Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.") It's part of what makes aviation so exciting for all of us... just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a scenario you've never imagined.

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators, and as representatives of the flying community. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

It is our unabashed goal that "Aero-Tips" will help our readers become better, safer pilots -- as well as introducing our ground-bound readers to the concepts and principles that keep those strange aluminum-and-composite contraptions in the air... and allow them to soar magnificently through it.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network. Suggestions for future Aero-Tips are always welcome, as are additions or discussion of each day's tips. Remember... when it comes to being good pilots, we're all in this together.

Aero-Tips 02.28.06

Several readers wrote with questions after reading the 2.05.06 Aero-Tips on “Generators vs. Alternators.”

Most had questions about these statements:

Generators are heavy, not usually a good thing in aircraft design.

Alternators have light weight for the power output, a result of (relatively) modern electronics.

My experience is that in recent years smaller, lighter alternators with higher output have replaced heavier generators with reduced output. A reader wrote that this is not always the case—that some generators are as light as some alternators with the same rated capacity. So although in general alternators win in the weight-to-power category, this is not a hard-and-fast rule using generators and alternators of modern vintage.

One reader disputes the article’s opening statement:

Most airplanes have electrical systems. They need some way to recharge the airplane’s battery.

The reader rightly challenged that the battery is necessary to run airplane systems if an alternator or generator is functioning. Although an airplane’s electrical system is run by alternator/generator power alone if the battery is completely dead, the battery serves several important functions, including:

1. Power for engine start.
2. Emergency power in the event of an alternator/generator failure.
3. Most importantly, a buffer to absorb electrical power fluctuations so minor out-of-tolerance alternator/generator output will not damage sensitive avionics and other equipment.

Although the electrical system can run without a battery, there’s reduced protection for electronic components, and there’s no electrical back-up for emergencies.

Thanks, readers, for your input!

Aero-tip of the day: We all learn when we ask questions. Evaluate critically anything you read, about aviation or any topic.

FMI: Aero-Tips