Parts of the Aircraft

Question 1

fuselage

Answer 1

body of the aircraft, contains cockpit and cabin/cargo area/attachment points

Question 2

firewall

Answer 2

partition between engine and the front of the fuselage to protect people in the aircraft

Question 3

truss fuselage

Answer 3

steel or aluminum tubing in triangles to create strength and rigidity

Question 4

monocoque fuselage

Answer 4

uses bulkheads, string runner, and formers the shape and support a stretched skin

Question 5

airfoil

Answer 5

part of an aircraft that controls lift, direction, thrust, or propulsion (ex wing, propeller blade, or rudder)

Question 6

high-wing, mid-wing, low-wing

Answer 6

terms talking about where on the fuselage the wings are attached

Question 7

monoplanes

Answer 7

planes with one set of wings

Question 8

biplanes

Answer 8

planes with two sets of wings

Question 9

cantilever wing

Answer 9

wings with no external bracing, get support from internal supports and construction of the wing

Question 10

semi-cantilever wing

Answer 10

wing with both internal and external bracing

Question 11

ailerons

Answer 11

extend from the middle of the wing to the wing tip, move in opposite directions to roll the aircraft

Question 12

flaps

Answer 12

extend from where the wing meet (wing root) the fuselage to the middle of the wing; typically flush with the wing during cruising; extend to create lift for takeoff and landing

Question 13

camber

Answer 13

the curvature of a surface

Question 14

Bernoulli’s Principle

Answer 14

Because the top of a wing has more camber than the bottom surface, air flows faster over the top creating lower pressure above the wing causing lift (accurate at lower speeds)

Question 15

What airfoil cambers will low to medium speed aircrafts have?

Answer 15

more thickness and camber

Question 16

chord line

Answer 16

the line from the middle of the leading edge to the trailing edge

Question 17

mean camber line

Answer 17

line the divides the airfoil directly in half, usually curved

Question 18

How to measure camber

Answer 18

maximum distance between the chord line and mean camber line

Question 19

thickness (airfoil)

Answer 19

maximum distance between the upper and lower surface of the airfoil

Question 20

planform

Answer 20

shape of the wing when viewed from above

Question 21

dihedral angle

Answer 21

the angle between the wings of and aircraft and the horizon line, for stability

Question 22

anhedral

Answer 22

when the wingtips are lower than the roots, found on some fighters, give the aircraft a higher roll rate

Question 23

straight wings

Answer 23

(look like a rectangle or oval or tapered);

found on small, low speed aircraft, most efficient at low speeds

Question 24

swept wing

Answer 24

(look like paper airplane) most common wing design, creates less drag but also less stable at lower speeds

sharply swept: delays the formation of shockwaves for airplanes travelling the speed of sound, require high speed take off and landings

Question 25

delta wing

Answer 25

(looks like a triangle) high angle of sweep, straight trailing edge, for supersonic and high speeds,

Question 26

conventional landing gear

Answer 26

landing gear that uses a tailwheel also known as tailwheel airplanes

Question 27

tricycle landing gear

Answer 27

landing gear using a nosewheel

Question 28

how to propeller driven planes get their thrust?

Answer 28

the corkscrew action of the propellers; as the blades rotate they push air back causing the airplane to get “pushed’ forward

Question 29

pitch (propellers)

Answer 29

the amount of slant on the propeller

Question 30

fixed pitch propeller vs variable pitch propeller

Answer 30

fixed pitch mean the angle of the prop can’t be changed by the pilot; variable pitch propeller (constant speed prop) more efficient because it can be adjusted

Question 31

single-engine propeller driven

Answer 31

typically have the engine on the front of the fuselage; streamline airflow around the engine and cool the engine by ducting air

Question 32

where are the engines located on multi-engine planes

Answer 32

engines mounted under the wings

Question 33

jet engines

Answer 33

force incoming air into a tube where it is compressed, mixed with fuel, burned, and pushed out at high speed so generate thrust

Question 34

afterburner

Answer 34

can be fitted to turbojets and turbofans, additional fuel is added between the turbine and rear exhaust and ignited for additional thrust; only used for short periods because uses a lot of fuel

Question 35

empennage

Answer 35

tail section of the aircraft

Question 36

fixed surfaces on the empennage

Answer 36

vertical and horizontal stabilizers

Question 37

movable surfaces on the empennage

Answer 37

elevators, rudder, and trim tabs

Question 38

elevators (empennage)

Answer 38

attached to the back edge of the horizontal stabilizers; move the nose of the airplane up or down during flight

Question 39

rudder

Answer 39

attached to the back of the vertical stabilizer; moves the airplanes nose left and right during flight; use with ailerons for turns

Question 40

trim tabs

Answer 40

small movable pieces on the trailing edge of the rudder, ailerons, and elevators; controlled by the pilot, reduce control pressures and pilot workload