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aircraft |
Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.03 sec. |
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aircraft any machine capable of flying by means of buoyancy or aerodynamic forces, such as a glider, helicopter, or aeroplane www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/index.shtml Aircraft Any vehicle which carries one or more persons and which navigates through the air. The two main classifications of aircraft are lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air. The term lighter-than-air is applied to all aircraft which sustain their weight by displacing an equal weight of air, for example, blimps and dirigibles. Heavier-than-air craft are supported by giving the surrounding air a momentum in the downward direction equal to the weight of the aircraft. See Airplane, Helicopter How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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As Wilbur and Orville Wright brilliantly overcame every obstacle to manned, controlled, heavier-than-air flight, did they ever pause to consider that, a hundred years hence, someone would have to explain their accomplishment to grade-school readers--children jaded by the sight of jet planes streaking the sky? Simon Newcomb, an eminent mathematician and astronomer and founding member of the American Astronomical Society, argued that powered heavier-than-air flight was a practical impossibility. Some aviation historians say that this bird-inspired control mechanism was the pivotal innovation that enabled the Wright brothers to achieve heavier-than-air flight whereas others pursuing that same goal had failed. |
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