Aircraft construction is a developed sector of the global economy, which produces a wide variety of aircraft, from super-light and fast to heavy and large. The world leaders in the production of aircraft are the United States, the European Union and Russia. In this article, we will consider what types of aircraft are in modern aircraft construction, their purpose and some structural features.
What is a plane?
In the recent past, people could travel long distances only by land and sea, while spending a lot of time. Fortunately, science was able to develop a new type of vehicle - an aircraft that can move passengers and cargo over long distances in the shortest possible time.
Aircraft is an aircraft, the main property of which is the ability to fly in the expanse of the earth's atmosphere, using the necessary power plants. It differs in a number of design features from other types of air transport. For example, an airplane differs from a helicopter by fixed wings. The wing of the glider is also fixed, but it does not have an engine like an airplane, while it differs from the airship by the principle of flight.
The history of the aircraft
Attempts to build an aircraft driven by power plants were undertaken by many inventors of the 19th century. Among them, J. Cayley, W. Henson, N. Teleshov, A. Mozhaisky. Some of them have excelled in this industry. Nevertheless, the birthday of world aviation is considered December 17, 1903. It was on this day for the first time that an airplane designed by American developers (Wright brothers) rose above the earth's surface. Although his flight was short, only 59 seconds at an altitude of 260 m, this event was a breakthrough in aviation.
Aircraft structural elements
The constituent elements not only form the appearance of the aircraft, but also determine its functional features, namely the speed of movement of vehicles in the air. The standard design of this type of aircraft consists of the following elements:
- The fuselage is the most voluminous and largest part of the aircraft, which combines all the other elements of the ship. It also houses a compartment for accommodating and transporting passengers, crew and cargo. However, the fuselage has large dimensions not for all models, but to a greater extent for cargo and passenger ships.
- Wings - the main flying organ. Just like a bird, an airplane cannot be imagined without wings. First of all, they create the lifting force necessary to lift the device into the air. The wing of the aircraft necessarily has additional devices for turning the ship along the axis (ailerons) and take-off and flying mechanisms (flaps).
- The tail part is structurally composed of three main parts: keel, left and right consoles. On the tail there are also ship controls: steering wheel and depth.
- The power plant in the classic version is represented by an engine, screws (if any) and equipment necessary for their operation.
- Chassis - a system of takeoff and landing devices used for take-off and landing, as well as its movement on the earth or water surface. Most often, the chassis is presented in the form of wheels, but there is a type of aircraft that lands on skis, and some models do skids or floats.
- On-board electronics - a set of equipment that allows the crew to control the aircraft.
Aircraft classification
A particular type of aircraft may differ from others in its layout, which affects its functions. Therefore, the classification of aircraft can be carried out according to various criteria, the main of which are the design features and purpose of the aircraft. By designation, air vessels are civilian and military.
Differences, and hence the types of aircraft, may relate to the following elements and parameters: engine, layout options, flight speed, mass.
By weight parameters, airplanes can be: superheavy, heavy, medium and light. By flight speed: subsonic, transonic, supersonic, hypersonic. The latter represent a new type of aircraft, which is capable of performing ultrafast flights at an altitude of more than 100 km. As for the power plant, the classification criteria are: the number of engines (from 1 to 12), their location (in the fuselage, on the wing) and type (internal combustion engines, rocket power plants, screw, jet, electric).
Depending on the layout, aircraft are classified according to the following criteria:
- the number of wings and their location;
- the nature of the location of the tail;
- type of chassis;
- type and dimensions of the fuselage.
Types of passenger aircraft
Aircraft intended for civilian purposes carry passengers, various kinds of cargo and correspondence. They can serve flights of both small and medium and large distances. Civil aircraft may vary in number of seats (from 8 to 700). According to their intended use, these vessels can be divided into:
- Passenger
- freight;
- freight and passenger;
- agricultural (for spraying crops and processing);
- sanitary;
- training (for training pilots);
- sports models for aviation sport.
Among the most common passenger aircraft, the following models can be distinguished: Tu-154, Tu-134, Il-62, Il-86, Il-96, Airbus A330, A320, A310, Boeing-737, Boeing-747, Boeing-767. The largest and most spacious type of aircraft for transporting passengers is the Airbus A380. At one time, this device is capable of transporting up to 700 people at a distance of about 15 thousand km.
Types of combat aircraft
Aircraft are successfully used not only for peaceful, but also for military purposes to repel an enemy attack and deliver air strikes against enemy forces.
Combat aircraft can also be different, primarily for their intended purpose:
- bombers drop bombs on the military force of the enemy;
- missile and torpedo bombers;
- fighters are designed to repel an enemy air attack;
- interceptors;
- tankers are equipped with fuel tanks and fulfill their main goal - refueling aircraft in the air;
- transporters are transporting the necessary aviation equipment for combat operations .