Airplane

C

Seaplanes

Seaplanes, sometimes called floatplanes or pontoon planes, are often ordinary land planes modified with floats instead of wheels so they can operate from water. A number of seaplanes have been designed from scratch to operate only from water bases. Such seaplanes have fuselages that resemble and perform like ship hulls. Known as flying boats, they may have small floats attached to their outer wing panels to help steady them at low speeds on the water, but the weight of the airplane is borne by the floating hull.

D

Amphibians

Amphibians, like their animal namesakes, operate from both water and land bases. In many cases, an amphibian is a true seaplane, with a boat hull and the addition of specially designed landing gear that can be extended to allow the airplane to taxi right out of the water onto land. Historically, some flying boats were fitted with so-called beaching gear, a system of cradles on wheels positioned under the floating aircraft, which then allowed the aircraft to be rolled onto land.

E

Vertical Takeoff and Landing Airplanes

Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) airplanes have used the jet thrust from their engines or air from a lifting fan, pointed down at the Earth, to take off and land straight up and down. After taking off, a VTOL airplane usually transitions to wing-borne flight in order to cover a longer distance or carry a significant load. A helicopter is a type of VTOL aircraft, but there are few VTOL airplanes apart from the military’s Harrier jump-jet and a VTOL version of the F-35B Lightning II fighter. One unique type of VTOL aircraft is the tilt-rotor, which has large, propeller-like rotating wings or rotors driven by jet engines at the wingtips. For takeoff and landing, the engines and rotors are positioned vertically, much like a helicopter. After takeoff, however, the engine/rotor combination tilts forward, and the wing takes on the load of the craft.

F

Short Takeoff and Landing Airplanes

Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) airplanes are designed to be able to function on relatively short runways. Their designs usually employ wings and high-lift devices on the wings optimized for best performance during takeoff and landing, as distinguished from an airplane that has a wing optimized for high-speed cruise at high altitude. STOL airplanes are usually cargo airplanes, although some serve in a passenger-carrying capacity as well.

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G

Space Shuttle

The space shuttle, flown by NASA, is an aircraft unlike any other because it flies as a fixed-wing airplane within the atmosphere and as a spacecraft outside Earth’s atmosphere. When the space shuttle takes off, it flies like a rocket with wings, relying on the 3,175 metric tons of thrust generated by its solid-fuel rocket boosters and liquid-fueled main engines to power its way up, through, and out of the atmosphere. During landing, the shuttle becomes the world’s most sophisticated glider, landing without propulsion.

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