A utility aircraft is a general-purpose
light
Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...
airplane
An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...
or
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
, usually used for transporting people, freight, or other supplies, but also used for other duties when more specialized aircraft are not required or available.
The term can also refer to an aircraft
type certificate
A type certificate signifies the airworthiness of a particular category of aircraft, according to its manufacturing design (''type design''). Certification confirms that the aircraft of a new type intended for serial production is in compliance w ...
d under American, Canadian, European, or Australian regulations as a ''Utility Category Aircraft'', which indicates that it is permitted to conduct limited
aerobatics. The approved maneuvers include
chandelles,
lazy eights,
spins
The spins (as in having "the spins") is an adverse reaction of Substance intoxication, intoxication that causes a state of vertigo and nausea, causing one to feel as if "spinning out of control", especially when lying down. It is most commonly as ...
, and
steep turns over 60° of bank.
[Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 535. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ]
In the United States, military utility aircraft are given the prefix U in their
designations.
See also
*
FAR Part 23 (refers to "utility category" in United States aviation regulations)
*
*
Utility helicopter
*
Angel Flight
References
{{Lists of aircraft
Aircraft by type