EAC NASA-Words AV

A wing that is slanted toward the rear of the airplane. The F-18 aircraft is an example of a supersonic jet that has sweepback wings.

Another word for a horizontal stabilizer.

The process of using the thrust of the engines to accelerate an airplane down a runway until enough lift is generated so that the aircraft begins to fly.

A force created by the engines that pushes an aircraft through the air.

A device or process that is used to do some kind of work. A hand-held calculator is a tool for doing mathematics accurately and quickly. The tools of aeronautics are processes that use special (werkzeug)

The rear edge of an airfoil. The trailing edge is normally thin and sharp. The ailerons are normally located on the trailing edge of the wing.

Motion along a straight line, such as an axis. The translational motions of an aircraft are forward and back along the longitudinal axis, side to side along the lateral axis, and up and down along the vertical axis.

Velocity between nine tenths (.9) and one and four tenths (1.4) times the speed of sound.

Air flow which is not smooth and steady. When an airplane flies through turbulent air, it can unexpectedly rise, drop, roll, pitch or yaw very abruptly.

The part of an aircraft that provides support while the aircraft is on the ground.

Wings that are hinged so they can be slanted forward or backward during flight. The F-14 aircraft is an example of a supersonic jet with variable sweep wings.

The speed of an object, in a certain direction.

The axis extending straight up and down through the center of gravity of an aircraft.

The vertical part of the tail. The vertical stabilizer helps to increase the stability of the aircraft. It is also known as a fin.

The force of gravity acting on an object. The weight force pulls an aircraft toward the Earth and must be overcome by a combination of lift and thrust.

the large window at the front of a car, bus etc:

A wind tunnel is a tube or cylinder in which a model of an airplane or part of an airplane is placed. Air is blown past the model so that it experiences the same forces as it would if it were actually flying. The struts that hold the model in place measur

A part of an airplane that is attached to the fuselage. Wings are shaped like airfoils and are used to provide lift for the airplane. There are four basic types of wings: straight, sweep, delta and variable sweep.

a mechanism to provide lateral control of the aircraft through flexible wing tips; wires enabled the wing tips to arch so that the ends of the wings were four inches lower than the center

A rotational motion in which the aircraft turns around its vertical axis. This causes the aircraft's nose to move to the pilot's right or left. Pushing the right rudder pedal will tilt the rudder to the right. The pilot will see the nose of the aircraft t

A rotational motion in which an airplane turns around its lateral axis. Pushing forward on the control stick will lower the elevators, which forces the tail upward. The pilot will then see the nose of the aircraft fall or pitch.

A force being exerted on part of a surface. When you stand, your feet put pressure on the ground. Air pressure refers to air molecules pressing against a surface like the bottom of a wing.

A device that consists of blades (shaped like airfoils) that spin around a central hub, like a fan. An engine causes the blades to turn. When the blades turn, they create thrust by biting into the air and forcing it to move back. The amount of thrust can

study of how to design an engine that will provide the thrust that is needed for a plane to take off and fly through the air. (Antrieb, Schub)

To use force to bring something closer. The force of gravity pulls objects closer to the Earth.

To use force to move something ahead or to the side. During takeoff the thrust force, created by the engines, pushes an airplane down the runway.

protective housing for a radar antenna

The point or area farthest from the front

In aviation, to fly over and look closely at an area below to gather information about it.

A carefully planned and performed investigation, searching for previously unknown facts.

A way of placing aircraft into different categories based on their speeds. The regimes of flight are subsonic, transonic, supersonic and hypersonic.

rotational motion in which the aircraft turns around its longitudinal axis. Pushing the control stick to the left will raise the aileron on the left wing and lower the aileron on the right wing. This will cause the airplane to roll to the left. The pilot

The turning of an object, like an airplane, around an axis, or a propeller around a hub. Pitch, roll and yaw are the rotational motions of an airplane around the lateral, longitudinal and vertical axes.

control surface on the trailing edge of the vertical part of the tail that is used to make the aircraft yaw. The rudder is controlled by rudder pedals. Pushing the left rudder pedal will tilt the rudder to the left. This will cause the nose of the aircraf

A series of air waves that form in front of a fast moving plane. In order to travel faster than sound the plane must push through these waves. This creates a sonic boom.

When a plane pushes through a shockwave it creates a sonic boom. The noise is the result of breaking through the air waves which form in front of a fast moving plane. The sonic boom sounds when the plane is going faster than 760 MPH.

Sound is made up of molecules of air which move. When they push together they form sound waves.

a sled-like runner used as part of the landing gear for an aircraft.

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.