EAC2 MD-11 Glossary

Rotation of an aircraft about its lateral axis. OR the distance between the centres of the adjacent rivets installed in the same row.

The removable cover which encloses an aircraft engine.

The tail section of an airplane. It stabilizes the airplane in fight and causes it to rotate about its lateral axes. 

The fixed conical fairing centred in the exhaust stream immediately aft of the last-stage turbine wheel. It prevenets turbulence and prevents the hot gases from circulating over the rear face of the turbine wheel. 

The opening in the tail pipe of a gas turbine through which the exhaust gases leave the engine. 

The configuration of an aircraft empennage in which the horizontal surfaces are on top of the vertical surfaces, in the form of a letter T.

The part of the airplane fuselage located in front of the wing centre box, includes the nose section.

A part of a structure or machine whose primary purpose is to produce a smooth surface or a smooth junction where two surfaces join.

The fixed horizontal surface on the tail of a conventional airplane. It is usually adjustable in flight to vary the down-load produced by the tail. This allows the airplane to fly hands-off at an desired air speed.

The body, or central structural component of an arplane. The passengers and flight crew are housed in it, and the wings and tail attach to it. In most single engine airplanes, the engine and landing gear attach to this body.

Cause of an aircraft to rotate about its three axes. In an airplane, they are ailerons, elevators and rudder.

To drop something from an aircraftor spacecraft in flight. Fuel is dumped from the aircraft fuel tanks to lower the weight of the aircraft to a weight approved for landing.

The part of the aircraft structure that supports the aircraft when it is not flying. For operation from runways and dry ground it uses wheels. Operation from snow and aice is done with kis, and operation from water is done using floats.

An enclosed compratment in an aircraft in which an engine is mounted. Most multiengine propeller-driven airplanes have engines mounted on the leading edge of the wingsfar enough out that the propeller is clear of the fuselage. 

Multiengine jet-propelle airplanes often have their engines mounted on the side of the aircraft between the wing and the tail, or hanging below the wings.

Coloured lights on an aircraft used at night to show the direction the aircaft is moving. red light on left wing tip, green light on right wing tip and white light on tail of the aircraft.

A structural partition that divides the fuselage of an aircraft into compartments or bays. It strengthens the structure and acts as a wall. (see also frame, longeron, stringer..)

The structure that holds an engine nacelle or pod to the wing or fuselage of a jet-propelle aircraft.

That portion of the takke-off of an airplane equipped with a tricycle landing gear in which the airplane has gained enough speed for the nose wheel to be lifted to increase the angle of attack and thus the lift. The required speed is identified as Vr speed.

A strong, electrically transparent housing, used to enclose a radar antenna and protect i from the wind and weather.

The main spanwise, load-carrying structural member in an airplane wing.

A small deflector that can be raised into the air flowing over an airfoil. When it is raised into the airstream, it disturbs the smooth flow of air and destroys part of the lift the airfoil is producing. They are used on high-performance sailplanes to decrease the lift so the will not float during landing. It is also a type of secondary control on an airplane, a control which does not rotate the aircraft about any of its three axes. It produces drag without affecting lift, or causing the aircraft to pitch. The drag they produce allows a highly streamlined airplane to descend at a steep angle without picking up excessive speed

A device attached to an aircraft control surface to discharge static electricity into the air. Static electricity builds up as air flows across the surface. Some of these devices use carbon-impregnated cotton wicks to pick up the static electricity and discharge if off the ends of the cotton fibres. Others have needle-sharp points from which the static electricity is discharged.

A special light that flashes with a brilliant, short duration flash. A variable frequency oscillator controls the light so it flashes at any required interval. These kinds of light are used to study the motion of rotating or vibrating bodies. The light is shone on the object, and the frequency of the flashes is adjusted until the object apperas to stand still or move in slow motion.

The cone-shaped section of the exhaust system of a gas turbine engine used to produce the correct change in area of the duct through which the exhaust gases leave the engine.

Belongs to the primary wing structure and to which the main wing spars are attached.

Turbine engine compressor component. A rotating airfoil which is part of an axial-flow compressor in a case turbine engines. They are driven by the turbine and accelerate the air as it flows through the engine.

A vertical or anged extension at the wing tip of many transport and corporate airplanes. They improve the efficiency of an aircraft by decreasing wingtip voritces which cause lift-induced drag. They increase the effective aspect ratio of a wing without adding to the span.

The extreme edge of a wing. On modern aircraft this is where the winglets are mounted. Transport aircraft also have a strobe and navigation light in this position.

The fixed vertical surface in the empennage of an airplane. It acts as a weather vane to give the airplane directional stability.

The landing gear of an aircraft that uses two or more tandem wheels connected by a central strut.