Unsafe 747-8 Vertical Takeoff

[@tripprogers4814]

I LOVE it when Kelsey gives us the "Concerned pilot watching something questionable" face.

[@sympostersyndrome]

It's the slowly increasing angle of the eyebrows that does it for me

[@tripprogers4814]

@@sympostersyndrome I love that no matter how funny to how serious the clip is, it’s still the same scowl ! He is the master, we are the student. lol

[@StorymasterQ]

@@sympostersyndrome It's the (albeit rarely seen) head shakes for me.

[@elmalloc]

@@sympostersyndrome what if he shaves his eyebrows someday

[@lynneshapiro3248]

@@sympostersyndrome His AOA eyebrow matches the AOA of the aircraft!

[@BayAreaClownShow]

Just a note here from a trucker. Truckers actually do use transmissions to slow our truck down. Of course brakes are used as well, but when driving a manual truck you actually want to use your transmission as it''s much more durable. Plus with the heavy load, brake fade is a lot bigger of a risk.

[@Brillig2]

Same with those of us 4-wheelers with standard transmission.

[@mananaVesta]

Using engine brakes on cars is also a good thing. It not only saves brakes, it also saves fuel and stops the brakes from overheating, which is relevant when you live in the mountains. A transmission can handle it no problem - I have yet to have a transmission give up on me even after decades and hundreds of thousands of kilometers while doing engine brake all the time.

[@C.Church]

Kelsey flies the Snack-8. It achieves altitude as quickly as possible for the discerning pilot with immediate priorities.

[@tomr3422]

its surprising that everyone doesnt know about the minimum snack altitude- and how quickly some pilots want to reach it.

[@Vonononie]

Powered by the Free Breakfast boosters

[@kd5byb]

@@tomr3422 Is there a maximum snack altitude? Inquiring minds want to know. ;)

[@C.Church]

@@Vonononie lol breakfast boosters 😂

[@C.Church]

@@tomr3422 Yep. Fuel management is tricky for both the plane and pilot. People don't even realize.

[@chris8168]

Kelsey! Just wanted to give a big thanks to you and your channel. My daughter (who is four) loves anything and everything about aviation, and we watch your videos all of the time. Didn't know where else to message you, but I wanted to display my gratitude towards you for making my daughter feel safe to fly. We recently flew to Florida, and she asked if you were the pilot lol. Thank you for all you do and for making our flight experience less anxious!

[@BrickNewton]

I hope she's watched Kelsey's review of the flying in Madagascar

[@tripprogers4814]

I am 58, and I ask the flight crew “is Kelsey from 74Gear our pilot today?” They politely answer me with “Sir, once again, Kelsey is a fictional character made up by the internet and yes.. he is always the pilot here at Southwest Airlines. It’s not the airports fault, it’s not the airlines fault, it’s the asphalt.”

[@seq165432]

He's the best!

[@si_vis_amari_ama]

Hello Chris, I too loved anything to do with flying and aircraft, from a very young age. It is a fascination I have maintained my whole life. Long story, but it took me until 39 to get the confidence to fly, when I bought an aircraft and (then!) learned to fly it. It was a wonderful ten years of flying. When I was asked the obligatory "what do you want to be when you grow up?", adults would laugh at my response when I said I wanted to be a "Commercial Pilot". You see, at that time, women were unable to choose this as a career path. I was a bit late for this as a career, but that's okay. I hope your daughter maintains her interest as it combines nature, beauty, science, and practicality. Please say I said hello from me in Australia, and that I too loved aeroplanes and flying when I was a little girl.

[@chris8168]

@BrickNewton We most certainly have, several times! Thanks for the suggestion, though!

[@jonathanshumpert9549]

Your comment on having a bathroom, bed and free food reminded me about a story I heard in the Navy. I worked with the P-3 squadrons and heard the story. A P3 was doing exercises with a carrier group doing tracking of subs. An F14 pilot came alongside a P3 then did some fighter pilot maneuvers. He then came back alongside, got on his radio and asked the P3 pilot, "can you do that?" The P3 pilot reached over, grabbed a can of Coke, drank some, and then asked the F14 pilot, "can you do that?" I don't know if it really happened, but like to think it did.

[@clefsan]

Don't get mad. Get even. 😇

[@Texas40years]

I read a variation where the large plane is a B52. When challenged the BUFF pilot gets out of seat, in gone for a few minutes & gets back in his seat. Fighter pilot asks "what was that?". BUFF pilot replies "I went to the bathroom".

[@realulli]

@@Texas40years I heard the variant with, "nothing happens, the BUFF just keeps on flying straight and level. The Fighter pilot asks, so, what are you going to do? What ever you do, I can do better! Reply from the BUFF: 5 minutes ago, we turned off two engines. Feel free to go ahead and do better..."

[@jimb3137]

Had a coworker who served, said they called the P3 the Cadillac of the skies.

[@jonathanshumpert9549]

@@jimb3137 I had a few rides in P-3's and had no complaints.

[@greg42058]

I don't think this pilot was hand-propping the plane. He was probably just doing a standard walkaround where you actually are supposed to turn the propeller once or twice as a check. But you do that *only* after you make sure the magnetos are off. If the engine is hot (from someone flying it before) and the magnetos remain on, the engine may kick up even after such turn. In this case he probably had throttle in a position other than idle also, judging by how fast this plane started to accelerate... A couple of rookie mistakes in one. This is why you should always, always check for magnetos off before doing it. And putting parking brake on would also make a lot of sense.

[@12345directioner]

My Dad was an Air Force F4 pilot and after he retired he had a 2 seat Cetabria for a time. Some of my favorite memories are when he would take me up over the Chesapeake Bay and do aerial acrobatics. The plane had a front and back seat with two stick controllers and a plexiglass window in the top for viewing. The smile never left my face while I was in that plane - wonderful memories. Always look forward to your Sunday uploads! Thanks for making us all more knowledgeable!

[@davidrush4908]

The first time I was ever in a plane was when I was 11. A friend of the family who had been a WASP in WWII had a J-3 Cub at her private field. My job was to stand on the brakes and reduce the throttle to idle when she hand propped it. I remember that flight to this day; from the short/soft field takeoff to the forward slip to a landing.

[@christibritton1436]

I learned to fly in a Cetabria - my first solo was a kick - had to go around because it wouldn't descend to the runway. Was not used to landing without my 220 # instuctor behind me, lol. If I remember rightly, the Citabria - a fabric covered small plane- weighed about 800#, I weighed about 120# at the time - so I had lost about 1/4 of the weight I was used to flying.

[@johnstudd4245]

How fortunate you were to experience that fun with your father.

[@advorak8529]

@@hugealgaeeater If you went inverted, barrel roll. If not, probably corkscrew.

[@abitoffcenter383]

That's good stuff right there!! Thank You for sharing such a personal moment with your father.

[@scottkludgedorsey4805]

The sequence at 8:20 involves some tricks with thrust vectoring... the engines don't necessarily just point toward the back so you can move the thrust vector off the axis of the body. This allows you to do a number of interesting things if you are being chased by bad guys but at the expense of poor efficiency and high fuel consumption. This includes spins that aren't spins, tight uncoordinated turns, and likely stuff they don't want anyone to know about...

[@marshal7102]

You are correct however in conjunction with thrust vectoring This WAS a modified flat spin done really slow due to the thrust vectoring. The "Extra" and other stunt planes do this all the time with such a narrow CG and center of pressure. They can play with this maneuver with ease

[@caferace8418]

Not really thrust vectoring. If you look closely you can see the VTOL door open and the rear engine nozzle down. They went into VTOL mode for a short time, then back again. Move like that in combat is a bad idea. Makes it real easy for a enemy to get a shot off.

[@motivationindrive8514]

They definitely had a co pilot who woke up late and had a protein shake mid flight and started gassing everyone out… lol

[@solarius14]

@@caferace8418 that is an F22, not an F35.

[@josephveksenfeld5344]

@@caferace8418 No, This is an F-22. It does not have a "VTOL mode," even for a short time. Vertical thrust in a close quarters dogfight can be very useful. The British pilots used vertical thrust vectoring capability of their Harriers to great effect against the Argentinians during the Falklands War. With the enemy on their 6, they would pitch vertical, roll 180 degrees during climb, then coming over the top they inverted they would briefly rotate the nozzles for vertical thrust, thus making the enemy overshoot and often putting the Harrier in a perfect position for a Sidewinder shot. Later, the US Marines and Italian and Spanish navies adopted this tactic for their own AV-8s.

[@danielislive]

Hi Kelsey. Those side windows on the ERJ aren’t heated, so when you land on a warm/humid day the tend to get fogged up pretty quickly. So in this case the F/O opens his window to let the Capt have a visual on the marshals. Keep it up!

[@74gear]

there must be another reason though cause in a snow storm nobody is opening those up, but good to know

[@drivingwithmatt]

​@@74geardepends if you like your co-pilot...

[@captainjlewis]

Haven’t seen this as an issue on the E170/190 in my experience. I normally don’t observe this as a standard practice with anyone else either. Not to say there’s anything wrong with it but it doesn’t seem to be a “norm” or something we do on the E-Jet fleet. There was probably another unknown reason they had the DV (direct vision) window open in this case.

[@lydiasharpin6566]

I preferred his explanation that someone farted in the cockpit.

[@danielislive]

@@74gear warm and humid! ;)

[@midwestavgeek]

Thanks for debriefing my video Kelsey! I might have a little more information about the steep 747 takeoff. 1. This was filmed at O’Hare and they were using 22L/R because of the winds. The winds that day were I believe out of the southwest gusting up to 40 - 50 knots. 2. It was pretty wet after it was raining about 30 minutes before that 747-8 took off. 3. There was a ground stop prior and there were many planes waiting to takeoff, along with many planes landing. Also they were only using two runways for arrivals and departures that day. Let me know if that helps and thanks again for reviewing my video!

[@HaleyCottage]

“…a bathroom, a bed and free food. So take that fighter pilots!” 🤣 Enjoyed your video, Kelsey!

[@JimMork]

With evolving terrorism, I wonder if even one person suggested a method of urinating without opening the cockpit door? My father-in-law had wee hours urges, so he had this urine container by his bed. Or if there were a way to engineer secret ways to the loo from the cockpit, that might work. MH370 had some way to get down where the tracking machinery was and allowed it to be manually turned off. Kind of an optimistic scheme that no pilot would ever WANT to die! Pilots bladders have ramifications none of the rest of us face thankfully.

[@edwardwright8127]

@@JimMork Did you miss the part about those sliding windows?

[@JimMork]

@@edwardwright8127 I had to go back. The caption for 74gear's videos mentions a question that is only a section. By the way, when he said it might be uncomfortable in that cockpit, I thought "some pilot's Odor Eaters might not be working, haha".

[@pierre-mariecaulliez6285]

With such shots fired, he at least gained a few air victories with that sentence ;7

[@margotrosendorn6371]

LOL a pilot buddy of mine had a story where the fighters escorting some huge cargo plane were starting to brag and show off, but then a guy on the cargo crew shut them all up by telling them how he had a bathroom, a coffee maker, room to stretch his legs, hot food... All the rocket jockeys in their cramped little planes could kiss his very comfortable ass

[@bslaws]

In 1983 I was returning to the US from Zurich. I was on a Swissair 747 and we first had a short flight to I believe Geneva before heading to the US. There were at most 20 people on that first leg of the flight. I was amazed at how quickly we were in the air, seemed like just a couple of seconds. Little cargo, few people and light on fuel, it was a hotrod.

[@marcmcreynolds2827]

The fewer the engines, the greater the acceleration capability when all of them are working. That's because of certification requirements involving engine-out climb capability post-V1. So my hop in a nearly empty DC-10 from San Diego to LAX may have out-accelerated even your 747. I distinctly remember how my back was pressed into the seatback foam once takeoff thrust was set.

[@cambridgemart2075]

Geneva is always a fast and steep climbout as it's surrounded by mountains!

[@rienn8559]

i read this as 1938 and i was like woah old man

[@sthomas6369]

I think a bigger effect here is distance compression due to the angle the plane's direction of flight makes with the camera. The plane might be light and all those other issues, but looking at a small angle, nearly tail on, is going to make it look like it's going straight up because the perception of forward motion is minimum at that angle.

[@mmcbey1401]

Yes, steep, but nowhere near vertical ! Impossible in any 747 anyway!

[@myparceltape1169]

It didn't look more than a 30degree rising angle to me. Ryanair does that with a 737 full of people and the 777 I left home recently was maybe 20degrees.

[@warrenSPQRXxl]

Yes, often used for dramatic effect when there is no drama.

[@JouMxyzptlk]

"Car guy" here driving manual(s): Using the motor to brake has to be done right, else you wear down your clutch way too fast. The gear wear is less a problem unless you are among those who force a specific gear with muscle power. Best is to adjust the motor rpm to what it should be while being on the clutch when shifting down to minimize wear of both and still save brakes & fuel.

[@VNExperience]

The F-22 is performing the falling leaf maneuver, which is basically a controlled stall where the pilot uses the rudder and ailerons to control the plane during the fall until hitting the thrusters again for airspeed. The F-22 Raptor also uses thrust vectoring, which allows it to pull off those seemingly unnatural tight turns. (Edit: typos galore ahead) That transmission analogy is an apt one. In driving school they teach you to break with the engine to save breaks (hence the term "engine breaking"). It also works with motorcycles. I prefer the common practice of downshifting to just applying the breaks in order to reduce speed for staying in the flow of traffic - and use both for coming to a full stop, because it does save the break pads (and is more satisfying because of the engine sounds). 😄

[@VNExperience]

@benjamintoft7947 lol, thanks for noticing the typo! Hahaha, I'm pretty sure (the) engine breaking would be a bad day.

[@MikeM275]

I'm a car guy (25 world/national records in dragracing, track champion, division champ etc)... it is perfectly acceptable to downshift to slow vehicles. In fact it is preferred in a stick shift vehicle rather than dragging the brakes as you are coming to a stop. Keeping the engine RPM's up a bit is also safer if you have to "get out of the way" of another driver as you are slowing. Does not hurt the trans nor the engine one little bit. BTW, also a pilot, knowing that camera angles can magnify human perception of ascents, I did not think this any more than about 15-20 degrees. 20 probably, which would be high but not unsafe. Of course, I flew smaller planes lol

[@CaptChang]

F22 was doing a falling leaf maneuver. It was smooth because it is capable of post-stall maneuvers.

[@timengineman2nd714]

It also has Thrust Vectoring (in the vertical plane, the F-35 has both vertical and horizontal vectoring) so that makes a low altitude recovering even easier than it would be in older jets.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

Crazy things happen when thrust exceeds weight!

[@MandoMonge]

The sukhoi cobra are SICK as well

[@exploreraa983]

ya.... but ive not seen it done like that before!!! pretty badass maneuvering! that would be a hell of a ride.

[@Sirenhound]

"I'm a leaf on the wind. I'm a leaf on the wind"

[@odonovan]

12:53 - As someone who drove manual transmission cars for MANY years, it IS preferred to downshift to slow the vehicle down, then only use brakes as necessary, when going slowly in second gear. The transmission/drivetrain is MUCH more sturdy, and that puts almost no practical amount of wear on them. Plus, by minimalizing the braking, you prevent heat buildup in the brakes. Heat increases stopping distance. In the event of any emergency, cooler brakes are MUCH safer.

[@ThatSockmonkey]

A better analogy would be throwing the car in reverse to slow it down, except that would actually burn out the clutch and maybe the gearbox where as an aircraft the entire engine is running in reverse.

[@AlexandarHullRichter]

Car Transmissions are not damaged by engine braking. In fact, engine braking is recommended for any extended downhill driving because your brakes will overheat and fail before the transmission does. I think the risk you're talking about with the thrust reversers would be more similar to driving through a sandstorm without having an air filter in place. If a car engine ingests of sand, that will also do a lot of damage.

[@kleinerprinz99]

yeah or driving down a gravel road at 70-100 mph :D

[@grizzlygrizzle]

Yeah, that's a good point. I was in the passenger seat of a rental truck with a car on a tow dolly behind it, coming down off a mesa in Utah. It was being driven by an ex-girlfriend. It was a steep grade. There was a runaway truck ramp off in the distance, and she was panicked that the brakes weren't working! OK, downshift one notch down, and let the brakes cool for a few seconds, then pump them slowly, until you get down to about 35, and down into low, still pumping the brakes intermittently. She managed to get it under control just before the go-nogo point at the entrance to the runaway ramp. -- It was terrifying, because the problem wasn't just getting control of the truck. It was getting control of the ex-girlfriend's panic. -- Lots of people don't know that you can downshift with a plain-jane automatic transmission. (But not going into low at 70!) If you want to know your top speed in each of the lower gears, find an empty road, stop the car, and floor it, and note the shift points for each gear. Or, if your reading skills are up to the task, just look it up in the owner's manual.

[@williamhuang8309]

Large vehicles like buses do it all the time. It's always interesting to listen to a bus downshifting and the engine jump in pitch before the retarders kick in to slow the bus down.

[@TsterMr63]

Motorcycles too

[@MikeDrop136]

I never use the brakes if I can avoid it. I'll set the cruise control about 20 mph below the posted speed which makes the engine downshift. Another pickup truck I had was equipped with an automatic downshift for long downgrades.

[@christopherg2347]

When driving down a mountain, it is SOP to run in a lower gear (roughly as low as the one you use going up). The problem is that when wheel brakes run hot, they stop working. And if you try to use them long enough going downhill, they will get too hot. So when going downhill for any decent amount of time, you want to use as much engine and transmission resistance as possible to keep the speed manageable. I lived near one of those long, serpentine roads. Where a lot of people tended to forget that rule. Ended up overheating their brakes, then went straight into the river.

[@harmonicajohn1059]

An effective brake cooling procedure

[@Athaeus]

It's also great for fuel economy to use engine braking.

[@denault3985]

The 747-8, twice as cool as a 787...only Kelsey could say that.

[@catherines.169]

And that knowing smile when he said it!

[@redshirt5126]

Can't argue with that logic 😂

[@michaelmoorrees3585]

"Twice as cool" ... of course 🙂

[@74gear]

can't wait to hear it from a 78 pilot next time Im on their plane going somewhere haha

[@mirvha714]

@@74gear In thrust we trust!

[@kraazed]

As a car guy, yes, excessive downshifting does create more engine wear, but selecting the right gear for your speed coming to a stop or slowing for a corner is perfectly fine, and often encouraged. The problem is if you are really inexperienced, or just have a huge brain fart and accidentally money shift by selecting a too low of a gear and you exceed the maximum engine RPMs you can break things. Basically if you drive your car harder than normal in any circumstances you increase the risk of problems, damage and wear. The important thing to do is to accept an appropriate level of risk for your driving capability, and how comfortable you are with your car. All machines like to be operated, but with respect and understanding of the best way to operate it in the circumstances.

[@mel7372]

I'm not a car person, either, but truckers use engine braking often. It's noisy, though, so some cities have ordinances against using that in town. I occasionally use it in my car on icy roads,especially going down hill, to keep the speed down. Also, that's how I was taught to drive a manual transmission car when coming to a red light, for example. I think it's also pretty common in mountainous areas to prevent brake fade. Anyway, great content! I recently returned from Europe on a 747 and was thinking of all I've learned from your channel!

[@DeathCubeKX]

I'm a manual driver as well. I do believe it was a poor analogy - as you said it is a common practice in manual vehicles - to save on your brakes. Hard to compare flying a 747 in the air to driving any vehicle on the road lol

[@davids5006]

Every time I see them signs I flip my jake brake to high lol

[@giocrypt5148]

Used to drive 18 wheelers and what you are thinking about are jake breaks. And you are not supposed to engage them on normal driving conditions only on steep down grades. Basically using the engine to slow the truck down so you dont over use the breaks to keep them from overheating and hence becoming non responsive. This is the reason for run away truck ramps fyi

[@MikeNie1]

@@giocrypt5148 Not to mention that a jake brake (Jacobsen Engine Brake) is an add-on component that varies the valve timing and things to create more back pressure. I drove fire trucks with them, and they were on all of the time. Cars do not have this. That said, when driving a stick, I downshift all of the time. My last Explorer had an automatic with "select shift" that allowed downshifting. I got rid of that car with 78,000 miles and original brakes. The new Explorer does not have select shift, and I miss it!

[@charlayned]

Some motorcycles, mainly flat-track racers, will put a compression release lever on the brake side of the handlebars to be able to let off some of the compression as they hit the corners. You'll hear them, it's like a higher pitched jake brake. Decades ago I did some racing, my family was big into it in the 1970s.

[@kevingould6725]

Hi Kelsey. Use of reverse thrust . Your comment was spot on . They are there for landing only and not always needed. However they can keep the brakes a bit cooler by assisting the deceleration which is important if the aircraft has a quick turnaround as after the next takeoff the hot brakes are now stored in the undercarriage bay . Working as an engine technician in the Royal Air Force I scolded a few Tornado F3 fighter pilots for using the reverse thrust buckets as a means of slowing down the taxi speed. The pilots are supposed to select taxi nozzles on taxi which opens the engine exhaust nozzle to max open position. Now the engines are producing a lot less thrust. Maybe you can simulate this on your 747 by shutting down 2 engines ( one from each wing). He can still use his throttle power to speed up and slow down. Incidentally the only time the nozzle will be in the fully open position is when Full Afterburner is selected and the engine has powered up to this position. Variable nozzle position is essential on a engine that has a afterburner to ensure the core engine runs smoothly. Hope I didn’t bore you guys too much.

[@jameskellinger8314]

I would trust the pilots on that. They know how to run the engine. The wings on the 747 are designed considering the force of two engines producing equal thrust on each wing.

[@reubenmorris487]

Thrust reverse would be helpful on wet and snow-covered runways as well...especially somewhere like Chicago Midway.

[@reginamarella460]

Thanks Kelsey! I look forward to seeing a New Video every Sunday Morning. Be safe! ✈️👨‍✈️✈️

[@leightaylor8069]

Driving a rental car in USA when I want to slow down I put the air conditioning on. Downshifting to hold your speed downhill is a perfectly normal manoeuvre so long as you stay within rev range. Also charges the battery and drives coolant around the engine. "B" for "brake assist" is one of the settings on our Toyota automatic transmission.

[@Nefville]

Yesterday was the first time (as a passenger) *in 25+ years that we did a go around coming into Charlotte. It was fun, thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@charisma-hornum-fries]

I've tried it a lot around Christmas in Greenland. It's -40 and snow so take offs and landings can be challenging.

[@richardshawver7264]

I have actually experienced a max power takeoff when in the 70's while in the navy. Our crew was flying back from Rota Spain. The runway was under work. We could not take a full load of fuel so had to refuel at Gander. Our pilot had obviously had his initially received training as a carrier pilot. On landing all wheels hit the ground and never budge. On leaving Gander he must have recieved take off clearance half thru the turn onto the runway.The engines started to spool up. I have never experienced such a fast turn on a commercial jet. We never slowed. On barely leaving the ground he practically stood it on its tail and screamed skyward. What a thrill ride.

[@andrewkessinger5966]

That F22 is one scary plane. Glad it’s on our side.

[@infinitedrummer]

Love this video. I am 13 years old and I am getting into aviation this channel is great for that! Thanks Kelsey 🙏✈️

[@seanh6578]

The F22 with F119 P&W engines always puts a smile on my face. The thrust vectoring nozzles on those engines let the aircraft do some impressive maneuvers.

[@joshuaowens4797]

I hear it's relatively easy to fly too.

[@tripprogers4814]

Gosh, it looked like that plane was in a bit of distress there for a second.. like “hey this isn’t part of the routine!” and then as soon as you expected the canopy to pop, shooom!

[@lordflyquad4721]

I've seen (and heard!) a few F22 demonstrations at air shows and they routine include maneuvers like this that showcase the plane's vectored thrust capabilities. The thing appears to defy the laws of physics.

[@jasonlastname129]

The down shifting to slow down analogy was actually pretty good. Using an expensive part for the purpose of a cheaper part. The way you slow down by down shifting is because it takes a lot of effort to turn an engine, so if you take your foot off the gas it isn't turning itself anymore, and let the momentum of the car turn the engine by transferring the momentum through the wheels and transmissions is what turns it, and that provides the resistance to slow you down. And that resistance isn't from friction, its actually suction and pressure from the pistons forcing air into or out of the cylinder through the valves. So it's actually less wear on the car to down shift, and in some situations it's actually recommended, like going downhill for prolonged periods because brakes fade.

[@markwallace1727]

As an added bonus to using the car how it's designed to be used, in an emergency situation if you need to suddenly start accelerating again, you're already in the right gear to do so.

[@jamessanders145]

truck 100% have to do this on steep declines, you can't have that kind of tonnage running downhill with overheated brakes.

[@olepedersen5420]

trucks downshifting a lot to slow down speed.. also to be sure they always are in the right gear.

[@misolo]

The only reason to use engine braking is on a long downhill to prevent brake overheating. You'll be producing a lot of heat, at the rate that you are dropping in potential energy (mgh), and the radiator can handle a lot more heat dissipation than the brake rotors. When driving, engines are less than 50% efficient, and the wasted energy goes to heat that is dissipated by the radiator. So if the car drive up the hill without overheating, it can go down the hill with engine braking without a problem. Brakes, on the other hand, will overheat quickly when not used for what they were designed for, which is intermittent braking before turn, with time to cool in between.

[@Brillig2]

@@misolo My daughter, who is a truck driver, pointed out to me that engine braking in trucks is not the same thing as cars do to slow down by downshifting and taking your foot off the brake. In the latter case, which I do all the time, zero fuel is used. Since no fuel is being burned, there is no heating from burning fuel. The only heating is from adiabatic heating from compressing the cylinders, which is exactly counteracted by releasing the air in a decompression cycle on the other end. The only net heating would be from friction, which, if you have an appropriate oil level, is not very much. In fact, your engine and coolant are most likely cooling down during such a deceleration. Trucks using engine braking, on the other hand, apply fuel to decelerate, applying torque in the opposite direction from accelerating forward.

[@mp711]

The steep climb reminds me of being on a C-130 or C-17 when we flew in and out of Kandahar or Bagram. I belive they called them "combat take offs/ landings". The combat landings were the funnest because the pilots would descend at the last minute and dive hard!

[@catsandcrafts171]

One of Kelsey's recent videos discusses the combat landing - I seem to think the pilot brought it down too hard and the gear collapsed. Good vid, worth a watch. :)

[@markfox1545]

​@@catsandcrafts171- you seem to think? What does that mean?

[@MrMobius2011]

@@markfox1545 Catsandcrafts171, I assume means along the lines of "If memory serves" or something similar. The video about combat landings is good, Catsandcrafts171 is correct :) Hope that helps

[@MPQueen11]

I remember it not bein as fun lol

[@catsandcrafts171]

@@markfox1545 As @MrMobius20211 kindly points out, 'I seem to think' is just a turn of phrase - possibly it's quite English, I'd never really thought about it before! Just a way of saying 'I'm dredging through my patchy memory because I can't be bothered to go back and find the video I watched...' :D

[@user-fr3hy9uh6y]

The hand propping accident is a good example of why the FAA handbook states that hand propping is a TWO person operation. Wheel chocks are not a substitute for a qualified person behind the controls.

[@alka9613]

Laurel and Hardy?

[@marktuttle3609]

That looks like an F-22 which has vector thrust. This appears to be a demonstration of vector thrust.

[@jwenting]

no, it's a demonstration of flat spin recovery.

[@Capt.Turner]

Exactly !

[@danielbond9755]

@@jwentingNo, it is demonstrating super maneuverability. (Which does rely partly on thrust vectoring.) Not a flat spin, as it is a controlled maneuver.

[@klausstock8020]

Whatever. I'm not afraid of any vertical takeoff. Vertical "landing", however...

[@mattd6931]

@@klausstock8020 Unless you're in a Harrier or F-35B, yeah vertical landings would be... Hard. 😛

[@Jager-er4vc]

Hey Kelsey. From one pilot to another. I appreciate you getting they facts out about flying. Keep up the great work from a long time supporter and first time commentator. -Captain Sanders USAF pilot of T-37. Me friend is a dash -400 Captain for DHL. Seriously nice guy! I wish you all the best.

[@austinskylines]

Thank you for what you do Kelsey!

[@74gear]

glad you enjoyed it Dean

[@ypw510]

Dash 8? The first things that come to mind are General Electric locomotives as well as turboprops.

[@psinclairjr]

Anyone else notice that Kelsey doesn't blink when he focuses on these clips, I'd like to see him when taking off and landing just to see how long he can go without blinking, that's Kelsey's superpower

[@xl000]

Did you see him blink at any other point in the whole video? Just FYI, you can’t capture people blinking with a 25 fps camera

[@dacomazielsdorf7618]

He addressed this one time and said if he blinks he will redo the video I forget why . But on his more live videos he does blink

[@steven7650]

ATLAS air flies into various combat zones. High power climbout is SoP for these regions also depending of the age of the video. Bagram's western departure was facing a 13k mountain with the runway already at 5.5k. So every take off was that profile. Kinda crazy to watch. Regarding the F-22 that's the typical air show fodder they do, It's also handy if you need to drop through the air also they can park it on the tail and move along at a few mph almost like a vehicle.

[@lowk3ychris484]

Yeah I was thinking the same. Based off the other planes on the tarmac they took off from a commercial AP but that take off is the same I see from our heavy pilots most times in the USAF. I didn’t even know heavies could produce that vapor effect over the wings like fighters do until I had my first flight on a KC-135

[@jameskellinger8314]

I've seen the Tomcat go down the runway on a flyby almost standing on it's tail. He was showing me how slow the Tomcat could fly. Everyone asked him fast it can fly. I asked him how slow it could fly.

[@bpaboyce]

I used to fly Atlas Air in and out of Iraq when I worked out there…very exciting takeoffs and landings. On landing we would sometimes circle in very aggressively-it reminded me of a leaf falling to earth in a windstorm. Flew in and out at least 45 times in 5 years. We once lost the right engine right after takeoff while doing that steep climb and the jet yawed radically to the right and scared the pants off me…but the plane recovered and we landed safely, then waited for them to fix it the engine. It was a little unnerving getting into the same plane after that, but there weren’t a whole lot of options. Overall, decent airline, even decent food, given the circumstances.

[@geraldnostrand8100]

Thank you Kelsey for educating us about aviation issues, its always interesting and helps us understand how the people, systems and industry work.

[@gemini636501]

"My plane does come with a bathroom, a bed and free food..." It almost wouldn't be a Kelsey video without a reference to FREE FOOD. (Only could have been better if it was about FREE BREAKFAST...). Keep up with those priorities, Kelsey! 😂

[@Hartbreak1]

In the first video that “steep” ascent may also be in part the effect of the camera zoom making it look like the ascent is more vertical than it is. It’s common in flight spotting videos.

[@recognizer6194]

That reverse thrust at idle could be a backup to brake failure so it engages faster in an emergency.

[@johnnorth9355]

Back in the 1980's I was on a 747 for the first time that took of like this in stormy weather. The feeling of power was immense and I fell in love with the plane immediately and it became my preferred plane every time I flew long distance.

[@FixedWing82]

I agree. The 747 is the best ever

[@jameskellinger8314]

There are not many flying out of New York

[@mtlassen1992]

I flew on an A380 from Bangkok to S. Korea, fully loaded and counted a flight crew of 28 as we waited in the terminal. The plane was very comfy. I sat in the upper deck just behind the wing. It feels like looking out of a 6 story window. The plane was tremendously under powered, used up a lot of runway taking off. Seriously felt like 60 mph when it finally rotated. Very smooth flight.

[@radostinmichev8604]

You are right about the brakes and gearbox, so many people see that racecar drivers use that method with the gearbox and then start overdoing it a lot which is completely pointles in terms of keeping the costs of owning a car down. Also lets not forget that the racecar drivers are there for the win and everything is a matter of milliseconds, we on the road just need to be responsible. Always a pleasure waching the vids and always learning something new here. Thanks

[@mistral-unizion-music]

Hey, car guy here.The comparison with a car transmission and brakes make total sense Kelsey. It is indeed not a good idea to try to save brakes by down shifting a manual transmission car using compression of the engine and revving the engine up for nothing at the same time, which will wear both your transmission AND engine faster, which both cost more than brakes, and are also way more difficult to change then brakes. Keep it up! 😊

[@sthomas6369]

I worked with an A&P/IA for a while in the early 2000's (because it was fun) and we once hand-propped an airplane. He had me sit at the controls (I had/have my PPL) with explicit instructions to stand on the brakes and keep my hand on the mixture control to kill it if anything goes wrong (among other normal things). In addition, we had the wheels chocked on both sides. Even with those precautions I was nervous as hell about the prospect of watching him get hit by the propeller if anything went wrong - it turned out fine.

[@HDJess]

I doubt you could get hit by the prop, unless you do it the very wrong way. Normally, you just pull (not push) and get your hand out in the same motion, regardless if the startup is successful or not.

[@sthomas6369]

@@HDJess yes, you can get hit by a prop, there are literally slews of accident reports of people getting hit by a prop while hand propping. The typical scenario is that the person slips and falls toward the now running prop, but the airplane lurching forward is sometimes the reason the person slips. And this is far from the first time an aircraft has run away after someone hand propped. The most typical reason for hand propping is that the battery died, not that the starter doesn't work (as was the case where my A&P/IA hand propped the plane - we were going to change the starter and had to taxi it to his hangar). It's really stupid because you can JUMP a small airplane from a car, same method as you'd use for a car (yeah, there are some with weird voltages, just like some oddball cars, but a 14V aircraft can be jumped with a 12V car battery).

[@HDJess]

@@sthomas6369 that's true, I wasn't taking into account accidents. They do happen everywhere and with anything. I was only pointing out that if the aircraft is choked and you use the proper technique, it's almost impossible to get hit by the prop.

[@hiromiya3365]

The F-22 Raptor jet has a thing called Thrust Vector, the exhaust outlet moves up and down and side to side.

[@debrabaker1009]

Cool video I love the joke about your plane versus the jet fighter😂 I love the camaraderie

[@kenbrown2808]

it occurred to me if Kelsey's bosses have a sense of humor, he will go into the galley on april first and find a vending machine instead of free snacks.

[@debrabaker1009]

@@kenbrown2808 😂😂😂

[@july8xx]

I remember an old mechanic telling me back when manual transmissions were popular saying except for long steep hills replacing the brakes is a lot cheaper than replacing a clutch.

[@timothyrowland2050]

Kelsey, you have a great way of explaining things that just keeps me glued to your videos. Once again an excellent video! Thanks for entertaining and educating me!

[@thomasmoeller3446]

Maybe the big bird needed to climb fast to get high enough to avoid noise pollution for the residential areas that were built up after the airport was constructed? Gotta keep those people happy in their expensive homes built right under an established flight pattern.

[@hollytodd6981]

Honestly shocked you haven’t tried this or a wheelie on the 747 yet, like you said, all pilots are secretly children 😂

[@ericmcgovern1764]

FYI, a "wheelie" is primarily used for short field takeoffs, and pilots (mainly flying single engine) use this type of takeoff when taking off from grass or gravel runway so that the front wheel doesn't get stuck in the mud or snow. The only time if would be beneficial for an airline pilot to do this is when they have to fly over 50 foot obstacle to get the best rate of climb.

[@SuperDirk1965]

and wife beaters

[@treyhelms5282]

@@ProgNoizesB funny. But he says he’s done it a few times. I do think he and the other pilots use what he described as logical reasons, as an excuse lol.

[@74gear]

well a very well known secret haha

[@JimMork]

Isn't that how tail strikes and return to the airport for damage inspection happen. This plane had an unusual angle of ascent, but no tail strike.

[@walterlv01]

While I was at the airport here in Las Vegas today, Southwest 1209 to Chicago apparently got about an hour into their flight and had to turn back around and return to Vegas for some unspecified mechanical problem. In over 40 years that I've flown this is the first time I have ever been at the airport when something like that has happened. Thankfully everyone was safe and they got everyone on another flight a couple of hours later. I immediately thought of this channel, because my first thought was "this is the stuff I usually only ever hear about on Kelsey's YT channel."

[@donaldsalkovick396]

"I would never prop start an unchocked plane" and "or one of the pilots farted and it smells terrible in there" 😂 comic gold Kelsey

[@Hagemann666]

The F-22 Raptor in the fighter jet clip (I think) is displaying the aircraft's thrust vectoring capabilities...showing that it is still controllable and maneuverable when in a flat spin. The F-35 does NOT have thrust vectoring but based on the profile I'm pretty certain this is an F-22. As an aviation enthusiast I absolutely love this channel. I've learned so much and now, every time I fly, I keep an eye out for things I've learned from Kelsey, such as when the best time to get snacks is.

[@GerryLP1111]

I’m a car guy, and I find your braking analogy pretty accurate. I’m also a retired aircraft engine mechanic that has ever flown in a 747!! 😔😔 Keep up the great work!

[@74gear]

ok well didn't want to pretend I knew what I wasn't sure of. This isn't TikTok

[@fightingfalconfan]

Called compression braking. Shifting to a lower gear and not using the pedal means your using the compression of the engine to slow you down. It's very common on big rig's using the jake brake.

[@timsmith2525]

A better analogy would be downshifting to brake and picking the wrong gear: No help from the rev limiter. Ouch!

[@brkr78]

@@fightingfalconfan Engine braking is very common in Europe, where most cars are manual. You learn it in driving school, and it's used especially when you go downhill. Because if you break on a long downhill road you'll heat up your brakes to the point where they won't work any more (called brake fading), that is unless you have very expensive ceramic brakes. Sure, if you downshift to a gear that would rev your engine beyond its capabilities it'll damage your engine, if you jam in a gear it might damage your transmission, if you downshift and let the clutch slip for any extended time you'll damage your clutch, if you downshift on an old two stroke engine and then let the engine idle you'll deprive the engine of oil and damage it that way. 1 and 2 are usually prevented by the transmission itself, you really have to use force to get that wrong gear in, the third one is bad in any circumstance, and the last one is no longer relevant. In any other case it poses no threat to either the engine or the transmission. I don't know why especially so many people from North America seem to be under the impression that you must not, under no circumstance, engine brake, because it'll somehow damage the engine and/or transmission. If that were true I would have damaged every car I ever owned. A Jake Brake works differently, it literally uses the compression of the air within the cylinders to exert a resistance. That's a different braking than engine braking, and AFAIK this only works with diesel engines.

[@thatnetworkdude]

I feel I need to add a scenario though I agree with Kelsey’s analogy. If you use your clutch material as a brake instead of rev-matching and letting engine compression brake (or instead of using your darn

[@dondash8921]

Good video. Your comment about transmissions is actually common in heavy truck driving. I have driven split shifts (2 gear sticks) & trucks ranging from 4 gears, 5, 10, 13, 15, & 18 speeds (gears). To save braking & glazing the pads, using the power train to slow down was common. Brakes are used but often to stop or if travelling at slower speeds. I've gone from driving 100 kph on the highway, taken the off ramp & down to 20 kph without touching the brake peddle. But flying a jet & using reversers must be so cool. Thanks for the video.

[@GugsGunny]

You're right, don't normally do engine braking. It's mainly used going down long mountain roads where brakes could get overheated. Trading off transmission wear for needing your brakes to continue working for the rest of the trip.

[@kenbrown2808]

done properly, using the engine to decelerate causes no more wear than using the engine to accelerate. done badly, of course, you can break things.

[@foxinhenhouse420]

I just saw this comment as he was mentioned, "car guys jumping into the comment section to tell me I'm wrong." But yes, normally it's only used if the other option was riding the breaks for a long period of time. I've seen some signs posted, "no engine breaking." I'm assuming it's because of the noise.

[@ethanbarrieau7917]

​@@foxinhenhouse420the signs for "no engine braking" are specifically for tractor trailers that use a Jake brake which chokes the engine exhaust to slow down the engine down and is very loud.

[@charlayned]

And done wrong, you get free-fall on the clutch being held in. My sister didn't downshift in time going down Raton Pass on the way back from Colorado and the 57 Chevy bus she was driving did it so fast, there are legendary stories to this day about it. Not something I would recommend doing in or on any vehicle, btw. My brother never let her drive when there were hills ever again.

[@gshenaut]

I always thought clutch wear was the primary cost of downshifting plus or instead of braking.

[@janiandelin93]

If you shift the gears down incorrectly, the gearbox is not the first on the line; the biggest risk is revving the engine too high. Downshifting without rev matching can also strain the clutch and might cause a RWD-car's rear end to step out if driving on slippery surfaces or when driving competitively. I always rev match when shifting down, even in the summer or/and driving in normal traffic. It's just a good habit. Kelsey I love your channel, expertise and dedication, and the ability to explain aviation stuff to us non-aviation people. It's always such a pleasure to listen to you and I always watch every episode you post.

[@thomasmixson7064]

Living high in the mountains of northern New Mexico, we became accustomed to driving in lower gears to control speeds down steep grades. In general we drove much slower than "low landers" visiting the area, and that made for an interesting mix of traffic sometimes

[@charlayned]

Raton Pass. Been there, done it, and learned on motorcycles to downshift long before I drove a car down it. So many people don't. (and I was a flat-lander, it doesn't get much more flat than Amarillo. :) )

[@charisma-hornum-fries]

​@charlayned Try Denmark. The highest point is 561 feet above sea level. And that's a slow rise up.

[@marcmcreynolds2827]

@@charisma-hornum-fries People in Florida are seeing your "561feet" and wondering to themselves whether they would start to get altitude sickness by then -- so much higher than they've ever been.

[@brionhannan1204]

Really enjoy your videos! Years ago working in the airlines I used to do load control for a few different airlines on B747-200, -300 (Combi also) and-400. ANA B747-400 would take a lot of rwy going IAD-NRT. One day we were wrapping up, airport ops comes by in their truck, they had to close the departure rwy after NH departure brcause the thrust blew all the asphalt from beside the rwy as it rotate. Never had seen that before/since. Hot sun cooking the airfield made it just right was the conclusion the airport came up with. Any hoo thank you again for the great videos.

[@Istandby666]

I was at Edwards Air Force Base during the ATF fly off between the YF-22 (today, F-22) and the YF-23. My biological father worked on the YF-23. The F-22 also has thrust vectoring. This flat spin maneuver is common today.

[@marktuttle3609]

My father was a Systems Engineer on the YF-22 team. He told me that thrust vectoring was the deciding factor in picking the YF-22 over the YF-23.

[@nolanharriott4574]

Kelsey, have you ever done a review on the Gimli Glider. In Manitoba we still remember that today. Could you imagine landing a Boeing 767 from 40000ft with no engines in the middle a a province that is all either marshy grasslands or forest.

[@BryanC-h1j]

With the high power setting and vectored thrust the Raptor pilot was demonstrating controllability at minimum airspeed, quite useful in dogfight situations.

[@EdwardSnortin]

If you're going slower than your opponent in a dogfight, you're dead. Speed and altitude win a dogfight.

[@luiskp7173]

@@EdwardSnortinBut if you have a bogey on your tail and pull the brakes, doesn’t the enemy’s plane shoot past you and know you have them in your crosshair? I know because that’s what they did in the movie Hot Shots! which we all know is based on real events!

[@simonshee5155]

4 engines, twice as cool Kelsey's a big kid at heart 😄

[@ehalsey1]

Great channel Kelsey. Question: What has happened to Stella? She seemed to have vanished.

[@enigmawyoming5201]

I wonder the same thing. I also wonder if Stella was the flight attendant he referred to regarding “common sense” …. which I’m guessing made you think about Stella also. Maybe the trip to Catalina Island freaked Stella out even more than it appeared to in the video?

[@ehalsey1]

@@enigmawyoming5201 So I'm not the only one wondering here. We all know that Stella is super bubbly and excited about her job, home, and life in general. Well, in one of her last YT posts, she appeared to be a little upset at a negative comment someone left concerning her personality and job. Fans replied to this telling her to just ignore the guy, but it's interesting that she stopped posting on all her social media platforms shortly after this event. I hope she's OK.

[@thegrandmuftiofwakanda]

I've always asserted that, geometrically speaking, any successful take off ( and indeed, landing ) needs to have some vertical component.

[@FlySafe1000]

Great explanations as always. Fly safe brother.

[@skelligfiftyeight2519]

I have 25 years of experience as an automotive mechanic. Just wanted to say, your transmission analogy is close enough to pass muster. 👍

[@suegardner]

Imagine you flying along with your hand out of the window. So refreshing on a hot day

[@74gear]

it might be a bit "wind in your face" than you were hoping for

[@dacomazielsdorf7618]

Rode the door open going to jump altitude . Very odd sensation first jump I did we let people out at 4g on way to 10.5 . How casual he was just open the door waved to me then seen him out the side window a few hundred feet down doing backflips in the air knowing a mile higher and few minutes ill be doing the same .

[@NobodyInParticular001]

You know, until you get immediate frostbite from -50 degree winds at 30,000 feet and are unable to get your hand back in due to 500 pounds worth of force.

[@suegardner]

​@@dacomazielsdorf7618my stomach is also doing backflips just reading this!

[@suegardner]

​@@NobodyInParticular001yes, proper refreshing! ( On a hot day obv 😉)

[@lorigarza9971]

I love the comment section! They are usually as awesome as the videos! Glad you clarified the nose coming around during that take off. I caught that and was actually curious as to why.

[@nicolasfrankboehmer2240]

The KLM most probably arrived at ZRH Zurich Airport; seen thrust reversing on the ground before, no trouble, clean Swiss pavement 😁 ; and I have witnessed the open windows often, too: they are approaching the gates underneath the visitors terrace B (Gate B39, I am guessing), many people always watching (you hear kids screaming, the kids playground is just 10 meters away above the gate, and you can watch the pilots faces in all detail, could even spit into his face (not really, but you get the idea), many pilots are waving their hands when they see kids at the rails.

[@RoyalFlushFan]

...and the jet bridges have LGT bank advertising. Is the coach in the background at 10:48 a normal occurrence in ZRH though?

[@daftvader4218]

Totally non standard and unprofessional. ..No airmanship. Dangerous to ground staff ?!if n Ingress damage to engine?? Anti social noise generation..??

[@sportskacentrala]

@@RoyalFlushFan Yes, the coach is also standard - there is a visitor's tour of the airport which drives people around the whole ZRH airport, including close to runways in a coach.

[@larrya7822]

I use to drive tractor / trailers and down shifting actually was the recommend way of slowing down or stopping (if traffic allowed for it !).

[@Bubble_0f_d00m]

As a car guy and a pilot, your downshifting metaphor is spot on.

[@eugeniubondari4011]

I highly disagree. I drive a manual and I use downshifting once in a while to slow down my vehicle. Very helpful when rolling down a steep and long hill. Helps release the load on the brakes and it makes the ride more comfortable. Now obviously, I wouldn't do it if I'm already at 5000 rpms and when I do it, I gently release the clutch to prevent any jerks on my car and help the rpms rise gradually and smoothly. I've done that on automatics as well, doesn't seem to be a problem.

[@jeffroalpha700]

Come to places like Colorado, and downshifting on mountain passes is taught, otherwise you will overheat your brakes. Brakes may be “cheaper,” but overheated brakes that don’t work may force the ultimate sacrifice. We had an incident here about 2 years ago on I-70 where a truck driver with no mountain experience failed to downshift, blew his brakes, blew past the final run away truck ramp, and caused an incredibly massive collision and fire when careening into stopped traffic near Denver West. People died. Keeping cars out of overdrive coming down is important, and downshifting trucks and using exhaust brakes is even more important. I think there is a difference between constant shifting versus appropriate downshifting and staying in lower gears. We see cars all the time just riding their brakes. They start smoking and eventually will loose their effectiveness to stop.

[@Bubble_0f_d00m]

@@jeffroalpha700 I would agree, using engine breaking to maintain speed is a reasonable thing, but that is a very different thing from fully braking with your gears. Dropping it into fourth and letting your engine slow you as you maintain speed on a steep slope is understandable, especially on those big slopes that will burn out your brakes before you reach the bottom. Hower pulling off the interstate and slowing by downshifting rather than using your breaks. Drop it to fourth, then third, then second, then first. Then hit your brakes. That's engine braking in the worst way, and that's the kind of metaphor used in this video. I have known people who stopped every stop like that. It kills your transmission in months.

[@hadrast]

The metaphor is apt. Engine braking is intended for use in situations where regular braking would not suffice, such as coming down a mountain. Thrust reversers are likewise meant for situations where regular braking would not suffice, i. e. coming down from the "mountain" known as the sky. While necessary and appropriate in those cases, both systems use (and therefore incur damage/wear & tear to) components far more expensive than regular brakes, making excessive use inadvisable.

[@bdanner302]

@@Bubble_0f_d00m Nope. been doing this for decades and dont get warped brakes or even need to replace brakes for 150,000+ miles on multiple vehicles.(all fords :-) ) keep wreckin your brakes Justin

[@NeonVisual]

Downshifting to slow a car down is called engine braking, and it's taught as part of the driving test in the UK. If the brakes go out you're going to want to slow the car down. It also reduces wear on the brake pads. It's preferable to downshift than brake where possible, it doesn't wear down your car any more than pulling away from a junction does, you're just transferring forces back the other way.

[@C.Church]

On the Car Guys years ago, I believe someone called in with a "settle an argument" question by a lady vs her husband who downshifts. They confirmed as you alluded to about transmission wear: Save your transmission; use your brakes for what they were designed for.

[@karens1967]

The Car Guys 🥰 🥰

[@C.Church]

@@karens1967 Yeah miss them!

[@C.Church]

Btw I should have said clutch not transmission. They said it's cheaper to replace brakes than a clutch. And of course this is all for normal driving conditions.

[@timsmith2525]

@@C.Church If you do it right, it doesn't wear the clutch any more than upshifting does.

[@MrRussor]

Awesome video as always Kelsey. On the car transmission thing -- and I can't speak for automatics because they're not that common in the UK -- but as far as manual gearboxes go, as far as I understand it, downshifting to slow down is not only much better for your overall car maintenance (the brake wear far outweighs the costs of any stresses on the gearbox/clutch) -- it's also much better for your fuel economy. Your engine is still connected to the gearbox, so it is being turned by the wheels (as opposed to burning fuel to turn over while disconnected from the gearbox.) It's called engine braking, and a good driving instructor here will always teach you to use it over normal braking. As long as you're not hitting the accelerator then you're not really wearing the transmission out any more than you would be just shifting a gear normally. I believe it's pretty good for your engine too, although I'm not a mechanic so I can't remember why. Something to do with vacuums and oil pressure. It only becomes problematic if you're downshifting too far at a high speed (e.g. 2nd gear at 80 mph when your car isn't geared for those sorts of speeds in 2nd.) Then you start wrecking your synchros and burning out your clutch. On a manual gearbox at least. I have no idea what an automatic would do in that situation. People who don't use engine braking end up paying a fortune in brake discs and calipers. Modern automatic gearboxes tend to do it for you automatically I think (or just use regenerative braking instead, which is the same principle but usually applied to a motor connected to a battery rather than the engine.) Having said that, I am just a layman so I might be wrong on all of this! Cheers, keep on with the videos.

[@Harrier42861]

That's gonna be an amusing insurance claim. "Truck hit by aircraft"

[@Pilot545]

Retired USAF F-16 pilot here and new subscriber. Great channel! 🤙🏼

[@ProfessorOzone]

I noticed the planes taking off steeply on a regular basis so I asked one why they did that and he told me it was for noise ordinances. Just FYI.

[@dadoggo2963]

Hi, I was wandering how good my eye vision has to be to become a pilot, it’s just that on my right eye I see perfectly but on my left eye I see things a bit blurred, though I can see stuff perfectly from 1 to 2 metres. Anything will help, and i can wear glasses while being a pilot right?

[@1911darkstar]

Really informative stuff. Thanks for taking the time to produce this stuff! Great stuff for aviation enthusiasts (or geeks). Always look forward to your postings.

[@mercurybullet6043]

I once had the pleasure of seeing a QF -400 coming out of maintenance with a 5 minute flight in front of it. I'm sure the pilots took the once in a lifetime opportunity to take an empty 747 out with virtually no fuel to firewall it. I kid you not, this thing rotated in not much more than 1000ft and climbed like an F-16. It was a sight I will never forget.

[@JFirn86Q]

Man the F-22 is so remarkable, it's a shame it's going away. That was the "falling leaf" maneuver in that clip, the thrust to weight ratio is just so high in that plane it doesn't need airspeed to stay in the air or maneuver. It can use thrust vectoring. It's what is called "super-maneuverability" if you want to look it up.

[@katelights]

jet engine go brrr

[@JFirn86Q]

@@katelights indeed it does!

[@ivanscottw]

(I am no pilot or airplane engineer - so correct me if I'm wrong) - I believe the F-22 Raptor (as are any 4.5 and 5th gen fighter) has an inherently (and by design) very unstable airframe - which means the aerodynamics make it want to fly tail first - which gives it such maneuvering capabilities and is of course entirely fly by wire as no human would actually be able to handle the control surfaces and thrust vectoring manually without the aid of the appropriate avionics. Without the avionics, the plane would very quickly exceed all sorts of structural thresholds and would probably be shred to pieces in a mater of seconds by being totally outside of the envelope. In the case of the video the plane is simply doing what it is suppose to do : doing the acrobatic maneuvers as needed when dealing with modern air superiority fighters.

[@JFirn86Q]

@@ivanscottw Every modern fighter is designed to be inherently unstable aerodynamically. Not just a few. Even the now aging F16 is inherently unstable (believe it was the first?). All of these planes use fly by wire to account for this. If you watch the controls carefully, they dither and twitch constantly in unintuitive ways, just even in a simple maneuver, or even straight and level flight. The falling leaf maneuver is only because the plane is completely stalled, no longer flying. Which is an out of control situation for most planes. But the F22 has thrust vectoring, so it can maneuver even in this situation.

[@justincase5272]

Short Answer: As a cargo hauler, Atlas Air often makes unloaded or lightly loaded preposition and deposition trips. As such, the profile involves 1) Reducing throttles to the most cost efficient climb setting. This involves many factors, but is designed to minimize the sum of all cost factors, mainly fuel burn and engine wear, over the life of the aircraft. 2) Adjusting pitch to achieve and maintain best rate of climb speed (Vy), the ideal speed to attain the biggest gain in altitude in the shortest amount of time. Higher altitude means colder air and less drag, both of which burn less fuel. As for the fighter jet, it's not witchcraft. It's vectored thrust maintaining the attitude of the aircraft during flat spin, then aiming it straight while increasing velocity to pull out of the flat spin.

[@tonymorris4335]

Kelsey, one of the things that makes the F22 so awesome is that it has thrust vectoring so it can generate thrust in a different direction than it's looking so the aircraft can be in a flat spin while the engines push thrush at a more downward angle giving you better control at high AOA.

[@ImmortalThor13]

I see the other car guys already commented but they are correct and you are correct. Brakes are cheaper. Engine braking is cool because you get the crackles and pops but you use slightly more fuel and add a small bit of wear and tear to your drivetrain, all in which are more expensive to replace/maintain than a set of brake pads. And on even on the race track, more work is often done by brake pads than engine braking. They work in parallel. I want to say 90% brake pads/10% engine brake split but it varies between people's driving style as well as car setup (e.g. fwd/rwd/weight balance/brake balance/etc) .

[@Xuzyy]

I was questioning the thrust reversers as well, really strange to see a plane using thrust reversers near a gate like that, I thought it was illegal since the ‘80s or so when they banned reversing from a gate using reversers

[@thegreyarea-WPP]

When it came to the last one, I thought the only reason it was there was the thrust reversers being engaged on taxiing. It was always one of the interesting features on the MiG-29 that the Russians built into the fighter planning for FOD on battle damaged airfields. There are gills on top of the aircraft that open whilst the air intakes for the engines close over to prevent any FOD from getting scooped into the engines at all. A pretty handy idea, though I guess it's far less a viable option on any airliner. I knew that a lot if aircraft come with a window that can be opened and that there's a rope built into the plane you can drop from the window in order to exit in an emergency situation. I never realised until now that there was no window opening option on the 747. It's always fun to watch these and to learn something new.

[@RobKinneySouthpaw]

Kelsey not wrong about engine braking in cars. I only use it in the mountains anymore, to prevent brakes overheating and failing from standing on them all the way down the hill. Kind of like you use reversers on a shorter landing, or you're heavy, or the runway is wet, to prevent a dangerous condition. Not for casual maneuvering.

[@peterjohnson9438]

Car guy here: downshifting to engine break is fine to do with a manual transmission or a DCT in manual control mode as long as you're careful not to exceed engine redline while doing so. Only the clutch (or clutches) might accrue some extra wear depending on how good your rev matching is. Some traditional automatic transmissions will do this for you automatically if you let off the gas while in drive (others will just disengage). Most CVTs and traditional slushbox automatics in manual control mode are liable to suffer excessive wear from downshifting to slow down because it uses the friction belts in the transmission to force the engine to speed up. Most modern (i.e. 2015 and up) cars with any form of automatic transmission will have computerized engine and transmission control, allowing them to rev match during up- and downshifts, minimizing the wear. Conceptually, using the gearbox to slow the car down is no different than taking your foot off the accelerator and coasting: it's fine to do as long as you don't over-rev the engine. The transmission can usually take a lot more revs on the input side than the engine can, so in case you "money shift" (i.e. accidentally downshift from fifth to second instead of fourth) you're liable to break your engine whereas your transmission has a relatively high chance of survival.

[@jneill]

I love your facial expressions during these videos :)

[@AirChurch]

Great points on the first 747. In addition, the camera angle magnifies the effect of the plane's rate of climb.

[@PensacolaOboist]

Ugh... as a Cherokee owner, that crack-up on the taxiway was PAINFUL to watch! I was actually nearly shouting at the screen at how stupid that guy was. My first thought wasn't about chocks but that he probably forgot to set the parking brake! I made that mistake one time (I don't hand-prop) and IMMEDIATELY applied toe brakes and that was all it took to make me hyper-paranoid about making sure that brake is set before I even THINK about turning the mag key. That dude just had the ultimate bad day.

[@PP-xy9bg]

What I thought about is that this guy or perhaps abother similar is flying over my house from time to time … Unfortunately, I live just below a nav waypoint and during the weekends there is a lot of traffic. And some puloys fly dangerously low and perform ‘joy’ manoeuvres at an altitude of less than 1000 feet. I guess - we’ve been seeing reckless driving a lot, so reckless flying is not that far for people without too much brain power.

[@johnyves1246]

I once did a MaxThrust T/O empty on a 748 in Shannon and reached 6600’ before the end of the runway ! I was quite amazed at the performance and so did ATC !

[@kipchickensout]

I think maybe he was able to turn like that while falling because of thrust vectoring?

[@peterburgess5974]

8:20 The aircraft I personally witnessed sitting on its tail was the English Electric :Lightning. In the late 1970's it was a remarkable sight. To see this modern day Lightning perform like this must've been equally awe inspiring and indeed would appear as if witchcraft. Power to you!

[@kevingould6725]

Yep worked on the Lightning at RAF Binbrook firstly in the engine bay then ASF doing check 3s . My chief in the engine bay got Thrust 2 the land speed record . They were having issues with the afterburner.