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An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly through the Earth's atmosphere or through any other atmosphere. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Vehicles, derived from the Latin word vehiculum, are non-living Means of transport. Flight is the process by which an object achieves sustained movement either through the Air (or movement beyond Earth's atmosphere, in the case of Temperature and layers The temperature of the Earth's atmosphere varies with altitude the mathematical relationship between temperature and altitude varies among five An atmosphere (from Greek ατμός - atmos, " Vapor " + σφαίρα - sphaira, " Sphere " Most rocket vehicles are not aircraft because they are not supported by the surrounding air. A rocket or rocket vehicle is a Missile, Aircraft or other Vehicle which obtains Thrust by the reaction of the All the human activity which surrounds aircraft is called aviation. Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus Aviation refers to activities involving man-made flying devices ( Aircraft) including the people organizations and regulatory bodies involved with them
Manned aircraft are flown by a pilot. Until the 1960s, unmanned aircraft were called drones. During the 1960s, the U.S. military brought the term remotely piloted vehicle (RPV) into use. The United States Armed Forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States More recently the term unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has become common. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV is an unpiloted Aircraft. UAVs can be remote controlled or fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans or more complex dynamic
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Kinds of aircraft
Aircraft fall into two categories: lighter-than-air (aerostats), and heavier-than-air (aerodynes). Some Gases are buoyant in Air because they have densities lower than that of air (about 1
Lighter than air—aerostats
Aerostats use buoyancy to float in the air in much the same way that ships float on the water. Gallery Types of aerostats See also Aerodyne Aerostatics Airship Balloon In Physics, buoyancy ( BrE IPA: /ˈbɔɪənsi/ is the upward Force on an object produced by the surrounding liquid or gas in which it is They are characterized by one or more large gasbags or canopies, filled with a relatively low density gas such as helium, hydrogen or hot air, which is lighter than the surrounding air. Helium ( He) is a colorless odorless tasteless non-toxic Inert Monatomic Chemical Hydrogen (ˈhaɪdrədʒən is the Chemical element with Atomic number 1 The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying Flight technology 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 kite is a flying tethered object that depends upon the tension of a tethering system
Originally a "balloon" was any aerostat, while the term "airship" was used for large powered aircraft designs—usually fixed-wing—though none had yet been built. The advent of powered balloons, called dirigible balloons, and later of rigid hulls allowing a great increase in size, began to change 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. A rigid airship was a type of Airship in which the envelope retained its shape by the use of an internal structural framework rather than by being forced into A Zeppelin is a type of Rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century based on designs he had outlined There were still no aeroplanes or non-rigid balloons large enough to be called airships, so "airship" came to be synonymous with these monsters. Then several accidents, such as the Hindenburg disaster in 1937, led to the demise of these airships. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Nowadays a balloon is an unpowered aerostat, whilst an airship is a powered one. "Ballooning" redirects here For the behavior of Spiders and other Arthropods see Ballooning (spider. Terminology In some countries airships are also known as dirigibles from the French (fr ''diriger'' to direct plus -ible) meaning "directable"
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; in windy weather this both reduces the strain on the tether and stabilizes the balloon. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including 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's 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. A powered lift (also written powered-lift) is a type of Aircraft that can take off and land vertically but functions differently than a Helicopter
Aerodynamic lift is the most common, with aeroplanes being kept in the air by the forward movement of wings, and rotorcraft by spinning wing-shaped rotors sometimes called rotary wings. Overview Fixed-wing aircraft range from small training and recreational aircraft to Wide-body aircraft and military cargo aircraft. Classes of rotorcraft Helicopter See also Helicopter A helicopter is a rotorcraft whose rotors are driven by the engine(s throughout the flight A wing is a flat, horizontal surface, usually shaped in cross-section as an aerofoil. An airfoil (in American English) or aerofoil (in British English) is the shape of a Wing or blade (of a Propeller, rotor To fly, the wing must move forwards through the air; this movement of air over the aerofoil shape deflects air downward to create an equal and opposite upward force, called lift, according to Newton's third law of motion. Newton's laws of motion are three Physical laws which provide relationships between the Forces acting on a body and the motion of the A flexible wing is 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. A kite is a flying tethered object that depends upon the tension of a tethering system
With powered lift, the aircraft directs its engine thrust vertically downwards. In Astronomy, Geography, Geometry and related sciences and contexts a direction passing by a given point is said to be vertical if
The initialism VTOL (vertical take off and landing) is applied to aircraft that can take off and land vertically. Acronyms, initialisms, and alphabetisms are Abbreviations that are formed using the initial components in a phrase or name VTOL is an abbreviation for Vertical Take-Off and Landing. VTOL describes Fixed-wing aircraft that can lift off vertically Most are rotorcraft. Others, such as the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, take off and land vertically using powered lift and transfer to aerodynamic lift in steady flight. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Similarly, STOL stands for short take off and landing. STOL is an Initialism for short take-off and landing, a term used to describe Aircraft with very short Runway requirements Some VTOL aircraft often operate in a short take off/vertical landing regime known as STOVL. STOVL is an acronym for S hort T ake O ff and V ertical L anding
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. A rocket or rocket vehicle is a Missile, Aircraft or other Vehicle which obtains Thrust by the reaction of the Rocket-powered missiles which obtain aerodynamic lift at very high speed due to airflow over their bodies, are a marginal case.
Fixed-wing aircraft
Aeroplanes or airplanes are technically called fixed-wing aircraft. Overview Fixed-wing aircraft range from small training and recreational aircraft to Wide-body aircraft and military cargo aircraft.
The forerunner of the aeroplane is the kite. A kite is a flying tethered object that depends upon the tension of a tethering system A kite depends upon the tension between the cord which anchors it to the ground and the force of the wind currents. Wind is the flow of Air or other Gases that compose an Atmosphere (including but not limited to the Earth's) Kites were the first kind of aircraft to fly, and were invented in China around 500 BC. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Much aerodynamic research was done with kites before test aircraft, wind tunnels and computer modelling programs became available.
Aeroplanes are generally characterized by their wing configuration. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program
In a conventional configuration, the main wings are placed in front of a smaller stabilizer surface or tailplane. A tailplane, also known as horizontal stabilizer, is a small lifting surface located behind the main lifting surfaces of a Fixed-wing aircraft The canard reverses this, placing a small foreplane stabilizer forward of the wings, near the nose of the aircraft. In Aeronautics, canard ( French for Duck) is an airframe configuration of Fixed-wing aircraft in which the Tailplane is ahead of the Canards are becoming more common as supersonic aerodynamics grows more mature and because the forward surface contributes lift during straight-and-level flight. For other uses see Supersonic. The term supersonic is used to define a speed that is over the Speed of sound ( Mach 1 The tandem wing type has two wings of similar size, one at the front and one at the back. A tandem wing aircraft usually involves two full-sized Wings both of which are full Airfoils. In a tailless design, the lift and horizontal control surfaces are combined. A tailless aircraft (often tail-less) traditionally has all its horizontal control surfaces on its main wing surface The ultimate expression of this is the flying wing, where there is no central fuselage, and perhaps even no separate vertical control surface (e. A flying wing is a Fixed-wing aircraft which has no definite Fuselage, with most of the crew payload and equipment being housed inside the main wing structure g. , the B-2 Spirit). WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout
Sometimes two or more wings are stacked one above the other. A biplane has two wings and a triplane three, while quadruplanes (four) and above have been tried but have never been successful. A biplane is a Fixed-wing aircraft with two main Wings The first powered heavier-than-air Aircraft, the Wright brothers' Wright Flyer A triplane is a Fixed-wing aircraft equipped with three sets of wings each roughly the same size and mounted one above the other Up until the 1930s, biplanes were the most common. Triplanes were only occasionally made, especially for a brief period during the First World War due to their high manoeuvrability as fighters. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Since the Second World War, most aeroplanes have been monoplanes. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including A sesquiplane is similar to a biplane, but with the lower wing much reduced in size. A monoplane has only one wing. Monoplanes are further classified as high-wing, mid-wing or low-wing according to where on the fuselage the wing is attached, or parasol wing if the wing passes above the fuselage.
Most multi-plane designs are braced, with struts and/or wires holding the wings in place. Some monoplanes, especially early designs, are also braced, because this allows a much lighter weight than a clean, unbraced cantilever design. But bracing causes a large amount of drag at higher speeds, so it has not been used for faster designs since the 1930s.
Most low-speed aeroplanes have a straight wing, which may be constant-chord, or tapered so that it decreases in chord towards the tip. For flight near or above the speed of sound, a swept wing is usually used, where the wing angles backwards towards the tips. A notable variation is the delta wing, which is shaped like a triangle: the leading edge is sharply swept, but the trailing edge is straight; one common form is the cropped delta, which merges into the tapered swept category, and an especially graceful form is the double-curved ogival delta found for example on Concorde. The delta wing is a Wing Planform in the form of a triangle named after the Greek uppercase delta which is a triangle (Δ WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Another variation is the crescent wing, seen for example on the Handley Page Victor, which is sharply swept inboard, with reduced sweep for the outboard section. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A variable-geometry wing, or swing-wing, can change the angle of sweep in flight. A Variable-sweep wing is an Aeroplane Wing that may be swept back and then returned to its original position during flight It has been employed in a few examples of combat aircraft, the first production type being the General Dynamics F-111. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout An feature on some swept wings is a leading-edge root extension (LERX) at the wing root, which if greatly extended forward becomes a chine, as seen in the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Other planforms have been experimented with, including reverse taper, forward sweep, M-wing and W-wing which reverse sweep half way along, annular and circular.
Seaplanes and Floatplanes differ in that a seaplane has the bottom of its fuselage shaped hydrodynamically and it sits directly on the water when at rest, while a floatplane has two or more floats attached below the rest of the aircraft so that the fuselage remains clear of the water at all times. A seaplane is a Fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting on water A seaplane is a Fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting on water
Some people consider wing-in-ground-effect vehicles to be aeroplanes, others do not. These craft "fly" close to the surface of the ground or water. An example is the Russian ekranoplan also nicknamed the "Caspian Sea Monster". Man-powered aircraft also rely on ground effect to remain airborne, but this is only because they are so underpowered - the airframe is theoretically capable of flying much higher. A human-powered aircraft (HPA is an Aircraft powered by direct human energy and the force of Gravity; the Thrust provided by the human may be the Aircraft may be affected by a number of ground effects, aerodynamic effects due to a flying body's proximity to the ground (Hovercraft are not considered to be aircraft, since they rely wholly on the pressure of air on the ground beneath, and have no aerodynamic lifting surface). A hovercraft, or air-cushion vehicle (ACV is an Amphibious vehicle or craft, designed to travel over any sufficiently smooth surface supported by
Rotorcraft
Rotorcraft, or rotary-wing aircraft, use a spinning rotor with aerofoil section blades (a rotary wing) to provide lift. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout History Since 400 AD Chinese children have played with bamboo flying toys. Classes of rotorcraft Helicopter See also Helicopter A helicopter is a rotorcraft whose rotors are driven by the engine(s throughout the flight An airfoil (in American English) or aerofoil (in British English) is the shape of a Wing or blade (of a Propeller, rotor Types include helicopters, autogyros and various hybrids such as gyrodynes and compound rotorcraft. History Since 400 AD Chinese children have played with bamboo flying toys. Configuration An autogyro is characterised by a free-spinning rotor that turns due to passage of air upwards through the rotor History Once the initial challenges of rotary-wing flight had been solved with the development of Cierva 's Autogiro, research began to focus on improving
Helicopters have powered rotors. History Since 400 AD Chinese children have played with bamboo flying toys. The rotor is driven (directly or indirectly) by an engine and pushes air downwards to create lift. By tilting the rotor forwards, the downwards flow is tilted backwards, producing thrust for forward flight.
Autogyros or gyroplanes have unpowered rotors, with a separate power plant to provide thrust. Configuration An autogyro is characterised by a free-spinning rotor that turns due to passage of air upwards through the rotor The rotor is tilted backwards. As the autogyro moves forward, air blows upwards through it, making it spin. (cf. Autorotation)
This spinning dramatically increases the speed of airflow over the rotor, to provide lift. In Aviation, the word autorotation is applied to operation of Fixed-wing aircraft and Rotary-wing aircraft. Juan de la Cierva (a Spanish civil engineer) used the product name autogiro, and Bensen used gyrocopter. Juan de la Cierva (21 September 1895 – 9 December 1936 was a Spanish Civil engineer and pilot The Bensen Aircraft Corporation was established by Dr Igor Bensen at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina in 1952 to develop Rotor kites, such as the Focke Achgelis Fa 330 are unpowered autogyros, which must be towed by a tether to give them forward ground speed or else be tether-anchored to a static anchor in a high-wind situation for kited flight. The Focke Achgelis Fa 330 Bachstelze ( "Wagtail") was a type of rotary-wing kite known as a Gyroglider or Rotor Kite
Gyrodynes are a form of helicopter, where forward thrust is obtained from a separate propulsion device rather than from tilting the rotor. History Once the initial challenges of rotary-wing flight had been solved with the development of Cierva 's Autogiro, research began to focus on improving The definition of a 'gyrodyne' has changed over the years, sometimes including equivalent autogyro designs. The most important characteristic is that in forward flight air does not flow significantly either up or down through the rotor disc but primarily across it. The Heliplane is a similar idea. History Once the initial challenges of rotary-wing flight had been solved with the development of Cierva 's Autogiro, research began to focus on improving
Compound rotorcraft have wings which provide some or all of the lift in forward flight. Compound helicopters and compound autogyros have been built, and some forms of gyroplane may be referred to as compound gyroplanes. Tiltrotor aircraft (such as the V-22 Osprey) have their rotors horizontal for vertical flight, and pivot the rotors vertically like a propeller for forward flight. Overview As the name implies a tiltrotor aircraft uses tiltable rotating Propellers or proprotors, for lift and propulsion. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A propeller is essentially a type of fan which transmits power by converting Rotational motion into Thrust for propulsion of a vehicle such as an The Coleopter had a cylindrical wing forming a duct around the rotor. On the ground it sat on its tail, and took off and landed vertically like a helicopter. The whole aircraft would then have tilted forward to fly as a propeller-driven aeroplane using the duct as a wing (though this transition was never achieved in practice. )
Some rotorcraft have reaction-powered rotors with gas jets at the tips, but most have one or more lift rotors powered from engine-driven shafts.
Other methods of lift
- A lifting body is the opposite of a flying wing. The lifting body is an Aircraft configuration where the body itself produces lift. A flying wing is a Fixed-wing aircraft which has no definite Fuselage, with most of the crew payload and equipment being housed inside the main wing structure In this configuration the aircraft body is shaped to produce lift. If there are any wings, they are too small to provide all the lift. Lifting bodies are not efficient: the aircraft must travel at high speed to generate enough lift to fly. The most famous lifting body design is the Space Shuttle, while some supersonic missiles obtain lift from the airflow over a tubular body. NASA 's Space Shuttle, officially called the Space Transportation System ( STS) is the Spacecraft currently used by the United States For other uses see Supersonic. The term supersonic is used to define a speed that is over the Speed of sound ( Mach 1 A missile (see also pronunciation differences) is a self-propelled explosive Projectile used as a weapon towards a target
- Powered lifts rely entirely on engine thrust to hold them up in the air. A powered lift (also written powered-lift) is a type of Aircraft that can take off and land vertically but functions differently than a Helicopter There are few practical applications. Experimental designs have been built for personal fan-lift hover platforms and jetpacks or for VTOL research (for example the flying bedstead). VTOL is an abbreviation for Vertical Take-Off and Landing. VTOL describes Fixed-wing aircraft that can lift off vertically VTOL jet aircraft such as the Harrier jump-jet take off and land vertically in powered-lift configuration, then transition to conventional configuration for forward flight. VTOL is an abbreviation for Vertical Take-Off and Landing. VTOL describes Fixed-wing aircraft that can lift off vertically
- The FanWing is a recent innovation and represents a completely new class of aircraft. FanWing or fan wing is a concept for a type of Aircraft. It is distinct from existing types of aircraft such as airplanes and helicopters in that it uses a Fixed This uses a fixed wing with a cylindrical fan mounted spanwise just above. As the fan spins, it creates an airflow backwards over the upper surface of the wing, creating lift. The fan wing is (2005) in development in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located
Propulsion
Unpowered
Some types of aircraft, such as balloons, kites and gliders, do not have any propulsion. A balloon is a flexible bag filled with a type of Gas, such as Helium, Hydrogen, Nitrous oxide or air. A kite is a flying tethered object that depends upon the tension of a tethering system Terminology A "glider" is an unpowered Aircraft. The most common types of glider are today used for sporting purposes
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. Flying with Gravity
Kites are tethered to the ground or other object (fixed or mobile) or other means that maintains tension in the kite line; and rely on virtual or real wind blowing over and under them to generate lift and drag. Kites have a wing and a kite line (line or sometimes more than one line Kytoons are balloon kites that are shaped and tethered to obtain kiting deflections, and can be lighter-than-air, neutrally buoyant, or heavier-than air.
Gliders gain their initial flying speed from some launch mechanism, and then gain additional energy from gravity and from updrafts such as thermal currents. Takeoff may be by launching forwards and downwards from a high location, or by pulling into the air on a towline, 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). The first practical, controllable example was designed and built by the British scientist and pioneer George Cayley who is universally recognised as the first aeronautical engineer. Sir George Cayley 6th Baronet ( December 27, 1773 &ndash December 15, 1857) sometimes known as "the father of Aerodynamics" was
Propellers
A propeller comprises a set of small, wing-like aerofoils set around a central hub which spins on an axis aligned in the direction of travel. A turboprop engine is a type of aircraft powerplant that uses a Gas turbine engine to drive a Propeller. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A seaplane is a Fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting on water A propeller is essentially a type of fan which transmits power by converting Rotational motion into Thrust for propulsion of a vehicle such as an Spinning the propeller creates aerodynamic lift, or thrust, in a forward direction. A contra-prop arrangement has a second propeller close behind the first one on the same axis, which rotates in the opposite direction.
A variation on the propeller is to use many broad blades to create a fan. Such fans are traditionally surrounded by a ring-shaped fairing or duct, as ducted fans. Some experimental designs do not use a duct, and are sometimes called propfans. How to tell whether it's a propellor or a fan? Look at it from the front when stationary: if you can see in between the blades then it is a propellor, while if the blades pretty much block the view it is a fan.
During the 1940's and again following the 1973 energy crisis, development work was done on propellers and propfans with swept tips or curved "scimitar-shaped" blades for use in high-speed applications, to delay the onset of shockwaves where the blade tips approach the speed of sound in similar manner to wing sweepback. The 1973 oil crisis began on October 17 1973 when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC consisting of the Arab members of
Many kinds of power plant have been used to drive propellers.
The earliest designs used man power to give dirigible balloons some degree of control, and go back to Jean-Pierre Blanchard in 1784. A human-powered aircraft (HPA is an Aircraft powered by direct human energy and the force of Gravity; the Thrust provided by the human may be the Terminology In some countries airships are also known as dirigibles from the French (fr ''diriger'' to direct plus -ible) meaning "directable" Jean-Pierre Blanchard (aka Jean Pierre François Blanchard was a French inventor most remembered as a pioneer in Aviation and ballooning. Year 1784 ( MDCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Attempts to achieve heavier-than-air manpowered flight did not succeed until Paul MacCready's Gossamer Condor in 1977. Paul B MacCready Jr ( September 25, 1925 - August 28, 2007) was an American Aeronautical engineer. The Gossamer Condor is the first successful Human-powered aircraft. Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays
The first powered flight was made in a steam-powered dirigible by Henri Giffard in 1852. The Gossamer Albatross was a Human-powered aircraft built by American Aeronautical engineer Dr A human-powered aircraft (HPA is an Aircraft powered by direct human energy and the force of Gravity; the Thrust provided by the human may be the Steam aircraft are Aircraft that are propelled by Steam engines They were unusual devices because of the difficulty in producing a Powerplant with a high Henri Giffard (1825-1882 was a French engineer Giffard invented the Injector and the powered Airship with a steam engine weighing over 400 lb it was the world's Year 1852 ( MDCCCLII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Attempts to marry a practical lightweight steam engine to a practical fixed-wing airframe did not succeed until much later, by which time the internal combustion engine was already dominant. A steam engine is a Heat engine that performs Mechanical work using Steam as its Working fluid.
From the first powered aeroplane flight by the Wright brothers until World War II, propellers turned by the internal combustion piston engine were virtually the only type of propulsion system in use. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the Combustion of Fuel and an Oxidizer (typically air occurs in a confined space called a (See also: Aircraft engine. An aircraft engine is a Propulsion system for an Aircraft. Aircraft engines are almost always a type of lightweight Internal combustion engine. ) The piston engine is still used in the majority of smaller aircraft produced, since it is efficient at the lower altitudes and slower speeds suited to propellers.
Turbine engines need not be used as jets (see below), but may be geared to drive a propeller in the form of a turboprop. A turboprop engine is a type of aircraft powerplant that uses a Gas turbine engine to drive a Propeller. Modern helicopters also typically use turbine engines to power the rotor. Turbines provide more power for less weight than piston engines, and are better suited to small-to-medium size aircraft or larger, slow-flying types.
Other less common power sources include:
- Electric motors, often linked to solar panels to create a solar-powered aircraft.
- Rubber bands, wound many times to store energy, are mostly used for flying models.
Jet engines
Jet engines provide thrust by taking in air, burning it with fuel, and accelerating the exhaust rearwards so that it ejects at high speed. specific --->A jet engine is a Reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet of Fluid to The reaction against this acceleration provides the engine thrust.
Jet engines can provide much higher thrust than propellers, and are naturally efficient at higher altitudes, being able to operate above 40,000 ft (12,000 m). specific --->A jet engine is a Reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet of Fluid to WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout EgyptAir ( IATA Code MS ( Arabic: مصر للطيران) is the Flag carrier Airline of the Arab Republic of Egypt and a member They are also much more fuel-efficient than rockets. A rocket or rocket vehicle is a Missile, Aircraft or other Vehicle which obtains Thrust by the reaction of the Consequently, nearly all high-speed and high-altitude aircraft use jet engines.
The early turbojet and modern turbofan use a spinning turbine to create airflow for takeoff and to provide thrust. TurboJET (噴射飛航 is the brand name for the operations of the Hong Kong -based Shun Tak-China Travel Ship Management Limited (信德中旅船務管理有限公司 A turbofan is a type of Jet engine, similar to a Turbojet. It essentially consists of a Ducted fan with a smaller diameter turbojet engine Many, mostly in military aviation, use afterburners which inject extra fuel into the exhaust. The AfterBurner is a lighting solution for the Game Boy Advance system that was created by Triton-Labs Use of a turbine is not absolutely necessary: other designs include the crude pulse jet, high-speed ramjet and the still-experimental supersonic-combustion ramjet or scramjet. A pulse jet engine (or pulsejet) is a very simple form of Internal combustion engine based Jet engine where combustion occurs in Pulses A ramjet, sometimes referred to as a stovepipe jet, or an athodyd, is a form of Jet engine that contains no major Moving parts. A scramjet ( s upersonic c ombustion ramjet) is a variation of a Ramjet with the distinction being that some or all of the combustion process These designs require an existing airflow to work and cannot work when stationary, so they must be launched by a catapult or rocket booster, or dropped from a mother ship. The bypass turbofan engines of the Lockheed SR-71 were a hybrid design - the aircraft took off and landed in jet turbine configuration, and for high-speed flight the turbine was bypassed and the afterburners used to form a ramjet. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The motorjet used a piston engine in place of the turbine - it was soon superseded by the turbojet and remained a curiosity. A motorjet is a rudimentary type of Jet engine which is sometimes referred to as thermojet, a term now commonly
Other forms of propulsion
- Rocket aircraft have occasionally been experimented with, and the Messerschmitt Komet fighter even saw action in the Second World War. This is an incomplete listing loosely chronological sorted by type used for launch of some aircraft that used rocket propulsion Spaceplanes Spaceplanes are aircraft that WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Since then they have been restricted to rather specialised niches, such as the North American X-15 which travelled up into space where no oxygen is available for combustion (rockets carry their own oxidant). Rockets have more often been used as a supplement to the main powerplant, typically to assist takeoff of heavily-loaded aircraft, but also in a few experimental designs such as the Saunders-Roe SR.53 to provide a high-speed dash capability. The Saunders-Roe SR53 was a prototype Interceptor aircraft of mixed jet and Rocket propulsion developed for the Royal Air Force
- The flapping-wing ornithopter is a category of its own. Early history The idea of constructing wings in order to imitate the flight of birds dates to the ancient Greek legend of Daedalus and Icarus These designs may have potential, but no practical device has been created beyond research prototypes, simple toys, and a model hawk used to freeze prey into stillness so that it can be captured. Early history The idea of constructing wings in order to imitate the flight of birds dates to the ancient Greek legend of Daedalus and Icarus
Classification by use
The major distinction in aircraft usage is between military aviation, which includes all uses of aircraft for military purposes (such as combat, patrolling, search and rescue, reconnaissance, transport, and training), and civil aviation, which includes all uses of aircraft for non-military purposes. Military aviation is the use of Aircraft and other flying machines for the purposes of conducting or enabling warfare including national airlift ( Cargo) capacity Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying representing all non- Military aviation, both private and commercial
Military aircraft
Combat aircraft like fighters or bombers represent only a minority of the category. Many civil aircraft have been produced in separate models for military use, such as the civil Douglas DC-3 airliner, which became the military C-47/C-53/R4D transport in the U. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout S. military and the "Dakota" in the UK and the Commonwealth. Even the small fabric-covered two-seater Piper J3 Cub had a military version, the L-4 liaison, observation and trainer aircraft. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout In the past, 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 cargo gliders were used during World War II to land troops. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including
Combat aircraft themselves, though used a handful of times for reconnaissance and surveillance during the Italo-Turkish War, did not come into widespread use until the Balkan War. Surveillance aircraft are military Aircraft used for monitoring enemy activity usually carrying no armament The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War (also known in Italy as guerra di Libia, "the Libyan war" and in Turkey as Trablusgarp Savaşı) was fought The Balkan Wars were two wars in South-eastern Europe in 1912–1913 in the course of which the Balkan League ( Bulgaria, Montenegro, Greece
During World War I many types of aircraft were adapted for attacking the ground or enemy vehicles/ships/guns/aircraft, and the first aircraft designed as bombers were born. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All A bomber is a Military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets primarily by dropping Bombs on them In order to prevent the enemy from bombing, fighter aircraft were developed to intercept and shoot down enemy aircraft. A fighter aircraft is a Military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other Aircraft, as opposed to a Bomber, which is designed Tankers were developed after World War II to refuel other aircraft in mid-air, thus increasing their operational range. Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling ( IFR) air-to-air refueling ( AAR) or tanking, is World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including By the time of the Vietnam War, helicopters had come into widespread military use, especially for transporting, supplying, and supporting ground troops. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia History Since 400 AD Chinese children have played with bamboo flying toys.
Civil aircraft
Civil aviation broadly divides into commercial and general activities, however in practice there is some overlap. Qatar Airways Company QCSC (القطرية is the Flag carrier airline of Qatar, based in Doha. Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying representing all non- Military aviation, both private and commercial
Commercial aircraft
Commercial aviation includes scheduled and charter airline flights. Commercial aviation is the part of Civil aviation (both General aviation and scheduled airline service) that involves operating aircraft for hire An airline provides air transport services for Passengers or Freight, generally with a recognized operating certificate or license It also overlaps with a certain amount of general aviation activity where aircraft are offered for hire. General aviation (abbr GA) is one of two categories of Civil aviation.
General aviation
General aviation is a catch-all covering other kinds of private and commercial use. General aviation (abbr GA) is one of two categories of Civil aviation. The vast majority of flights flown around the world each day belong to the general aviation category, which covers a wide range of activities such as business trips, civilian flight training, recreation, competitive sports, firefighting, medical transport (medevac), and cargo transportation, to name a few. Medical evacuation, often termed MEDEVAC or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to the wounded being A cargo aircraft (also known as freighters or freight aircraft) is an Fixed-wing aircraft designed or converted for the carriage of goods rather
Within general aviation, there is a further distinction between private flights (where the pilot is not paid for time or expenses) and commercial flights (where the pilot is paid by a client or employer). Private aviation is the part of Civil aviation that involves flying not for hire Private pilots use aircraft primarily for personal travel, business travel, or recreation. Private Pilot License (PPL or in the United States, a Private Pilot Certificate, is a qualification that permits the holder to act as the pilot of an Aircraft Usually they own or rent the aircraft. Commercial pilots in general aviation fly aircraft for a wide range of tasks, such as flight training, pipeline surveying, passenger and freight transport, policing, crop dusting, and medevac flights.
Piston-powered propeller aircraft (single-engine or twin-engine) are especially common for both private and commercial general aviation, but even private pilots occasionally own and operate helicopters like the Bell JetRanger or turboprops like the Beechcraft King Air. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout This article is about 90 and 100 Series King Airs For 200 and 300 Series King Airs see the Beechcraft Super King Air article Business jets are typically flown by commercial pilots, although there is a new generation of small jets arriving soon for private pilots. Another small but important class of private aircraft are the historical warbirds. For the comic book superhero see Ms Marvel.For the Romulan starships in Star Trek see D'deridex-class warbird.
Experimental aircraft
In layman's terms, experimental aircraft are one-off specials, built to explore some aspect of aircraft design and with no other useful purpose. The Bell X-1 rocket plane, which first broke the sound barrier in level flight, is a famous example. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout
The formal designation of "Experimental aircraft" also includes other types which are "not certified for commercial applications", including one-off modifications of existing aircraft such as the modified Boeing 747 which NASA uses to ferry the space shuttle from landing site to launch site, and aircraft homebuilt by amateurs for their own personal use. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout
Model aircraft
A model aircraft is a small unmanned type made to fly for fun, for static display, for serious aerodynamic research (cf Reynolds number) or for many other purposes. Model aircraft are flying or non-flying models of existing or imaginary Aircraft, often scaled down versions of full size planes using materials such as balsa In Fluid mechanics and Heat transfer, the Reynolds number \mathrm{Re} is a Dimensionless number that gives a measure of the Ratio A scale model is a replica of some larger design. A scale model is a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object.
History
See also: Timeline of aviation
The history of aircraft development divides broadly into five eras:
- Pioneers of flight
- First World War
- Inter-war years
- Second World War
- Postwar, also called the jet age
Manufacturers and types
Within any general category, aircraft are usually listed according to manufacturer and production type. Aviation history deals with the development of mechanical Flight, from the earliest attempts in Kite -powered and gliding flight to powered Heavier-than-air flight This is a listing of early flying machines. Claims regarding early flying machines vary in countries books and encyclopedias World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including
- See also: List of aircraft
Environmental effects
Aircraft generate considerable amounts of noise pollution and air pollution emissions. This list of aircraft is sorted alphabetically beginning with the name of the manufacturer (or in certain cases designer Since the 1960s the U S Environmental Protection Agency has developed emissions factors for the most commonly used aircraft; in 1972 the Federal Aviation Administration developed a computer model for prediction of air pollution concentrations produced by aircraft in flight. [1]
See also
Lists
- List of aircraft by category
- List of aircraft by date and usage category
- List of aircraft engines
- List of altitude records reached by different aircraft types
- List of aviation, aerospace and aeronautical terms
Topics
- Aerial refuelling
- Aircraft axis
- Aircraft carrier
- Aircraft spotting
- Airline call signs
- Air safety
- Air transports of Heads of State
- Aviation
- Balloon (aircraft)
- Contrail
- First flying machine
- Flight controls
- Flight instruments
- Flight planning
- Future aircraft developments
- Gliding
- Noise pollution
- Personal air vehicle
- Powered paragliding
- Powered parachute
- Flying car/roadable aircraft
- Spacecraft
- Steam aircraft
- Surveillance aircraft
References
- ^ Hogan, C Michael, Richard Venti and Leda Patmore, Prediction of aircraft generated air pollution contours, ESL Inc, prepared for the U S Federal Aviation Administration 1971
External links
History
- Smithsonian Air and Space Museum - Excellent online collection with a particular focus on history of aircraft and spacecraft
- Virtual Museum
- Prehistory of Powered Flight
- The Evolution of Modern Aircraft (NASA)
- History of Aviation in Australia - State Library of NSW
- The Channel Crossing
Information
- Airliners.net
- Everything you wanted to know about Aviation—Provided by New Scientist. This page contains a very long flat list of aircraft types roughly categorised These aircraft are distinguishable from other airplanes because of their significance in filling the short-hop role in the hub and spoke model of passenger and cargo distribution A non-comprehensive list of modern civilian aircraft with descriptions This is a listing of early flying machines. Claims regarding early flying machines vary in countries books and encyclopedias This is a list of notably large aircraft Fixed-wing Civillian Military Experimental/proposed Helicopters and rotary This list of aircraft is sorted alphabetically beginning with the name of the manufacturer (or in certain cases designer These aircraft are distinguishable from other airplanes because of their significance in filling the short-hop role in the hub and spoke model of passenger and cargo distribution This is a list of Jet aircraft that flew or were about to fly during the Second World War: This is a list of aircraft by date and usage Civil air transport Civil - general aviation Civil - Helicopters Research prototypes List of Aircraft engines: Piston engines Two- and four-stroke rotary, radial, inline These are the records set for going the highest in the atmosphere from the age of Ballooning onward Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling ( IFR) air-to-air refueling ( AAR) or tanking, is An aircraft carrier is a Warship designed with Aircraft spotting or Plane spotting is the observation and logging registration numbers of Aircraft: Gliders powered aircraft large balloons This is a list of Airline codes. The table lists the IATA airline designators the ICAO airline designators and the airline call signs (telephony designator Air safety is a term encompassing the theory investigation and categorization of flight failures, and the prevention of such failures through regulation as well as through Some nations maintain one or more special aircraft to transport their heads of state and government Aviation refers to activities involving man-made flying devices ( Aircraft) including the people organizations and regulatory bodies involved with them "Ballooning" redirects here For the behavior of Spiders and other Arthropods see Ballooning (spider. There are conflicting views as to what was the first flying machine. Aircraft flight control systems consist of Flight control surfaces, the respective cockpit controls connecting linkages and the necessary operating mechanisms to control Most aircraft are equipped with a standard set of flight instruments which give the pilot information about the aircraft's attitude airspeed and altitude Flight planning is the process of producing a Flight plan to describe a proposed Aircraft flight A number of ideas are being worked on for future aircraft developments. Gliding is a Recreational activity and competitive Sport in which pilots fly un-powered aircraft known as Gliders or sailplanes Noise pollution (or environmental noise) is displeasing human- or machine-created sound that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life Personal Air Vehicle or PAV is a term widely adopted by the U Powered paragliding, also known as paramotoring is a form of Ultralight aviation where the pilot wears a motor on his or her back (a Paramotor) which provides A powered parachute (motorized parachute PPC paraplane is a parachute with motor and wheels A flying car or roadable aircraft is an Automobile that can legally travel on roads and can take off fly and land as an Aircraft. A spacecraft is a Vehicle or machine designed for Spaceflight. Steam aircraft are Aircraft that are propelled by Steam engines They were unusual devices because of the difficulty in producing a Powerplant with a high Surveillance aircraft are military Aircraft used for monitoring enemy activity usually carrying no armament New Scientist is a weekly International science magazine and website covering recent developments in science and technology for a general English -speaking
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