News & Articles
Facts About Flying
Online Glossary
Aviophobia,
Aerophobia, and Other Flying Terms - Online Glossary of
Aeronautical Terminology
A B C D
E F G
H I J K L M
N O P Q R
S T U V W
X Y Z
A
- Aerodynamics
- The study of how air flows around the airplane.
- Aerophobia
- A fear of flying.
- Agoraphobia
- Agoraphobia is a condition, which develops when a
person begins to avoid spaces or situations associated
with anxiety. Typical "phobic situations" might include
driving, shopping, flying, crowded places, traveling,
standing in line, being alone, meetings and social gatherings.
- Ailerons
- They are hinged on the wings
and move downward to push the air down and make the
wing tilt up.
- Air
- Air is a physical substance, which has weight and
is made up of molecules, which are constantly moving.
Moving air has a force that will lift kites and balloons
up and down. Air is a mixture of different gases such
as oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
- Airfoils
- The wings of a plane.
- Aviation
- Aeronautics is the study of the science of flight.
- Aviophobia
- A fear of flying.
C
- Combustor
- In the combustor, the air is mixed with fuel and
then ignited. This process results in high temperature,
high-energy airflow. The fuel burns with the oxygen
in the compressed air, producing hot expanding gases.
- Compressor
- The compressor is the first component in the engine
core. It is made up of fans with many blades and it
is attached to the shaft. The compressor squeezes
the air and creates an increase in the air pressure.
The squashed air is forced into the combustion chamber.
D
- Drag
- Resistance that slows an object down in the air.
Items that are streamlined have less drag in air.
E
- Elevators
- Found at the rear of the plane. They can be raised
or lowered to change the direction of the plane's nose.
The plane will go up or down depending on the direction
of that the elevators are moved.
F
- Fan
- The fan is the first component of the turbofan engine.
The large spinning fan sucks in large quantities of
air. The blades of the fan pull the air into the engine.
- Fin
- The vertical part of the tail
- Flaps
- The flaps slide back and down to increase the surface
of the wing area.
- Flying Phobia
- A fear of flying
- Fuselage
- The body of the plane
G
- Gas Turbine
- Another term for engine
- Gravity
- A force that pushes objects down to the earth
H
- Hypersonic
- This is the speed of flight that is used by rockets
in outer space. Rockets can travel 5 to 10 times faster
than the speed of sound, corresponding to about 3500
- 7500 MPH. An example of a vehicle that moves at
this speed is the Space Shuttle.
L
- Landing Gear
- The wheels of a plane
- Laws of Motion
- Sir Isaac Newton proposed three laws of motion:
- If an object is not moving, it will not start
moving by itself. If an object is moving, it will
not stop or change direction unless something pushes
it.
- Objects will move farther and faster when they
are pushed harder.
- When an object is pushed in one direction, there
is always a resistance of the same size in the opposite
direction.
- Lift
- A force that pushes objects upward
M
- Mach 1
- 760 MPH. When a plane travels faster than this speed,
it is breaking the sound barrier.
- Materials and Structures
- The study of what materials are to be used on the
plane and in the engine and how those materials make
the plane strong enough to fly effectively.
- Mixer
- This part of the engine combines the high temperature
air coming from the engine core with the lower temperature
air that was bypassed in the fan.
By processing the air in this way, the engine is a little
quieter.
N
- Nozzle
- The nozzle is the exhaust duct of the engine. The
air that has passed through the engine passes through
the exhaust and produces the thrust or forward motion
of the engine.
P
- Pitch
- The pitch is the angle at which a plane descends or
climbs. The pilot adjusts the elevators
on the tail to make a plane descend or climb. Lowering
the elevators causes the airplane's nose to drop, sending
the plane into a down; Raising the elevators causes
the airplane to climb.
- Propulsion
- (As a field of study in relation to Aeronautics) is
the study of how to design an engine that will provide
the thrust that is needed for
a plane to take off and fly through the air.
R
- Regimes of Flight
- The ranges of speed that airplanes fly: Subsonic:
100-350 MPH. Transonic: 350-750 MPH. Supersonic: 760-3500
MPH. Hypersonic: 3500-7000 MPH
- Roll
- To roll the plane to the right or left, the ailerons
are raised on one wing and lowered on the other. The
wing with the lowered aileron rises while the wing with
the raised aileron drops.
- Rudder
- The rudder is found on the tail of the plane. Moving
it right and left controls the left and right movements
of the plane.
S
- Slats
- The slats move out from the front of the wings to
make the wing space larger. This helps to increase
the lifting force of the wing at slower speeds like
takeoff and landing.
- Spoilers
- The spoilers are used like air brakes to reduce any
remaining lift and slow down the
airplane.
- Stability and Control
- Stability and Control is the study of how to control
the speed, direction, altitude and other conditions
that affect how a plane flies.
- Shock Wave
- A series of airwaves that form in front of a fast
moving plane. In order to travel faster than sound
the plane must push through these waves; this creates
a sonic boom (see below).
- Sonic Boom
- When a plane pushes through a shock wave, it creates
a sonic boom. The noise is the result of breaking through
the airwaves, which form in front of a fast moving plane.
A sonic boom sounds when the plane is going faster than
760 MPH (Mach 1).
- Sound Waves
- Sound is made up of molecules of air, all of which
vibrate and move to carry sound. When they push together
they form sound waves.
- Speed of Sound
- When a plane travels faster than 760 a sound barrier
forms in front of the plane. If a plane is going at
the speed of sound it is traveling at Mach 1.
- Subsonic
- Subsonic is a speed of 100-350 MPH. Small planes
such as crop dusters and seaplanes are examples of
aircraft that travel at these speeds.
- Supersonic
- Planes that travel faster than Mach 1 (the speed
of sound) are traveling at supersonic speeds. An example
of this speed regime is the Concorde, whose speed
range is 760 - 3500 MPH or Mach 1 - Mach 5.
T
- Tail
- The part of the plane that provides stability for
the plane
- Thrust
- The force of flight that pushes a plane forward. The
engine provides the thrust for flight.
- Transonic
- This speed of flight includes most of the commercial
flights, which carry passengers and cargo. Transonic
speed is 350 - 750 MPH.
- Turbine
- A part of the engine
W
- Weight
- A force that acts on the plane to pull it back to
earth.
- Wings
- Also called airfoils. The
wings provide the lift for the plane.
Y
- Yaw
- Yaw is the turning of a plane. When the rudder
is turned to one side, the airplane moves left or right.
The airplane's nose is pointed in the same direction
as the direction of the rudder. The rudder and the ailerons
are used together to make a turn.
|
|
