skid
1. Chiefly US and Canadian one of the logs forming a skidway
2. a support on which heavy objects may be stored and moved short distances by sliding
3. a shoe or drag used to apply pressure to the metal rim of a wheel to act as a brake
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
skid
[skid] (aerospace engineering)
The metal bar or runner used as part of the landing gear of helicopters and planes.
(engineering)
A device attached to a chain and placed under a wheel to prevent its turning when descending a steep hill.
A timber, bar, rail, or log placed under a heavy object when it is being moved over bare ground.
A wood or metal platform support on wheels, legs, or runners used for handling and moving material. Also known as skid platform.
(mechanical engineering)
A brake for a power machine.
(mining engineering)
An arrangement upon which certain coal-cutting machines travel along the working faces.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
skid
ii. In helicopters, a fixed tubular landing gear, often provided with small auxiliary wheels to provide ground mobility.
iii. A rigid ski-shaped member projecting ahead of the landing gear to prevent them from nosing over.
iv. A support for the tail-wheel on the ground in airplanes of early years.
v. A member mounted at the bottom of the aft end of the fuselage of an aircraft with a tricycle undercarriage. The skid absorbs the shock and prevents damage to the aircraft structure if the skid touches the ground either on the takeoff or the landing.
An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Skid
the locking of the wheels of a vehicle—for example, a motor vehicle, a streetcar, or railroad rolling stock—while the vehicle is in motion. As a result of such locking, the wheels slide over the bearing surface rather than turn.
A skid occurs when the braking force exceeds the force of adhesion between the wheels and the surface of a road or track, for example, in the presence of glaze ice or after rain. Skidding increases the braking distance and may cause traffic accidents. As a rule, the skidding of the rear wheels of a motor vehicle results in sideslip of the rear axle.
To avoid skids, modern motor vehicles may be equipped with automatic devices that prevent the wheels from locking.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.