aircraft
{{short description|Vehicle or machine that is able to fly by gaining support from the air}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
File:Cessna 172S Skyhawk ‘G-JMKE’ (45077563364).jpg Skyhawk is the most produced aircraft in history.]]
An aircraft ({{plural form}}: aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or the dynamic lift of an airfoil,{{Cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aircraft|title=Aircraft — Define Aircraft at Dictionary.com|work=Dictionary.com|access-date=1 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328141634/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/aircraft|archive-date=28 March 2015}} or, in a few cases, direct downward thrust from its engines. Common examples of aircraft include airplanes, rotorcraft (including helicopters), airships (including blimps), gliders, paramotors, and hot air balloons.{{Cite web|title=Different Kinds & Types of Aircraft|url=http://www.wingsoverkansas.com/features/a1037/|website=wingsoverkansas.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161121165354/http://www.wingsoverkansas.com/features/a1037/|archive-date=21 November 2016}} Part 1 {{cite web | url=https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-1 | title=14 CFR Part 1 -- Definitions and Abbreviations }} (Definitions and Abbreviations) of Subchapter A of Chapter I of Title 14 of the U. S. Code of Federal Regulations states that aircraft "means a device that is used or intended to be used for flight in the air."
The human activity that surrounds aircraft is called aviation. The science of aviation, including designing and building aircraft, is called aeronautics. Crewed aircraft are flown by an onboard pilot, whereas unmanned aerial vehicles may be remotely controlled or self-controlled by onboard computers. Aircraft may be classified by different criteria, such as lift type, aircraft propulsion (if any), usage and others.
History
{{Main|History of aviation}}
{{See also|Timeline of aviation}}{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}File:Aviation (Nouveaau Larousse,c. 1900) DSCN2832.jpg
Methods of lift
= Lighter-than-air <span class="anchor" id="Lighter than air"></span> =
{{Main|Aerostat}}
File:Colorado Springs Hot Air Balloon Competition.jpg]]
File:USS Akron (ZRS-4) in flight over Manhattan, circa 1931-1933.jpg over Manhattan in the 1930s]]A balloon was originally any aerostat, while the term airship was used for large, powered aircraft designs — usually fixed-wing.[http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth172915/ US patent 467069] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223070653/http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark%3A/67531/metapth172915/ |date=23 February 2014}} "Air-ship" referring to a compound aerostat/rotorcraft.Ezekiel Airship (1902) [http://www.wright-brothers.org/History_Wing/History_of_the_Airplane/History_of_the_Airplane_Intro/History_of_the_Airplane_Intro.htm wright-brothers.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203131729/http://www.wright-brothers.org/History_Wing/History_of_the_Airplane/History_of_the_Airplane_Intro/History_of_the_Airplane_Intro.htm |date=3 December 2013}}[http://altereddimensions.net/2012/burrell-cannon-flies-first-airplane altereddimensions.net] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222065900/http://altereddimensions.net/2012/burrell-cannon-flies-first-airplane |date=22 February 2014}} "airship," – referring to an HTA aeroplane.[http://gustavewhitehead.org/news_journalism/1901_-_flying.html The Bridgeport Herald, August 18, 1901] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803021718/http://gustavewhitehead.org/news_journalism/1901_-_flying.html |date=3 August 2013}} – "air ship" referring to Whitehead's aeroplane.Cooley Airship of 1910, also called the Cooley monoplane.{{Cite web|url=http://www.wright-brothers.org/History_Wing/Aviations_Attic/UFOs/UFOs.htm|title=Unbelievable Flying Objects|access-date=10 February 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102031147/http://www.wright-brothers.org/History_Wing/Aviations_Attic/UFOs/UFOs.htm|archive-date=2 November 2013}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.xpolet.eu.org|title=Round Aircraft Designs|access-date=7 September 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402075442/http://celticowboy.com/Round%20Aircraft%20Designs.htm|archive-date=2 April 2012}} – a heavier-than-air monoplane.Frater, A.; The Balloon Factory, Picador (2009), p. 163. Wright brothers' "airship."[http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=879 George Griffith, The angel of the Revolution, 1893] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222154830/http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=879 |date=22 February 2014}} — "air-ship," "vessel" referring to a VTOL compound rotorcraft (not clear from the reference if it might be an aerostat hybrid.) In 1919, Frederick Handley Page was reported as referring to "ships of the air," with smaller passenger types as "Air yachts."[http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=AS19190224.2.104 Auckland Star, 24 February 1919] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140324163806/http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=AS19190224.2.104 |date=24 March 2014}} "Ships of the air," "Air yachts" – passenger landplanes large and small In the 1930s, large intercontinental flying boats were also sometimes referred to as "ships of the air" or "flying-ships".[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17455790 The Sydney Morning Herald, Monday 11 April 1938] – "ship of the airs," "flying-ship," referring to a large flying-boat.[http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/america-by-air/online/innovation/innovation16.cfm Smithsonian, America by air] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118135217/http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/america-by-air/online/innovation/innovation16.cfm |date=18 January 2014}} "Ships of the Air" referring to Pan Am's Boeing Clipper flying-boat fleet.
= Heavier-than-air{{Anchor|Heavier than air}} =
{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}
== Fixed-wing ==
{{Main|Fixed-wing aircraft}}
File:Emirates Airbus A380-861 A6-EER MUC 2015 04.jpg, the world's largest passenger airliner]]
Wing-in-ground-effect vehicles are generally not considered aircraft.Michael Halloran and Sean O'Meara, Wing in Ground Effect Craft Review, DSTO, Australia {{cite web|url=http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/publications/2058/DSTO-GD-0201.pdf|title=Archived copy|access-date=24 August 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522002835/http://www.dsto.defence.gov.au/publications/2058/DSTO-GD-0201.pdf|archive-date=22 May 2013}}, 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.
== Rotorcraft ==
{{Main|Rotorcraft}}
File:Mil Mi-8P, Baltic Airlines (cropped).jpg is the most produced rotorcraft.]]{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}
== Other methods of lift ==
File:Lunar Landing Research Vehicle No. 2 in 1967 (ECN-1606).jpg relies on powered lift.]]{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}
Size and speed extremes
= Size =
{{Main|List of large aircraft}}The largest aircraft by dimensions and volume (as of 2016) is the {{cvt|302|ft|m}} long British Airlander 10, a hybrid blimp, with helicopter and fixed-wing features, and reportedly capable of speeds up to {{cvt|90|mph|km/h kn}}, and an airborne endurance of two weeks with a payload of up to {{cvt|22050|lbs|kg}}.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/17/worlds-largest-aircraft-the-airlander-takes-first-flight/ "World's largest aircraft the Airlander makes maiden flight in UK,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122224818/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/17/worlds-largest-aircraft-the-airlander-takes-first-flight/ |date=22 November 2016}} 16 August 2016, London 'Daily Telegraph' via Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2016."Airlander 10, the world's largest aircraft, takes off for the first time," 19 August 2016, CBS News (TV) retrieved 22 November 2016.Kottasova, Ivana [https://money.cnn.com/2016/08/24/technology/worlds-largest-aircraft-crash-airlander-10/ "The world's largest aircraft crashes after 2nd test flight"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122224325/https://money.cnn.com/2016/08/24/technology/worlds-largest-aircraft-crash-airlander-10/ |date=22 November 2016}}, 24 August 2016, CNN Tech on CNN, the Cable News Network. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
The largest aircraft by weight and largest regular fixed-wing aircraft ever built, {{as of|2016|lc=y}}, was the Antonov An-225 Mriya. That Soviet-built (Ukrainian SSR) six-engine transport of the 1980s was {{cvt|84|m|ft}} long, with an {{cvt|88|m|ft}} wingspan. It holds the world payload record, after transporting {{cvt|428834|lbs|kg}} of goods, and has flown {{cvt|100|t|lbs}} loads commercially. With a maximum loaded weight of {{cvt|550-700|t|lbs}}, it was also the heaviest aircraft built to date. It could cruise at {{cvt|500|mph|km/h kn}}.{{Cite web|last1=July|first1=Dyre|title=Fly Drive Aanbiedingen|url=https://www.flydrivereizen.nl/aanbiedingen/|website=flydrivereizen.nl|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104014121/https://www.flydrivereizen.nl/aanbiedingen/|archive-date=4 November 2016}}[https://www.foxnews.com/tech/watch-the-worlds-biggest-plane-land-in-australia/ "Watch the world's biggest plane land in Australia,"] 16 May 2016, Fox News. Retrieved 22 November 2016.{{cite news|last=Rumbaugh|first=Andrea|url=http://www.chron.com/business/article/World-s-largest-airplane-lands-at-Bush-airport-10622046.php#item-38488|title=World's biggest airplane lands at Bush airport|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123052928/http://www.chron.com/business/article/World-s-largest-airplane-lands-at-Bush-airport-10622046.php|archive-date=23 November 2016|date=18 November 2016|work=Houston Chronicle}}Lewis, Danny, [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/worlds-largest-aircraft-might-lose-its-title-blimp-180956677/ "The World's Largest Aircraft Might Lose its Title to a Blimp,"], 18 September 2015, Smart News, Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.. Retrieved 22 November 2016.[http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/design/q0188.shtml "Ask Us – Largest Plane in the World,"] Aerospaceweb.org. Retrieved 22 November 2016. The aircraft was destroyed during the Russo-Ukrainian War.{{Cite web|last=Shead|first=Sam|title=Photos show world's largest cargo plane destroyed in Ukraine|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/04/antonov-an-225-wreckage-worlds-largest-plane-destroyed-in-ukraine.html|access-date=25 January 2023|website=CNBC|date=4 April 2022}}
The largest military airplanes are the Ukrainian Antonov An-124 Ruslan (world's second-largest airplane, also used as a civilian transport),[https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_028_Antonov.html "World's Second Largest Aircraft,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122222701/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_028_Antonov.html |date=22 November 2016}} 28 July 2013, NASA. Retrieved 22 November 2016. and American Lockheed C-5 Galaxy transport, weighing, loaded, over {{cvt|380|t|lbs}}.Loftin, Laurence K., Jr., [https://history.nasa.gov/SP-468/ch13-5.htm "Wide-Body Transports"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607034616/http://history.nasa.gov/SP-468/ch13-5.htm |date=7 June 2013}}, in Chapter 13, "Jet Transports," in Part II, "The Jet Age," in Quest 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. The 8-engine, piston/propeller Hughes H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose" — an American World 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 of ground effect.
The largest civilian airplanes, apart from the above-noted An-225 and An-124, are the Airbus Beluga cargo transport derivative of the Airbus A300 jet airliner, the Boeing Dreamlifter cargo transport derivative of the Boeing 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 {{cvt|400|t|lbs}}), and the double-decker Airbus A380 "super-jumbo" jet airliner (the world's largest passenger airliner).[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/business/worldbusiness/29iht-airbus.4.12438349.html "Airbus reviews A380 schedule,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202002211/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/business/worldbusiness/29iht-airbus.4.12438349.html |date=2 February 2017}} 29 April 2008, The New York Times. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
= Speeds =
{{Main|Flight airspeed record}}
The fastest fixed-wing aircraft and fastest glider, is the Space Shuttle, which re-entered the atmosphere at nearly Mach 25 or {{cvt|17,500|mph|km/h}}{{cite web|editor=Benson, Tom|url=https://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/BGH/hihyper.html|title=Speed Regimes: Hypersonic Re-Entry|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123052843/https://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/BGH/hihyper.html|archive-date=23 November 2016|url-status=live|publisher=Glenn Research Center, NASA}}
The fastest recorded powered aircraft flight and fastest recorded aircraft flight of an air-breathing powered aircraft was of the NASA X-43A Pegasus, a scramjet-powered, hypersonic, lifting body experimental research aircraft, at Mach 9.68 or {{cvt|6,755|mph|sigfig=4}} on 16 November 2004.{{cite web|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/fastest-aircraft-air-breathing-engine|title=Fastest aircraft, air-breathing engine: X-43|date=16 November 2004|work=Guinness World Records}}
Prior to the X-43A, the fastest recorded powered airplane flight, and still the record for the fastest manned powered airplane, was the North American X-15, rocket-powered airplane at Mach 6.7 or 7,274 km/h (4,520 mph) on 3 October 1967.{{cite web|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/78491-fastest-aircraft-rocket-powered|title=Fastest speed in a non-spacecraft aircraft|work=Guinness World Records|date=3 October 1967}}
The fastest manned, air-breathing powered airplane is the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, a U.S. reconnaissance jet fixed-wing aircraft, having reached {{cvt|3529.56|km/h|adj=ri0|sigfig=4}} on 28 July 1976.{{cite web|url=https://www.fai.org/record/8879|date=28 July 1976|title=current record, Powered Aeroplanes, Absolute, Speed|publisher=FAI}}
Propulsion
= Unpowered aircraft =
{{Main|Unpowered aircraft}}
File:PH-1274 Rolladen-Schneider LS-4b.JPG)]]Kites are aircraft.{{Cite web|url=http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/guided.htm|title=Guided Tours of the BGA|work=nasa.gov|access-date=1 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325054529/http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/guided.htm|archive-date=25 March 2015}}
= Powered aircraft =
{{Main|Powered aircraft}}{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}
== Propeller aircraft ==
{{Main|Powered aircraft#Propeller aircraft}}
File:WestCoastAirFloatplane.jpg-engined DeHavilland Twin Otter adapted as a floatplane]]{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}
== Jet aircraft ==
{{Main|Jet aircraft}}
File:Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor JSOH.jpg]]
Compared to engines using propellers, jet engines can provide much higher thrust, higher speeds and, above about {{Convert|40000|ft|m|abbr=on}}, greater efficiency.{{Cite web|url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/SP-468/ch10-3.htm|title=ch10-3|publisher=Hq.nasa.gov|access-date=26 March 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100914184628/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/pao/History/SP-468/ch10-3.htm|archive-date=14 September 2010}}
== Rotorcraft ==
{{Main|Rotorcraft}}{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}
== Other types of powered aircraft ==
{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}
Design and construction
The key parts of an aircraft are generally divided into three categories:
- The structure ("airframe"Gove, P.B., editor: Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, 1993, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, Mass., USACrane, D., editor: Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition, ASA (Aviation Supplies & Academics), Newcastle, Washington, USA2012 Federal Aviation Regulations for Aviation Maintenance Technicians, 2012, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of TransportationGunston, Bill, editor: Jane's Aerospace Dictionary 1980, Jane's, London / New York / Sydney) comprises the main load-bearing elements and associated equipment, as well as flight controls.
- The propulsion system ("powerplant"[https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/media/21_phak_glossary.pdf "Glossary"] in Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (PHAK), Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, D.C., retrieved 12 September 2022) (if it is powered) comprises the power source and associated equipment, as described above.
- The avionics comprise the electrical and electronic control, navigation and communication systems.Wragg, David W. editor: A Dictionary of Aviation, 1974, Frederick Fell, New York
= Structure =
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== Aerostats ==
{{Main|Aerostat}}{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}
== Aerodynes ==
File:Merlin Airframe Material.jpg helicopter]]{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}
= Power =
{{Main|Propulsion}}
The source of motive power for an aircraft is normally called the powerplant, and includes engine or motor, propeller or rotor, (if any), jet nozzles and thrust reversers (if any), and accessories essential to the functioning of the engine or motor (e.g.: starter, ignition system, intake system, exhaust system, fuel system, lubrication system, engine cooling system, and engine controls).
Powered aircraft are typically powered by internal combustion engines (piston[https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/icengine.html "Internal Combustion Engine,"] Glenn Research Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), retrieved 12 September 2022 or turbine[https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/icengine.html "Engines,"] Glenn Research Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), retrieved 12 September 2022) burning fossil fuels—typically gasoline (avgas) or jet fuel. A very few are powered by rocket power, ramjet propulsion, or by electric motors, or by internal combustion engines of other types, or using other fuels. A very few have been powered, for short flights, by human muscle energy (e.g.: Gossamer Condor).Bryan, C.D.B.: The National Air and Space Museum, 1979 / 1984, Abrams, New YorkTaylor, Michael J.H., editor: Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation, 1989 ed., Portland House / Random House, New York[https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/aeronautics/eap/ "Electrified Aircraft Propulsion" (EAP)], Glenn Research Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), retrieved 12 September 2022
= Avionics =
{{Main|Avionics}}
The avionics comprise any electronic aircraft flight control systems and related equipment, including electronic cockpit instrumentation, navigation, radar, monitoring, and communications systems.
Flight characteristics
= Flight envelope =
{{Main|Flight envelope}}
The flight envelope of an aircraft refers to its approved design capabilities in terms of airspeed, load factor and altitude.{{Cite web|url=http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?type=simple;c=ecfr;cc=ecfr;sid=a8f38006e777ba46ba8000f7c2fe6641;region=DIV1;q1=23.335;rgn=div8;view=text;idno=14;node=14%3A1.0.1.3.10.3.70.8|title=eCFR — Code of Federal Regulations|work=gpoaccess.gov|access-date=1 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402202400/http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?type=simple%3Bc%3Decfr%3Bcc%3Decfr%3Bsid%3Da8f38006e777ba46ba8000f7c2fe6641%3Bregion%3DDIV1%3Bq1%3D23.335%3Brgn%3Ddiv8%3Bview%3Dtext%3Bidno%3D14%3Bnode%3D14%3A1.0.1.3.10.3.70.8|archive-date=2 April 2012}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.access.gpo.gov/ecfr/graphics/pdfs/ec28se91.001.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601204507/http://www.access.gpo.gov/ecfr/graphics/pdfs/ec28se91.001.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 June 2010|date=1 June 2010}}
= Range =
File:Boeing 777-200LR banking over mountain.jpg is one of the longest-range airliners, capable of flights of more than halfway around the world.]]
{{Main|Range (aeronautics)}}
The Airbus A350-900ULR is among the longest range airliners.{{cite web |url=https://www.airbus.com/sites/g/files/jlcbta136/files/2024-04/Airbus-A350-Family-Facts-and-Figures%20April-2024.pdf#page=3 |title=Airbus-A350-Family-Facts-and-Figures April-2024.pdf |year=2024 |website=airbus.com |publisher=Airbus |access-date=18 June 2024 |quote="… 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. …"}}
= Flight dynamics =
{{Main|Flight dynamics (fixed-wing aircraft)}}
File:Flight dynamics with text.png{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}
== Stability ==
File:Aircraft tail.JPG of a Boeing 747-200]]A fixed wing is typically unstable in pitch, roll, and yaw. Pitch and yaw stabilities of conventional fixed wing designs require horizontal and vertical stabilisers,Crane, Dale: Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition, p. 194. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. {{ISBN|1-56027-287-2}}Aviation Publishers Co. Limited, From the Ground Up, p. 10 (27th revised edition) {{ISBN|0-9690054-9-0}} which act similarly to the feathers on an arrow.{{Cite web|url=http://www.airlines.org/ATAResources/Handbook/Pages/AirlineHandbookChapter5HowAircraftFly.aspx|title=Airline Handbook Chapter 5: How Aircraft Fly|work=Airline Handbook|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620150339/http://airlines.org/ATAResources/Handbook/Pages/AirlineHandbookChapter5HowAircraftFly.aspx|archive-date=20 June 2010|publisher=Air Transport Association}} These stabilizing surfaces allow equilibrium of aerodynamic forces and to stabilise the flight dynamics of pitch and yaw.
== Control ==
{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}
Environmental impact
{{Main|Environmental impact of aviation}}{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}
Uses for aircraft
{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}
= Military =
File:Color Photographed B-17E in Flight.jpg in flight]]
{{Main|Military aircraft}}
A military aircraft is any aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat:
= Civil =
File:Pilatus Agusta A109 Flug.jpg helicopter of the Swiss air rescue service]]
{{Main|Civil aviation}}{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}
= Experimental =
{{Main|Experimental aircraft}}{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}File:MiniCeline ultralight aircraft.jpeg
= Model =
{{Main|Model aircraft}}{{Empty section|date=March 2025}}
See also
= Lists =
= Topics =
References
{{Reflist|refs=
}}
- {{Cite book|last=Gunston|first=Bill|title=Jane's Aerospace Dictionary 1987|year=1987|publisher=Jane's Publishing Company Limited|location=London, England|isbn=978-0-7106-0365-4}}
External links
{{Wiktionary|aircraft}}
{{Commons category|Aircraft}}
=History=
- [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-468/contents.htm The Evolution of Modern Aircraft (NASA)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227182437/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-468/contents.htm |date=27 December 2007 }}
- [http://invention.psychology.msstate.edu/Tale_of_Airplane/taleplane.html Virtual Museum]
- [http://www.nasm.si.edu/ Smithsonian Air and Space Museum] – online collection with a particular focus on history of aircraft and spacecraft
- [http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/36582/amazing-early-flying-machines Amazing Early Flying Machines] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091213011847/http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/36582/amazing-early-flying-machines |date=13 December 2009 }} slideshow by Life magazine
=Information=
- [http://www.airliners.net/ Airliners.net]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080624032037/http://www.aviationdictionary.org/ Aviation Dictionary] – free aviation terms, phrases and jargons
- [https://www.newscientist.com/topic/aviation New Scientist{{'}}s aviation page]
{{Aircraft types (by method of thrust and lift)}}
{{Lists of aircraft}}
{{Aircraft components}}
{{Authority control}}