The human activity that surrounds aircraft is calledaviation. The science of aviation, including designing and building aircraft, is calledaeronautics.Crewed aircraft are flown by an onboardpilot, whereasunmanned aerial vehicles may be remotely controlled or self-controlled by onboardcomputers. Aircraft may be classified by different criteria, such as lift type,aircraft propulsion (if any), usage and others.
Aballoon was originally any aerostat, while the termairship was used for large, powered aircraft designs — usually fixed-wing.[4][5][6][7][8][9] In 1919,Frederick Handley Page was reported as referring to "ships of the air," with smaller passenger types as "Air yachts."[10] In the 1930s, large intercontinental flying boats were also sometimes referred to as "ships of the air" or "flying-ships".[11][12]
The largest aircraft by dimensions and volume (as of 2016) is the 302 ft (92 m) long BritishAirlander 10, a hybrid blimp, with helicopter and fixed-wing features, and reportedly capable of speeds up to 90 mph (140 km/h; 78 kn), and an airborne endurance of two weeks with a payload of up to 22,050 lb (10,000 kg).[14][15][16]
The largest aircraft by weight and largest regular fixed-wing aircraft ever built, as of 2016[update], was theAntonov An-225Mriya. That Soviet-built (Ukrainian SSR) six-engine transport of the 1980s was 84 m (276 ft) long, with an 88 m (289 ft) wingspan. It holds the world payload record, after transporting 428,834 lb (194,516 kg) of goods, and has flown 100 t (220,000 lb) loads commercially. With a maximum loaded weight of 550–700 t (1,210,000–1,540,000 lb), it was also the heaviest aircraft built to date. It could cruise at 500 mph (800 km/h; 430 kn).[17][18][19][20][21] The aircraft was destroyed during theRusso-Ukrainian War.[22]
The largest military airplanes are the UkrainianAntonov An-124Ruslan (world's second-largest airplane, also used as a civilian transport),[23] and AmericanLockheed C-5 Galaxy transport, weighing, loaded, over 380 t (840,000 lb).[21][24] The 8-engine, piston/propellerHughes H-4Hercules "Spruce Goose" — an AmericanWorld War II wooden flying boat transport with a greater wingspan (94m/260 ft) than any current aircraft and a tail height equal to the tallest (Airbus A380-800 at 24.1m/78 ft) — flew only one short hop in the late 1940s and never flew out ofground effect.[21]
The largest civilian airplanes, apart from the above-noted An-225 and An-124, are theAirbus Beluga cargo transport derivative of theAirbus A300 jet airliner, theBoeing Dreamlifter cargo transport derivative of theBoeing 747 jet airliner/transport (the 747-200B was, at its creation in the 1960s, the heaviest aircraft ever built, with a maximum weight of over 400 t (880,000 lb)),[24] and the double-deckerAirbus A380 "super-jumbo" jet airliner (the world's largest passenger airliner).[21][25]
The fastest fixed-wing aircraft and fastest glider, is theSpace Shuttle, which re-entered the atmosphere at nearly Mach 25 or 17,500 mph (28,200 km/h)[26]
The fastest recorded powered aircraft flight and fastest recorded aircraft flight of an air-breathing powered aircraft was of theNASA X-43APegasus, ascramjet-powered,hypersonic,lifting body experimental research aircraft, atMach 9.68 or 6,755 mph (10,870 km/h) on 16 November 2004.[27]
Prior to the X-43A, the fastest recorded powered airplane flight, and still the record for the fastest manned powered airplane, was theNorth American X-15, rocket-powered airplane at Mach 6.7 or 7,274 km/h (4,520 mph) on 3 October 1967.[28]
The fastest manned, air-breathing powered airplane is theLockheed SR-71 Blackbird, a U.S.reconnaissance jet fixed-wing aircraft, having reached 3,530 km/h (2,193 mph) on 28 July 1976.[29]
Compared to engines using propellers, jet engines can provide much higher thrust, higher speeds and, above about 40,000 ft (12,000 m), greater efficiency.[31]
A fixed wing is typically unstable in pitch, roll, and yaw. Pitch and yaw stabilities of conventional fixed wing designs requirehorizontal and vertical stabilisers,[46][47] which act similarly to the feathers on an arrow.[48] These stabilizing surfaces allow equilibrium of aerodynamic forces and to stabilise theflight dynamics of pitch and yaw.[46][47]
A military aircraft is any aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type.[49] Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:
Combat aircraft are aircraft designed to destroy enemy equipment using its own armament.[49]
^Michael Halloran and Sean O'Meara,Wing in Ground Effect Craft Review, DSTO, Australia"Archived copy"(PDF). Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 22 May 2013. Retrieved24 August 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), p51. Notes an agreement between ICAO and IMO that WIGs come under the jurisdiction of the International Maritime Organisation although there an exception for craft with a sustained use out of ground effect (OGE) to be considered as aircraft.
^abLoftin, Laurence K., Jr.,"Wide-Body Transports"Archived 7 June 2013 at theWayback Machine, in Chapter 13, "Jet Transports," in Part II, "The Jet Age," inQuest for Performance: The Evolution of Modern Aircraft, NASA SP-468, 1985, Scientific and Technical Information Branch,NASA, Washington, D.C., Updated: 6 August 2004. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
^"ch10-3". Hq.nasa.gov.Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. Retrieved26 March 2010.
^abcdeGove, P.B., editor:Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, 1993, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, Mass., USA
^abcdeCrane, D., editor:Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition, ASA (Aviation Supplies & Academics), Newcastle, Washington, USA
^2012 Federal Aviation Regulations for Aviation Maintenance Technicians, 2012, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation
^abcGunston, Bill, editor:Jane's Aerospace Dictionary 1980, Jane's, London / New York / Sydney
^"Airbus-A350-Family-Facts-and-Figures April-2024.pdf"(PDF).airbus.com. Airbus. 2024. Retrieved18 June 2024.… Operational flexibility: … The A350-900 Ultra Long Range (ULR) is the latest variant of the A350 Family. Capable of flying 9,700 nautical miles (18,000 kilometres) non-stop, the A350-900ULR offers the longest range of any commercial airliner in service today. …
^abCrane, Dale:Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition, p. 194. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997.ISBN1-56027-287-2
^abAviation Publishers Co. Limited,From the Ground Up, p. 10 (27th revised edition)ISBN0-9690054-9-0
Note 1:Atiltwing ortiltrotor aircraft functions as an aeroplane during normal (horizontal) flight and as a helicopter during low-speed flight.
Note 2:For full-size aircraft with powered rotors the rotor is normally tilted to achieve thrust (e.g. in a helicopter). Some toys (e.g.balloon helicopter) do have a powered rotor with no means to tilt the rotor to produce horizontal thrust.
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