Airplane

VII

Classes of Airplanes

Airplanes can be grouped into a handful of major classes, such as commercial, military, and general-aviation airplanes, all of which fall under different government-mandated certification and operating rules.

A

Commercial Airplanes

Commercial aircraft are those used for profit making, usually by carrying cargo or passengers for hire (see Air Transport Industry). They are strictly regulated—in the United States, by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); in Canada, by Transport Canada; and in other countries, by other national aviation authorities.

Modern large commercial-airplane manufacturers—such The Boeing Company in the United States and Airbus in Europe—offer a wide variety of aircraft with different capabilities. Today’s jet airliners carry anywhere from 100 passengers to more than 500 over short and long distances.

Beginning in 1976 the British-French Concorde supersonic transport (SST) carried passengers at twice the speed of sound. The Concorde flew for British Airways and Air France, flag carriers of the two nations that funded its development during the late 1960s and 1970s. The United States had an SST program, but it was ended because of budget and environmental concerns in 1971. The Concorde ended its regular passenger service in October 2003 due to its lack of profitability. Declining ticket sales for the high-priced service, which cost about $9,000 and up for a round-trip fare, combined with higher costs led to the Concorde’s demise. A fatal air crash in 2000 grounded the Concorde for a full year. It returned to service only to witness a sharp decline in airline travel following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

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B

Military Airplanes

Military aircraft are usually grouped into four categories: combat, cargo, training, and observation (see Military Aviation). Combat airplanes are generally either fighters or bombers, although some airplanes have both capabilities. Fighters are designed to engage in air combat with other airplanes, in either defensive or offensive situations. Since the 1950s many fighters have been capable of Mach 2+ flight (a Mach number represents the ratio of the speed of an airplane to the speed of sound as it travels through air). Some fighters have a ground-attack role as well and are designed to carry both air-to-air weapons, such as missiles, and air-to-ground weapons, such as bombs. Fighters have included aircraft such as the Panavia Tornado, the Boeing F-15 Eagle, the Lockheed-Martin F-16 Falcon, the Lockheed-Martin F-35 Lightning II, the MiG-29 Fulcrum, and the Su-27 Flanker.

Bombers are designed to carry large air-to-ground-weapons loads and either penetrate or avoid enemy air defenses in order to deliver those weapons. Some well-known bombers have included the Boeing B-52, the Boeing B-1, and the Northrop-Grumman B-2 stealth bomber.

Today’s military cargo airplanes are capable of carrying enormous tanks, armored personnel carriers, artillery pieces, and even smaller aircraft. Cargo planes such as the giant Lockheed C-5B and Boeing C-17 were designed expressly for such roles. Some cargo planes can serve a dual role as aerial gas stations, refueling different types of military airplanes while in flight. Such tankers have included the Boeing KC-135 and KC-10.

All military pilots go through rigorous training and education programs using military training airplanes to prepare them to fly the high-performance aircraft of the armed forces. They typically begin the flight training in relatively simple, propeller airplanes and move into basic jets before specializing in a career path involving fighters, bombers, or transports. Some military trainers include the T-34 Mentor, the T-37 and T-38, and the Boeing T-45 Goshawk.

A final category of military airplane is the observation, or reconnaissance, aircraft. With the advent of the Lockheed U-2 spy plane in the 1950s, observation airplanes were developed solely for highly specialized missions. Lockheed’s SR-71, a two-seat airplane, used specialized engines and fuel to reach altitudes greater than 25,000 m (80,000 ft) and speeds well over Mach 3.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) also were developed for reconnaissance in situations considered too dangerous for piloted aircraft or in instances where pilot fatigue would be a factor. UAVs include the Predator drone, made by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., based in San Diego, California. These unpiloted aircraft are flown by software programs containing navigational instructions and operated from the ground. They relay video and infrared images in real time to military commanders, providing instantaneous views of battlegrounds during the day or at night. Some UAVs, known as Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs), also carry weapons that can be fired by ground operators using the aircraft’s video and infrared cameras to locate their targets.

C

General-Aviation Aircraft

General-aviation aircraft are certified for and intended primarily for noncommercial or private operations.

Pleasure aircraft range from simple single-seat, ultralight airplanes to sleek twin turboprops capable of carrying eight people. Business aircraft transport business executives to appointments. Most business airplanes require more reliable performance and more range and all-weather capability.

Another class of general-aviation airplanes is used in agriculture. Large farms require efficient ways to spread fertilizer and insecticides over a large area. A very specialized type of airplane, crop dusters are rugged, highly maneuverable, and capable of hauling several hundred pounds of chemicals. They can be seen swooping low over farm fields. Not intended for serious cross-country navigation, crop dusters lack sophisticated navigation aids and complex systems.

VIII

History

Before the end of the 18th century, few people had applied themselves to the study of flight. One was the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, during the 15th century. Leonardo was preoccupied chiefly with bird flight and with flapping-wing machines, called ornithopters. His aeronautical work lay unknown until late in the 19th century, when it could furnish little of technical value to experimenters but was a source of inspiration to aspiring engineers. Apart from Leonardo’s efforts, three devices important to aviation had been invented in Europe in the Middle Ages and had reached a high stage of development by Leonardo’s time—the windmill, an early propeller; the kite, an early airplane wing; and the model helicopter.

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