Refers to a heavier-than-air aircraft with wings and one or more engines that is capable of flying through the atmosphere under its own power.
An airplane has two basic characteristics: one is that it is denser than air, and it is driven by the power to move forward; the other is that the airplane has fixed wings, which provide lift to make the airplane fly in the sky. An airplane cannot be called an airplane if it does not have the above characteristics, one or the other is essential. For example: a flying machine it is less dense than air, then it is a balloon or blimp; if there is no power plant, can only glide in the air, is called a glider; flying machine if the wings are not fixed, rely on the wings to rotate to generate lift, is a helicopter or rotorcraft. Thus the precise definition of an airplane is: an airplane is a powered aircraft with fixed wings and heavier than air.
In order to make the readers have a clearer understanding of the airplane, I hereby clarify a few terms that are easily confused. In some newspapers and magazines, you can see "fixed-wing aircraft", "fixed-wing aircraft" and so on, in fact, refers to the aircraft. However, these terms are not accurate. Because "fixed-wing aircraft" includes airplanes and gliders, while "fixed-wing aircraft" is a repetition of the name, because "aircraft" already includes fixed-wing content. I've heard many people say "helicopter", which is also inappropriate because helicopters use rotor blades to provide lift, and they are a completely different type of aircraft than airplanes.
[edit]Classification
Aircraft are not only widely used in civil transportation and scientific research, but also an important weapon in the modern military, so they are divided into civil aircraft and military aircraft.
In addition to passenger aircraft and transport aircraft, civil aircraft also include agricultural aircraft, forest protection aircraft, aerial survey aircraft, medical ambulance aircraft, excursion aircraft, business aircraft, sports aircraft, experimental research aircraft, meteorological aircraft, aerobatic performance aircraft, law enforcement aircraft, etc.
The aircraft are also widely used for transportation and scientific research.
The aircraft can also be classified according to the shape, number and relative position of the components. According to the number of wings, can be divided into monoplane, biplane and multi-wing aircraft. According to the position of the wing relative to the fuselage, can be divided into the lower monoplane, center monoplane and upper monoplane. According to the shape of the wing plane, it can be divided into flat-winged, swept-back, swept-forward and delta-winged airplanes. According to the position of the horizontal tail and the horizontal tail, can be divided into normal layout aircraft (horizontal tail after the wing), duck aircraft (front fuselage equipped with a small airfoil) and tailless airplanes (no horizontal tail); normal layout aircraft have a single pitot, double pitot, multi-pitot, and V-tail and other types. According to the use can be divided into fighters, bombers, attack aircraft, interceptors. According to the type of propulsion device, it can be divided into propeller aircraft and jet aircraft; according to the type of engine, it can be divided into piston aircraft, turboprop aircraft and jet aircraft; according to the number of engines, it can be divided into single-engine aircraft, twin-engine aircraft and multi-engine aircraft. According to the type of landing gear, can be divided into land aircraft, seaplanes and amphibious aircraft. Can also be classified according to the flight performance of the aircraft: according to the flight speed of the aircraft, can be divided into subsonic aircraft, supersonic aircraft and hypersonic aircraft. According to the range of the aircraft, can be divided into short-range aircraft, medium-range aircraft and long-range aircraft.
[edit]Main Models
The Boeing 737 series airplane is a short- and medium-range twin-engine jet airliner produced by Boeing in the United States, and is known as the most successful civil airliner in the history of world aviation. The Boeing 737 series is a twin-engine jetliner produced by Boeing and is known as the most successful civil aviation airplane in the history of the world. The Boeing 737 has been sold for a long time, and it has become the most successful series of narrow-body civil airliners in the history of civil aviation. The Boeing 737 is divided into the legacy 737, which includes the 737-100/200, 737-300/400/500, and the new generation 737, which includes the 737-600/700/800/900, based on the timing of the program and the degree of technological sophistication, and the new generation 737, which includes the 737-600/700/800/900, which is now out of production. The Boeing 737 program unfolded in 1964, using the nose and fuselage cross-section of the Boeing 707/727. The fuselage could accommodate a row of six seats.The 737-100 was originally envisioned as a small-capacity, short-haul airliner with only 65 to 80 seats. However, at the insistence of the launch customer, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, the design capacity of the 737-100 was eventually increased to the 100-seat class.The prototype made its first test flight on April 9, 1967, and received its FAA Type Certificate of Conformity on December 15, 1967, and the first 737-100 was delivered to Deutsche Lufthansa on December 28, 1967 The first 737-100 was delivered to Lufthansa on December 28, 1967. 737-100s were not very popular in the market and only thirty were produced. Boeing introduced an extended fuselage version, the 737-200, in 1967 to meet the needs of the U.S. market, and the 737-200 series was so popular that 1,114 aircraft were built until 1988, when production ceased. Boeing decided to continue designing improved models of the 737 series in 1981, and the 737-300 was introduced in 1984, slightly longer than the 737-200, applying the modern cockpit design of the Boeing 757 and 767, and the cabin design was derived from the Boeing 757, with a seating capacity of 102-145 seats.The 737-400 is an extended version of the 737-300, with a capacity of 150-180 passengers.The 737-500 is an extended version of the 737-300, with a capacity of 150-180 passengers. The 737-500 is a shorter version of the 737-300 with a longer range and seating capacity of 104-132. This series of Boeing 737s was discontinued in 2000. In order to cope with the competition from Airbus Airbus A320, Boeing launched the New Generation 737 program in 1993 (initially called 737-NG, NG is the abbreviation of "Next Generation", which means "Next Generation"), and entered into service in 1998. in November 1993, Boeing launched the Boeing 737-700 program, the 737-700 is the base model, which directly replaces the 737-300, and the 737-700 is the base model. In November 1993, Boeing launched the Boeing 737-700 program, with the 737-700 as the base model, directly replacing the 737-300, with 63 aircraft ordered by launch customer Southwest Airlines. In December 1997, the first aircraft entered service. On September 5, 1994, the Boeing 737-800 program was launched, with the 737-800 being an extended fuselage version of the 737-700, directly replacing the 737-400; the first aircraft was delivered in the spring of 1998. On March 15, 1995, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) became a launch customer for the Boeing 737-600 with an order for 35 aircraft.The 737-600 is a shortened version of the 737-700. The first Boeing 737-600 was delivered in 1998. On November 10, 1997, the Boeing 737-900 program was launched. 737-900 is the longest fuselage version of the new generation 737. deliveries began in early 2001. With more than 7,000 orders for all models in the Boeing 737 family, no other model in the history of civil aviation has achieved such a huge success in terms of sales, and more orders than the entire product range of its main competitor, Airbus, has received in its 30 years of existence.
There are nearly 1,000 737s flying in the world's skies at any given time. The Boeing 747 is a four-engine (motive) long-range wide-body civil transport aircraft developed and produced by Boeing in the United States. It is the world's first wide-body jetliner. It is a kind of development and sales are very successful civil airliner. 1965 August began development, 1969 February prototype test flights, in January 1970 the first Boeing 747 was delivered to the Pan American Airways Corporation into the route operation, creating a new era of wide-body airliner route service. Its double-deck cabin and distinctive shape made it the most recognizable aircraft in civil aviation. The Boeing 747 has been the world's largest civil airliner since its inception, monopolizing the market for large transport aircraft until the advent of the rival Airbus A380 large airliner, which was discontinued in May 1990, with the exception of the Boeing 747-400 model. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a mid-sized twin-engine (motive) widebody medium-range transport aircraft under development and production by the Boeing Civil Airplanes Group, and is the first all-new model to be introduced by Boeing in the 14 years since the launch of the Boeing 777 program in 1990. The Boeing 787 family of aircraft belongs to the 200- to 300-seat class, with a range that can cover 6,500 to 16,000 kilometers depending on the specific model. Boeing emphasizes that the 787 features extensive use of composite materials, low fuel consumption, high cruise speeds, high efficiency and comfortable cabin environments for more point-to-point non-stop nonstop nonstop routes.The program was officially launched in April 2004 with the confirmation of an order by All Nippon Airways for 50 Boeing 787 aircraft. Production of the Boeing 787 is expected to begin in 2006, with first flights and testing in 2007, and certification, delivery and start of operations in 2008.
The Airbus A320 family of aircraft is a single-aisle, twin-engine, short- and medium-range 150-seat transport aircraft developed and produced by Airbus Industrie Europe. Airbus in its development of the A300/310 wide-body passenger aircraft to obtain market recognition, breaking the U.S. monopoly on the passenger aircraft market situation, decided to develop and Boeing 737 series and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series to compete with the type of aircraft, designed to meet the airline low-cost operation of short- and medium-range routes, airlines hope that the aircraft can optimize the layout of the passenger cabin, baggage and cargo loading and unloading is more convenient, the operation of the very flexible. The A320 family of aircraft is an innovative aircraft that sets a new standard for single-aisle aircraft. the A320 family of aircraft has been designed to improve cabin adaptability and comfort through the use of the most modern fly-by-wire technology available for current single-aisle aircraft. the A320 program was officially launched in March 1982, first flew on February 22, 1987, and was certified as airworthy and delivered to the market in February 1988. The A320 program was officially launched in March 1982. The original Air France A320 crashed at the air show, three crew members died, the accident was caused by the pilot's improper operation of the new fly-by-wire system, the investigation showed that there are still a large number of unresolved issues, but with the maturity of the aircraft's technology, the impact of the accident slowly faded, no longer affects the excellent reputation of the A320 series of aircraft, including the A318, the A319, the A320 and the A321, which comprises the A318, the A319, the A320 and the A321, which are the most modern airworthiness certificates, The A320 family of aircraft, including the A318, A319, A320 and A321, comprises a family of single-aisle airplanes. The A320 family of aircraft, which includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321, is a family of single-aisle aircraft that offers operators the greatest*** accessibility and economy of any aircraft in the 100- to 220-seat class. since entering service in April 1988, the A320 aircraft has quickly set industry standards for comfort and economy on short- and medium-haul routes. the success of the A320 family has also established Airbus as a major player in the civil aviation airliner market. The Airbus A340 is a four-engine, long-range, dual-aisle, wide-body commercial airliner manufactured by Airbus, similar in design to the twin-engine Airbus A330, but equipped with two more engines, up to 4. The A340 was originally designed to compete with the Boeing 747, and later with the Boeing 777 for the long-range and ultra-long-range aircraft market.In April 1987 the European Airbus Industrie decided to launch both the A330 and A340 as one program. The concept was: a basic airframe with the same fuselage cross-section, powered by two or four engines, available in six different configurations to cover regional to ultra-long-haul routes from 250 to 475 seats, for increased versatility. The twin-engine A330 delivers maximum yield and low operating costs on regional routes up to the twin-engine Extended Range Flight (ERF) ERF, while the four-engine A340 offers a wide range of capabilities on long-haul and ultra-long-haul routes.The A340 was first developed in 1988, and its use of advanced materials, systems, and avionics has enabled Airbus to remain at the forefront of technology and innovation. Both models also retain the cross-sectional fuselage design of the Airbus A300/A310 family of aircraft. They also draw on the Airbus A320 with its advanced avionics. When designing the A340, it was developed together with the twin-engine A330. 85% of the components of the A330 and A340 models are common to each other, and they use similar fuselage structures, only different lengths, and identical cockpits, wings, tails, landing gears, and systems, which reduces development costs. *The A330 and A340 models cost $2.5 billion (1986 dollars) to develop.The A340-500 and A340-600 aircraft are the longest-range airliners in service.The A340-300 Enhanced Aircraft also has these features. In addition, the A340-300 Enhanced benefits from lower engine maintenance costs.The CFM56-5C/P engine improves fuel efficiency while also meeting future noise and emissions requirements.The A340 family of aircraft reduces aircraft weight and reduces fuel costs through technology that cuts aircraft maintenance costs.In January 2006, Airbus announced the development of the A340E ( Enhanced). Airbus claimed that the fuel consumption of the A340E, would be improved over the earlier A340 in order to compete more effectively with the Boeing 777. The benefits of Airbus' A340 family of aircraft are not limited to reduced maintenance and fuel costs. In addition to benefiting from Airbus' unique operational*** accessibility benefits (minimizing training time and costs for pilots and maintenance staff), the aircraft's four-engine layout provides airlines with the ability to flexibly develop long- and ultra-long-haul routing plans.The A340, as a four-engine long-haul aircraft, is not subject to twin-engine Extended Range Pilot Service (ETOPS) limitations to complement an already existing family of aircraft that includes The Boeing 767, the newest wide-body long-haul aircraft at the time, due to the necessity of being as close as possible to the airport used for emergency turnarounds in the event of one of the engines failing; the four-engined Boeing 747 does not have a similar problem. Airbus designed the A340 as a four-engine airplane in order to develop a new generation of airplanes that would not be subject to ETOPS.In the 1990s, Airbus believed that a four-engine airplane, with its greater degree of safety, would be superior to the two-engine Boeing 777 in the event of a one-engine failure. Having four engines would also insulate the A340 from the extreme remoteness of terrain in oceans, mountains, deserts, and polar regions, whereas the twin-engine Extended Range Pilot Service (ETOPS) limitation restricts twin-engine aircraft from operating on long-haul routes. (Since the A340 is not subject to ETOPS, Virgin Atlantic uses the slogan "4 Engines 4 Long Haul" to promote its A340 fleet.) With the advent of the Boeing 777 long-haul model, and with the rise in fuel prices, the twin-engine A340 is superior to the four-engine A340, both in terms of operating costs and economics. engine A340. Compared to the Boeing 777, the A340 is a four-engine, transoceanic airplane with better reliability, but with increasing engine performance, there is no longer a clear superiority. Due to the extremely low failure rate of the new engines (as can be seen by the ETOPS certification of twin-engine airplanes), coupled with the higher power output, four engines don't seem to be necessary unless it's a super-large airplane, such as an A380 or a Boeing 747. Airlines are starting to favor the Boeing 777, which is selling well, while orders for the A340 have been dropping year after year. In addition, the A340 has fewer passengers, which makes it suitable for long-haul routes with fewer passengers.
The Airbus A380 is a four-engine, long-range, 550-seat, ultra-large, wide-body airliner developed and produced by Airbus Industrie in Europe, and at the time of its launch was the world's largest passenger-carrying airliner. The A380 is a four-engine airliner with double-deck cabins of the full length of the fuselage, and it can carry up to 850 passengers with its highest-density seating arrangement, and 555 passengers in the typical triple-cabin configuration (first class, business class, and economy class). The A380 made its maiden flight on April 27, 2005, and its first transcontinental test flight to Singapore in Asia took place on November 11 of the same year. More than a dozen airlines around the world now have orders for the A380, the prototype of which made its debut in mid-2004, and the first A380, serial number 001 and registration number F-WWOW, was delivered by Airbus at its Toulouse facility on January 18, 2005. the aircraft, launched in 2000, is regarded by Airbus as the "flagship" of the 21st century. The aircraft, launched in 2000, is considered by Airbus to be the "flagship" product of the 21st century. It was scheduled to be officially delivered and put into operation in 2006. Airbus A380 advantages, first of all, in the single passenger capacity has an unrivaled advantage, in the pilot modification costs are lower than other models, and shorter time. Has been, large long-range civil transport aircraft market is Boeing's B747 series monopoly, Airbus in other models have with Boeing competition, but only in this market has been a blank, although Airbus launched the A340, but still can not shake the Boeing 747 in this model of the absolute advantage of the airbus company developed a 500-800-seat class Large civil air transport aircraft A380, intended to seize the large passenger aircraft market held by the Boeing 747, initially the plan was called "A3XX". This plan, which cost tens of billions of dollars, put forward the inference of the future development of civil aviation: the future development of the world's civil air transport aircraft will continue to large-scale development, and in this way put forward the concept of "hub radiation", i.e., the passengers through the regional flights converge to the mainline airports, and then transported by large transport planes to another mainline airports, and then finally take a branch-line The final destination is reached by a regional jet. In the 1990s Airbus announced plans for its A380 ultra-large transport aircraft. Airbus believes that the best way to improve air traffic congestion in the 21st century is to increase capacity; Airbus launched the A380 ultra-large transporter program project had caused a lot of people to worry about, Airbus believes that the large passenger aircraft market is still a piece of gold land that no one fights for, and is very optimistic about the market prospects, and in order to improve the Airbus civil aircraft series, to occupy a more advantageous position in the competition with Boeing, it is worth the risk of a huge commercial risk to launch the A380 program. The A380 program was launched, and when it entered service, the A380 broke the 35-year record of the Boeing 747 as the dominant long-range ultra-large wide-body airliner, and the A380 ended the 30-year monopoly of the Boeing 747 in the large transport aircraft market. The A380 is the world's largest civilian aircraft in terms of passenger capacity, although the largest civilian aircraft in terms of weight remains the Soviet An-225 Dreamliner.
[edit]Structure
Most airplanes consist of five main parts: wings, fuselage, tail, landing gear, and powerplant.
Wings
The main function of the wings is to provide lift for the aircraft to support the aircraft in the air, but also play a certain role in stabilization and maneuvering. Ailerons and flaps are usually installed on the wings. Maneuvering ailerons can make the aircraft roll; lowering flaps can increase the lift coefficient of the wing. In addition, the wing can also be installed on the engine, landing gear and fuel tanks. There are various shapes and numbers of wings. In the early days of underdeveloped aviation technology in order to provide greater lift, the aircraft to biplane or even multi-wing aircraft, but modern aircraft are generally monoplane.
Fuselage
The main function of the fuselage is to carry crew, passengers, weapons, cargo and various equipment; it can also connect other parts of the aircraft such as the tail, wings and engines into a whole. But the flying wing hides the fuselage within the wing.
Tail Fin
The tail fin consists of a horizontal tail (flat tail) and a vertical tail (drogue). The horizontal tail consists of fixed horizontal stabilizing surfaces and movable elevators (some types of civil and military aircraft have movable control surfaces throughout the flat tail and no dedicated elevators). The vertical tail consists of a fixed vertical stabilizer and a movable rudder. The main function of the tail is used to maneuver the aircraft pitch and yaw, as well as to ensure that the aircraft can fly smoothly.
Landing gear
Landing gear, also known as landing gear, is used to support the airplane and enable it to land and park on the ground and other horizontal surfaces. Landing gear for land-based aircraft, generally composed of shock absorbing struts and wheels, in addition there are landing gear with pontoon device for seaplane takeoff and landing and snow takeoff skid-type landing gear. It is used for takeoff and landing skidding, ground taxiing and parking when supporting the aircraft.
Powerplant
The powerplant is primarily used to generate pull or thrust to move the airplane forward. It is also used secondarily to provide electricity for the electrical equipment on the airplane and to provide a source of air for air-conditioning equipment and other air-using equipment.
The power plant of modern aircraft mainly includes turbine engines and piston engines, and there are four widely used power plants: aviation piston engines plus propeller thrusters; turbojet engines; turboprop engines; turbofan engines. With the development of aviation technology, rocket engines, ram engines, atomic energy aviation engines, etc., may also be gradually adopted. Power plant in addition to the engine, but also includes a series of systems to ensure the normal operation of the engine, such as fuel supply system.
In addition to the above five main parts of the aircraft, it is also equipped with a variety of instruments, communication equipment, pilotage equipment, safety equipment and other equipment, and so on.
[Edit paragraph] Maneuvering devices
The cockpit of a modern aircraft can be used by the pilot of the flight controls usually include:
The main manipulation device: the driver's stick or the steering wheel and rudder stirrups. On some airplanes with teletype control systems, the stick or wheel has been simplified to a joystick located on the pilot's side.
Auxiliary maneuvers: flap handles, leveling buttons, and throttle handles.
With the development of electronics, the form of flight maneuvers has changed radically. In large aircraft, the traditional mechanical control system has been gradually replaced by a more advanced teletype control system, the computer system is fully involved in the flight control system, the pilot's operation is no longer like a direct manipulation of the aircraft action, but more like to give the aircraft under the movement of the instructions. Due to the use of some of the teletype control system of the aircraft canceled the original driver's stick or the driver's tray and other devices and changed to the side stick control, the cockpit space seems to be more than ever more relaxed, so some pilots call this kind of cockpit as "flight office".
[edit]Characteristics