User:Dohn joe/Fixed-wing
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A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using fixed wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed and the shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings. "Fixed-wing" does not necessarily mean that the wing is rigid. Many fixed-wing aircraft use flexible wing materials.
Several diverse types of aircraft are classified as fixed-wing: powered fixed-wing aircraft include airplanes and ground effect vehicles, while unpowered fixed-wing aircraft include gliders, hang gliders, and kites.
Classes of fixed-wing aircraft[edit]
Powered fixed-wing aircraft[edit]
Aeroplane[edit]
An aeroplane (or airplane) is a powered fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine or propeller. Planes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectrum of uses for planes includes recreation, transportation of goods and people, military, and research.
Powered paraglider[edit]
Powered paragliding, also known as paramotoring, is a form of ultralight aviation where the pilot wears a motor on his back (a paramotor) which provides enough thrust to take off using an adapted paraglider or paramotor wing. As in paragliding, the pilot of a powered paraglider sits suspended beneath the inflated paraglider wing during flight.
Ground effect vehicle[edit]
A ground effect vehicle is an aircraft that attains level flight near the surface of the earth, making use of the ground effect - an aerodynamic interaction between the wings and the earth's surface.
Unpowered fixed-wing aircraft[edit]
Glider[edit]
Gliders are heavier-than-air craft that are supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against their lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Some gliders have engines for extending their flights and some have engines powerful enough to launch.
As is the case with planes, there are a wide variety of glider types differing in the construction of their wings, aerodynamic efficiency, location of the pilot and controls. Gliders are principally used recreationally, but are also used for recovering spacecraft. Perhaps the most familiar type is the paper plane.
Paraglider[edit]
A paraglider is a lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure.[1] The pilot sits in a harness suspended below a hollow fabric wing whose shape is formed by its suspension lines, the pressure of air entering vents in the front of the wing and the aerodynamic forces of the air flowing over the outside. Paragliding is most often a recreational activity.
Hang glider[edit]
A hang glider (also known as Delta plane or Deltaplane) is a glider aircraft in which the pilot is ensconced in a harness suspended from the airframe, and exercises control by shifting body weight in opposition to a control frame. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite-framed fabric wing. Pilots have the ability to soar for hours, gain thousands of metres of altitude in thermal updrafts, perform aerobatics, and glide cross-country for hundreds of kilometres.
Kite[edit]
A kite is a tethered aircraft.[2] The necessary lift that makes the kite wing fly is typically generated when air flows over and under the kite's wing, producing low pressure above the wing and high pressure below it. This deflection also generates horizontal drag along the direction of the wind. The resultant force vector from the lift and drag force components is opposed by the tension of the one or more lines or tethers attached to the wing.
Kites may be flown for recreational, artistic, or other purposes.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Whittall, Noel (2002), Paragliding: The Complete Guide, Airlife Pub, ISBN 1840370165
- ^ Beginner's Guide to Aeronautics, NASA