Variable Camber Wing
Variable camber is a feature of some of aircraft wings that changes the camber (or curvature) of the main aerofoil during flight. In one system, the leading and/or trailing edge sections of the whole wing pivot to increase the effective camber of the wing. This may be used to increase the maximum lift coefficient in order to shorten the take-off run, or to enhance manoeuvrability in the air. An early example was flown on the Westland N.16 of 1917.Lukins, A.H.; ''The book of Westland aircraft'', Aircraft (Technical) Publications Ltd, (1943 or 1944). Although flaps on the trailing or leading edge of a wing do vary the overall camber and are sometimes described as camber–changing flaps, they do not vary the main lifting surface in the same way that a variable-camber wing does. Various other mechanisms have been tried. These include a device that controls the location and shape of the entire upper surface of the airfoil, a retractable bridge that connects two separate high aspect ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Fixed-wing Aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air Aircraft, flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate Lift (force), lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the wing configuration, shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotorcraft, rotary-wing aircraft (in which the wings form a Helicopter rotor, rotor mounted on a spinning shaft or "mast"), and ornithopters (in which the wings bird flight#Flapping flight, flap in a manner similar to that of a bird). The wings of a fixed-wing aircraft are not necessarily rigid; kites, hang gliders, variable-sweep wing aircraft and airplanes that use wing morphing are all examples of fixed-wing aircraft. Gliding flight, Gliding fixed-wing aircraft, including free-flying Glider (aircraft), gliders of various kinds and tethered kites, can use moving air to gain altitude. Powered aircraft, Powered fixed-wing aircraft (airplanes) that gain forward thrust from an aircraft engine, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expressed as its lift-to-drag ratio. The lift a wing generates at a given speed and angle of attack can be one to two orders of magnitude greater than the total drag on the wing. A high lift-to-drag ratio requires a significantly smaller thrust to propel the wings through the air at sufficient lift. Lifting structures used in water include various foils, such as hydrofoils. Hydrodynamics is the governing science, rather than aerodynamics. Applications of underwater foils occur in hydroplanes, sailboats and submarines. Etymology and usage For many centuries, the word "wing", from the Old Norse ''vængr'', referred mainly to the foremost limbs of birds (in addition to the architectural aisle). But in recent centuries the word's meanin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Camber (aerodynamics)
In aeronautics and aeronautical engineering, camber is the asymmetry between the two acting surfaces of an airfoil, with the top surface of a wing (or correspondingly the front surface of a propeller blade) commonly being more convex (positive camber). An airfoil that is not cambered is called a ''symmetric airfoil''. The benefits of cambering were discovered and first utilized by George Cayley in the early 19th century. Overview Camber is usually designed into an airfoil to maximize its lift coefficient. This minimizes the stalling speed of aircraft using the airfoil. An aircraft with cambered wings will have a lower stalling speed than an aircraft with a similar wing loading and symmetric airfoil wings. An aircraft designer may also reduce the angle of attack of the outboard section of the wings. This ensures that, as the aircraft approaches the stall, the wing root stalls before the tip, giving the aircraft resistance to spinning and maintaining aileron effectiveness clo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Aerofoil
An airfoil (American English) or aerofoil (British English) is the cross-sectional shape of an object whose motion through a gas is capable of generating significant lift, such as a wing, a sail, or the blades of propeller, rotor, or turbine. A solid body moving through a fluid produces an aerodynamic force. The component of this force perpendicular to the relative freestream velocity is called lift. The component parallel to the relative freestream velocity is called drag. An airfoil is a streamlined shape that is capable of generating significantly more lift than drag. Airfoils can be designed for use at different speeds by modifying their geometry: those for subsonic flight generally have a rounded leading edge, while those designed for supersonic flight tend to be slimmer with a sharp leading edge. All have a sharp trailing edge. Foils of similar function designed with water as the working fluid are called hydrofoils. The lift on an airfoil is primarily the r ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Lift Coefficient
In fluid dynamics, the lift coefficient () is a dimensionless quantity that relates the lift generated by a lifting body to the fluid density around the body, the fluid velocity and an associated reference area. A lifting body is a foil or a complete foil-bearing body such as a fixed-wing aircraft. is a function of the angle of the body to the flow, its Reynolds number and its Mach number. The section lift coefficient refers to the dynamic lift characteristics of a two-dimensional foil section, with the reference area replaced by the foil chord. Abbott, Ira H., and Doenhoff, Albert E. von: ''Theory of Wing Sections''. Section 1.2 Definitions The lift coefficient ''C''L is defined by :C_\mathrm L \equiv \frac = = , where L\, is the lift force, S\, is the relevant surface area and q\, is the fluid dynamic pressure, in turn linked to the fluid density \rho\,, and to the flow speed u\,. The choice of the reference surface should be specified since it is arbitrary. F ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Westland N Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila, Scotland Netherlands *Westland, Netherlands (other) **Westland (municipality), Netherlands ** Westland (region), Netherlands New Zealand *Westland District, a political subdivision on the West Coast o |