Ever wonder why airplanes use knots to measure their speed instead of MPH? The speedometers in cars, trucks and other land-based vehicles display speed in MPH. The airspeed indicators in airplanes, however, display speed in knots. What Is a Knot? … Read More

Ever wonder how retractable landing gear works? With the exception of small private airplanes and commuter airplanes, most airplanes don’t have fixed landing gear. Instead, they have retractable landing gear. Their landing gear systems are concealed within the belly of … Read More

Not all airplanes have a traditional wing configuration consisting of a single horizontal wing around the middle of the fuselage. There are alternative wing configurations available, one of which is a canard. Canards are commonly found on military jets. Some … Read More

A little bit of erosion tape goes a long way at protecting the leading edges of airplanes from weather-related damage. You can apply it to the wings, tail assembly, landing gear and more. Once in place, erosion tape will create … Read More

Heat shrink tubing offers a simple and effective way to protect wires from damage. Also known as heat shrink, it consists of plastic tubing material. Rather than leaving wires exposed, you can run them through the hollow center of heat … Read More

Modern-day airplanes are designed with a variety of automated systems. In addition to autopilot, for instance, many of them feature an automatic braking system. Known as autobrakes, it’s used during landings and rejected takeoffs. To learn more about autobrakes and … Read More

Nylon washers have become a popular alternative to traditional metal washers. They still feature the same ring-shaped design, and they are still used to distribute the load of a threaded fastener. The difference, of course, lies in the material from … Read More

Rivets are commonly used in the aerospace manufacturing industry. The Boeing 747, for instance, features over 1 million rivets. As permanent fasteners, rivets are better protected from vibration-related loosening than traditional threaded fasteners. There are different types of rivets, however, … Read More

Spacers are commonly used in the aerospace manufacturing industry. As shown in the adjacent photo, they look like cylindrical pieces of metal with a hollow interior. They are available in different sizes, with some spacers being wider or longer than … Read More