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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).
This is a list of fictional aircraft, including fixed-wing aircraft, rotary wing aircraft, and lighter-than-air craft. The aircraft in this list are generally intended to operate in an atmosphere, though a few have been stated as being capable of exoatmospheric or sub-orbital flight as well.
The various types of such rotor wings may be classified according to the axis of the rotor. Types include: [1] [2] Vertical-axis. Conventional rotary wings as used by modern rotorcraft. Spanwise horizontal-axis. Wing rotor: an airfoil-section horizontal-axis rotor which creates the primary lift. Magnus rotor: a rotor which creates lift via the ...
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.
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 ...
The A-7 was the first rotary-wing aircraft designed for combat, [23] armed with one 7.62×54mmR PV-1 machine gun, a pair of Degtyaryov machine guns, and six RS-82 rockets or four FAB-100 bombs. World War II
The QTR is a larger, four rotor version of the V-22 with two tandem wings sets of fixed wings and four tilting rotors. In January 2013, the FAA defined US tiltrotor noise rules to comply with ICAO rules. A noise certification will cost $588,000, same as for a large helicopter. [15] [16]
The rotors are designed to operate at a fixed RPM [3] [4] [5] (within a narrow range of a few percent), [6] [7] but a few experimental aircraft used variable speed rotors. [8] Unlike the small diameter fans used in turbofan jet engines, the main rotor on a helicopter has a large diameter that lets it accelerate a large volume of air. This ...