Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

Bud vents a little frustration:

There is no data whatsoever that cell phones interfere with airplane navigation systems. In fact, there have been tests with cell phone signals amplified ten fold and without interference. So every time the flight attendent comes on the intercom and tells the cabin to turn off cell phones because "they may interfere" with the airplanes navigation system, I simply stop and think to myself, that if they would lie to me about something that doesn't hurt at all, how much can they be trusted to tell me the truth about something that really might be harmful. I think that if you will lie about a small thing, you will lie about a big one. And since the Captain allows the lie to be broadcast, who can you really trust? Reminds me of the government agent arriving on a doorstep and saying "trust me, I'm here to help you!" Yeah! Right?

I don't agree with your logic, Bud. The most frequently quoted study was done by Carnigie Mellon University in 2003. Their comprehensive findings were summarized as follows:

Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

Paul asks:

Hi Kent,

My question is about winglets. We see most of the RJ's have winglets and many airlines are either retrofitting or purchasing their 757's and 737's to include winglets.

If these are such a performance enhancer and fuel saver, why don't we see winglets on 767 and 777 aircraft? There are many of these aircraft in the air today so one might assume an opportunity for fuel reduction and cost savings is being lost. What's your take on this?

That's a very good point, Paul. I asked about the 777 a few years ago and I've been told that the wing design on the large Boeing won't accept winglets. I'm not sure if it couldn't handle them structurally or if the wing was already efficient enough that winglets wouldn't help.

I do know that the wingspan of a 777 was a significant concern for airlines when they were planning the gate spacing before the airplane was delivered. Since the 757 with winglets has a 10 foot longer span, I would think it might be a problem with our infrastructure at certain airports.

Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

When I started Plane Answers a few months ago, one of the most common questions was how a person might go about learning to fly, getting their ratings and gaining enough experience to be noticed by an airline.

Before I've even had the chance to answer that, the industry has taken a sharp turn for the worse and now I'm getting questions about whether or not it's even worth it to pursue a flying job.

Here are two such questions:

Michael asks:

I've been reading your column for a couple of weeks now, yet I haven't noticed you talk about the state of the industry for college students who want to become professional pilots. I'm enrolled in a pilot training program at Arizona State, and on track to receiving an internship when I graduate. In your opinion, with the way the airline industry is now, do you think I should still pursue a career as an airline pilot?

And Steve asks:

Kent,

My grandson would love to be a airline pilot. He is building flight
time and attending college at the same time and it's a very expensive
burden for the family. With the layoffs and pay cuts that pilots in
the industry are recently experiencing-is he wasting his time and our
money?

Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

Tom asks an interesting question:

Hi Kent,

I am a big fan of your website and your weekly additions here. Great stuff. But my true question comes down to this. I had a seizure two weeks ago and they did all the testing and EEG and MRI and CT scans and blood work and all came back negative. They are thinking that it was once in a lifetime type of thing. So I started wondering will I be able to still receive my First class medical if I have no seizures and I am on no medications and the doctors told me I am fine?

Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

Martin asks:

Upon landing a bigger plane...

Is there a sensor or gauge/indicator that shows the pilot the distance between the airplane's wheels and the runway?

Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

Mike asks an interesting question:

Hi Kent, I know you've probably seen the video going around on YouTube of the 757 landing at Tegucigalpa, and also a great video of the landing from the cockpit. I was wondering if landing at a challenging airport like that involves any special requirements. Is the Captain the only one allowed to make that landing for example?

Great question, Mike. Especially in light of the recent accident of a TACA A320 that overran the end of the runway killing five of the 135 people on board. As a result of this accident, the Tegucigalpa airport is restricted to aircraft with 42 seats or fewer. For the next two months, San Pedro Sula will pick up the slack until the Soto Cano Air Base is ready for commercial traffic.

Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers, where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

Kent:

I know a lot has been written lately about airport delays, I have also read something about "Free Flying." With TCAS is ATC obsolete? Should ATC be more focused on ground operations, to get planes in the air? I know from most recent articles the ATC system is operating on antiquated systems and in need of a massive overhaul. I am interested to hear your opinion, is "Free Flying" in our future?

-Justin

Thanks Justin,

We're not able to navigate or adjust our spacing using our Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). This device, which is almost like a radar screen showing the other traffic within 40 miles of our airplane, is solely to keep us from running into someone. Think of it as a backup to the Air Traffic Control system. And just like passengers aren't generally interested in pilotless airplanes, pilots may not be interested in a world without controllers directing traffic and keeping us safe.

The ability for airplanes to fly directly to a destination is one thing that would shorten travel times, but it's important to put the benefit in perspective. The FAA is hoping to develop a system that would allow for a direct routing versus today's system of waypoints and VOR's that define a more jagged path, but it will only save a few minutes of flight time.

The FAA is even more interested in the ability to space flights closer when near the airport using a new technology called NextGen. Why are they so excited about this?

Because it's low hanging fruit.

Even at $20 billion, it just might offer the best answer to the capacity problem. Using computers and GPS, we can have more direct flights and airplanes can take care of their own spacing as they approach the airport. Take a look at this video on "NextGen" by David Pogue for CBS News that explains what the FAA is trying to do (after the jump):

This week we've had many questions that all ran along the same lines; how to overcome Aviophobia, or the fear of flying. Most people who suffer from this fear are well aware of the statistics that show that air travel is the safest form of travel, and no amount of assurances and facts are able to calm their fears. But I've been told that understanding more about what happens in an airplane does go a long way towards quelling some of the anxiety associated with flying.

Jenna asks:

My stepmother refuses to fly. Her explanation for this is one time when she was in a plane, it dropped 10,000 feet. The other day, I was talking to my friend Nora, who said her mother had a similar story. How often does this happen and what causes a plane to lose control for so long? I am also afraid of flying, so I would love to know. Thank you for your time!

Thanks Jenna. You can assure your stepmother that planes don't just drop. It's analogous to driving in your car and suddenly finding yourself on an interstate two miles away. The media and so many movies have reinforced this idea that airplanes can hit 'air pockets' and drop hundreds or thousands of feet.

As I mentioned in a previous Plane Answers post about turbulence, even during some of the roughest air, we don't gain or lose altitude generally.

There are some astute readers who will point out that there have been occasions that airplanes flying near their maximum capable altitude needed to descend rapidly to regain airspeed, but even in these instances the airplane hasn't lost control.

We're combining five questions that were recently submitted for Plane Answers. We'll look into who foots the hotel bill for a crew's layover, what is the typical speed and weight at takeoff, how pilots line up with a runway visually and where does that lavatory sink water go inflight?

When pilots layover for a night before returning home, who picks up the bill?

The airline picks up the tab for each crewmember's hotel room. Meals are up to the employee, although often there's a small per diem of about $2 an hour that's paid by the company to cover these expenses.

I've always wondered what's the ideal speed for a plane like a 737 to takeoff.

The takeoff speed is based on the weight of the airplane which varies. But you can think of it as a speed between 135 and 155 knots or so. Add 15% to convert knots to m.p.h. and you'll have a liftoff speed of around 155 to 178 m.p.h.

What is the maximum weight that the average passenger plane (737,757 etc.) can carry and be able to takeoff and remain airborne? As a frequent flyer, I become concerned when I observe a number of 300 pound passengers boarding; and then there's the cargo below. On occasion, I have been on a plane where the weight load was so light, passengers were asked to shift around to balance the plane weight. Does the opposite ever occur?

Welcome to Plane Answers where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away!

Kyle writes:

First of all, thanks for taking the time to respond to people's questions. There's something I've always wanted to know. Do pilots ever get scared of turbulence? If so, what makes them bad enough to actually be scary. Is there a way a passenger can know when to be concerned and when it's just normal bumps and shakes?

Thanks, Kyle.

Turbulence is more annoying than frightening, usually. But I think it's more upsetting for passengers than some pilots realize.

I learned a good lesson when flying as a passenger some years ago. I was sitting next to a really nice lady who had previously worked as an agent for another airline. She had obviously flown a great deal, but she startled me when she grabbed my arm as soon as the airplane hit the slightest bit of light chop (pilot-speak for small rhythmic bumps). She said to me, "If the pilots would just ACKNOWLEDGE this turbulence--if they would just say something, I'd feel so much better."

That moment stuck with me. As a co-pilot, it's not really my place to make reassuring PAs--that's up to the captain--but I will do my best when I move to the left seat.

Turbulence becomes worrisome to a pilot when it could cause harm to our flight attendants or passengers who aren't buckled in. That's our biggest concern. I'm very confident that the airplane will hold up to the roughest of air, but we just don't want anyone to get hurt. Take a look at this Boeing video showing the maximum inflight load the 777 will take before failing. The wing finally failed at 154% of the maximum rated load. The video that follows after the jump has to give you confidence in today's airliners.