Airplane

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"Aeroplane" redirects here. For other uses, see Airplane (disambiguation) and Aeroplane (disambiguation).

North American P-51 Mustang, a World War II fighter

The first flight of an airplane, the Wright Flyer on December 17, 1903

An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a powered, fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from
a jet engine or propeller. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectrum
of uses for airplanes includes recreation, transportation of goods and people, military, and research. Commercial
aviation is a massive industry involving the flying of tens of thousands of passengers daily on airliners. Most airplanes
are flown by a pilot on board the aircraft, but some are designed to be remotely or computer-controlled.
The Wright brothers invented and flew the first airplane in 1903, recognized as "the first sustained and controlled
heavier-than-air powered flight".[1] They built on the works of George Cayley dating from 1799, when he set forth the
concept of the modern airplane (and later built and flew models and successful passenger-carrying gliders).[2]Between
1867 and 1896, the German pioneer of human aviation Otto Lilienthal also studied heavier-than-air flight. Following
its limited use in World War I, aircraft technology continued to develop. Airplanes had a presence in all the major
battles of World War II. The first jet aircraft was the German Heinkel He 178 in 1939. The first jet airliner, the de
Havilland Comet, was introduced in 1952. The Boeing 707, the first widely successful commercial jet, was in
commercial service for more than 50 years, from 1958 to at least 2013.
Contents
[hide]

1Etymology and usage

2History

2.1Antecedents

2.2Early powered flights

2.3Development of jet aircraft

3Propulsion
o

3.1Propeller engines

3.2Jet engines

3.3Electric engines

3.4Rocket engines

3.5Ramjet and scramjet engines

4Design and manufacture

5Characteristics
o

5.1Airframe

5.2Wings

5.2.1Wing structure

5.2.2Wing configuration

5.3Fuselage

5.4Wings vs. bodies

5.4.1Flying wing

5.4.2Blended wing body

5.4.3Lifting body

5.5Empennage and foreplane

5.6Controls and instruments

6Safety

7See also

8References

9Bibliography

10External links

Etymology and usage

First attested in English in the late 19th century (prior to the first sustained powered flight), the word airplane,
like aeroplane, derives from the French aroplane, which comes from the Greek (ar), "air"[3] and
either Latinplanus, "level",[4] or Greek (planos), "wandering".[5][6] "Aroplane" originally referred just to the wing,
as it is a plane moving through the air.[7] In an example of synecdoche, the word for the wing came to refer to the
entire aircraft.
In the United States and Canada, the term "airplane" is used for powered fixed-wing aircraft. In the United
Kingdom and most of the Commonwealth, the term "aeroplane" is usually applied to these aircraft.

History
Main articles: Aviation history and First flying machine

Le Bris and his glider, Albatros II, photographed by Nadar, 1868

Otto Lilienthal in mid-flight, c. 1895

Antecedents
Many stories from antiquity involve flight, such as the Greek legend of Icarus and Daedalus, and the Vimana in
ancient Indian epics. Around 400 BC in Greece, Archytas was reputed to have designed and built the first artificial,
self-propelled flying device, a bird-shaped model propelled by a jet of what was probably steam, said to have flown
some 200 m (660 ft).[8][9] This machine may have been suspended for its flight.[10][11]
Some of the earliest recorded attempts with gliders were those by the 9th-century poet Abbas ibn Firnas and the
11th-century monk Eilmer of Malmesbury; both experiments injured their pilots.[12] Leonardo da Vinci researched the
wing design of birds and designed a man-powered aircraft in his Codex on the Flight of Birds (1502).
In 1799, George Cayley set forth the concept of the modern airplane as a fixed-wing flying machine with separate
systems for lift, propulsion, and control.[13][14] Cayley was building and flying models of fixed-wing aircraft as early as
1803, and he built a successful passenger-carrying glider in 1853.[2] In 1856, Frenchman Jean-Marie Le Bris made
the first powered flight, by having his glider "L'Albatros artificiel" pulled by a horse on a beach.[citation
needed]
Then Alexander F. Mozhaisky also made some innovative designs. In 1883, the American John J.
Montgomery made a controlled flight in a glider.[15] Other aviators who made similar flights at that time were Otto
Lilienthal, Percy Pilcher, and Octave Chanute.
Sir Hiram Maxim built a craft that weighed 3.5 tons, with a 110-foot (34 meter) wingspan that was powered by two
360-horsepower (270 kW) steam engines driving two propellers. In 1894, his machine was tested with overhead rails

to prevent it from rising. The test showed that it had enough lift to take off. The craft was uncontrollable, which Maxim,
it is presumed, realized, because he subsequently abandoned work on it.[16]
In the 1890s, Lawrence Hargrave conducted research on wing structures and developed a box kite that lifted the
weight of a man. His box kite designs were widely adopted. Although he also developed a type of rotary aircraft
engine, he did not create and fly a powered fixed-wing aircraft.[17]
Between 1867 and 1896 the German pioneer of human aviation Otto Lilienthal developed heavier-than-air flight. He
was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful gliding flights.

Early powered flights

Santos-Dumont 14-bis, between 1906 and 1907

The Wright brothers flights in 1903 are recognized by the Fdration Aronautique Internationale (FAI), the standard
setting and record-keeping body for aeronautics, as "the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered
flight".[1] By 1905, the Wright Flyer III was capable of fully controllable, stable flight for substantial periods. The Wright
brothers credited Otto Lilienthal as a major inspiration for their decision to pursue manned flight.
In 1906, Alberto Santos-Dumont made what was claimed to be the first airplane flight unassisted by catapult[18] and
set the first world record recognized by the Aro-Club de France by flying 220 meters (720 ft) in less than 22
seconds.[19] This flight was also certified by the FAI.[20][21]
An early aircraft design that brought together the modern monoplane tractor configuration was the Blriot VIII design
of 1908. It had movable tail surfaces controlling both yaw and pitch, a form of roll control supplied either by wing
warping or by ailerons and controlled by its pilot with a joystick and rudder bar. It was an important predecessor of his
later Blriot XI Channel-crossing aircraft of the summer of 1909.[22]
In Romania the aircraft, A. Vlaicu nr. 1, was finished in 1909, and was test flown on June 17, 1910. From the first
flight the airplane had no need of changes. The plane was made from a single aluminum spar 10 m (33 ft) long which
supported the entire aircraft, making it very easy to fly. Ten planes were made for the Romanian Air Force, being the
second-ever military air force in the world.
World War I served as a testbed for the use of the airplane as a weapon. Airplanes demonstrated their potential as
mobile observation platforms, then proved themselves to be machines of war capable of causing casualties to the
enemy. The earliest known aerial victory with a synchronized machine gun-armed fighter aircraft occurred in 1915, by
German Luftstreitkrfte Leutnant Kurt Wintgens. Fighter aces appeared; the greatest (by number of Aerial Combat
victories) was Manfred von Richthofen.
Following WWI, aircraft technology continued to develop. Alcock and Brown crossed the Atlantic non-stop for the first
time in 1919. The first international commercial flights took place between the United States and Canada in 1919.[citation
needed]

Airplanes had a presence in all the major battles of World War II. They were an essential component of the military
strategies of the period, such as the German Blitzkrieg, The Battle of Britain, and the American and Japanese aircraft
carrier campaigns of the Pacific War.

Development of jet aircraft

The first 'operational' jet aircraft was the German Heinkel He 178, which was tested in 1939. In 1943,
the Messerschmitt Me 262, the first 'operational' jet fighter aircraft, went into service in the German Luftwaffe. In
October 1947, the Bell X-1 was the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound.[23]
The first jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet, was introduced in 1952. The Boeing 707, the first widely successful
commercial jet, was in commercial service for more than 50 years, from 1958 to 2010. The Boeing 747 was the
world's biggest passenger aircraft from 1970 until it was surpassed by the Airbus A380 in 2005.

Propulsion
See also: Powered aircraft and Aircraft engine

Propeller engines
Main article: Propeller (aeronautics)

An Antonov An-2 biplane

Smaller and older propeller planes make use of reciprocating engines (or piston engines) to turn a propeller to create
thrust. The amount of thrust a propeller creates is determined by its disk area - the area in which the blades rotate. If
the area is too small, efficiency is poor, and if the area is large, the propeller must rotate at a very low speed to avoid
going supersonic and creating a lot of noise, and not much thrust. Because of this limitation, propellers are favored
for planes which travel at below mach .5, while jets are a better choice above that speed. Propeller engines may be
quieter than jet engines (though not always) and may cost less to purchase or maintain and so remain common on
light general aviation aircraft such as the Cessna 172. Larger modern propeller planes such as the Dash 8 use a jet
engine to turn the propeller, primarily because an equivalent piston engine in power output would be much larger and
more complex.

Jet engines
Main article: Jet engine

The Concorde supersonic transport aircraft

Jet aircraft are propelled by jet engines, which are used because the aerodynamic limitations of propellers do not
apply to jet propulsion. These engines are much more powerful than a reciprocating engine for a given size or weight
and are comparatively quiet and work well at higher altitude. Most modern jet planes use turbofan jet engines which
balance the advantages of a propeller, while retaining the exhaust speed and power of a jet. This is essentially a
ducted propeller attached to a jet engine, much like a turboprop, but with a smaller diameter. When installed on an
airliner, it is efficient so long as it remains below the speed of sound (or subsonic). Jet fighters and other supersonic
aircraft that do not spend a great deal of time supersonic also often use turbofans, but to function, air intake ducting is
needed to slow the air down so that when it arrives at the front of the turbofan, it is subsonic. When passing through
the engine, it is then re-accelerated back to supersonic speeds. To further boost the power output, fuel is dumped into
the exhaust stream, where it ignites. This is called an afterburner and has been used on both pure jet aircraft
and turbojet aircraft although it is only normally used on combat aircraft due to the amount of fuel consumed, and
even then may only be used for short periods of time. Supersonic airliners (e.g. Concorde) are no longer in use
largely because flight at supersonic speed creates a sonic boom which is prohibited in most heavily populated areas,
and because of the much higher consumption of fuel supersonic flight requires.
Jet aircraft possess high cruising speeds (700 to 900 km/h (430 to 560 mph)) and high speeds
for takeoff and landing (150 to 250 km/h (93 to 155 mph)). Due to the speed needed for takeoff and landing, jet

aircraft use flaps and leading edge devices to control the lift and speed. Many jet aircraft also use thrust reversers to
slow down the aircraft upon landing.

Electric engines
Main article: Electric motor
An electric aircraft runs on electric motors rather than internal combustion engines, with electricity coming from fuel
cells, solar cells, ultracapacitors, power beaming,[24] or batteries. Currently, flying electric aircraft are mostly
experimental prototypes, including manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, but there are some production models on
the market already.[25]

Rocket engines
Main article: Rocket engine

Bell X-1 in flight, 1947

In World War II, the Germans deployed the Me 163 Komet rocket-powered aircraft. The first plane to break the sound
barrier in level flight was a rocket plane the Bell X-1. The later North American X-15 broke many speed and altitude
records and laid much of the groundwork for later aircraft and spacecraft design. Rocket aircraft are not in common
usage today, although rocket-assisted take offs are used for some military aircraft. Recent rocket aircraft include
the SpaceShipOne and the XCOR EZ-Rocket.

Ramjet and scramjet engines

Main articles: Ramjet and Scramjet

Artist's concept of X-43A with scramjet attached to the underside

A ramjet is a form of jet engine that contains no major moving parts and can be particularly useful in applications
requiring a small and simple engine for high-speed use, such as with missiles. Ramjets require forward motion before
they can generate thrust and so are often used in conjunction with other forms of propulsion, or with an external
means of achieving sufficient speed. The Lockheed D-21 was a Mach 3+ ramjet-powered reconnaissance drone that
was launched from a parent aircraft. A ramjet uses the vehicle's forward motion to force air through the engine without
resorting to turbines or vanes. Fuel is added and ignited, which heats and expands the air to provide thrust.
A scramjet is a supersonic ramjet and aside from differences with dealing with internal supersonic airflow works like a
conventional ramjet. This type of engine requires a very high initial speed in order to work. The NASA X-43, an
experimental unmanned scramjet, set a world speed record in 2004 for a jet-powered aircraft with a speed of Mach
9.7, nearly 7,500 miles per hour (12,100 km/h).

Design and manufacture

Main article: Aerospace manufacturer

Assembly line of the SR-71 Blackbird at Skunk Works, Lockheed Martins Advanced Development Programs (ADP).

Most airplanes are constructed by companies with the objective of producing them in quantity for customers. The
design and planning process, including safety tests, can last up to four years for small turboprops or longer for larger
planes.
During this process, the objectives and design specifications of the aircraft are established. First the construction
company uses drawings and equations, simulations, wind tunnel tests and experience to predict the behavior of the
aircraft. Computers are used by companies to draw, plan and do initial simulations of the aircraft. Small models and
mockups of all or certain parts of the plane are then tested in wind tunnels to verify its aerodynamics.
When the design has passed through these processes, the company constructs a limited number of prototypes for
testing on the ground. Representatives from an aviation governing agency often make a first flight. The flight tests
continue until the aircraft has fulfilled all the requirements. Then, the governing public agency of aviation of the
country authorizes the company to begin production.
In the United States, this agency is the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and in the European Union, European
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). In Canada, the public agency in charge and authorizing the mass production of
aircraft is Transport Canada.
In the case of international sales, a license from the public agency of aviation or transport of the country where the
aircraft is to be used is also necessary. For example, airplanes made by the European company, Airbus, need to be
certified by the FAA to be flown in the United States, and airplanes made by U.S.-based Boeing need to be approved
by the EASA to be flown in the European Union.

An Airbus A321 on final assembly line 3 in the Airbus plant at Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport.

Quieter planes are becoming more and more necessary due to the increase in air traffic, particularly over urban
areas, as aircraft noise pollution is a major concern.
Small planes can be designed and constructed by amateurs as homebuilts. Other homebuilt aircraft can be
assembled using pre-manufactured kits of parts that can be assembled into a basic plane and must then be
completed by the builder.
There are few companies that produce planes on a large scale. However, the production of a plane for one company
is a process that actually involves dozens, or even hundreds, of other companies and plants, that produce the parts
that go into the plane. For example, one company can be responsible for the production of the landing gear, while
another one is responsible for the radar. The production of such parts is not limited to the same city or country; in the
case of large plane manufacturing companies, such parts can come from all over the world.

The parts are sent to the main plant of the plane company, where the production line is located. In the case of large
planes, production lines dedicated to the assembly of certain parts of the plane can exist, especially the wings and
the fuselage.
When complete, a plane is rigorously inspected to search for imperfections and defects. After approval by inspectors,
the plane is put through a series of flight tests to assure that all systems are working correctly and that the plane
handles properly. Upon passing these tests, the plane is ready to receive the "final touchups" (internal configuration,
painting, etc.), and is then ready for the customer.

Characteristics

An IAI Heron - an unmanned aerial vehicle with a twin-boom configuration

Airframe
Main article: Airframe
The structural parts of a fixed-wing aircraft are called the airframe. The parts present can vary according to the
aircraft's type and purpose. Early types were usually made of wood with fabric wing surfaces, When engines became
available for powered flight around a hundred years ago, their mounts were made of metal. Then as speeds
increased more and more parts became metal until by the end of WWII all-metal aircraft were common. In modern
times, increasing use of composite materials has been made.
Typical structural parts include:

One or more large horizontal wings, often with an airfoil cross-section shape. The
wing deflects air downward as the aircraft moves forward, generating lifting
force to support it in flight. The wing also provides stability in roll to stop the aircraft
from rolling to the left or right in steady flight.

The An-225 Mriya, which can carry a 250-tonne payload, has two vertical stabilisers.

A fuselage, a long, thin body, usually with tapered or rounded ends to make its
shape aerodynamically smooth. The fuselage joins the other parts of the airframe
and usually contains important things such as the pilot, payload and flight
systems.

A vertical stabilizer or fin is a vertical wing-like surface mounted at the rear of the
plane and typically protruding above it. The fin stabilizes the plane's yaw (turn left
or right) and mounts the rudder which controls its rotation along that axis.

A horizontal stabilizer or tailplane, usually mounted at the tail near the vertical
stabilizer. The horizontal stabilizer is used to stabilize the plane's pitch (tilt up or
down) and mounts the elevators which provide pitch control.

Landing gear, a set of wheels, skids, or floats that support the plane while it is on
the surface. On seaplanes the bottom of the fuselage or floats (pontoons) support
it while on the water. On some planes the landing gear retracts during flight to
reduce drag.

Wings
Main article: Wing
The wings of a fixed-wing aircraft are static planes extending either side of the aircraft. When the aircraft travels
forwards, air flows over the wings which are shaped to create lift. This shape is called an airfoil and is shaped like a
bird's wing.
Wing structure
Airplanes have flexible wing surfaces which are stretched across a frame and made rigid by the lift forces exerted by
the airflow over them. Larger aircraft have rigid wing surfaces which provide additional strength.
Whether flexible or rigid, most wings have a strong frame to give them their shape and to transfer lift from the wing
surface to the rest of the aircraft. The main structural elements are one or more spars running from root to tip, and
many ribs running from the leading (front) to the trailing (rear) edge.
Early airplane engines had little power, and lightness was very important. Also, early airfoil sections were very thin,
and could not have a strong frame installed within. So until the 1930s most wings were too lightweight to have
enough strength and external bracing struts and wires were added. When the available engine power increased
during the 1920s and 30s, wings could be made heavy and strong enough that bracing was not needed any more.
This type of unbraced wing is called a cantilever wing.
Wing configuration
Main article: Wing configuration

Captured Morane-Saulnier L wire-braced parasol monoplane

The number and shape of the wings varies widely on different types. A given wing plane may be full-span or divided
by a central fuselage into port (left) and starboard (right) wings. Occasionally even more wings have been used, with
the three-winged triplane achieving some fame in WWI. The four-winged quadruplane and other multiplane designs
have had little success.
A monoplane has a single wing plane, a biplane has two stacked one above the other, a tandem wing has two placed
one behind the other. When the available engine power increased during the 1920s and 30s and bracing was no
longer needed, the unbraced or cantilever monoplane became the most common form of powered type.
The wing planform is the shape when seen from above. To be aerodynamically efficient, a wing should be straight
with a long span from side to side but have a short chord (high aspect ratio). But to be structurally efficient, and hence
light weight, a wing must have a short span but still enough area to provide lift (low aspect ratio).
At transonic speeds (near the speed of sound), it helps to sweep the wing backwards or forwards to reduce drag from
supersonic shock waves as they begin to form. The swept wing is just a straight wing swept backwards or forwards.

Two Dassault Mirage G prototypes, one with wings swept

The delta wing is a triangle shape which may be used for a number of reasons. As a flexible Rogallo wing it allows a
stable shape under aerodynamic forces, and so is often used for ultralight aircraft and even kites. As a supersonic
wing it combines high strength with low drag and so is often used for fast jets.
A variable geometry wing can be changed in flight to a different shape. The variable-sweep wing transforms between
an efficient straight configuration for takeoff and landing, to a low-drag swept configuration for high-speed flight. Other
forms of variable planform have been flown, but none have gone beyond the research stage.

Fuselage
Main article: Fuselage
A fuselage is a long, thin body, usually with tapered or rounded ends to make its shape aerodynamically smooth. The
fuselage may contain the flight crew, passengers, cargo or payload, fuel and engines. The pilots of manned aircraft
operate them from a cockpit located at the front or top of the fuselage and equipped with controls and usually
windows and instruments. A plane may have more than one fuselage, or it may be fitted with booms with the tail
located between the booms to allow the extreme rear of the fuselage to be useful for a variety of purposes.

Wings vs. bodies

Flying wing
Main article: Flying wing

The US-produced B-2 Spirit is a strategic bomber. It has a flying wing configuration and is capable of intercontinental missions

A flying wing is a tailless aircraft which has no definite fuselage. Most of the crew, payload and equipment are housed
inside the main wing structure.[26]
The flying wing configuration was studied extensively in the 1930s and 1940s, notably by Jack Northrop and Cheston
L. Eshelman in the United States, and Alexander Lippisch and the Horten brothers in Germany. After the war, a
number of experimental designs were based on the flying wing concept, but the known difficulties remained
intractable. Some general interest continued until the early 1950s but designs did not necessarily offer a great
advantage in range and presented a number of technical problems, leading to the adoption of "conventional"
solutions like the Convair B-36 and the B-52 Stratofortress. Due to the practical need for a deep wing, the flying wing
concept is most practical for designs in the slow-to-medium speed range, and there has been continual interest in
using it as a tactical airlifter design.
Interest in flying wings was renewed in the 1980s due to their potentially low radar reflection cross-sections. Stealth
technology relies on shapes which only reflect radar waves in certain directions, thus making the aircraft hard to
detect unless the radar receiver is at a specific position relative to the aircraft - a position that changes continuously
as the aircraft moves. This approach eventually led to the Northrop B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. In this case the
aerodynamic advantages of the flying wing are not the primary needs. However, modern computer-controlled fly-bywire systems allowed for many of the aerodynamic drawbacks of the flying wing to be minimized, making for an
efficient and stable long-range bomber.
Blended wing body
Main article: Blended wing

Computer-generated model of the Boeing X-48

Blended wing body aircraft have a flattened and airfoil shaped body, which produces most of the lift to keep itself
aloft, and distinct and separate wing structures, though the wings are smoothly blended in with the body.
Thus blended wing bodied aircraft incorporate design features from both a futuristic fuselage and flying wing design.
The purported advantages of the blended wing body approach are efficient high-lift wings and a wide airfoil-shaped
body. This enables the entire craft to contribute to lift generation with the result of potentially increased fuel economy.
Lifting body

The Martin Aircraft Company X-24 was built as part of a 1963 to 1975 experimental US military program.

Main article: Lifting body

A lifting body is a configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with
minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage with little or no conventional wing.
Whereas a flying wing seeks to maximize cruise efficiency at subsonic speeds by eliminating non-lifting surfaces,
lifting bodies generally minimize the drag and structure of a wing for subsonic, supersonic, and hypersonic flight,
or, spacecraft re-entry. All of these flight regimes pose challenges for proper flight stability.
Lifting bodies were a major area of research in the 1960s and 70s as a means to build a small and lightweight
manned spacecraft. The US built a number of famous lifting body rocket planes to test the concept, as well as several
rocket-launched re-entry vehicles that were tested over the Pacific. Interest waned as the US Air Force lost interest in
the manned mission, and major development ended during the Space Shuttle design process when it became clear
that the highly shaped fuselages made it difficult to fit fuel tankage.

Empennage and foreplane

Main articles: Empennage and Canard (aeronautics)

Canards on the Saab Viggen

The classic airfoil section wing is unstable in flight and difficult to control. Flexible-wing types often rely on an anchor
line or the weight of a pilot hanging beneath to maintain the correct attitude. Some free-flying types use an adapted
airfoil that is stable, or other ingenious mechanisms including, most recently, electronic artificial stability.
But in order to achieve trim, stability and control, most fixed-wing types have an empennage comprising a fin and
rudder which act horizontally and a tailplane and elevator which act vertically. This is so common that it is known as
the conventional layout. Sometimes there may be two or more fins, spaced out along the tailplane.
Some types have a horizontal "canard" foreplane ahead of the main wing, instead of behind it.[27][28][29] This foreplane
may contribute to the lift, the trim, or control of the aircraft, or to several of these.

Controls and instruments

Main article: Aircraft flight control system

A light aircraft (Robin DR400/500) cockpit

Further information: Fixed-wing aircraft Aircraft controls, and Fixed-wing aircraft Cockpit instrumentation
Airplanes have complex flight control systems. The main controls allow the pilot to direct the aircraft in the air by
controlling the attitude (roll, pitch and yaw) and engine thrust.
On manned aircraft, cockpit instruments provide information to the pilots, including flight data, engine output,
navigation, communications and other aircraft systems that may be installed.

Safety
Main article: Aviation safety
When risk is measured by deaths per passenger kilometer, air travel is approximately 10 times safer than travel by
bus or rail. However, when using the deaths per journey statistic, air travel is significantly more dangerous than car,
rail, or bus travel.[30] Air travel insurance is relatively expensive for this reason- insurers generally use the deaths per
journey statistic.[31] There is a significant difference between the safety of airliners and that of smaller private planes,
with the per-mile statistic indicating that airliners are 8.3 times safer than smaller planes.[32]

See also

Aviation portal

Abbas Ibn Firnas

Aircraft flight mechanics

Airliner

Aviation

Aviation and the environment

Aviation history

Fuel efficiency

List of altitude records reached by different aircraft types

Maneuvering speed

Rotorcraft

Wright Brothers

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[permanent dead link]
The wording is: "cette prouesse est le premier vol au
monde homologu par l'Aro-Club de France et la toute jeune Fdration
Aronautique Internationale (FAI)."
21. Jump up^ Santos-Dumont: Pionnier de l'aviation, dandy de la Belle Epoque.[dead link]
22. Jump up^ Crouch, Tom (1982). Bleriot XI, The Story of a Classic Aircraft. Smithsonian
Institution Press. pp. 21 and 22. ISBN 0-87474-345-1.
23. Jump up^ Hallion, Richard, P. "The NACA, NASA, and the Supersonic-Hypersonic
Frontier." NASA. Retrieved: 7 September 2011.
24. Jump up^ Power Beaming. Dfrc.nasa.gov.
25. Jump up^ Pipistrel Expands Electric Aircraft Line (2013)
26. Jump up^ Crane, Dale: Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition, page 224.
Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ISBN 1-56027-287-2
27. Jump up^ Crane, Dale: Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition, page 86.
Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ISBN 1-56027-287-2
28. Jump up^ Aviation Publishers Co. Limited, From the Ground Up, page 10 (27th
revised edition) ISBN 0-9690054-9-0
29. Jump up^ Federal Aviation Administration (August 2008). "Title 14: Aeronautics and
Space - PART 1DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS". Archived from the
original on 20 September 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
30. Jump up^ The risks of travel Archived September 7, 2001, at the Wayback Machine..
Numberwatch.co.uk.
31. Jump up^ Flight into danger - 7 August 1999 - New Scientist Space.
Space.newscientist.com (7 August 1999).
32. Jump up^ Mantakos, Harry, Is GA Flying Safer Than Driving?, retrieved 13 May 2012

Bibliography

Blatner, David. The Flying Book: Everything You've Ever Wondered About Flying
On Airplanes. ISBN 0-8027-7691-4

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