When researching propeller airplanes, chances are you’ll come throughout the time period “feathering.” It’s generally used when turboprop engines fail. Turboprop engines are a sort of gasoline turbine engine that turns a propeller blade. After they fail, pilots will usually feather the airplane to cut back drag and antagonistic yaw. To study extra about feathering and the way it works, maintain studying.
The Fundamentals of Feathering
Feathering is the method of aligning the blades of a failed turboprop engine in order that they’re aligned with the path of the airflow. When a turboprop engine fails, the propeller to which it’s related will maintain spinning. Air will proceed to movement previous the propeller, thereby spinning it. This spinning motion creates drag and makes the airplane tougher to manage. Feathering, nevertheless, permits pilots to regulate the blades in order that they match the airflow.
How Feathering Works
Feathering is barely out there for variable-pitch propeller airplanes. As their identify suggests, variable-pitch propeller airplanes help pitch adjustment. Pilots can alter the pitch of the propeller blades, which is the gap a propeller blade strikes in a single 360-degree revolution.
Propeller blades are usually angled in order that they chunk into the air. This helps to maximise thrust by propelling the airplane ahead. When an engine fails, the propeller will proceed to spin as air strikes previous it. However with out the engine working, it gained’t produce thrust. As an alternative, it’s going to create resistance that slows the airplane down. Feathering counters the consequences of a failed engine by aligning the blades in order that they match the path of the airflow.
Pilots can feather the airplane’s propeller blades through a management lever. Partaking this management lever will change the angle of the propeller. With that stated, some airplanes have an automated feathering system. They’re designed to regulate the angle of the propeller robotically if the engine fails.
When Do Pilots Use Feathering?
Pilots might use feathering in a number of eventualities, one of the widespread being engine failure. Turboprop engines can fail identical to their turbofan counterparts. To attenuate drag when a turboprop engine fails, pilots might feather it.
In-flight emergencies might immediate pilots to make use of feathering. Emergencies can happen throughout takeoffs and landings, as an example. Even when the engine hasn’t utterly failed, it could require feathering to reduce drag.
Lastly, pilots might use feathering throughout coaching. Pilots should prepare for all sorts of eventualities, together with engine failure. By familiarizing themselves with feathering, pilots can higher put together themselves for real-world eventualities of engine failure.
