A Strange Habit !!

If there is one thing that i do everytime i get cash from anybody, its not counting it to see if the correct change has been returned,but to check the serial numbers on them !

But i'm not looking for the serial numbers of fake currencies. I'm actually looking for plane model numbers on them. Back in school days when i had started the habit of collecting coins and stamps and notes,i used to look out for my birth year. But as my interests with planes started to grow, this strange habit has started too :)

So the magic numbers that we are looking for are 707, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777, 787 which are planes from Boeing and 319, 320, 321, 330, 340, 350, 380 which are planes from Airbus or a combination of these numbers in the six digits that follow the series number in currencies.

Here you can see a picture of a few notes of my collection. And 15F is for JSF(Joint Strike Fighter)of the USAF. THe way 1 is printed, it looks like J written in some stylish font from a distance.
















I even have a note of 1AF series that looks like IAF(Indian Air Force) ! Anything and everything related to planes, i try to collect it.



But the funny part is that i have always found notes of higher denominations that match my criteria. As you can see in the picture,only one note is of 10 rupee denomination !











The JET Note Story !

I had this one ten rupee note that i valued more than it is actually worth. It was an 1ET series note. That looked like JET..it was my most priced possession amongst all the notes i had. I used to flaunt it in front of my cousins and made them jealous that they did not have a note that had JET written on it !!

Fate it seems, i managed to lose it. I dont know how i lost it. One fine day i just could'nt find that note in my purse.Then i learnt it the hard way that i should not carry my priced possessions with me all the time.Every single day after that incident, i've been anxiously checking every note to find that series again. There are a lakh notes of that 1ET series and i'm surprised why i am not able to find just one more note so that i can flaunt it again. I'd be very happy if any one of you people have a note of that series. So please check your currencies and then you know what to do !!

How to Control an Aircraft??

I am immensely happy with the response that i got with my first post.We have seen what makes an airplane fly from the previous post. Now that you've put some space between yourself and the ground, we need to control how the aircraft moves.

This leads to the concept of Axes of Motion.

They are:
1. PITCH
2. ROLL
3. YAW


Yaw is turning your plane left or right. Very similar to turning your bike towards left or right on the road.

Roll is turning the plane around its longer horizontal axis. Similar to bending the bike around the corners.

Pitch is moving the nose of the plane up or down. Comparable to doing a wheelie or a stoppie on a bike.



In the same way as the front wheels of your car or bike is used to turning and bending, there are mechanical parts on the surface of the plane that helps to move the plane in all the three axes of motion.








The three control surfaces that help the plane do the manoeuvres are


1. ELEVATORS
2. AILERONS
3. RUDDERS

Shown here is an A 10- Warthog with all the Control Surfaces.










Remember that Airflow over the plane's surfaces is a crucial part in its operation. When a control surface moves up,the fast moving air over the surface is slowed down. Think of Bernoulli's principle.. faster moving air over the surface, higher lift..slower moving air over the surface, lesser lift.

If any Control Surface is moved up,th air flowing over the surface is also forced to move up. The air that flows upwards creates a downward force at that point. Similar is the case with air moving downwards when the surface is tilted downwards.




The Pitch is provided by the ELEVATORS on the horizontal tail of the plane. When the elevator moves up or down,the plane also moves up or down.This is because the downward force
created by the airflow when the elevator is moved up. And the point at which this downward force is created is far back from the centre of gravity of the plane which makes the plane to pitch up.






Roll is provided by the AILERONS on both the wings. Both the ailerons are connected in such a way that if one of them goes up,the other moves down. When right aileron moves up,right wing has lesser lift while the left wing has higher lift because the left aileron counteracts. When left aileron moves up, left wing has lesser lift while the right wing has higher lift because the right aileron counteracts.Differences in the lifts produced by both the wings causes the plane to roll.






Yaw is provided by the RUDDERS on the vertical tail of the aircraft.When the air changes its direction towards left when flowing around the rudder, the force is exerted towards the right. Since the rudder is at the back of the plane and far from the centre of gravity, a yaw is produced. When the rudder tilts to the right, more lift is created on the right, which "lifts" or pushes the vertical stabilizer to the left. This, in turn, causes the airplane to yaw nose-right. The opposite motion occurs when the rudder tilts to the
left. Thus the counteracting force due to air changing directions and the lift produced cause the plane to yaw.


Control Surfaces that provide the Pitch,Roll and Yaw are called the Primary Control Surfaces(Red Colored).

Secondary Control Surfaces include the Tailwings(Horizontal Stabilizers),Flaps(Leading Edge and Trailing Edge) and Airbrakes(Spoilers).These are used along with the Primary Control Surfaces to perform complex manoeuvres and during take offs and landings.







As we can recollect, there are 6 types of control surfaces to be operated upon by the pilot. How does the pilot move all these surfaces then???

This is accomplished by the control yoke column which is usually at the centre of the cockpit and rudder pedals for the foot.

Moving the yoke sideways allows the pilot to do the Roll.Push the yoke left, the plane does a roll towards left.Push the yoke right, plane rolls right. Push the yoke front and the plane pitches down.Pull the oke back, the plane does a nose pitch up. back causes the plane to Pitch up or down. Since there are two Rudder pedals,i dont have to tell more about it !!

The Secondary Control Surfaces are operated by computers.These surfaces are usually present in the computer controlled aircrafts. Older planes never had these secondary control surfaces.

I have tried my best to explain the concepts in simpler terms as much as possible. Hope you guys enjoy reading this too :)

Planes: The Machine that has Impressed me the most !!

Most people love the thrill of driving fast, sleek and powerful cars. I on the other hand,am a step ahead! I choose Planes.

I guess its the power of these marvelous machines,the speeds at which they can travel and the amazing manoeuvres they do that impresses me the most.


It is indeed true that the best job one can ever get is to be a Fighter Pilot. A lot of pilots wake up way too early in the morning, scramble up their fighter jets and push the throttles and raise thousands of feet above the ground only to see the Sun rise. Believe me, to see the Sun rise from the Cockpit of a Fighter Aircraft at 35,000 feet above the earth is a wonderful Experience.More than anything else the sensation is one of perfect peace mingled with an excitement that strains every nerve to the utmost. And this very moment that they enjoy is one of the reasons that makes me envy them. I wish i could have an experience as such one day.


We humans are basically content with a two-dimensional world, which is what we’ve always occupied. We travel mostly on the ground, have traffic jams, parking problems,and we’d do a lot better to look up a little bit because there is that great aerial highway that’s always ready to go, you don’t have to pave it and the benefits are very great. And that is when Aviation started.

WHAT IS IT THAT ALLOWS A PLANE TO FLY ???

Here is an interesting fact. A new plane developed by Airbus called A 380 is around 560 tons in weight and can carry 64,500 kilograms of payload. You have probably seen a lot of large aircrafts before. But, have you really asked yourself the exact question??? What makes these heavy metal birds climb thousands and thousands of feet into the air?

Is it just the massive engines or the large wingspan?



Most people understand that it is the wings that allow the plane to fly and the engines allow it to move forward. This is ofcourse a good knowledge for an average enthusiast.
But its just not that..there is more.


There are 4 forces acting on an airplane. They are:
1. Lift
2. Thrust
3. Weight
4. Drag




Lets start with the Lift and work our way from there. The wing itself does not generate Lift,but its the shape of the wing. The Wing is shaped like an Airfoil. In forward flight, the wind moving above the wing,called as Relative wind,moves faster than the wind flowing below the wing. Airfoil structure forces the wind to move faster over the wings. Slow moving air below the wing is forced to put more pressure on the wings than the air flowing above it. This in turn creates Lift. This is the Bernoulli's Principle.

So the wings create Lift while the engines produce Thrust. These 2 forces help the plane to fly. In common language, to say; When the weight of the airplane is as little as that of a feather,only then you can go flying.

Now, lets look at the other side of that, counteracting to Lift and Thrust.

Material used to build the plane along with Fuel, Baggage and Passenger Weight all add upp to form the Gross Weight of the plane. This along with Gravity all act as Weight.

Condition to Fly: 1. Lift >= Weight

Drag is the opposite of Thrust. Drag is created simply by the existence of the aircraft. It is the object's natural desire to resist moving through a fluid such as Air.

Condition to Fly: 2. Thrust>= Drag


Now lets try to Fly an Airplane.

While the Plane is still taxiing on the runway,it is moving at a very slow speed.Hence, its Lift is still less than the Weight of the Aircraft.
























As the plane is accelerated, Thrust is now very large compared to Drag(Condition 2 Satisfied)and the Lift starts to increase gradually. But as the Speed increases, Lift is greater than the Weight(Condition 1 satisfied).



Now that the both conditions required to fly are satisfied,the giant beast is pushed into the air. As long as both the conditions are satisfied, the Plane continues its safe flight to the destination.

Well, now that you know the Physics behind how a Plane can fly, the next time you sit in one, you better be thinking how along with the anxiety that the plane might Crash !!!









Now,anybody who is interested in Planes can explain the Dynamics of Flight, but what Flying can really do to the spirit of a Man is way beyond description.

Can the magic of Flying be ever carried by words??? I don't think so.