-pushers in employment
Navigation, well, you still have to use a chart, compass and a stop-watch (cheap kitchen-timer is fine, you'll probably abandon it after qualifying and just use GPS ) but you have to be able to use the Flintstone technology to pass the test! (GPS is the work of the devil, dontcha know! )
So, sounds like you're there, Download "Skyway Code" for free from the CAA website and you'll find most things are up to date and virtually cover all the basics you need (and don't forget, the exam questions are also often out of date as well, though it seems the current correct answer is just as acceptable as the (wrong) answer if it answers the outdated question correctly.
I'm not a qualified pilot, the information is probably worth what you paid for it.
But, these are of no concern...at PPL level, you'll be concerned with conventional 4-stroke piston-engines they all look different but all have the same operating-cycle.....a 2-stroke uses the underside of the piston and crankcase to simultaneously perform another of the 4 steps, while the space above is performing another. This means that a 2-stroke can produce a higher power output but at the expense of fuel-efficiency)
Weather still develops in exactly the same way, maybe we understand it a bit better, but it doesn't change the fundamentals.
Airframes can now use exotic glass/carbon/kevlar composites with plastic resin, but they still follow the same laws of physics.
Human performance.....we understand a bit more nowadays, but bodies and minds have not really changed a lot in the last few hundred years
Air Law....That's the only one that the goalposts are constantly shuffled around in order to keep pen-pushers in employment
Navigation, well, you still have to use a chart, compass and a stop-watch (cheap kitchen-timer is fine, you'll probably abandon it after qualifying and just use GPS ) but you have to be able to use the Flintstone technology to pass the test! (GPS is the work of the devil, dontcha know! )
So, sounds like you're there, Download "Skyway Code" for free from the CAA website and you'll find most things are up to date and virtually cover all the basics you need (and don't forget, the exam questions are also often out of date as well, though it seems the current correct answer is just as acceptable as the (wrong) answer if it answers the outdated question correctly.
I'm not a qualified pilot, the information is probably worth what you paid for it.