An aircraft fairing is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce drag. [1]
These structures are covers for gaps and spaces between parts of an aircraft to reduce form drag and interference drag, and to improve appearance. [1] [2]
On aircraft, fairings are commonly found on:
A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft, and ornithopters. The wings of a fixed-wing aircraft are not necessarily rigid; kites, hang gliders, variable-sweep wing aircraft and airplanes that use wing morphing are all examples of fixed-wing aircraft.
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called alighting gear by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin Company. For aircraft, Stinton makes the terminology distinction undercarriage (British) = landing gear (US).
The Rutan Quickie is a lightweight single-seat taildragger aircraft of composite construction, configured with tandem wings.
Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail. The term taildragger is also used, although John Brandon of Recreational Aircraft Australia argues it should apply only to those aircraft with a tailskid rather than a wheel.
Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or landing gear, arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle gear aircraft are the easiest for takeoff, landing and taxiing, and consequently the configuration is the most widely used on aircraft.
In aeronautics, air brakes or speed brakes are a type of flight control surface used on an aircraft to increase the drag on the aircraft. Air brakes differ from spoilers in that air brakes are designed to increase drag while making little change to lift, whereas spoilers reduce the lift-to-drag ratio and require a higher angle of attack to maintain lift, resulting in a higher stall speed.
The empennage, also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow. The term derives from the French language verb empenner which means "to feather an arrow". Most aircraft feature an empennage incorporating vertical and horizontal stabilising surfaces which stabilise the flight dynamics of yaw and pitch, as well as housing control surfaces.
An airplane, or aeroplane, informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. 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. Worldwide, commercial aviation transports more than four billion passengers annually on airliners and transports more than 200 billion tonne-kilometers of cargo annually, which is less than 1% of the world's cargo movement. Most airplanes are flown by a pilot on board the aircraft, but some are designed to be remotely or computer-controlled such as drones.
The wing root is the part of the wing on a fixed-wing aircraft or winged-spaceship that is closest to the fuselage, and is the junction of the wing with the fuselage. The term is also used for the junction of the wing with the opposite wing, ie on the fuselage centerline, as with the upper wing of a biplane. The opposite end of a wing from the wing root is the wing tip.
The Learjet 25 is an American ten-seat, twin-engine, high-speed business jet aircraft manufactured by Learjet. It is a stretched version of the Learjet 24.
The wing configuration of a fixed-wing aircraft is its arrangement of lifting and related surfaces.
The Dream Tundra is a robust, single-engine, high-wing monoplane designed in Canada. Seating four, its short takeoff and landing characteristics can be adapted to land, snow, or water use. It is produced as a kit for homebuilding.
The Akaflieg Darmstadt D-34 sailplanes were a series of experimental single seat sailplanes, designed at the University of Darmstadt in the 1950s and early 1960s to explore the structural and aerodynamic advantages of the then emerging plastics and composite materials.
The Civil Aviation Department Ashvini was the first two-seat glider designed and built in India. It was produced in small numbers in the early 1960s.
In aeronautics, bracing comprises additional structural members which stiffen the functional airframe to give it rigidity and strength under load. Bracing may be applied both internally and externally, and may take the form of struts, which act in compression or tension as the need arises, and/or wires, which act only in tension.
The S.A.B.C.A. S.XII or S.A.B.C.A S.12 was a four-passenger light transport aircraft with three engines and a high wing, built in Belgium in the early 1930s.
The Magni PM.2 Vittoria was an Italian experimental, single seat, parasol wing aircraft built in the mid-1920s. It had a large area aerofoil on each of its single wing bracing struts which could be rotated together or independently to give lift or drag.
The Rubik R-08 Pilis was a Hungarian single-seat, advanced training glider first flown in 1939. It was very successful; 269 were built in batches, the first starting in 1939 and the last in 1956.
The AB Flygindustri Fi-1 was a Swedish intermediate training glider built in small numbers in the 1940s.