Many times when I was growing up I and many of my friends said to our teachers why do we need to learn this ? Or when am I ever going to use that? Even when I was at uni this classic student outcry for only teaching and by implication only learning what was absolutely necessary was used often and with passion.
If you look at the attached trim sheet you will see how much math is involved in dispatching a jet. No pictures just numbers. Flight crew then have to turn these numbers into something meaningful to ensure the aircraft is properly loaded. Thanks to all my teachers for pushing through my hubris as a student. I get it now.
Now in closing let’s get practical and look at a simple see and avoid example. If my plane is traveling at 8nm/min and another aircraft same altitude same track but directly opposite direction was also traveling at 8nm/min then what would the closure rate would be?
That’s right 16nm/min or metrically speaking 1800 m per second.
Now your visual range is between 8 and 10 nm in good conditions so you will see the other aircraft 30 secs out. Assuming you are looking of course!!
It will then take you about 10 secs to figure out that you are on direct collision course and 10 seconds to decide which way to avoid up down left or right? Therefore by the time you react you have 10 seconds left. Now 18 km seems a long way but you get might point I am sure.
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