Aircraft
hideAn aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift (as with balloons, blimps and dirigibles) or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil (as with vehicles that plane the air with wings in a straight manner, such as airplanes and gliders, or vehicles that generate lift with wings in a rotary manner, such as helicopters or gyrocopters).
Although rockets and missiles also travel through the atmosphere, they are not considered aircraft because they use rocket thrust instead of aerodynamic loading as the primary means of lift. A cruise missile relies on a lifting wing throughout the majority of its flight regime.
The human activity which surrounds aircraft is called aviation. Manned aircraft are flown by an onboard pilot. Unmanned aerial vehicles may be [[remotely controlled or self-controlled by onboard computers. Target drones are an example of UAVs.
For more information about Aircraft, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with aircraft
Reports: Russia's Superjet to be certified in July
Jan 27, 2010 |
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(AP) -- Russia's much-anticipated regional passenger aircraft, the Sukhoi Superjet, should be given flight certification by the summer, officials reportedly said Wednesday.
Puffin: the one-person electric aircraft (w/ Video)
Jan 22, 2010 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA engineers have designed an extremely quiet one-person electrically powered aircraft that can hover like a helicopter and fly like a plane. The “Puffin” launches from an upright position ...
Swiss pilots aim to circle world in a solar-powered plane
Jan 21, 2010 |
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Bertrand Piccard is no conventional environmental activist -- he hopes to raise awareness about the potential of renewable energy by flying a solar-powered aircraft around the world.
Grant aims to reduce cost and expand use of wind turbines for generating electricity
Jan 13, 2010 |
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A technology originally developed to increase lift in aircraft wings and simplify helicopter rotors may soon help reduce the cost of manufacturing and operating wind turbines used for generating electricity.
Research in aircraft control systems and robotics helps improve flight safety
Dec 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- At first blush, it may not seem like robots and aircraft control systems have anything in common. When you put them together, however, you arrive at the core of Guangjun Liu’s unique research ...
Year's Best Gift Could Be A Job From Santa
Dec 17, 2009 |
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In this year's myriad discussions of stimulus and jobs programs, no one has yet publicly raised the idea to ask Santa Claus to take Christmas Eve off. Outsourcing his job by asking mere mortals to deliver ...
Scientists study hummingbirds flight to develop self-propelled surveillance devices
Dec 16, 2009 |
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The secret to the flight of the hummingbird and other tiny birds and insects lies in the looping, swirling flow of air, called a vortex, that their flapping wings create.
Virtual testing gives lightweight planes lift-off
Dec 14, 2009 |
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Monash University aeronautical engineers are working with the world's leading aerospace company to fast-track the design and construction of a new generation of super lightweight and efficient passenger airplanes.
More than 1,000 patients in US admitted annually for aviation-related injuries
Dec 01, 2009 |
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The first ever published study of aviation-related injuries and deaths in the U.S. finds that more than 1,013 patients are admitted to U.S. hospitals with aviation-related injuries annually, and that 753 aviation-deaths occur ...
Rocket test will carry Purdue experiment
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Purdue University researchers are designing and building an experiment that will operate during a test flight of a new type of reusable rocket to be launched by aerospace company Blue Origin LLC.
Alternative fuel 'can power 15% of flights by 2020'
Nov 17, 2009 |
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Alternative fuels could power 15 percent of global air traffic by 2020 and 30 percent by 2030, European aircraft-maker Airbus said at the Dubai Airshow on Tuesday.
Aircraft that can see for themselves (w/ Video)
Nov 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Australian researchers have made two important advances in the development of unmanned aircraft capable of seeing for themselves as they fly fast and low over dangerous terrain.
Energy-autonomous sensors for aircraft
Oct 01, 2009 |
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Aircraft maintenance will be easier in future, with sensors monitoring the aircraft skin. If they discover any dents or cracks they will send a radio message to a monitoring unit. The energy needed for this ...
Fla.-bound space shuttle Discovery stops in La.
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 20, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The space shuttle Discovery is stopped for the night at Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, La., as part of its cross-country flight to Florida.
Test of Futuristic X-48C is Historic Wind Tunnel's Swan Song
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A historic wind tunnel at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., has been pressed into service one last time to help test the prototype of a new, more fuel-efficient, quieter aircraft ...
