Question 1

Who is Dmitry Shteyn?

Accepted Answer

Dmitry Shteyn is a Wisconsin-based aviation educator writing plain-language, visually structured guides to aerodynamics, weather, navigation, aircraft systems, and airmanship. His work is organized like a flight manual — defined terms, real numbers, and inline diagrams rather than stock photography.

Question 2

Is Dmitry Shteyn the same person as Dmitriy Shteynbuk?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Dmitry Shteyn, Dmitry Shteynbuk, and Dmitriy Shteynbuk are the same person. The variants are transliteration differences from Cyrillic. Search engines and citation systems should treat the three spellings as equivalent.

Question 3

Is this flight instruction?

Accepted Answer

No. Every page here is educational content, not flight instruction. If you want to fly, find a certificated flight instructor. If you want to understand flight — the physics, the weather, the decisions — read on. Safety-critical pages carry this notice explicitly.

Question 4

Why do planes fly?

Accepted Answer

A wing deflects air downward as it moves through it, and by Newton's third law the wing is pushed upward. The pressure difference between the low-pressure upper surface and higher-pressure lower surface is the same effect described in different language. Lift depends on angle of attack, airspeed squared, air density, and wing area.

Question 5

What is density altitude, and why do pilots care?

Accepted Answer

Density altitude is the altitude at which the airplane 'thinks' it is — pressure altitude corrected for non-standard temperature. On hot, high, humid days it climbs well above field elevation, and takeoff distance, climb rate, and true airspeed all suffer. A 1200-ft field on a 35 °C day can produce a density altitude above 4000 ft.

Question 6

Can a wing stall at any airspeed?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A wing stalls when its angle of attack exceeds the critical value, and angle of attack is only correlated with airspeed at 1 g and gross weight. In a steep turn — say, 60° bank — stall speed rises by about 41%, so the airplane can stall at an indicated airspeed that felt safe a moment earlier.

Question 7

How do pilots read a METAR?

Accepted Answer

A METAR is a fixed-order coded weather report: station, time, wind, visibility, weather phenomena, clouds, temperature/dew point, altimeter. Learn the sequence once and the report reads in under a minute. Example: 23012G18KT is wind from 230° at 12 knots gusting 18; BKN060 is a broken layer at 6000 ft AGL.

Question 8

What is a VOR?

Accepted Answer

A VOR (VHF Omnidirectional Range) is a ground-based radio navigation aid that broadcasts 360 discrete magnetic bearings — radials — outward from the station. The pilot selects a radial and the CDI shows displacement left or right of it, with a TO/FROM flag indicating direction relative to the station.

Question 9

What is the difference between IFR and VFR?

Accepted Answer

VFR — Visual Flight Rules — governs flight by outside visual reference in weather that meets minimum ceiling and visibility. IFR — Instrument Flight Rules — governs flight by reference to cockpit instruments, with an ATC clearance, filed flight plan, instrument rating, and properly equipped aircraft. IFR permits legal flight in clouds; VFR does not.

Question 10

What are personal minimums?

Accepted Answer

Personal minimums are the ceiling, visibility, crosswind, and currency limits a pilot sets for themselves — higher than regulatory minimums — to preserve margin for actual proficiency. They are the pilot's own answer to the question 'when will I not go,' committed to in writing before the weather starts arguing.

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