INTRODUCTION TO AIRCRAFT
Airplanes come in many different shapes and sizes depending on the mission of the aircraft, but all modern airplanes have certain components in common. These are the fuselage, wing, tail assembly and control surfaces, landing gear, and powerplant(s).
For any airplane to fly, it must be able to lift the weight of the airplane, its fuel, the passengers, and the cargo. The wings generate most of the lift to hold the plane in the air. To generate lift, the airplane must be pushed through the air. The engines, which are usually located beneath the wings, provide the thrust to push the airplane forward through the air.
The fuselage is the body of the airplane that holds all the pieces of the aircraft together and many of the other large components are attached to it. The fuselage is generally streamlined as much as possible to reduce drag. Designs for fuselages vary widely. The fuselage houses the cockpit where the pilot and flight crew sit and it provides areas for passengers and cargo. It may also carry armaments of various sorts. Some aircraft carry fuel in the fuselage; others carry the fuel in the wings. In addition, an engine may be housed in the fuselage.
The wing provides the principal lifting force of an airplane. Lift is obtained from the dynamic action of the wing with respect to the air. The cross-sectional shape of the wing as viewed from the side is known as the airfoil section. The planform shape of the wing (the shape of the wing as viewed from above) and placement of the wing on the fuselage (including the angle of incidence), as well as the airfoil section shape, depend upon the airplane mission and the best compromise necessary in the overall airplane design.
The control surfaces include all those moving surfaces of an airplane used for attitude, lift, and drag control. They include the tail assembly, the structures at the rear of the airplane that serve to control and maneuver the aircraft and structures forming part of and attached to the wing.
The tail usually has a fixed horizontal piece (called the horizontal stabilizer) and a fixed vertical piece (called the vertical stabilizer). The stabilizers provide stability for the aircraft—they keep it flying straight. The vertical stabilizer keeps the nose of the plane from swinging from side to side (called yaw), while the horizontal stabilizer prevents an up-and-down motion of the nose (called pitch). (On the Wright brothers' first successful aircraft, the horizontal stabilizer was placed in front of the wings. Such a configuration is called a canard after the French word for "duck").
The hinged part found on the trailing edge of the wing is called the aileron. It is used to roll the wings from side to side. Flaps are hinged or pivoted parts of the leading and/or trailing edges of the wing used to increase lift at reduced airspeeds, primarily at landing and takeoff. Spoilers are devices used to disrupt the airflow over the wing so as to reduce the lift on an airplane wing quickly. By operating independently on each wing, they may provide an alternate form of roll control. Slats at the front part of the wing are used at takeoff and landing to produce additional lift.
At the rear of both the aileron surfaces and elevators and rudders are small moving sections called trim tabs that are attached by hinges. Their function is to (1) balance the airplane if it is too nose heavy, tail heavy, or wing heavy to fly in a stable cruise condition; (2) maintain the elevator, rudder, and ailerons at whatever setting the pilot wishes without the pilot maintaining pressure on the controls; and (3) help move the elevators, rudder, and ailerons and thus relieve the pilot of the effort necessary to move the surfaces.The landing gear, or undercarriage, supports the airplane when it is resting on the ground or in water and during the takeoff and landing. The gear may be fixed or retractable. The wheels of most airplanes are attached to shock-absorbing struts that use oil or air to cushion the blow of landing. Special types of landing gear include skis for snow and floats for water. For carrier landings, arrester hooks are used.
Forward motion, or thrust, is generated by a thrust-producing device or powerplant to sustain flight. The powerplant consists of the engine (and propeller, if present) and the related accessories. The main engine types are the reciprocating (or piston type), and the reaction, or jet, engine such as the ram jet, pulse jet, turbojet, turboprop, and rocket engine. The propeller converts the energy of a reciprocating engine's rotating crankshaft into a thrust force. Usually the engines are located in cowled pods hung beneath the wings, but some aircraft, like fighter aircraft, will have the engines buried in the fuselage.
Civil aircraft
Civil aircraft broadly divides into commercial and general activities, however there can be some overlap in practice.
Commercial aircraft
Commercial aviation includes scheduled and charter airline flights. It also overlaps with a certain amount of general aviation activity where aircraft are offered for hire.
General aviation
General aviation is a catch-all covering other kinds of private and commercial use. 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, recreational balloon flying, firefighting, medical transport (medevac) flights, and cargo transportation on freight aircraft, to name a few. Within general aviation, the major distinction is between private flights (where the pilot is not paid for time or expenses) and commercial flights (where the pilot is paid by a customer or employer). Private pilots use aircraft primarily for personal travel, business travel, or recreation. Usually these private pilots own their own aircraft and take out loans from banks or specialized lenders to purchase them. Commercial general aviation pilots use 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. Business jets are typically flown by commercial pilots, although there is a new generation of small jets arriving soon for Private pilots. use aircraft primarily for personal travel, business travel, or recreation. Usually these private pilots own their own aircraft and take out loans from banks or specialized lenders to purchase them. Commercial general aviation pilots use 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. Business jets are typically flown by commercial pilots, although there is a new generation of small jets arriving soon for private pilots.
[list of some civil aircraft]
(Airbus A300, Airbus A300-600,Airbus A300-608ST 'Beluga',Airbus A310 ,A318, A19, A20, A21, A330Airbus A340-200,Airbus A340-300,Airbus A340-500,Airbus A340-600,Airbus A350,Airbus A380,Airbus B4-200,Antonov 22, Boeing 707,717,720B,727,Boeing 737,Boeing 737-100,Boeing 737-200,Boeing 737-300,Boeing 737-400,Boeing 737-500,Boeing 737-600,Boeing 737-700,Boeing 737-800,Boeing 737-900,Boeing 747,Boeing 747-100,Boeing 747-200,Boeing 747-300,Boeing 747-400,Boeing 747-8,Boeing 747SP,Boeing 757-200,Boeing 757-300,Boeing 767-200,Boeing 767-300,Boeing 767-400,Boeing 777-200,Boeing 777-300,Boeing 787,Boeing 7E7,Bombardier Challenger,Bombardier CL-415)
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.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. 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.
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.
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. In order to prevent the enemy from bombing, fighter aircraft were developed to intercept and shoot down enemy aircraft. Tankers were developed after World War II to refuel other aircraft in mid-air, thus increasing their operational range. By the time of the Vietnam War, helicopters had come into widespread military use, especially for transporting, supplying, and supporting ground troops.
[List of some Military aircraft]
(B-1B Lancer ,B-17 Flying Fortress ,B-29 ,B-52,B-2A Spirit ,BAe Harrier ,BAe Hawk ,BAe Hawk 100 & 200 ,B.A.T. F.K.23 Bantam I ,B E-4B-BN,Boeing X32 JSF,BuccaneerB VC 25A,B YAL-1,Boeing B-29 ,Boeing 737 Military ,Eurofighter,E-3C Sentry,F-101,F-104,F-106,F-111,F-117A,F-14,F-15,F-16,F-18,F-22,F-35 JSF 'Lightning II',F-4 Phantom,F4U Corsair,MB-339,MiG-21,MiG-25,MiG-29,Mirage 2000,Mosquito,MiG-15bis,su-27,30,37)
SOME IMPORTANT LINKS
History of fighter Aircraft
American Military Aircraft US Military Aircraft
Sukhoi S-37 "Berkut" 5th Generation Russian Fighter
Russian and Soviet Military Aircraft
Rest of World Military Aircraft
Fighter Generations
Stealth aircraft
Airplanes come in many different shapes and sizes depending on the mission of the aircraft, but all modern airplanes have certain components in common. These are the fuselage, wing, tail assembly and control surfaces, landing gear, and powerplant(s).
For any airplane to fly, it must be able to lift the weight of the airplane, its fuel, the passengers, and the cargo. The wings generate most of the lift to hold the plane in the air. To generate lift, the airplane must be pushed through the air. The engines, which are usually located beneath the wings, provide the thrust to push the airplane forward through the air.
The fuselage is the body of the airplane that holds all the pieces of the aircraft together and many of the other large components are attached to it. The fuselage is generally streamlined as much as possible to reduce drag. Designs for fuselages vary widely. The fuselage houses the cockpit where the pilot and flight crew sit and it provides areas for passengers and cargo. It may also carry armaments of various sorts. Some aircraft carry fuel in the fuselage; others carry the fuel in the wings. In addition, an engine may be housed in the fuselage.
The wing provides the principal lifting force of an airplane. Lift is obtained from the dynamic action of the wing with respect to the air. The cross-sectional shape of the wing as viewed from the side is known as the airfoil section. The planform shape of the wing (the shape of the wing as viewed from above) and placement of the wing on the fuselage (including the angle of incidence), as well as the airfoil section shape, depend upon the airplane mission and the best compromise necessary in the overall airplane design.
The control surfaces include all those moving surfaces of an airplane used for attitude, lift, and drag control. They include the tail assembly, the structures at the rear of the airplane that serve to control and maneuver the aircraft and structures forming part of and attached to the wing.
The tail usually has a fixed horizontal piece (called the horizontal stabilizer) and a fixed vertical piece (called the vertical stabilizer). The stabilizers provide stability for the aircraft—they keep it flying straight. The vertical stabilizer keeps the nose of the plane from swinging from side to side (called yaw), while the horizontal stabilizer prevents an up-and-down motion of the nose (called pitch). (On the Wright brothers' first successful aircraft, the horizontal stabilizer was placed in front of the wings. Such a configuration is called a canard after the French word for "duck").
The hinged part found on the trailing edge of the wing is called the aileron. It is used to roll the wings from side to side. Flaps are hinged or pivoted parts of the leading and/or trailing edges of the wing used to increase lift at reduced airspeeds, primarily at landing and takeoff. Spoilers are devices used to disrupt the airflow over the wing so as to reduce the lift on an airplane wing quickly. By operating independently on each wing, they may provide an alternate form of roll control. Slats at the front part of the wing are used at takeoff and landing to produce additional lift.
At the rear of both the aileron surfaces and elevators and rudders are small moving sections called trim tabs that are attached by hinges. Their function is to (1) balance the airplane if it is too nose heavy, tail heavy, or wing heavy to fly in a stable cruise condition; (2) maintain the elevator, rudder, and ailerons at whatever setting the pilot wishes without the pilot maintaining pressure on the controls; and (3) help move the elevators, rudder, and ailerons and thus relieve the pilot of the effort necessary to move the surfaces.The landing gear, or undercarriage, supports the airplane when it is resting on the ground or in water and during the takeoff and landing. The gear may be fixed or retractable. The wheels of most airplanes are attached to shock-absorbing struts that use oil or air to cushion the blow of landing. Special types of landing gear include skis for snow and floats for water. For carrier landings, arrester hooks are used.
Forward motion, or thrust, is generated by a thrust-producing device or powerplant to sustain flight. The powerplant consists of the engine (and propeller, if present) and the related accessories. The main engine types are the reciprocating (or piston type), and the reaction, or jet, engine such as the ram jet, pulse jet, turbojet, turboprop, and rocket engine. The propeller converts the energy of a reciprocating engine's rotating crankshaft into a thrust force. Usually the engines are located in cowled pods hung beneath the wings, but some aircraft, like fighter aircraft, will have the engines buried in the fuselage.
Civil aircraft
Civil aircraft broadly divides into commercial and general activities, however there can be some overlap in practice.
Commercial aircraft
Commercial aviation includes scheduled and charter airline flights. It also overlaps with a certain amount of general aviation activity where aircraft are offered for hire.
General aviation
General aviation is a catch-all covering other kinds of private and commercial use. 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, recreational balloon flying, firefighting, medical transport (medevac) flights, and cargo transportation on freight aircraft, to name a few. Within general aviation, the major distinction is between private flights (where the pilot is not paid for time or expenses) and commercial flights (where the pilot is paid by a customer or employer). Private pilots use aircraft primarily for personal travel, business travel, or recreation. Usually these private pilots own their own aircraft and take out loans from banks or specialized lenders to purchase them. Commercial general aviation pilots use 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. Business jets are typically flown by commercial pilots, although there is a new generation of small jets arriving soon for Private pilots. use aircraft primarily for personal travel, business travel, or recreation. Usually these private pilots own their own aircraft and take out loans from banks or specialized lenders to purchase them. Commercial general aviation pilots use 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. Business jets are typically flown by commercial pilots, although there is a new generation of small jets arriving soon for private pilots.
[list of some civil aircraft]
(Airbus A300, Airbus A300-600,Airbus A300-608ST 'Beluga',Airbus A310 ,A318, A19, A20, A21, A330Airbus A340-200,Airbus A340-300,Airbus A340-500,Airbus A340-600,Airbus A350,Airbus A380,Airbus B4-200,Antonov 22, Boeing 707,717,720B,727,Boeing 737,Boeing 737-100,Boeing 737-200,Boeing 737-300,Boeing 737-400,Boeing 737-500,Boeing 737-600,Boeing 737-700,Boeing 737-800,Boeing 737-900,Boeing 747,Boeing 747-100,Boeing 747-200,Boeing 747-300,Boeing 747-400,Boeing 747-8,Boeing 747SP,Boeing 757-200,Boeing 757-300,Boeing 767-200,Boeing 767-300,Boeing 767-400,Boeing 777-200,Boeing 777-300,Boeing 787,Boeing 7E7,Bombardier Challenger,Bombardier CL-415)
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.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. 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.
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.
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. In order to prevent the enemy from bombing, fighter aircraft were developed to intercept and shoot down enemy aircraft. Tankers were developed after World War II to refuel other aircraft in mid-air, thus increasing their operational range. By the time of the Vietnam War, helicopters had come into widespread military use, especially for transporting, supplying, and supporting ground troops.
[List of some Military aircraft]
(B-1B Lancer ,B-17 Flying Fortress ,B-29 ,B-52,B-2A Spirit ,BAe Harrier ,BAe Hawk ,BAe Hawk 100 & 200 ,B.A.T. F.K.23 Bantam I ,B E-4B-BN,Boeing X32 JSF,BuccaneerB VC 25A,B YAL-1,Boeing B-29 ,Boeing 737 Military ,Eurofighter,E-3C Sentry,F-101,F-104,F-106,F-111,F-117A,F-14,F-15,F-16,F-18,F-22,F-35 JSF 'Lightning II',F-4 Phantom,F4U Corsair,MB-339,MiG-21,MiG-25,MiG-29,Mirage 2000,Mosquito,MiG-15bis,su-27,30,37)
SOME IMPORTANT LINKS
History of fighter Aircraft
American Military Aircraft US Military Aircraft
Sukhoi S-37 "Berkut" 5th Generation Russian Fighter
Russian and Soviet Military Aircraft
Rest of World Military Aircraft
Fighter Generations
Stealth aircraft
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