What types of aircraft are there? Model, type, type of aircraft (photo)

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Aircraft construction is a developed branch of the world 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, spending a lot of time. Fortunately, science has been 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 expanses of the earth's atmosphere, using the necessary power plants. It differs in a number of structuralfeatures from other types of air transport. For example, an airplane differs from a helicopter in that it has 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 in the principle of flight.

The history of the aircraft

Attempts to build a powered aircraft were made by many inventors in the 19th century. Among them are J. Cayley, W. Henson, N. Teleshov, A. Mozhaisky. Some of them are very successful in this industry. Nevertheless, December 17, 1903 is considered the birthday of world aviation. It was on this day that for the first time an aircraft designed by American developers (the 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

Component 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 an aircraft of this type consists of the following elements:

• The fuselage is the most voluminous and largest part of the aircraft, which unites all other elements of the vessel. It also houses a compartment for accommodation and transportation of passengers, crew and cargo. However, the fuselage has large dimensions not in all models, but to a greater extent in cargo-passenger ships.
• Wings are the main flying organ. Just like a birdAn 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 must have additional devices for turning the vessel along the axis (ailerons) and take-off mechanisms (flaps).
• The tail part structurally consists of three main parts: keel, left and right consoles. The tail also has ship controls: rudder and depth.
• The power plant in the classic version is represented by an engine, propellers (if any) and equipment necessary for their operation.
• Chassis - a system of take-off and landing devices used during the takeoff of an aircraft, 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 even on skids or floats.
• Onboard electronics - a set of equipment that allows the crew to control the aircraft.

Classification of aircraft

One or another type of aircraft may differ from others in its layout, which affects the functions it performs. Therefore, the classification of aircraft can be made according to various criteria, the main of which are the design features and purpose of the aircraft. According to the purpose of the aircraft, they are civil and military.

Differences, and hence the types of aircraft, may relate to the following elements and parameters: engine, layout options, flight speed,masses.

According to weight parameters, aircraft can be: superheavy, heavy, medium and light. By flight speed: subsonic, transonic, supersonic, hypersonic. The latter are a new type of aircraft that is capable of ultra-fast 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, propeller, jet, electric).

Depending on the layout, aircraft are classified according to the following criteria:

• number of wings and their arrangement;
• the nature of the location of the tail;
• chassis type;
• type and dimensions of the fuselage.

Types of passenger aircraft

Aircraft designed for civilian purposes carry passengers, all kinds of cargo and correspondence. They can serve flights of both short, medium and long distances. Civil aircraft may differ in the number of seats (from 8 to 700). According to the intended use, these vessels can be conditionally divided into:

• passenger;
• cargo;
• cargo-passenger;
• agricultural (for crop spraying and processing);
• sanitary;
• training (for pilot training);
• sport models for aviation sport.

Among the most common passenger aircraft are the following models: 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 over 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 enemy attacks and strike enemy forces from the air.

Combat aircraft can also be different, primarily for their intended purpose:

• bombers drop bombs on enemy military force;
• rocket and torpedo bombers;
• fighters are called upon to repel enemy air attacks;
• interceptors;
• refuelers are equipped with fuel tanks and fulfill their main purpose - refueling aircraft in the air;
• transporters transport aviation equipment necessary for combat operations.