Flight notes
The questions a small pilot asks on the way out of a song or a chapter of the book, answered plainly: first in the real world’s words, then in Little Blue’s. Each one stands on its own and leads back to a song and a chapter of the story.
More questions? Ask Little Blue has a list of them to pick from. To keep on paper, there is a pilot’s logbook to print, made from these notes, and a little logbook of your own to make in the Little Blue Workshop. Or follow the places on The Sky Map.
Are small wings enough? How birds flyYes. Every bird’s wings are shaped for its own way of flying: quick turns, long journeys, hovering or gliding. And small wings are exactly right for a small flyer.Leads to Tailwind (Up, Up, Up)- Why is the sky blue?Sunlight is every colour mixed together. The tiny pieces that make up the air scatter its blue light all over the sky far more than its red, so blue reaches your eyes from every part of the sky.Leads to Higher Than the Clouds
How does a wing hold anything up?A wing is shaped and tilted so that, as it moves, it pushes air downwards, and the air pushes the wing up. That push is called lift.Leads to First Wings
What does a pilot do before takeoff?Before takeoff a pilot checks the weather, walks all the way around the aeroplane, reads a checklist out loud, and only then starts the engine.Leads to Wingtips and Dew- Why did pilots wear goggles and a scarf?Because the first aeroplanes had open cockpits. Goggles kept wind, rain and engine oil out of a pilot’s eyes, and a soft silk scarf kept the cold out and stopped their neck getting sore from turning to look all around.Leads to Wingtips and Dew
What is a tailwind? A little pilot's guideA tailwind is wind moving in the same direction you are travelling. It comes from behind and pushes you along.Leads to Tailwind (Up, Up, Up)
What are clouds made of?Clouds are made of billions of tiny drops of water, or tiny crystals of ice where the air is cold enough, which form when rising air cools. And on the greyest day, the sun is still shining above them.Leads to Higher Than the Clouds
What do the dials in a cockpit tell a pilot?How fast the aeroplane is going, how high, which way, whether it is level, and how the engine is doing: the things a pilot cannot judge for certain by feel.Leads to The Little Blue Pilot
Why do pilots watch the horizon?Because it is the steadiest thing in the sky: where the horizon sits in the windscreen tells a pilot at a glance whether the aeroplane is level, climbing, diving or turning.Leads to Higher Than the Clouds- Little Blue's flying wordsThe words pilots use, as they turn up in the songs: what each one really means, and where you can hear it sung.Leads to Wingtips and Dew
What do pilots do when a storm is coming?They keep well away from it. Pilots check for storms before they fly, go around one or turn back if they meet it, and wait for it to pass, which most single storms do within the hour.Leads to Read the Storm
How does a pilot hold a line in the wind?When the wind pushes an aeroplane sideways, the pilot points it a little into the wind, so that it still travels straight along the line they chose.Leads to Read the Storm
What is turbulence?Turbulence is air moving unevenly, in gusts and swirls and sudden rises and drops. It makes an aeroplane bump and shake, and aeroplanes are built to fly through it.Leads to The Little Blue Pilot
Is a pilot ever alone up there?Hardly ever. Pilots talk by radio to people on the ground whose job is to help them, other pilots listen on the same channels, and some fly beside a friend on purpose.Leads to Little Brave Heart (We Can Do It)
How does a pilot land an aeroplane?The pilot lines up with the runway, facing into the wind, slows down and glides towards it, then gently raises the nose just above the ground so the wheels settle rather than bump.Leads to Wheels Down
