I interviewed Andre Kratochvil; he is a military air force veteran who has served for 20 years. In this interview we talk mostly about how autopilot works and how planes taxi. This interview also explains the procedures and prep before the pilot starts to taxi down the runway. We also talk about potential mishaps and ways to avoid them and about what happens when the plane is not needed anymore. The purpose of this interview is so you can better understand what happens in the cockpit and the procedures for what would happen in an emergency. 

 

 

A: What do you do before you fly the plane? 

 

Andre: We do preflight which means we walk

around looking inside, outside and the

engines; Making sure everything is in order. 

 

A: What do you do if one of the things does

not look right or does not match up with what

it's supposed to look like? 

 

Andre: We check your manuals for proper function

if it does not function properly then we replace the

broken part. 

 

A: How does an airplane taxi? 

 

Andre: We use the engines for thrust to move it and

large aircraft have a steering wheel for the nose- wheel

and small aircraft just use the rudder for taxiing. 

 

A: How does autopilot work? 

 

Andre: The navigation system sends signals to small

actuators (small pistons) which move the flight controls

to fly the flight with the navigation system. 

 

A: Could you take-off with autopilot in control? 

 

Andre: It is not done normally; it is possible but rarely done. 

 

A: How does the “Tower” track a plane's location? 

 

Andre: They use radar, and the planes have transponders

that send signals to where they are. 

 

A: What does a pilot do if it lost communication to the Tower? 

 

Andre: You dial in a code of 7500 on the transponder, which

lets the tower know you do not have a radio connection

anymore, but often there is a backup radio. 

 

A: How do you land a plane? 

 

Andre: You line up to be about 3 degrees to the beginning

of the runway, slow down and flare which means bring the 

nose of the aircraft up slightly. By that time, your wheel

will stop rolling and then you break.

 

 

A: What would happen if two planes were trying to land on

the same runway at the same time? 

 

Andre: Long before they are about to land one will give

way to the other because they all talk on the radio and the

tower lets them know as well. 

 

A: What do you do when the plane is landed, and the

passengers are off? 

 

Andre: You turn off all the electrical systems, turn the engines

off then you put chalk’s around the wheels and close all the

doors and hatches. 

 

A: Thank you for answering my questions.