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Airplanes
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Parts of a Plane
The body of the plane is called the
fuselage.
It is generally a long tube shape. The wheels of a plane are called the landing
gear. There are two main wheels on either side of the plane fuselage. Then
there is one more wheel near the front of the plane. The brakes for the wheels
are like the brakes for cars. They are operated by pedals, one for each wheel.
Most landing gear can be folded into the fuselage during the flight and opened
for landing.
All planes have
wings.
The wings are shaped with smooth surfaces. The smooth surfaces are slightly
curved from the front or leading edge, to the back or trailing edge. Air
moving around the wing produces the upward lift for the airplane.
The shape of the wings
determines how fast and high the plane can fly.
A cut through the wing from front to back is called an
airfoil.
The hinged control surfaces are used
to steer and control the airplane. The flaps and ailerons are connected to the
backside of the wings. The
flaps
slide back and down to
increase the surface of the wing area. They also tilt down to increase the curve
of the wing. The
slats
move out from the front of the wings
to make the wing space larger. This helps to increase the lifting force of the
wing at slower speeds like takeoff and landing. The
ailerons
are hinged on the wings and move downward to push the air down and make the
wing tilt up. This moves the plane to the side and helps it turn during flight.
After landing, the
spoilers
are used like air brakes to
reduce any remaining lift and slow down the airplane.
The tail at the rear of
the plane provides stability. The fin is the vertical part of
the tail. The
rudder
at the back of the plane moves left
and right to control the left or right movement of the plane. The
elevators
are found at the rear of the plane. They can be raised or lowered to change
the direction of the plane's nose. The plane will go up or down depending on
the direction of that the elevators are moved.
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What is Aeronautics? | Dynamics
of Flight | Airplanes | Engines
| History of Flight | What
is UEET?
Vocabulary | Fun
and Games | Educational Links | Lesson
Plans | Site Index | Home
|