Aircraft - Wikipedia

7/29/2019 Aircraft - Wikipedia

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1/3/13 Aircraft - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#History

An Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger

airliner

AircraftFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An aircraft is a machine that is able to fly by gaining

support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a

planet. It counters the force of gravityby using either static

lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil,[1] or in a few

cases the downward thrust from jet engines.

The human activity that surrounds aircraft is called aviation.

Crewed aircraft are flown by an onboard pilot, but

unmanned aerial vehicles may be remotely controlled or

self-controlled by onboard computers. Aircraft may be

classified by different criteria, such as lift type, propulsion,

usage, and others.

Contents

1 History

2 Methods of lift

2.1 Lighter than air aerostats

2.2 Heavier than air aerodynes

2.2.1 Fixed-wing

2.2.2 Rotorcraft

2.2.3 Other methods of lift

3 Propulsion

3.1 Unpowered

3.2 Powered aircraft

3.2.1 Propeller aircraft

3.2.2 Jet aircraft

3.2.3 Rotorcraft

3.2.4 Other types of powered

aircraft

4 Construction and design

4.1 Airframe4.1.1 Fuselage

4.1.2 Wing

4.1.3 Stabilizing and control surfaces

4.1.4 Undercarriage

4.2 Engines

4.3 Avionics

5 Flight characteristics

5.1 Flight envelope

5.2 Range
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#History 2

A hot air balloon in flight

5.3 Flight dynamics

6 Impact and use

6.1 Military

6.2 Civil

6.3 Experimental

6.4 Model

7 See also

7.1 Lists7.2 Topics

8 References

9 External links

History

Main article: Aviation history

See also: Timeline of aviation

Flying model craft and stories of manned flight go back many centuries, however the first manned ascent - and saf

descent - in modern times took place by hot-air balloon in the 18th century. Each of the two World Wars led to

great technical advances. Consequently the history of aircraft can be divided into five eras:

Pioneers of flight, from the earliest experiments to 1913.

First World War, 1914 to 1918.

Inter-war, sometimes called the Golden Age, 1919 to 1938.

Second World War, 1939 to 1945.

Postwar era, also called the jet age, 1946 to the present day.

Methods of lift

Lighter than air aerostats

Main article: Aerostat

Aerostats use buoyancy to float in the air in much the same way that

ships float on the water. They are characterized by one or more largegasbags or canopies, filled with a relatively low-density gas such as

helium, hydrogen, or hot air, which is less dense than the surrounding air.

When the weight of this is added to the weight of the aircraft structure, it

adds up to the same weight as the air that the craft displaces.

Small hot-air balloons called sky lanterns date back to the 3rd century

BC, and were only the second type of aircraft to fly, the first being kites.

A balloon was originally any aerostat, while the term airship was used for
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large, powered aircraft designs usually fixed-wing[citation needed] though none had yet been built. The advent o

powered balloons, called dirigible balloons, and later of rigid hulls allowing a great increase in size, began to chang

the way these words were used. Huge powered aerostats, characterized by a rigid outer framework and separate

aerodynamic skin surrounding the gas bags, were produced, the Zeppelins being the largest and most famous.

There were still no fixed-wing aircraft or non-rigid balloons large enough to be called airships, so "airship" came to

be synonymous with these aircraft. Then several accidents, such as the Hindenburg disaster in 1937, led to the

demise of these airships. Nowadays a "balloon" is an unpowered aerostat, whilst an "airship" is a powered one.

A powered, steerable aerostat is called a dirigible. Sometimes this term is applied only to non-rigid balloons, and

sometimes dirigible balloon is regarded as the definition of an airship (which may then be rigid or non-rigid). Non

rigid dirigibles are characterized by a moderately aerodynamic gasbag with stabilizing fins at the back. These soon

became known as blimps. During the Second World War, this shape was widely adopted for tethered balloons; i

windy weather, this both reduces the strain on the tether and stabilizes the balloon. The nickname blimp was

adopted along with the shape. In modern times, any small dirigible or airship is called a blimp, though a blimp may

be unpowered as well as powered.

Heavier than air aerodynes

Heavier-than-air aircraft must find some way to push air or gas downwards, so that a reaction occurs (by Newton

laws of motion) to push the aircraft upwards. This dynamic movement through the air is the origin of the term

aerodyne. There are two ways to produce dynamic upthrust: aerodynamic lift, and powered lift in the form of

engine thrust.

Aerodynamic lift involving wings is the most common, with fixed-wing aircraft being kept in the air by the forward

movement of wings, and rotorcraft by spinning wing-shaped rotors sometimes called rotary wings. A wing is a flat

horizontal surface, usually shaped in cross-section as an aerofoil. To fly, air must flow over the wing and generate

lift. Aflexible wingis a wing made of fabric or thin sheet material, often stretched over a rigid frame. A kite is

tethered to the ground and relies on the speed of the wind over its wings, which may be flexible or rigid, fixed, or

rotary.

With powered lift, the aircraft directs its engine thrust vertically downward. V/STOL aircraft, such as the Harrier

Jump Jet and F-35B take off and land vertically using powered lift and transfer to aerodynamic lift in steady flight.

A pure rocket is not usually regarded as an aerodyne, because it does not depend on the air for its lift (and can

even fly into space); however, many aerodynamic lift vehicles have been powered or assisted by rocket motors.

Rocket-powered missiles that obtain aerodynamic lift at very high speed due to airflow over their bodies are a

marginal case.

Fixed-wing

Main article: fixed-wing aircraft

The forerunner of the fixed-wing aircraft is the kite. Whereas a fixed-wing aircraft relies on its forward speed to

create airflow over the wings, a kite is tethered to the ground and relies on the wind blowing over its wings to

provide lift. Kites were the first kind of aircraft to fly, and were invented in China around 500 BC. Much

aerodynamic research was done with kites before test aircraft, wind tunnels, and computer modelling programs

became available.
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NASA test aircraft

The first heavier-than-air craft capable of controlled free-flight were gliders. A glider designed by Cayley carried

out the first true manned, controlled flight in 1853.

Practical, powered, fixed wing aircraft (the aeroplane or airplane) were invented by Wilbur and Orville Wright.

Besides the method of propulsion, fixed-wing aircraft are in general characterized by their wing configuration. The

most important wing characteristics are:

Number of wings Monoplane, biplane, etc.

Wing support Braced or cantilever, rigid, or flexible.Wing planform including aspect ratio, angle of sweep, and any

variations along the span (including the important class of delta

wings).

Location of the horizontal stabilizer, if any.

Dihedral angle positive, zero, or negative (anhedral).

A variable geometry aircraft can change its wing configuration during

flight.

Aflying winghas no fuselage, though it may have small blisters or pods.The opposite of this is a lifting body, which has no wings, though it may

have small stabilizing and control surfaces.

Wing-in-ground-effect vehicles may be considered as fixed-wing aircraft. They "fly" efficiently close to the surface

of the ground or water, like conventional aircraft during takeoff. An example is the Russian ekranoplan (nicknamed

the "Caspian Sea Monster"). Man-powered aircraft also rely on ground effect to remain airborne with a minimal

pilot power, but this is only because they are so underpowered in fact, the airframe is capable of flying higher.

Rotorcraft

Main article: Rotorcraft

Rotorcraft, or rotary-wing aircraft, use a spinning rotor with aerofoil section blades (a rotary wing) to provide lift

Types include helicopters, autogyros, and various hybrids such as gyrodynes and compound rotorcraft.

Helicopters have a rotor turned by an engine-driven shaft. The rotor pushes air downward to create lift. By tilting

the rotor forward, the downward flow is tilted backward, producing thrust for forward flight. Some helicopters

have more than one rotor and a few have rotors turned by gas jets at the tips.

utogyros have unpowered rotors, with a separate power plant to provide thrust. The rotor is tilted backward. Athe autogyro moves forward, air blows upward across the rotor, making it spin. This spinning increases the speed

of airflow over the rotor, to provide lift. Rotor kites are unpowered autogyros, which are towed to give them

forward speed or tethered to a static anchor in high-wind for kited flight.

Compound rotorcrafthave wings that provide some or all of the lift in forward flight. They are nowadays classifie

aspowered lifttypes and not as rotorcraft. Tiltrotoraircraft (such as the V-22 Osprey), tiltwing, tailsitter, and

coleopter aircraft have their rotors/propellers horizontal for vertical flight and vertical for forward flight.

Other methods of lift
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Comparison between four of the

largest aircraft:

Hughes H-4 Hercules

"Spruce Goose" (aircraft with

greatest wingspan)

Antonov An-225

(aircraft with the greatest payload)

Airbus A380-800

(largest airliner)

Boeing 747-8

(longest passenger aircraft)

An autogyro

A lifting body is an aircraft body shaped to produce lift. If there

are any wings, they are too small to provide significant lift and are

used only for stability and control. Lifting bodies are not efficient:

they suffer from high drag, and must also travel at high speed to

generate enough lift to fly. Many of the research prototypes, such

as the Martin-Marietta X-24, which led up to the Space Shuttle,

were lifting bodies (though the shuttle itself is not), and some

supersonic missiles obtain lift from the airflow over a tubular body.Powered lifttypes rely on engine-derived lift for vertical takeoff

and landing (VTOL). Most types transition to fixed-wing lift for

horizontal flight. Classes of powered lift types include VTOL jet

aircraft (such as the Harrier jump-jet) and tiltrotors (such as the V-

22 Osprey), among others.

Propulsion

Unpowered

Main article: Unpowered aircraft

Gliders are heavier-than-air aircraft that do not employ propulsion once

airborne. Take-off may be by launching forward and downward from a

high location, or by pulling into the air on a tow-line, either by a ground-

based winch or vehicle, or by a powered "tug" aircraft. For a glider to

maintain its forward air speed and lift, it must descend in relation to the

air (but not necessarily in relation to the ground). Many gliders can 'soar'

- gain height from updrafts such as thermal currents. The first practical,controllable example was designed and built by the British scientist and

pioneer George Cayley, whom many recognise as the first aeronautical

engineer.[2] Common examples of gliders are sailplanes, hang gliders and

paragliders.

Balloons drift with the wind, though normally the pilot can control the

altitude, either by heating the air or by releasing ballast, giving some

directional control (since the wind direction changes with altitude). A

wing-shaped hybrid balloon can glide directionally when rising or falling;

but a spherically shaped balloon does not have such directional control.

Kites are aircraft[3] that are tethered to the ground or other object (fixed

or mobile) that maintains tension in the tether or kite line; they rely on

virtual or real wind blowing over and under them to generate lift and drag. Kytoons are balloon-kite hybrids that a

shaped and tethered to obtain kiting deflections, and can be lighter-than-air, neutrally buoyant, or heavier-than-air

Powered aircraft

Main article: Powered aircraft
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X-24B lifting body, specialized glider

A turboprop-engined DeHavillandTwin Otter adapted as a floatplane

Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor

Propeller aircraft

Propeller aircraft use one or more propellers (airscrews) to create thrust in a forward direction. The propeller is

usually mounted in front of the power source in tractor configuration but can be mounted behind inpusher

configuration. Variations of propeller layout include contra-rotating propellers and ducted fans.

Many kinds of power plant have been used to drive propellers. Early airships used man power or steam engines.

The more practical internal combustion piston engine was used for

virtually all fixed-wing aircraft until World War II and is still used in many

smaller aircraft. Some types use turbine engines to drive a propeller in the

form of a turboprop or propfan. Human-powered flight has been

achieved, but has not become a practical means of transport. Unmanned

aircraft and models have also used power sources such as electric

motors and rubber bands.

Jet aircraft

Jet aircraft use airbreathing jet engines which take in air, burn fuel with itin a combustion chamber, and accelerate the exhaust rearwards to

provide thrust.

Turbojet and turbofan engines use a spinning turbine to drive one or more

fans, which provide additional thrust. An afterburner may be used to

inject extra fuel into the hot exhaust, especially on military "fast jets". Use

of a turbine is not absolutely necessary: other designs include the pulse jet

and ramjet. These mechanically simple designs cannot work when

stationary, so the aircraft must be launched to flying speed by some other

method. Other variants have also been used, including the motorjet and

hybrids such as the Pratt & Whitney J58, which can convert between

turbojet and ramjet operation.

Compared to propellers, jet engines can provide much higher thrust,

higher speeds and, above about 40,000 ft (12,000 m), greater

efficiency.[4] They are also much more fuel-efficient than rockets. As a

consequence nearly all large, high-speed or high-altitude aircraft use jet

engines.

Rotorcraft

Rotorcraft, such as helicopters, have a powered rotary wing orrotor. It

obtains forward thrust by angling the rotor disc slightly forward so that a

proportion of its lift is directed forwards. The rotor may, like a propeller, be powered by a variety of methods suc

as a piston engine or turbine. Experiments have also used jet nozzles at the rotor blade tips.

Other types of powered aircraft

Rocket-powered aircrafthave occasionally been experimented with, and the MesserschmittKometfighte
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Airframe diagram for a

AgustaWestland AW101 helicopter

even saw action in the Second World War. Since then, they have been restricted to research aircraft, such a

the North American X-15, which traveled up into space where air-breathing engines cannot work (rockets

carry their own oxidant). Rockets have more often been used as a supplement to the main power plant,

typically for the rocket-assisted take off of heavily loaded aircraft, but also to provide high-speed dash

capability in some hybrid designs such as the Saunders-Roe SR.53.

The ornithopterobtains thrust by flapping its wings. It has found practical use in a model hawk used to

freeze prey animals into stillness so that they can be captured, and in toy birds.

Construction and design

Early aircraft often employed doped aircraft fabric covering to give a smooth aeroshell stretched over a wooden

frame. Later aircraft employed trusses, and monocoque techniques, where the skin of the aircraft carries much of

the flight loads. Modern aircraft typically are a semi-monocoque, where the skin is reinforced with longerons and

stringers.

Aircraft are designed according to many factors such as customer and manufacturer demand, safety protocols and

physical and economic constraints. For many types of aircraft the design process is regulated by national

airworthiness authorities.

The key parts of an aircraft are generally divided into three categories:

The airframe comprises the mechanical structure and associated equipment.

Thepropulsion system (if it is powered) comprises the engine or engines and associated equipment.

The avionics comprise the electrical flight control and communication systems.

Airframe

Main article: Airframe

The airframe of an aircraft is its mechanical structure,.[5] Airframe design

is a field of engineering that combines aerodynamics, materials

technology, and manufacturing methods to achieve balances of

performance, reliability, and cost.

The main parts of the airframe are the fuselage, wing, stabilizing tail or

empennage, and undercarriage.

Fuselage

The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section containing the crew

cockpit or flight deck, and any passenger cabin or cargo hold. In single- and twin-engine aircraft, it will often also

contain the engine or engines. The fuselage also serves to position control and stabilization surfaces in specific

relationships to lifting surfaces, required for aircraft stability and maneuverability.

Wing

The wings of an aircraft produce lift. Many different styles and arrangements of wings have been used on heavier-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biplanehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_configurationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_cabinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockpithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuselagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliability_engineeringhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materials_sciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerodynamicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engineeringhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_note-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airframehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_safetyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_design_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longeronhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monocoquehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_fabric_coveringhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_dopehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithopter#Recent_developmentshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornithopterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saunders-Roe_SR.53http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket-assisted_take_offhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_X-15http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helicopterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AgustaWestland_AW101http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Merlin_Airframe_Material.jpg


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Fuselage of a Boeing 737 shown in

brown

The empennage of a Boeing 747-200

than-air aircraft, and some lighter-than-air craft also have wings. Most early fixed-wing aircraft were biplanes,

having wings stacked one above the other. Most types nowadays are monoplanes, having one wing each side.

Wings also vary greatly in their shape viewed from above.

Stabilizing and control surfaces

Most aircraft need horizontal and vertical stabilisers[6][7] which act in a similar way to the feathers on an arrow. [8]

These stabilizing surfaces allow equilibrium of aerodynamic forces and tostabilise the flight dynamics of pitch and yaw.[6][7] They are usually

mounted on the tail section (empennage), though the canard configuration

has a foreplane, in front of the main wing, which may sometimes act as

the horizontal stabilizer. Tailless aircraft rely on other techniques to

achieve stability.

Flight control surfaces enable the pilot to control an aircraft's flight

attitude and are usually part of the wing or mounted on, or integral with,

the associated stabilizing surface. Their development was a critical

advance in the history of aircraft, which had until that point beenuncontrollable in flight.

Undercarriage

The undercarriage, or landing gear, is the structure that supports an

aircraft when it is not flying and allows it to taxi and takeoff and land

usually from a runway. Most commonly, wheels are used but skids,

floats, or a combination of these and other elements can be used,

depending on the surface. Many aircraft have undercarriage that retracts

into the wings and/or fuselage to decrease drag during flight.

Flying boats are supported on water by their fuselage or hull and hence

have no undercarriage beyond small stabilizing floats. amphibians have a

similar floating hull and also retractable wheeled undercarriage, allowing

them to take off from and alight on both land and water.

Engines

Main article: aircraft engine

Powered aircraft have one or more engines. Most aircraft engines are either lightweight piston engines or gas

turbines. In most aircraft, fuel is stored predominantly in the wings but larger aircraft also have additional fuel tanks

in the fuselage.

Avionics

Main article: Avionics

The avionics comprise the flight control systems and other electronic equipment, including the cockpit
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The Boeing 777-200LR is the longest

range airliner, capable of flights of

more than halfway around the world.

instrumentation, navigation, radar, monitoring, and communication systems.

Flight characteristics

Flight envelope

Main article: Flight envelope

The flight envelope of an aircraft refers to its capabilities in terms of airspeed and load factor or altitude. [9][10] The

term can also refer to other measurements such as maneuverability. When a plane is pushed, for instance by diving

it at high speeds, it is said to be flown "outside the envelope", something considered unsafe.

Range

Main article: range (aircraft)

The range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing,

as limited by the time it can remain airborne.

For a powered aircraft the time limit is determined by the fuel load and

rate of consumption.

For an unpowered aircraft, the maximum flight time is limited by factors

such as weather conditions and pilot endurance. Many aircraft types are

restricted to daylight hours, while balloons are limited by their supply of

lifting gas. The range can be seen as the average ground speed multiplied

by the maximum time in the air.

Flight dynamics

Main article: Flight dynamics (aircraft)

Flight dynamics is the science of air vehicle orientation and control in three

dimensions. The three critical flight dynamics parameters are the angles of

rotation around three axes about the vehicle's center of mass, known aspitch,

roll, andyaw (quite different from their use as Tait-Bryan angles).

Roll is a rotation about the longitudinal axis (equivalent to the rolling orheeling of a ship) giving an up-down movement of the wing tips

measured by the roll or bank angle.

Pitch is a rotation about the sideways horizontal axis giving an up-down movement of the aircraft nose

measured by the angle of attack.

Yaw is a rotation about the vertical axis giving a side-to-side movement of the nose known as sideslip.

Flight control
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flight_dynamics_with_text.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_attackhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heeling_(sailing)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tait-Bryan_angleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_of_masshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_axishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angles_of_rotationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_dynamics_(aircraft)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeoffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Range_(aircraft)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_note-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_note-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Load_factor_(aeronautics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeedhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_envelopehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_777http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boeing_777-200LR_banking_over_mountain.jpg


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Boeing B-17E in flight. The Allies of

World War II lost 160,000 airmen

and 33,700 planes during the air war

over Europe.[11]

Aerospace engineers develop control systems for a vehicle's orientation (attitude) about its center of mass. The

control systems include actuators, which exert forces in various directions, and generate rotational forces or

moments about the aerodynamic center of the aircraft, and thus rotate the aircraft in pitch, roll, or yaw. For

example, a pitching moment is a vertical force applied at a distance forward or aft from the aerodynamic center of

the aircraft, causing the aircraft to pitch up or down. Control systems are also sometimes used to increase or

decrease drag, for example to slow the aircraft to a safe speed for landing.

The two main forces acting on any aircraft are lift supporting it in the air and drag opposing its motion. Control

surfaces may also be used to affect these forces directly, without inducing any rotation.

Impact and use

In general, aircraft have positive properties as they permit long distance, high speed travel and are often reasonabl

efficient. In addition to their usefulness, they have some environmental impacts. They generate some atmospheric

pollution, are relatively noisy compared to other forms of travel and high altitude aircraft generate contrails which

experimental evidence suggests may alter weather patterns.

Aircraft are produced in several different types optimized for various uses; military aircraft, which includes not just

combat types but many types of supporting aircraft, and civil aircraft, which include all non-military types,

experimental and model.

Military

Main article: Military aircraft

A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is

operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type.[12]

Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:

Combat aircraft are aircraft designed to destroy enemy equipment

using its own armament.[12] Combat aircraft divide broadly into

fighters and bombers, with several in-between types such as

fighter-bombers and ground-attack aircraft (including attack

helicopters).

Non-Combat aircraft are not designed for combat as their primary

function, but may carry weapons for self-defense. Non-combat

roles include search and rescue, reconnaissance, observation,

transport, training, and aerial refueling. These aircraft are often variants of civil aircraft such as the DouglasDC-3 airliner.

Gliders and balloons have also been used as military aircraft; for example, balloons were used for observation

during the American Civil War and World War I, and military gliders were used during World War II to land

troops.

Civil

Main article: Civil aviation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_aviationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_gliderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_gliderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_DC-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_refuelinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_helicopterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground-attack_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighter-bomberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bomberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fighter_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_note-gunston-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_note-gunston-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotorcrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed-wing_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_aviationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_dimminghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrailhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_noisehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_aviationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_efficiency_in_transportation#Aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_(physics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitching_momenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerodynamic_centerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moment_(physics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_of_masshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerospace_engineerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_note-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-17_Flying_Fortresshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Color_Photographed_B-17E_in_Flight.jpg


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Agusta A109 helicopter of the Swiss

air rescue service

A model aircraft, weighing six grams

Civil aircraft divide into commercialandgeneraltypes, however there are some overlaps.

Commercial aircraft include types designed for scheduled and charter

airline flights, carrying passengers, mail and other cargo. The larger

passenger-carrying types are the airliners, the largest of which are wide-

body aircraft. Some of the smaller types are also used in general aviation,

and some of the larger types are used as VIP aircraft.

General aviation is a catch-all covering other kinds of private (where thepilot is not paid for time or expenses) and commercial use, and involving

a wide range of aircraft types such as business jets (bizjets), trainers,

homebuilt, aerobatic types, racers, gliders, warbirds, firefighters, medical

transports, and cargo transports, to name a few. The vast majority of

aircraft today are general aviation types.

Experimental

Main article: Experimental aircraft

An experimental aircraft is one that has not been fully proven in flight, or one that carries an FAA airworthiness

certificate in the "Experimental" category. Often, this implies that new aerospace technologies are being tested on

the aircraft, although the term also refers to amateur- and kit-built aircraft; many of which are based on proven

designs.

Model

Main article: Model aircraft

A model aircraft is a small unmanned type made to fly for fun, for staticdisplay, for aerodynamic research or for other purposes. A scale model

is a replica of some larger design.

See also

Lists

List of aircraft

List of aircraft by categoryList of civil aircraft

List of early flying machines

List of fighter aircraft

List of large aircraft

List of aircraft by date and usage category

List of altitude records reached by different aircraft types

List of aviation, aerospace and aeronautical terms
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary_of_aviation,_aerospace,_and_aeronauticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_altitude_records_reached_by_different_aircraft_typeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_by_date_and_usage_categoryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_large_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fighter_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_early_flying_machineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_civil_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_modelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experimental_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MEDEVAChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_firefightinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warbirdhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glider_(sailplane)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_racinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerobaticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homebuilt_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trainer_(aircraft)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_jethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_aviationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_aviationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_transports_of_heads_of_state_and_governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_aviationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide-body_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airmailhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_aviationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MiniCeline_ultralight_aircraft.jpeghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rega_(air_rescue)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agusta_A109http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pilatus_Agusta_A109_Flug.jpg


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Topics

Aircraft spotting

Air traffic control

Airport

Flying car/roadable

aircraftPersonal air vehicle

Powered parachute

Rocket

Spacecraft

Spaceplane

Steam aircraft

References

1. ^ dictionary.com definition of aircraft (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aircraft)

2. ^ Dee, Richard (2007). The Man who Discovered Flight: George Cayley and the First Airplane. Toronto:

McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 978-0-7710-2971-4.

3. ^ NASA's Beginners Guide to Aeronautics (http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/guided.htm)

4. ^ "ch10-3" (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/SP-468/ch10-3.htm) . Hq.nasa.gov.

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/SP-468/ch10-3.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-26.

5. ^ Ed Rouen (2005).Airplane Names (http://www.marchfield.org/rouen01.html) . San Diego Aerospace Museum

http://www.marchfield.org/rouen01.html. Names and dates of more than 2,800 aircraft models produced since

1900.

6. ^ ab Crane, Dale:Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition, page 194. Aviation Supplies & Academics,

1997. ISBN 1-56027-287-2

7. ^ ab Aviation Publishers Co. Limited,From the Ground Up, page 10 (27th revised edition) ISBN 0-9690054-9-0

8. ^ http://www.airlines.org/ATAResources/Handbook/Pages/AirlineHandbookChapter5HowAircraftFly.aspx ATA

Airline Handbook Chapter 5: How Aircraft Fly

9. ^ 23.333 Flight envelope (http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?

type=simple;c=ecfr;cc=ecfr;sid=a8f38006e777ba46ba8000f7c2fe6641;region=DIV1;q1=23.335;rgn=div8;view=t

xt;idno=14;node=14%3A1.0.1.3.10.3.70.8)

10. ^ Flight envelope - diagram (http://www.access.gpo.gov/ecfr/graphics/pdfs/ec28se91.001.pdf)

11. ^ Kenneth K. Hatfield (2003). "Heartland heroes: remembering World War II. (http://books.google.com/books?

id=mtxMN5NdmCsC&pg=RA1-PA91&lpg=RA1-PA91&dq=&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=false) ". p.91.

12. ^ ab Gunston 1986, p. 274

Gunston, Bill (1987).Jane's Aerospace Dictionary 1987. London, England: Jane's Publishing Company

Limited. ISBN 0-7106-0365-7.

External links

History

History of Aviation in Australia - State Library of NSW

(http://www.atmitchell.com/journeys/history/aviation/)

Prehistory of Powered Flight (http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Prehistory/PH-OV.htm)

The Channel Crossing (http://www.doktus.de/dok/39023/the-channel-crossing.html)

The Evolution of Modern Aircraft (NASA) (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-468/contents.htmhttp://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-468/contents.htmhttp://www.doktus.de/dok/39023/the-channel-crossing.htmlhttp://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Prehistory/PH-OV.htmhttp://www.atmitchell.com/journeys/history/aviation/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7106-0365-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_ref-gunston_12-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_ref-gunston_12-0http://books.google.com/books?id=mtxMN5NdmCsC&pg=RA1-PA91&lpg=RA1-PA91&dq=&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=falsehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_ref-11http://www.access.gpo.gov/ecfr/graphics/pdfs/ec28se91.001.pdfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_ref-10http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?type=simple;c=ecfr;cc=ecfr;sid=a8f38006e777ba46ba8000f7c2fe6641;region=DIV1;q1=23.335;rgn=div8;view=text;idno=14;node=14%3A1.0.1.3.10.3.70.8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_ref-9http://www.airlines.org/ATAResources/Handbook/Pages/AirlineHandbookChapter5HowAircraftFly.aspxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_ref-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0969005490http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_ref-GroundUp_7-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_ref-GroundUp_7-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1560272872http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_ref-Crane_6-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_ref-Crane_6-0http://www.marchfield.org/rouen01.htmlhttp://www.marchfield.org/rouen01.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_ref-5http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/SP-468/ch10-3.htmhttp://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/SP-468/ch10-3.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_ref-hist8_4-0http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/guided.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_ref-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7710-2971-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Dee&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_ref-2http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft#cite_ref-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_aircrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceplanehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacecrafthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockethttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powered_parachutehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_air_vehiclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_car_(aircraft)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airporthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_traffic_controlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_spotting


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468/contents.htm)

Virtual Museum (http://invention.psychology.msstate.edu/Tale_of_Airplane/taleplane.html)

Smithsonian Air and Space Museum (http://www.nasm.si.edu/) Online collection with a particular focus o

history of aircraft and spacecraft

New Scientist's History of Aviation (http://www.newscientist.com/movie/aviation-timeline)

Amazing Early Flying Machines (http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/36582/amazing-early-flying-

machines) slideshow byLife magazine

Aircraft Types (http://flightfield.com/index.php/aeronautical-data/aircraft-types)

Information

Airliners.net (http://www.airliners.net/info/)

Aviation Dictionary (http://www.aviationdictionary.org/) Free aviation terms, phrases and jargons

New Scientist's Aviation page (http://www.newscientist.com/topic/aviation)

Aircraft Components Technology (http://aircraftcomponent.net)

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