1. Parts of an Aircraft Parts of an Aircraft Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Parts of an Aircraft

2. What is an Airplane? Aircraft Airplane More general term
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
What is an Airplane?
Aircraft
More general term
Refers to any heavier-than-air object that is
Supported by its own buoyancy
Supported by the action of air on its structures
Airplane
Heavier-than-air craft propelled by an engine
Uses aerodynamic surfaces (wings) to generate lift

3. Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
What is an Airplane?
Every airplane is an aircraft, but not every aircraft is an airplane.
Space shuttle
Gliders
Helicopters
Space Shuttle – No engines for propulsion
Gliders – No engines
Helicopters – Aerodynamic surfaces are not fixed. They rotate.

4. Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Why So Many Types?
Every modern aircraft is built for a specific purpose.
Different altitudes
Different speeds
Different weight-carrying capacities
Different performance

5. Why So Many Types? Jet fighters Passenger airplanes
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Why So Many Types?
Jet fighters
Relatively lightweight
Highly maneuverable and very fast
Carry small amount of weight, including fuel
Must refuel on long flights
Passenger airplanes
Larger, carry more weight, fly longer distances
Less maneuverable and slower

6. Why So Many Types? Wing types Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Why So Many Types?
Wing types
The characteristic that most readily identifies the type, performance, and purpose of an airplane is the shape of its wings.
Each shape allows for premium performance at different altitudes, different speeds, and different loads which must be carried.

7. Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Why So Many Types?
Speed
The speed of sound is dependent on altitude and atmospheric conditions
Mach is the term used to specify how many times the speed of sound an aircraft is traveling
Subsonic: Less than Mach 1
Transonic: Mach .9 to Mach 1.5
Supersonic: All speeds above Mach 1
Hypersonic: All speeds greater than Mach 5
Another important discriminator between airplanes is speed.
The suffix “sonic” refers to the speed of sound.
Mach 1 is one times the speed of sound. Mach 2 is twice the speed of sound. Mach numbers less than 1 are speeds less than the speed of sound.
Aircraft flying at hypersonic speeds can also be said to be flying at supersonic speeds.

8. Parts of an Airplane Five basic structural components Fuselage Wings
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Five basic structural components
Fuselage
Wings
Empennage (tail structures)
Propulsion system
Undercarriage

9. Fuselage Main body structure Contains
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Fuselage
Main body structure
All other components are attached to it
Contains
Cockpit or flight deck
Passenger compartment
Cargo compartment
Produces a little lift, but can also produce a lot of drag

10. Wings Most important lift-producing part of the aircraft
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Most important lift-producing part of the aircraft
Also carries the fuel
Designed so that the outer tips of the wings are higher than where the wings are attached to the fuselage
Called the dihedral
Helps keep the airplane from rolling unexpectedly

11. Wings Parts of an Aircraft Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Wings

12. Wing Designs Straight Wing Found mostly on small, low-speed airplanes
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Wing Designs
Straight Wing
Found mostly on small, low-speed airplanes
Good lift at low speeds
Not suited to high speeds
Creates a lot of drag because the wing is perpendicular to the airflow
Provides good, stable flight
Cheap and can be made lighter

13. Wing Designs Sweepback Used on most high-speed airplanes
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Wing Designs
Sweepback
Used on most high-speed airplanes
Less drag, but more unstable at low speeds
Amount of sweep depends on the purpose of the airplane
Commercial airliner has moderate sweep
High speed airplanes (e.g., fighters) have moderate sweep
No forward sweep wings are in mass production
A commercial airliner has less drag while maintaining stability at lower speeds.
Fighters are not very stable at low speeds. They take off and descend for landing at a high rate of speed.

14. Wing Designs Delta Wings Looks like a large triangle from above
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Wing Designs
Delta Wings
Looks like a large triangle from above
Can reach high speeds
Landing speeds are very fast
Wing shape found on the supersonic transport Concord

15. Wing Designs Swing Wing
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Wing Designs
Swing Wing
This design combines the high lift characteristics of a straight wing with the ability of the sweepback wing to move at high speeds
During landing and takeoff, wing swings into an almost straight position
During cruise, wing swings into a sweepback
Hinges that enable wings to swing are very heavy

16. Wing Components Trailing edge equipped with flaps
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Wing Components
Trailing edge equipped with flaps
Move backward and downward
Increase the area of the wing and the camber of the airfoil
Different from the ailerons, also located on the trailing edge of the wing
When an airplane lands, it is desirable to fly as slowly as possible. Ideally for landing, an airplane would have a large wing with a very cambered airfoil. However, airfoils designed to perform well at slow speeds are not good for flying at faster speeds, and vice versa. Airplane designers have developed a set of features that allow the pilot to increase the wing area and change the airfoil shape to compensate for this.

17. Wing Components Slats Located on the leading edge
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Wing Components
Slats
Located on the leading edge
Slide forward and increase the area of the wing and the camber of the airfoil
Flaps and slats
Used during takeoff and landing
Increase lift at slower speeds.

18. Wing Components Parts of an Aircraft Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Wing Components
Flaps (green) are used at low speeds to increase maximum lift, and thereby reduce stalling speed.
The spoiler is raised upon landing to disrupt the airflow and “spoil” the lift.

19. Wing Components Spoilers Located on the top of the wings
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Wing Components
Spoilers
Located on the top of the wings
Opposite effect from flaps and slats
Reduce lift by disrupting the airflow over the top of the wing
Deployed after the airplane has landed and lift is no longer needed
Increase drag

20. Empennage Also known as the tail assembly
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Empennage
Also known as the tail assembly
Provides stability and control
Two main parts
Vertical stabilizer (fin) to which the rudder is attached
Horizontal stabilizer to which the elevators are attached

21. Undercarriage Also known as the landing gear, which is made up of
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Undercarriage
Also known as the landing gear, which is made up of
Struts
Wheels
Brakes
Can be fixed or retractable
Many small airplanes have fixed landing gear which increases drag but keeps the airplane lightweight. Larger, faster, and more complex aircraft have retractable landing gear that can accommodate the increased weight. The advantage to retractable landing gear is that the drag is greatly reduced when the gear is retracted. When you fly on a commercial airliner, you will notice that the pilot retracts the landing gear very soon after the airplane leaves the ground. This helps to decrease drag as the airplane ascends.

22. Propulsion System Provides thrust for the airplane
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Propulsion System
Provides thrust for the airplane
Many different types of engines
Piston engines and propellers
Turboprop
Turbojet
Turbofan
Scram jet
These will be discussed in a later activity.
Propulsion systems will be discussed in more detail in a later activity.

23. Controls Instruments and Controls Supply information Provide control
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Controls
Instruments and Controls
Supply information
Altitude
Direction
Provide control
Steering in the air and on the ground
Engine power
Braking
If you looked inside the cockpit of an airplane, you would see many instruments and controls. Some of the instruments are designed to supply information about the altitude and direction of the plane.

24. Controls Parts of an Aircraft Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Controls
When a plane is in flight, there are three imaginary axes of rotation. These lines run through the weight center (or center of gravity) of the plane. The airplane’s rotation around the y axss is called yaw; rotation around the x axis is called pitch, and rotation around the z axis is called roll.

25. Controls Roll is controlled by the ailerons
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Controls
Roll is controlled by the ailerons
Used to raise and lower the wings
Turning the control wheel left causes the left aileron to raise and lowers the right aileron.
The plane rolls left.
Turning the control wheel right causes the right aileron to raise and lowers the left aileron.
The plane rolls right.

26. Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Controls
Pitch is controlled by the elevators on the tail of the plane.
They are controlled by the control wheel (i.e., stick).
If the wheel or stick is pulled back, the elevators go up, causing the nose to point up and the plane to climb.
If the wheel or stick is pushed forward, the elevators go down, causing the nose to point down and the plane to lose altitude.

27. Controls Yaw is controlled by the rudder.
Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Controls
Yaw is controlled by the rudder.
The right foot pedal turns the rudder to the right.
This action causes the tail to yaw to the left and the nose to yaw to the right.
To smoothly bank a plane or to turn it turn left or right, the pilot uses the ailerons and the rudder together.

28. Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Controls
On the ground, the plane’s direction is controlled by steering the nose wheel. Pilots use their feet on the rudder pedals to control the ground movement
The rudder pedals are also used to apply the brakes.

29. Parts of an Aircraft
Gateway To Technology®
Unit 4– Lesson 4.2– Aeronautics
Image Resources
Microsoft, Inc. (2008). Clip art. Retrieved June 24, 2009, from
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). (n.d.). Virtual skies: Aeronautics tutorial. Retrieved June 24, 2009, from