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A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft (in which a rotor mounted on a spinning shaft generates lift), and ornithopters (in which the wings oscillate to generate lift).
The Boeing X-50A Dragonfly, formerly known as the Canard Rotor/Wing Demonstrator, was a VTOL rotor wing experimental unmanned aerial vehicle that was developed by Boeing and DARPA to demonstrate the principle that a helicopter's rotor could be stopped in flight and act as a fixed wing, enabling it to transition between fixed-wing and rotary-wing flight.
This is a list of large aircraft, including three types: fixed wing, rotary wing, and airships. The US Federal Aviation Administration defines a large aircraft as any aircraft with a certificated maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of more than 12,500 lb (5,700 kg) [ 1 ]
A tiltrotor is an aircraft that generates lift and propulsion by way of one or more powered rotors (sometimes called proprotors) mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles usually at the ends of a fixed wing. Almost all tiltrotors use a transverse rotor design, with a few exceptions that use other multirotor layouts.
Aircraft includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as hot air balloons and airships. Aviation began in the 18th century with the development of the hot air balloon , an apparatus capable of atmospheric displacement through buoyancy .
Some rotary wing aircraft are designed to stop the rotor for forward flight so that it then acts as a fixed wing. For vertical flight and hovering it spins to act as a rotary wing or rotor, and for forward flight at speed it stops to act as a fixed wing providing some or all of the lift required. Additional fixed wings may also be provided to ...
A Boeing 747 in 1978 operated by Pan Am. Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. Aircraft includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as hot air balloons and airships.
A fixed-wing aircraft may have more than one wing plane, stacked one above another: Biplane: two wing planes of similar size, stacked one above the other. The biplane is inherently lighter and stronger than a monoplane and was the most common configuration until the 1930s. The very first Wright Flyer I was a biplane.