Question

You have been asked to inspect the tower just north of Binford. What restrictions should the remote PIC be concerned with prior to operating the sUAS?

1) None, the tower is in Class G airspace up to 1,200 AGL
2) Class E airspace begins at the ground as indicated by the blue hashed lines surrounding the area
3) Restricted airspace exists around the tower thus permission is required from the controlling agency

Answer 1

To determine the position vectors of the Boeing 747 and DC-3 relative to a control tower, we decompose their positions into vertical and horizontal components. Then we subtract these vectors to find the relative position vector and calculate its magnitude to determine the distance between the planes.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question is concerned with determining the relative positions and the distance between two airplanes from the perspective of a control tower. Specifically, a Boeing 747 and a Douglas DC-3 both in different positions and climbing at different angles relative to the horizontal.

Calculating Position Vectors

To find the position vectors of the planes relative to the control tower, we first need to establish a coordinate system with the control tower at the origin. For the Boeing 747, which is climbing at 10° above the horizontal and moving 30° north of west, we need to decompose its position into horizontal and vertical components.

The height above the control tower is given as 2500 m, which is the vertical component of the position vector. To find the horizontal components, we can use the angle provided:

For the DC-3 climbing directly west at 5° above the horizontal, the process is similar:

Distance Between the Planes

To calculate the distance between the planes, we subtract the two position vectors to get the relative position vector, and then find its magnitude using the Pythagorean theorem which will give us the distance between the two airplanes.