Word: rudder
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...shore he would watch the natives take "particular delight" in an amusement they called fanifo. "It is astonishing to see with what dexterity they will steer themselves on the waves," Vason wrote, "one hand being stretched out, as the prow before, and the other guiding them like a rudder behind. Several hours are often spent at one time in this sport, in which the women are as skillful...
...Japanese destroyer cruising in Sagami Bay. The sailors discovered floating on the waves a 15-ft. section of the 747's 35-ft.-high vertical tail fin. Further searching in the water turned up more than 30 other plane parts, most notably a 10-ft-long portion of the rudder assembly and a 104-lb. fiber-glass duct containing tubing and valves that had been attached to an auxiliary power unit in the tail section (see diagram...
...cannot be flown without its entire tail fin, which helps stabilize the big craft, and can be flown only with great difficulty without the attached rudder, which is moved to alter the plane's heading, or horizontal direction. The pilot can vary the thrust of the engines and use ailerons, hinged sections of the plane's wings, to maintain altitude and make turns, although directional control is difficult...
...auxiliary power unit provides electricity and compressed air primarily for air conditioning and on-board controls when the craft is on the ground and the engines are not producing this power. The unit is also a backup for the surface controls, like the rudder, in flight. Some experts theorized last week that as the auxiliary system disintegrated it might have ruptured hydraulic lines in the tail, which, in turn, could have affected the aircraft's main controls...
Shortly afterward, Boeing sent a worldwide advisory from Seattle suggesting that all carriers using 747s "may wish" to follow the Japanese example by visually inspecting the tail fin and rudder structures on these planes. The company also suggested an inspection of the rear bulkhead. A spokesman for the U.S. Air Transport Association said that "everybody will follow those recommendations to a T." The procedure, which should take about two hours, can be done between flights and during refueling stops...