LHS Pilot’s Ed

Just like Drivers Ed, we have Pilots Ed.  We offer these classes at the same time as Drivers Ed because in our realm it is just as important to know how to fly aircraft (to get to/from our realm, at least for those who don’t use portals).

 

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Table of Contents:

  1. Vocabulary
  2. Progression
  3. Year-by-Year Progression
  4. Age Range
  5. Coming Progressions
  6. Graduation Perks
  7. Images

 

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Vocabulary:

  • AILERON. Control surfaces hinged at the back of the wings which by deflecting up or down help
    to bank the airplane.
  • AIRPLANE. A mechanically-driven, fixed-wing, heavier-than-air craft.
  • AIRPORT. A tract of land or water for the landing and takeoff of aircraft. Facilities for shelter,
    supply, and repair are usually found there.
  • AIRWAY. An air route marked by aids to air navigation, such as beacons, radio ranges and
    direction-finding equipment, and along which airports are located.
  • ALTIMETER. An instrument for measuring in feet the height of the airplane above sea level.
  • ALTITUDE. The vertical distance from a given level (sea level) to an aircraft in flight.
  • ATTITUDE. Position of airplane relative to the horizon (i.e., a climbing attitude, straight-and-level attitude, etc.)
  • BLACK BOX / FLIGHT RECORDER:  This is the armored/encased set of instruments/devices which record all the important information about each flight, often searched for anytime there is a crash or other major malfunction.
  • CABIN PRESSURE:  Each place in an aircraft where humans sit is called the ‘cabin’, and all cabins are pressurized to stay as close to surface/ground-level conditions as possible, since most aircraft fly in an environment/altitude range where it would be too cold and low-oxygen for most passengers/humans to stay awake –if even survive.
  • CEILING. Height above ground of cloud base.
  • CHART. An aeronautical map showing information of use to the pilot in going from one place to
    another.
  • COMPASS. An instrument indicating direction.
  • DRAG. The component of the total air force on a body parallel to relative wind and opposite to
    thrust.
  • ELEVATION. The height above sea level of a given land prominence, such as airports,
    mountains, etc.
  • ELEVATORS. Control surfaces hinged to the horizontal stabilizer which control the pitch of the
    airplane, or the position of the nose of the airplane relative to the horizon.
  • ENGINE. The part of the airplane which provides power, or propulsion, to pull the airplane
    through the air.
  • FIN. A vertical attachment to the tail of an aircraft which provides directional stability. Same as
    vertical stabilizer.
  • FLAPS. Hinged or pivoted airfoils forming part of the trailing edge of the wing and used to
    increase lift at reduced air speeds.
  • FORCE. A push or pull exerted on an object.
  • FUSELAGE. The streamlined body of an airplane to which are fastened the wings and tail.
  • GRAVITY. Force toward the center of the earth.
  • HANGAR. Building on the airport in which airplanes are stored or sheltered.
  • HULL:  This is the basic shape/body/’shell’ of an aircraft.
  • KNOT. A measure of speed, one knot being one nautical mile per hour.
  • LAND. The act of making the airplane descend, lose flying speed, and make contact with the
    ground or water, thus ending the flight.
  • LANDING GEAR. The understructure of an airplane which supports the airplane on land or
    water: wheels, skis, or pontoons. Retractable gear folds up into the airplane in flight. Gear that
    does not retract is called “fixed”.
  • LIFT. An upward force caused by the rush of air over the wings, supporting the airplane in flight.
  • PILOT. Person who controls the airplane.
  • PITCH, ROLL, & YAW:  Pitch is how much the nose is pointed up or down, roll is how much the left or right wing is up or down, and yaw is how much the aircraft appears to be at an angle while flying forward into the wind/lift.
  • PROPELLER. An airfoil which an engine turns to provide the thrust, pulling the airplane through
    the air.
  • RADAR. Beamed radio waves for detecting and locating objects. The objects are “seen” on the
    radar screen or scope.
  • REPULSINE:  These devices are based on gyroscopes; they use angular momentum (plus now electro-gravitics made possible by energized / rapidly-moving mercury-based fluid/s) to control position (i.e. hover, bend space so as not to have to truly move at all, etc.) and inertia/momentum (i.e. negating/mitigating G-forces that would otherwise by felt during such sharp-degree and highspeed turns/trajectories).
  • RUDDER. Control surface hinged to the back of the vertical fin.
  • RUNWAY. A surface or area on the airport designated for airplanes to take off and land.
  • STALL. The reduction of speed to the point where the wing stops producing lift.
  • STREAMLINE. An object shaped to make air flow smoothly around it.
  • TAIL. The part of the airplane to which the rudder and elevators are attached. The tail has
    vertical and horizontal stabilizers to keep the airplane from turning about its lateral axis.
  • TAKE-OFF. The part of the flight during which the airplane gains flying speed and becomes
    airborne.
  • TAXI. To operate an airplane under its own power; other than in actual take-off or landing.
  • THRUST. Forward force.
  • TRANSPONDER:  This is how an aircraft shows its position to air-traffic control-towers and related facilities.
  • TURN. Maneuver which the airplane makes changing its direction of flight.
  • VECTOR:  A simple way of describing this is to relate it to yaw; an aircraft flies at a vector to the wind, such that the aircraft may appear to be pointing one way, while flying another, in order to use the wind to its advantage, rather than ‘fighting’ it.
  • VELOCITY. Speed.
  • VISIBILITY. Distance toward the horizon that objects can be seen and recognized. Smoke, haze,
    fog, and precipitation hinder visibility.
  • WIND. Air in motion, important to aviation because it influences flight to a certain degree.
  • WING. Part of the airplane shaped like an airfoil and designed in such a way to provide lift when
    air flows over it.

more TBA…

 

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Progression:

In all of the following, [unlocking, inspection procedures, fueling/charging, taxiing, takeoff, flying, responding to fighter-jet commands, evasive maneuvers, landing, systematic dismantling/destruction, parking, and locking] are all practiced multiple times.

  1. flight simulator, working up from small aircraft (2-seater) to the larger/est aircraft
  2. passenger-seat of an instructor-flown small aircraft
  3. copilot-seat of an instructor-flown small aircraft
  4. pilot-seat of an instructor-copiloted small aircraft
  5. piloting a small aircraft with the instructor “on the ground” (available only through the pilot’s headset)
  6. passenger-seat of an instructor-flown medium (4- to 10-seater) aircraft
  7. copilot-seat of an instructor-flown medium aircraft
  8. pilot-seat of an instructor-copiloted medium aircraft
  9. piloting a medium aircraft with the instructor “on the ground” (available only through the pilot’s headset)
  10. passenger-seat of an instructor-flown large (11+ seater) aircraft
  11. copilot-seat of an instructor-flown large aircraft
  12. pilot-seat of an instructor-copiloted large aircraft
  13. piloting a large aircraft with the instructor “on the ground” (available only through the pilot’s headset)
  14. passenger-seat of an instructor-flown very large (100+ seater; commercial) aircraft
  15. copilot-seat of an instructor-flown very large aircraft
  16. pilot-seat of an instructor-copiloted very large aircraft
  17. piloting a very large aircraft with the instructor “on the ground” (available only through the pilot’s headset)
  18. flight simulator, working up from small Spacecraft (2-seater) to the larger/est Spacecraft
  19. passenger-seat of an instructor-flown small Spacecraft –and this is usually the point when sigils used for faster Space-travel start to be shown/taught
  20. copilot-seat of an instructor-flown small Spacecraft
  21. pilot-seat of an instructor-copiloted small Spacecraft
  22. piloting a small Spacecraft with the instructor “on the ground” (available only through the pilot’s headset)
  23. passenger-seat of an instructor-flown medium (4- to 10-seater) Spacecraft
  24. copilot-seat of an instructor-flown medium Spacecraft
  25. pilot-seat of an instructor-copiloted medium Spacecraft
  26. piloting a medium Spacecraft with the instructor “on the ground” (available only through the pilot’s headset)
  27. passenger-seat of an instructor-flown large (11+ seater) Spacecraft
  28. copilot-seat of an instructor-flown large Spacecraft
  29. pilot-seat of an instructor-copiloted large Spacecraft
  30. piloting a large Spacecraft with the instructor “on the ground” (available only through the pilot’s headset)
  31. passenger-seat of an instructor-flown very large (100+ seater; commercial) Spacecraft
  32. copilot-seat of an instructor-flown very large Spacecraft
  33. pilot-seat of an instructor-copiloted very large Spacecraft
  34. piloting a very large Spacecraft with the instructor “on the ground” (available only through the pilot’s headset)

All of those are using civilian (unarmed) air/Spacecraft.  In the 17th & 18th grades of our education system, students will learn how to furnish and maintain pleasure-shuttles, such as the ones the Registered Companions (like Inara Serra) sometimes use.  In our 19th grade, our students will also learn how to fly and service all of the military (armed) air/Spacecraft they are likely to encounter/use (even to the point of boarding-in-flight and commandeering them).

* Helicopters are included in the “small aircraft” stage/category.

2024 January note:  regarding the Roche Limit
ICs are invincible; tidal forces / gravity cannot break them (our craft/ships/vessels) apart.
(Nor can they break any worlds we make apart, nor any worlds we stabilize with our Life Beams.)
Also, their (our ships’) engines/’fields’ cancel out their own gravity, in a way, so the largest of them will not accidentally break apart worlds they get close to.
The reason we teach our pilot-ICVs about the Roche limit is so they are careful when using their world-moving tractor-beams or portals (of the MSBSs, PSBSs, or SSBS); so they don’t position non-invincible worlds too closely (i.e. at or within their respective Roche limits).
Reference Video

 

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Year-by-Year Progression:

2024 April:  Original draft of progression by school-year:

  1. Definitions
  2. Maintenance
  3. Co-pilot
  4. Owl
  5. Cessna
  6. MH-6J Little Bird
  7. U-2 Huey
  8. CH-47 Chinook
  9. V-22 Osprey
  10. Private Jet
  11. MPHA
  12. FS *through tornadoes in Tornado Crater!
  13. Exodus
  14. Top Gun (their maneuvers and how to outmaneuver them; not dogfighting/fighter-jets until grade-19 school-year)
  15. DS, CP
  16. WS

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More detailed, and possible sequence-change:

  1. opening portals for self; an ICV piloting herself, not just walking herself
  2. opening a portal for self +1 ICV
  3. opening portals for groups
  4. Flyboard (snowboard setup but with a modified jet-ski supplying water through a hose for lift)
  5. jetpack (no full S.T. suit yet)
  6. hang-gliders
  7. para-gliders
  8. para-gliders with fans
  9. indoor freefall; iFly
  10. Owls
  11. hover shuttles
  12. Fire-tanks
  13. N/A; students are outside Inisfree this entire year
  14. parachuting (eventually in choreographed groups)
  15. sky-surfing
  16. graduation BASE-jumping (prep’, then the real/final thing)
  17. piloting pleasure shuttles
  18. furnishing pleasure shuttles in flight-safe ways
  19. wing-suits
  20. S.T. suits, (then the following in the following order)
    A.P. suits,
    Inisfreean BattleMechs,
    Inisfreean Fighter-jets,
    MPHAs,
    Rooftop Carriers (thus also TNH),
    Inisfreean DropShips,
    ColonyPods,
    Ark IIs,
    and finally:  Inisfree itself (simulated, as only Auz, via Djinnifer, ever actually pilots the whole thing, and only for its relocations)

20 years of pilot training in Inisfree = 20 years x 13 months x 4 weeks per month x 5 days per week; 5,200 days of formal training to pilot all those types of aircraft listed above.  With 30 minutes of instruction per day/class, that’s 156,000 minutes (2,600 hours).  For reference, Outlands/human pilot-license (hours) requirements are as follow:

  • Private Pilot License:  40 hours
  • Commercial Pilot Certificate:  250 hours
  • Airline Transport Pilot Certificate:  1,500 hours (crammed into 2 years, not allowing much time to learn/master anything else)

 

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Age Range:

Since we offer these classes to everyone permitted to be on Inisfree’s surface, our Inisfreean girls (ICVs) start their flight-simulator sessions around age 10, and are flying along with seasoned pilots the following year, piloting 2-seater aircraft on their own not long after.  This may sound bold and fraught with liability, but every ICV is as capable of flying complex air/Spacecraft as early as most other species learn how to walk and talk; almost from the moment they become conscious.  (Examples:  birds, bugs, cats, dogs, dolphins, sharks, etc.)

From age 10 through 16, everyone who started our educational system at/near birth becomes a talented pilot, not just a driver.  By the time they are at an American human’s “age of consent” (legal adulthood, as defined by Outlander humans in that now-lost country), they are also able to cater to world-class clientele on their flights.  By age 20, they are the finest pilots (and fighter-pilots) in the world.

If you start our Pilots Ed classes/lessons at some other age, plan on spending ~7+ years studying, flying, and qualifying with us here in Inisfree.  You really only need one to earn your basic/first license, but several makes you truly proficient and trustworthy at/for all tiers.  It’s a very worthy investment –and will allow you to fly your own air/Spacecraft in and out of Inisfree’s civilian air/Spaceport.

 

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Coming Progressions:

Wing-suits (both of the parachute-based and fixed-wing varieties) are not taught until the 19th grade.

 

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Graduation Perks:

The result of graduating all grade-levels of this class is a pilot’s license recognized in all countries and realms (planets).  Once you graduate Inisfree’s educational system, you have learned and practiced flying in every type/class/category of aircraft and spacecraft there is.  No matter what you encounter “out there”, you’ll likely know exactly how to get in, power it up, and take off, then fly however you please/need, and just as safely land.

 

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Also see:

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