explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1972: Autogyros

2018-03-27T12:51:11Z

108.162.229.70: /* Extremely safe */

{{comic
| number = 1972
| date = March 26, 2018
| title = Autogyros
| image = autogyros.png
| titletext = I understand modern autogyros are much more stable, so I've probably angered the autogyro people by impugning their safety. Once they finish building the autogyros they've been working on in their garages for 10 years, they'll come after me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Have created sections for explaining each of the statements, but they need to be expanded. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Randall]] has been looking at the facts about [[wikipedia:autogyro|autogyro]]s, hence the title of the comic. He has drawn [[Megan]] flying in such a vehicle with several statements of the facts he has unveiled.

Randall states that an autogyro is nothing like a [[wikipedia:helicopter|helicopter]] (which it looks like), nothing like a [[wikipedia:airplane|plane]] (but flies like one) and works like a powered [[wikipedia:parachute|parachute]] (without anything looking remotely as such). He continues to make a total of 12 [[#Statements|statements]] which will be explained individually below.

The final statement at the bottom right is the punch line of how strange these flying machines are, because they are safe, as long as you do not do what a pilot instinctively would do in a plane in case of a stall, because if you do so the autogyros will crash immediately... See the [[#Extremely safe|explanation below]]. That sentence is almost rendered unnecessary by the one above it that states that autogyros [[#Never stalls|never stalls]]!

Randall's conclusion is clear: Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

In the title text Randall continues on the last statement by saying that today autogyros are much more stable. Which must refer to that this was not always the case. And this new stability probably means that a [[#Never stalls|stall situation]] is much less likely and the last statement is then not so relevant anymore.

Randall then goes on to suggest that ''the autogyro people'' will be angered by this comic, which [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/impugn#English impugns] (i.e. attacks) the safety of their beloved machines. But he keeps on mocking them. In fact, he states that they will come after him, once they have finished building the autogyros they have been working on in their garage for the last 10 years. By this, he implies that the people who work on them do this as a home garage project so they will never get them finished and able to fly. Thus, they will probably never come after him.

==Statements==
*Below each of the statements in the comic are explained
**The optimal reading order is to read them in the four columns they are arranged in:
**The left with four, the two single in the middle and the six on the right.

===Nothing like a helicopter===
''Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter''

It is like a helicopter in the sense that a horizontally spinning fan provides the lift. It is unlike a helicoper because A) the fan is not powered, B) the fan does not provide forward propulsion, C) it is incapable of hovering, or moving in any other direction than forward.

===Nothing like a plane===
''Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane''

Its flight pattern resembles a plane in that it can only move forward, turns by banking, and needs to maintain forward velocity in order to create lift. However, unlike a plane it has no wings to generate that lift.

===Powered parachute===
''Sort of like a powered parachute''

===Rare in the US===
''Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe. ''

===Big blade on top===
''Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely''

===Flown without a license===
''Can often be flown without a license''

===Cheap===
Helicopters are notorious for being extremely expensive to operate. At a typical general aviation service in the US, a two-seat aircraft may rent for under $100/hr, while a helicopter runs over $200/hr. Similarly, a small used helicopter may cost almost $200,000 while a small new autogyro may cost under $25,000. Since many people home-build their autogyros, it would often be even cheaper.

===Needs a runway to take off===
''Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one''

===Can land vertically===
An autogyro can land vertically: for that matter, so can any airplane. What matters isn't ground speed but airspeed, and as long as there's as much headwind as the landing airspeed of the aircraft, it will land vertically. Now, with fixed wing airplanes the landing speed is at least 40-50 mph, and you don't often find headwinds like that. The much lower landing airspeed of an autogyro makes vertical landings feasible.

===Cannot hover===
True hovering would require the rotor to be powered. However, an autogyro must be moving forward in order for the rotor to generate lift.

===Never stalls===
Most conditions that would cause a stall in a fixed wing airplane such as low speeds, high-G maneuvers, and gusty winds don't apply to autogyros.
The rotor in an autogyro is in equilibrium, the inner, slower part is stalled, the middle part makes it spin and the outer, faster part slows down the rotor and provides lift. As the angle of attack increases, a fixed wing aircraft would stall, however, on an autogyro, it will just make the lift-generating area smaller, causing the rotor to automatically spin faster and the equilibrium is restored.

This is not entirely correct however. If you reduce the forward speed of an autogyro, the rotor slows down, reducing lift so the autogyro will descend. Under most circumstances, this would lead to a controlled landing. However, if it happens at high altitude, you can run out of lift completely while still high above the ground causing a stall. This is more likely to happen if there is a strong tailwind.

===Extremely safe===
''Extremely safe, unless you do the one thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately''

Autogyros are considered safe due to their slow landing speed, which is important in emergency landings, their forgiving behavior in windy conditions and the fact they are almost impossible to stall. This is thanks to the freely spinning rotor. Unfortunately, as soon as the rotor stops spinning, the whole aircraft falls like a brick and the rotor may be impossible to restart in flight. This is a situation that should be avoided at all costs.

Normally it is not a problem since the weight of the aircraft keeps the rotor spinning. However, if the weight becomes too low or even negative, the angle of attack will become negative, and the rotor will slow down and eventually stop. It can happen when the pilot "pushes on the stick" and dives.

Unfortunately, "pushing on the stick" is also how you escape a stall in a fixed wing (normal) airplane as it is a way to regain airspeed. This is actually a counter-intuitive maneuver but because a stall is an emergency, pilots are trained to do it instinctively. It can trick a pilot trained in fixed wing aircraft into doing the one thing that shouldn't be done on a gyro.

==Transcript==

:[A picture of Megan wearing aviator goggles, sitting in an autogyro and holding the control stick. The autogyro is surrounded by sentence fragments, explaining characteristics of it. The one above the blade that concerns the blade has an arrow pointing from the text to the blade. The sentences in columns from the left (i.e. left sentences first, then the two above the autogyros body and finally the sentences to the right):]
:Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter
:Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane
:Sort of like a powered parachute
:Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe.
:Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely
:Can often be flown without a license
:Cheap
:Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one
:Can land vertically
:Cannot hover
:Never stalls
:Extremely safe, unless you do the '''''one''''' thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

1972: Autogyros

2018-03-27T12:43:38Z

108.162.229.70: /* Extremely safe */

{{comic
| number = 1972
| date = March 26, 2018
| title = Autogyros
| image = autogyros.png
| titletext = I understand modern autogyros are much more stable, so I've probably angered the autogyro people by impugning their safety. Once they finish building the autogyros they've been working on in their garages for 10 years, they'll come after me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Have created sections for explaining each of the statements, but they need to be expanded. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Randall]] has been looking at the facts about [[wikipedia:autogyro|autogyro]]s, hence the title of the comic. He has drawn [[Megan]] flying in such a vehicle with several statements of the facts he has unveiled.

Randall states that an autogyro is nothing like a [[wikipedia:helicopter|helicopter]] (which it looks like), nothing like a [[wikipedia:airplane|plane]] (but flies like one) and works like a powered [[wikipedia:parachute|parachute]] (without anything looking remotely as such). He continues to make a total of 12 [[#Statements|statements]] which will be explained individually below.

The final statement at the bottom right is the punch line of how strange these flying machines are, because they are safe, as long as you do not do what a pilot instinctively would do in a plane in case of a stall, because if you do so the autogyros will crash immediately... See the [[#Extremely safe|explanation below]]. That sentence is almost rendered unnecessary by the one above it that states that autogyros [[#Never stalls|never stalls]]!

Randall's conclusion is clear: Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

In the title text Randall continues on the last statement by saying that today autogyros are much more stable. Which must refer to that this was not always the case. And this new stability probably means that a [[#Never stalls|stall situation]] is much less likely and the last statement is then not so relevant anymore.

Randall then goes on to suggest that ''the autogyro people'' will be angered by this comic, which [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/impugn#English impugns] (i.e. attacks) the safety of their beloved machines. But he keeps on mocking them. In fact, he states that they will come after him, once they have finished building the autogyros they have been working on in their garage for the last 10 years. By this, he implies that the people who work on them do this as a home garage project so they will never get them finished and able to fly. Thus, they will probably never come after him.

==Statements==
*Below each of the statements in the comic are explained
**The optimal reading order is to read them in the four columns they are arranged in:
**The left with four, the two single in the middle and the six on the right.

===Nothing like a helicopter===
''Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter''

It is like a helicopter in the sense that a horizontally spinning fan provides the lift. It is unlike a helicoper because A) the fan is not powered, B) the fan does not provide forward propulsion, C) it is incapable of hovering, or moving in any other direction than forward.

===Nothing like a plane===
''Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane''

Its flight pattern resembles a plane in that it can only move forward, turns by banking, and needs to maintain forward velocity in order to create lift. However, unlike a plane it has no wings to generate that lift.

===Powered parachute===
''Sort of like a powered parachute''

===Rare in the US===
''Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe. ''

===Big blade on top===
''Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely''

===Flown without a license===
''Can often be flown without a license''

===Cheap===
Helicopters are notorious for being extremely expensive to operate. At a typical general aviation service in the US, a two-seat aircraft may rent for under $100/hr, while a helicopter runs over $200/hr. Similarly, a small used helicopter may cost almost $200,000 while a small new autogyro may cost under $25,000. Since many people home-build their autogyros, it would often be even cheaper.

===Needs a runway to take off===
''Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one''

===Can land vertically===
An autogyro can land vertically: for that matter, so can any airplane. What matters isn't ground speed but airspeed, and as long as there's as much headwind as the landing airspeed of the aircraft, it will land vertically. Now, with fixed wing airplanes the landing speed is at least 40-50 mph, and you don't often find headwinds like that. The much lower landing airspeed of an autogyro makes vertical landings feasible.

===Cannot hover===
True hovering would require the rotor to be powered. However, an autogyro must be moving forward in order for the rotor to generate lift.

===Never stalls===
Most conditions that would cause a stall in a fixed wing airplane such as low speeds, high-G maneuvers, and gusty winds don't apply to autogyros.
The rotor in an autogyro is in equilibrium, the inner, slower part is stalled, the middle part makes it spin and the outer, faster part slows down the rotor and provides lift. As the angle of attack increases, a fixed wing aircraft would stall, however, on an autogyro, it will just make the lift-generating area smaller, causing the rotor to automatically spin faster and the equilibrium is restored.

This is not entirely correct however. If you reduce the forward speed of an autogyro, the rotor slows down, reducing lift so the autogyro will descend. Under most circumstances, this would lead to a controlled landing. However, if it happens at high altitude, you can run out of lift completely while still high above the ground causing a stall. This is more likely to happen if there is a strong tailwind.

===Extremely safe===
''Extremely safe, unless you do the one thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately''

Autogyros are considered safe due to their slow landing speed, which is important in emergency landings, their forgiving behavior in windy conditions and the fact their are almost impossible to stall. All this is thanks to the freely spinning rotor. Unfortunately, as soon as the rotor stops spinning, the whole aircraft falls like a brick and the rotor may be impossible to restart in flight. This is a situation that should be avoided at all costs.

Normally it is not a problem since the weight of the aircraft keeps the rotor spinning. However, if the weight happens to become too low or even negative, the angle of attack will become negative, and the rotor will slow down and eventually stop. This can happen when the pilot "pushes on the stick" and dives.

Unfortunately, "pushing on the stick" is also how you escape a stall in a fixed wing (normal) airplane as it is a way to regain airspeed. This is actually a counter-intuitive maneuver but because a stall is an emergency, pilots are trained to do it instinctively. It can trick a pilot trained in fixed wing aircraft into doing the one thing that shouldn't be done on a gyro.

==Transcript==

:[A picture of Megan wearing aviator goggles, sitting in an autogyro and holding the control stick. The autogyro is surrounded by sentence fragments, explaining characteristics of it. The one above the blade that concerns the blade has an arrow pointing from the text to the blade. The sentences in columns from the left (i.e. left sentences first, then the two above the autogyros body and finally the sentences to the right):]
:Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter
:Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane
:Sort of like a powered parachute
:Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe.
:Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely
:Can often be flown without a license
:Cheap
:Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one
:Can land vertically
:Cannot hover
:Never stalls
:Extremely safe, unless you do the '''''one''''' thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

1972: Autogyros

2018-03-27T10:09:18Z

108.162.229.70: /* Never stalls */

{{comic
| number = 1972
| date = March 26, 2018
| title = Autogyros
| image = autogyros.png
| titletext = I understand modern autogyros are much more stable, so I've probably angered the autogyro people by impugning their safety. Once they finish building the autogyros they've been working on in their garages for 10 years, they'll come after me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Have created sections for explaining each of the statements, but they need to be expanded. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Randall]] has been looking at the facts about [[wikipedia:autogyro|autogyro]]s, hence the title of the comic. He has drawn [[Megan]] flying in such a vehicle with several statements of the facts he has unveiled.

Randall states that an autogyro is nothing like a [[wikipedia:helicopter|helicopter]] (which it looks like), nothing like a [[wikipedia:airplane|plane]] (but flies like one) and works like a powered [[wikipedia:parachute|parachute]] (without anything looking remotely as such). He continues to make a total of 12 [[#Statements|statements]] which will be explained individually below.

The final statement at the bottom right is the punch line of how strange these flying machines are, because they are safe, as long as you do not do what a pilot instinctively would do in a plane in case of a stall, because if you do so the autogyros will crash immediately... See the [[#Extremely safe|explanation below]]. That sentence is almost rendered unnecessary by the one above it that states that autogyros [[#Never stalls|never stalls]]!

Randall's conclusion is clear: Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

In the title text Randall continues on the last statement by saying that today autogyros are much more stable. Which must refer to that this was not always the case. And this new stability probably means that a [[#Never stalls|stall situation]] is much less likely and the last statement is then not so relevant anymore.

Randall then goes on to suggest that ''the autogyro people'' will be angered by this comic, which [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/impugn#English impugns] (i.e. attacks) the safety of their beloved machines. But he keeps on mocking them. In fact, he states that they will come after him, once they have finished building the autogyros they have been working on in their garage for the last 10 years. By this, he implies that the people who work on them do this as a home garage project so they will never get them finished and able to fly. Thus, they will probably never come after him.

==Statements==
*Below each of the statements in the comic are explained
**The optimal reading order is to read them in the four columns they are arranged in:
**The left with four, the two single in the middle and the six on the right.

===Nothing like a helicopter===
''Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter''

It is like a helicopter in the sense that a horizontally spinning fan provides the lift. It is unlike a helicoper because A) the fan is not powered, B) the fan does not provide forward propulsion, C) it is incapable of hovering, or moving in any other direction than forward.

===Nothing like a plane===
''Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane''

Its flight pattern resembles a plane in that it can only move forward, turns by banking, and needs to maintain forward velocity in order to create lift. However, unlike a plane it has no wings to generate that lift.

===Powered parachute===
''Sort of like a powered parachute''

===Rare in the US===
''Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe. ''

===Big blade on top===
''Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely''

===Flown without a license===
''Can often be flown without a license''

===Cheap===
Helicopters are notorious for being extremely expensive to operate. At a typical general aviation service in the US, a two-seat aircraft may rent for under $100/hr, while a helicopter runs over $200/hr. Similarly, a small used helicopter may cost almost $200,000 while a small new autogyro may cost under $25,000. Since many people home-build their autogyros, it would often be even cheaper.

===Needs a runway to take off===
''Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one''

===Can land vertically===
An autogyro can land vertically: for that matter, so can any airplane. What matters isn't ground speed but airspeed, and as long as there's as much headwind as the landing airspeed of the aircraft, it will land vertically. Now, with fixed wing airplanes the landing speed is at least 40-50 mph, and you don't often find headwinds like that. The much lower landing airspeed of an autogyro makes vertical landings feasible.

===Cannot hover===
True hovering would require the rotor to be powered. However, an autogyro must be moving forward in order for the rotor to generate lift.

===Never stalls===
Most conditions that would cause a stall in a fixed wing airplane such as low speeds, high-G maneuvers, and gusty winds don't apply to autogyros.
The rotor in an autogyro is in equilibrium, the inner, slower part is stalled, the middle part makes it spin and the outer, faster part slows down the rotor and provides lift. As the angle of attack increases, a fixed wing aircraft would stall, however, on an autogyro, it will just make the lift-generating area smaller, causing the rotor to automatically spin faster and the equilibrium is restored.

This is not entirely correct however. If you reduce the forward speed of an autogyro, the rotor slows down, reducing lift so the autogyro will descend. Under most circumstances, this would lead to a controlled landing. However, if it happens at high altitude, you can run out of lift completely while still high above the ground causing a stall. This is more likely to happen if there is a strong tailwind.

===Extremely safe===
''Extremely safe, unless you do the one thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately''

On a normal airplane, one will push the yoke forward in a stall or engine out situation, to regain airspeed and to stabilize the plane. On an {{w|autogyro}}, this leads to negative angle of attack, decelerating the rotor, which may lead to a crash. Also pushing the yoke hard forward while flying full throttle may lead to a crash.

==Transcript==

:[A picture of Megan wearing aviator goggles, sitting in an autogyro and holding the control stick. The autogyro is surrounded by sentence fragments, explaining characteristics of it. The one above the blade that concerns the blade has an arrow pointing from the text to the blade. The sentences in columns from the left (i.e. left sentences first, then the two above the autogyros body and finally the sentences to the right):]
:Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter
:Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane
:Sort of like a powered parachute
:Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe.
:Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely
:Can often be flown without a license
:Cheap
:Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one
:Can land vertically
:Cannot hover
:Never stalls
:Extremely safe, unless you do the '''''one''''' thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

1972: Autogyros

2018-03-27T10:08:51Z

108.162.229.70: /* Never stalls */

{{comic
| number = 1972
| date = March 26, 2018
| title = Autogyros
| image = autogyros.png
| titletext = I understand modern autogyros are much more stable, so I've probably angered the autogyro people by impugning their safety. Once they finish building the autogyros they've been working on in their garages for 10 years, they'll come after me.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Have created sections for explaining each of the statements, but they need to be expanded. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Randall]] has been looking at the facts about [[wikipedia:autogyro|autogyro]]s, hence the title of the comic. He has drawn [[Megan]] flying in such a vehicle with several statements of the facts he has unveiled.

Randall states that an autogyro is nothing like a [[wikipedia:helicopter|helicopter]] (which it looks like), nothing like a [[wikipedia:airplane|plane]] (but flies like one) and works like a powered [[wikipedia:parachute|parachute]] (without anything looking remotely as such). He continues to make a total of 12 [[#Statements|statements]] which will be explained individually below.

The final statement at the bottom right is the punch line of how strange these flying machines are, because they are safe, as long as you do not do what a pilot instinctively would do in a plane in case of a stall, because if you do so the autogyros will crash immediately... See the [[#Extremely safe|explanation below]]. That sentence is almost rendered unnecessary by the one above it that states that autogyros [[#Never stalls|never stalls]]!

Randall's conclusion is clear: Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

In the title text Randall continues on the last statement by saying that today autogyros are much more stable. Which must refer to that this was not always the case. And this new stability probably means that a [[#Never stalls|stall situation]] is much less likely and the last statement is then not so relevant anymore.

Randall then goes on to suggest that ''the autogyro people'' will be angered by this comic, which [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/impugn#English impugns] (i.e. attacks) the safety of their beloved machines. But he keeps on mocking them. In fact, he states that they will come after him, once they have finished building the autogyros they have been working on in their garage for the last 10 years. By this, he implies that the people who work on them do this as a home garage project so they will never get them finished and able to fly. Thus, they will probably never come after him.

==Statements==
*Below each of the statements in the comic are explained
**The optimal reading order is to read them in the four columns they are arranged in:
**The left with four, the two single in the middle and the six on the right.

===Nothing like a helicopter===
''Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter''

It is like a helicopter in the sense that a horizontally spinning fan provides the lift. It is unlike a helicoper because A) the fan is not powered, B) the fan does not provide forward propulsion, C) it is incapable of hovering, or moving in any other direction than forward.

===Nothing like a plane===
''Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane''

Its flight pattern resembles a plane in that it can only move forward, turns by banking, and needs to maintain forward velocity in order to create lift. However, unlike a plane it has no wings to generate that lift.

===Powered parachute===
''Sort of like a powered parachute''

===Rare in the US===
''Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe. ''

===Big blade on top===
''Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely''

===Flown without a license===
''Can often be flown without a license''

===Cheap===
Helicopters are notorious for being extremely expensive to operate. At a typical general aviation service in the US, a two-seat aircraft may rent for under $100/hr, while a helicopter runs over $200/hr. Similarly, a small used helicopter may cost almost $200,000 while a small new autogyro may cost under $25,000. Since many people home-build their autogyros, it would often be even cheaper.

===Needs a runway to take off===
''Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one''

===Can land vertically===
An autogyro can land vertically: for that matter, so can any airplane. What matters isn't ground speed but airspeed, and as long as there's as much headwind as the landing airspeed of the aircraft, it will land vertically. Now, with fixed wing airplanes the landing speed is at least 40-50 mph, and you don't often find headwinds like that. The much lower landing airspeed of an autogyro makes vertical landings feasible.

===Cannot hover===
True hovering would require the rotor to be powered. However, an autogyro must be moving forward in order for the rotor to generate lift.

===Never stalls===
Most conditions that would cause a stall in a fixed wing airplane such as low speeds, high-G maneuvers, and gusty winds don't apply to autogyros.
The rotor in an autogyro is in equilibrium, the inner, slower part is stalled, the middle part makes it spin and the outer, faster part slows down the rotor and provides lift. As the angle of attack increases, a fixed wing aircraft would stall, however, on an autogyro, it will just make the lift-generating area smaller, causing the rotor to automatically spin faster and the equilibrium is restored.
This is not entirely correct however. If you reduce the forward speed of an autogyro, the rotor slows down, reducing lift so the autogyro will descend. Under most circumstances, this would lead to a controlled landing. However, if it happens at high altitude, you can run out of lift completely while still high above the ground causing a stall. This is more likely to happen if there is a strong tailwind.

===Extremely safe===
''Extremely safe, unless you do the one thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately''

On a normal airplane, one will push the yoke forward in a stall or engine out situation, to regain airspeed and to stabilize the plane. On an {{w|autogyro}}, this leads to negative angle of attack, decelerating the rotor, which may lead to a crash. Also pushing the yoke hard forward while flying full throttle may lead to a crash.

==Transcript==

:[A picture of Megan wearing aviator goggles, sitting in an autogyro and holding the control stick. The autogyro is surrounded by sentence fragments, explaining characteristics of it. The one above the blade that concerns the blade has an arrow pointing from the text to the blade. The sentences in columns from the left (i.e. left sentences first, then the two above the autogyros body and finally the sentences to the right):]
:Looks like a helicopter, but is nothing like a helicopter
:Flies like a plane but is nothing like a plane
:Sort of like a powered parachute
:Rare in the US, usually homemade. Common in Europe.
:Big blade on top is not powered and spins freely
:Can often be flown without a license
:Cheap
:Needs a runway to take off, but not a long one
:Can land vertically
:Cannot hover
:Never stalls
:Extremely safe, unless you do the '''''one''''' thing you instinctively do to escape a stall in a normal airplane, in which case it will crash immediately.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Autogyros are '''''weird'''''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

246: Labyrinth Puzzle

2017-07-13T17:37:00Z

108.162.229.70: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 246
| date = April 9, 2007
| title = Labyrinth Puzzle
| image = labyrinth_puzzle.png
| titletext = And the whole setup is just a trap to capture escaping logicians. None of the doors actually lead out.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic alludes to a famous {{w|Knights and Knaves}} logic puzzle, and specifically to the version featured in the Jim Henson movie {{w|Labyrinth (film)|Labyrinth}}, with ''two'' doors and ''two'' guards. One guard always lies, and the other always tells the truth. One of the doors leads to freedom, and you can only ask one guard one question. The solutions to this riddle (and there are several, though all are somewhat similar) involve a tricky question indeed. If you want to give the original puzzle a try for yourself, don't read the spoilers below.
*Solution 1: Ask one guard (it doesn't matter which one) which door the ''other'' guard would say leads out. ''Both'' guards will indicate the same door, which will be the door that ''doesn't'' lead out: the truthful guard knows the lying guard would point to the door that leads to certain death, and says so, while the lying guard, knowing the truthful guard would point to the right door, says the opposite, indicating the door to certain death.
*Solution 2: Ask one guard (it doesn't matter which one) what his answer would be if asked what door leads to freedom. Again, both guards will indicate the same door, which is indeed the door to freedom: the truth guard would, straightforwardly, tell you the truth, while the liar, if asked what door leads to freedome, would point to the opposite, and, if asked his answer, must give the opposite of ''that'' — the true door.

Notably enough, both solutions require that the guards be aware of each other's practice regarding truth and lies, which is not stated in the riddle itself. There's another unspoken rule: that the lie is either a yes or a no. If you asked the liar something, he could lie and say, "I don't know," which would leave you with nothing.

[[Black Hat]] added a third guard here who would stab his spear to [[Cueball]] on every tricky question. But even if the questions from before are not tricky enough to get stabbed there would be no helpful answer. And if Cueball asks one of the other guards the answers can't help to find the correct door. The only saving grace is that Black Hat has seemingly forgotten to impose the limit of a single question, but depending on how stab-happy the third guard is or is not this may not be enough.

The title text presents a typical behavior of Black Hat — no door in fact does lead out of this labyrinth.

==Transcript==
:[Three guards with spears stand in front of three doors. Black Hat and Cueball stand in front of the guards.]
:Black Hat: And over here we have the labyrinth guards. One always lies, one always tells the truth, and one stabs people who ask tricky questions.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Logic]]

Talk:1411: Loop

2014-08-22T05:11:34Z

108.162.229.70:

First explanation. How did I do, veterans? [[User:Lacedemonian|Lacedemonian]] ([[User talk:Lacedemonian|talk]]) 04:45, 22 August 2014 (UTC)

Not bad.
I reorganised the content and fixed some stylistic flaws.

Awaiting older veterans to cross-reference with older entries. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.70|108.162.229.70]] 05:11, 22 August 2014 (UTC)Sylvertech

1411: Loop

2014-08-22T05:08:31Z

108.162.229.70: newlines, spaces, grammar, style.

{{comic
| number = 1411
| date = August 22, 2014
| title = Loop
| image = loop.png
| titletext = Ugh, today's kids are forgetting the old-fashioned art of absentmindedly reading the same half-page of a book over and over and then letting your attention wander and picking up another book.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Early-Bird Draft. Temporary synopsis. Reorganization and details reccommended.}}

Cueball is seen at his desk in front of three devices. He has clearly run out of things to do, or is looking for an excuse to procrastinate. A flowchart describes the process by which he scans the whole environment for something to do, which everyone can relate to.
The comic uses electronics likely because the are the common timekiller these days, and are most likely to contain fresh, tantalising entertainment.
News sites can be viewed as a good source of yet-to-be-seen content. Yet the search yields no interesting content, or the results don't garner enough attention, thus the blank stares and moving on to next device in line.

The title text notes that this probably still happened before there were electronics and the internet, when most entertainment came from books.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball sits at a desk, accompanied by numerous electronics - a desktop computer, a laptop, a tablet, and a smartphone.]
Diagram Text: "Stare blankly at screen -> open news site -> start reading -> get bored -> absentmindedly check smaller device

{{comic discussion}}