Wide-body jets: The 777 [FSX]

Lately, I’ve been trying my hands on the PMDG 777 and I seem to like everything about it. The flight controls feel responsive just like the 737 but the ride is much stable in the 777, thanks to more inertia. The plane maintains a stable attitude even when you let go of the stick, apart from the flight stability the triple 7 also felt less cumbersome without much of the manual trimming of the elevators in-flight to counter for the pitching moments from airspeed changes(speed trim). Powered by two GE90 turbofans, this plane is totally a beast. The newer lower DU’s or Multi Function Display’s functionality as a systems monitor is absolutely great, accompanied with standard and non-standard checklists with a touch interface, much like your average notebook PC. The triple 7 is designed for long range flying as opposed to the 737 which is designed for short haul flights. Leaving out the flight dynamics, the 777’s overhead panel is a BIG improvement over the 737’s old-fashioned array of knobs and switches.

♥ Music ♥

Music is something we turn to to chill, or perhaps when we’re in need of help or in pain. But what exactly makes music so helpful? But one thing is known for sure, music is good for you. Besides the fact that prolonged exposure to high sound levels can cause hearing damage. Music has been associated with all cultures dating back ages. Are there some sequences of musical notes when played together, seem pleasurable to hear? Have we humans hard-wired our brains to like music? What makes me wonder this is behind the realization that music tracks go viral and become super popular (billboards and stuff). Well, how do they make it? Its obvious because people love them but why do everyone, people from different parts of the world, people brought-up in different linguistic and cultural backgrounds all seem to like the same music track? This makes me wonder if the human brain works the same for everyone. Well, here I’m relating to the experience of music. Does it have to do with our instinct for music?

Essential resources to FLY the 737NG [FSX]

Boeing fanboys! This is for you… I know many of you exist out there so I thought I’d put together some useful, yet essential resources online which would be of great help if you’re a simmer [just like me!] or a real-world pilot.

Just a Reminder: Learning in Flight Simulator is a good way to brush up your skill but never compare it with real-world flying, there’s a lot more PHYSICS in real-life which isn’t modeled into FSX. Above all, learn basic skills like following and tracking navaids, reading METARS/TAFs and Aeronautical charts before you go on to flying with bigger jets. I’ve seen a lot of people posting videos online of their unstabilized approaches calling it a landing. I recommend that you read the Boeing documentation and SOPs thoroughly before you fly the plane, even in FSX.

Now let’s get all techy. Planes are complex machines and its good if you get to know how it works, if you ever wanted to be a good pilot or an engineer perhaps. This preview playlist from Angle of Attack skims over the fundamentals of every system on the 737 NG, these tutorials however, are meant for flight simulation but are close to the real aircraft’s systems.

How do we make our skies ✈ safer?

2014 has been a great year for many, and some saw their nightmares come true. First we saw MH370 go off radar without a distress call, and the government and agencies involved in the search and rescue efforts claim the wreckage had never been found, eventually leading to conspiracy theorists to come up with their own ideas. Just as the world was recovering from the aftermath of the crash, another plane MH17 was shot down over Ukrainian airspace. There were several more incidents involving one small aircraft landing in bad weather and another plane in Africa, not to leave out flight QZ8501. After all this, we are faced with only one crisis: To make aviation safer.

Lessons have been learnt from the past, TCAS is one such example. The Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System was devised soon after one major incident. But things don’t seem to improve. Following the AirAsia crash in the Java Sea, there have been 2 more incidents involving AirAsia aircraft. One runway overrun incident and another in which the engine quit right before take off. It’s horrifying to take the fact that a majority of these incidents are pointed to pilot error. This TV series “Air Crash Investigation” has aired a total of 14 Seasons, and it covers nearly every major air accident in history. From what I know, aviation incidents may occur if you have any of the following: