Aircraft: Dominance in Modern Warfare

By Fouad Sabry

What is Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, in a few cases, direct downward thrust from its engines. Common examples of aircraft include airplanes, helicopters, airships, gliders, paramotors, and hot air balloons.

How you will benefit

(I) Insights, and validations about the following topics:

Chapter 1: Aircraft

Chapter 2: VTOL

Chapter 3: Wing

Chapter 4: Unpowered aircraft

Chapter 5: Fixed-wing aircraft

Chapter 6: Flight

Chapter 7: History of aviation

Chapter 8: Ducted fan

Chapter 9: List of experimental aircraft

Chapter 10: Airplane

(II) Answering the public top questions about aircraft.

Who this book is for

Professionals, undergraduate and graduate students, enthusiasts, hobbyists, and those who want to go beyond basic knowledge or information for any kind of Aircraft.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Billion Knowledgeable
• Release date: Jun 18, 2024

Book preview

Chapter 1: Aircraft

A vehicle or equipment that is able to fly by getting assistance from the air around it is referred to as an aircraft. It does this by either using static lift or by utilizing the dynamic lift that an airfoil provides, depending on the situation.

Aviation is the term used to refer to all of the human activities that revolve around airplanes. Aeronautics is the name given to the scientific study of flight, which includes the planning and construction of aircraft. Crewed aircraft are flown by a pilot who is physically present on board, while unmanned aerial vehicles may either be commanded remotely or fly themselves using onboard computers. There are a variety of categories that may be used to categorize aircraft, including lift type, aircraft propulsion, use, and others.

However, the first person ascension — and safe descent — in modern times took performed by bigger hot-air balloons constructed in the 18th century. Flying model crafts and accounts of manned flight stretch back many centuries. Both World Wars resulted in significant leaps forward in terms of technological development. As a consequence of this, the development of aircraft may be broken down into the following five eras:

Those who were instrumental in the development of flying from its first attempts up to 1914.

The First World War lasted from 1914 through 1918.

From the wars, between 1918 and 1939, there was a boom in aviation.

The Second World War lasted from 1939 to 1945.

The years 1945 to the present make up the Postwar Era, commonly known as the Jet Age.

In much the same way that ships float on water using buoyancy, aerostats exploit this property to allow them to float in the air. They are distinguished by having one or more huge cells or canopies that are filled with a gas that has a relatively low density, such as helium, hydrogen, or hot air, and that is less dense than the air that is all around them. When the weight of this is added to the weight of the aircraft structure, the total weight of the aircraft and its components is equal to the weight of the air that is displaced by the aircraft.

Small hot-air balloons, also known as sky lanterns, were first invented in ancient China prior to the 3rd century BC and were primarily used in cultural celebrations. They were only the second type of aircraft to fly, the first being kites, which were first invented in ancient China over two thousand years ago. Sky lanterns were the second type of aircraft to fly. (See Han Dynasty)

The word balloon initially referred to any aerostat, but the term airship referred to big, powered aircraft designs, often fixed-wing aircraft, even though none had been produced at the time. The introduction of motorized balloons, sometimes known as dirigible balloons, and, subsequently, of solid hulls that allowed for a significant rise in size, started to influence the way that these phrases were used in common parlance. The Zeppelins were the biggest and most well-known of the powered aerostats that were created. These aerostats were distinguished by a solid exterior structure and a distinct aerodynamic skin that surrounded the gas bags. Due to the fact that there were yet no aircraft with fixed wings or non-rigid balloons big enough to be dubbed airships, the term airship came to be synonymous with the aircraft in question. The use of these airships eventually became obsolete as a result of a number of incidents, the most notable of which being the sinking of the Hindenburg in 1937. These days, an unpowered aerostat is referred to as a balloon, whereas a powered aerostat is called a airship.

The term dirigible refers to an aerostat that can be propelled and steered. Sometimes this phrase is solely used in reference to non-rigid balloons, while other times a dirigible balloon is considered to be an airship (which may then be rigid or non-rigid). The non-rigid varieties of dirigibles have a gasbag that is only somewhat aerodynamic and has stabilizing fins at the rear of the craft. These quickly became recognized as blimps in the industry. This form was commonly used for tethered balloons during World War II because to its ability to both lessen the amount of pressure placed on the tether as well as stabilize the balloon when exposed to windy conditions. Along with the development of the design, the moniker blimp came into use. A blimp may be either an unpowered or powered airship or dirigible in today's contemporary times; nonetheless, the term blimp refers to any tiny airship or dirigible.

Aircraft that are heavier than air, such as airplanes, are required to devise a method for forcing air or gas downwards in order to trigger a response that, according to Newton's equations of motion, would propel the aircraft higher. The origin of the phrase may be traced back to this rapid movement through the air. The production of dynamic upthrust may be accomplished in one of two ways: either via the use of aerodynamic lift or powered lift in the form of engine thrust.

The most prevalent kind of lift is aerodynamic lift, which involves the use of wings. Fixed-wing aircraft maintain their altitude by moving their wings forward, whereas rotorcraft maintain altitude by spinning wing-shaped rotors that are frequently referred to as rotary wings. A wing is a planar, horizontal surface that is often fashioned like an aerofoil when seen in cross-section. In order to create lift and allow for flight, air must pass over the wing. Fabric or other thin sheets of material are often used to construct flexible wings, which are then stretched over a stiff structure. The movement of a kite is determined by the speed of the wind passing over its wings, which may be flexible or stiff, fixed or rotational. A kite is anchored to the ground.

In order for the aircraft to achieve powered lift, the engine thrust must be directed vertically downward. V/STOL aircraft, such as the Harrier Jump Jet and the Lockheed Martin F-35B, are able to take off and land vertically by using powered lift and then transition into stable flight using aerodynamic lift.

Although a rocket by itself is not often considered an aerodyne since it does not rely on air for its lift (and may even fly into space), several aerodynamic lift vehicles have been propelled or aided by rocket engines. A rocket by itself is not considered an aerodyne. There is a slight chance that rocket-powered missiles that gain aerodynamic lift at extremely high speed owing to airflow over their bodies would succeed.

The kite is considered to be the ancestor of the airplane with fixed wings. A fixed-wing aircraft uses its forward speed to produce airflow over the wings, while a kite is anchored to the ground and depends on the wind blowing over its wings to give lift. This is in contrast to an aircraft that has movable wings, which uses its forward speed. Kites are credited as being the earliest kind of aircraft to ever fly and its invention may be traced back to China about 500 BC. Before test aircraft, wind tunnels, and computer modeling programs were available, a significant amount of study on aerodynamics was conducted using kites.

Gliders were the first heavier-than-air craft that were able to perform controlled, untethered flight. In 1853, George Cayley's glider was used to accomplish the first truly human and controlled flight. Cayley was the designer of the glider.

Wilbur and Orville Wright are credited with the invention of the first practical, powered, fixed-wing aircraft, often known as an airplane or aeroplane. In addition to the mode of propulsion, the configuration of the wings of a fixed-wing aircraft is often considered to be the defining characteristic of this kind of aircraft. The following are the most significant aspects of wings:

The amount of wings an aircraft has, such as a monoplane, biplane, etc.

Support for the wing may be braced or cantilevered, either stiff or flexible.

The wing planform, which includes the aspect ratio, angle of sweep, and any changes throughout the span of the wing (including the important class of delta wings).

Where the horizontal stabilizer, if there is one, is located.

Dihedral angle — positive, zero, or negative (anhedral).

During flight, the wings of a variable geometry aircraft may be configured in a variety of different ways.

Even though it could have several tiny blisters or pods, a flying wing does not have a fuselage. The opposite of this is a lifting body, which does not have wings but may have modest stabilizing and control surfaces. An example of this would be a helicopter.

In most cases, vehicles that fly using the earth as their lift source are not classified as aircraft. During takeoff, they fly in an efficient manner very near to the surface of the ground or water, similar to how conventional airplanes do. An example of this would be the Russian ekranoplan, sometimes known as the Caspian Sea Monster. However, this is mainly due to the fact that man-powered aircraft are so underpowered; in reality, the airframe is capable of flying higher than it currently is.

Rotorcraft, often known as rotary-wing aircraft, generate lift with the help of a rotating rotor that has aerofoil section blades (a rotary wing). There are a variety of hybrid types, such as gyrodynes and compound rotorcraft, in addition to types such as helicopters and autogyros.

Rotors on helicopters are rotated by a shaft that is powered by the engine. In order to generate lift, the rotor forces air downward. When the rotor is slanted forward, the downward flow is inclined backward, which produces push that allows the aircraft to move ahead. Some helicopters have more than one rotor, and a select number of them have rotors that are spun by gas jets located at the very tips of the blades.

Rotors in autogyros are not powered in any way, and instead rely on a separate power plant to generate thrust. The rotor is angled in a backwards direction. The autogyro travels forward, which causes air to push upward over the rotor, which in turn causes the rotor to spin. Because of this spinning, the speed of the airflow across the rotor rises, which in turn provides lift. Rotor kites are essentially unpowered autogyros that may either be towed in order to achieve forward motion or attached to a static anchor in order to achieve kited flight in strong winds.

Cyclogyros are characterized by having wings that revolve horizontally around an axis.

Wings on compound rotorcraft may contribute to forward flight lift in any amount, from zero to one hundred percent. These kinds of aircraft are no longer categorized as rotorcraft but rather as powered lift types. Tiltrotor aircraft, tiltwing aircraft, tail-sitter aircraft, and coleopter aircraft all feature rotors or propellers that are horizontal during vertical flight and vertical during forward flight. Examples of tiltrotor aircraft include the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey.

A lifting body is a specific kind of aircraft body that has been designed in order to provide lift. If there are any wings at all, they are far too tiny to generate a considerable amount of lift and are instead used only for the purposes of control and stability. Lifting bodies are inefficient because they have a lot of resistance, or drag, and thus need to move very quickly in order to create enough lift to fly. Even though the Space Shuttle does not have a lifting body, the majority of the research prototypes that led up to it, such as the Martin Marietta X-24, did have lifting bodies. Additionally, several supersonic missiles get lift from the airflow that passes over a tubular body.

The vertical takeoff and landing capabilities of powered lift types are dependent on engine-derived lift (VTOL). For horizontal flight, most varieties switch to using the lift provided by their fixed wings. There are several different classes of powered lift types, some of which include vertical takeoff and landing jet aircraft, like the Harrier Jump Jet, and tiltrotors, like the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey. There are a few experimental designs out there, such as personal fan-lift hover platforms and jetpacks, that depend fully on the force of an engine to produce lift during the whole of the flight. Research concepts for vertical takeoff and landing aircraft include the Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig.

Lift is provided by the Magnus effect to the aircraft designed by Flettner, which has in lieu of a conventional fixed wing a revolving cylinder.

The ornithopter achieves forward motion by beating its wings like a bird.

Toy and leisure products, as well as nano aircraft, are examples of the tiniest types of aircraft.

According to reports, the British Airlander 10, a hybrid blimp with helicopter and fixed-wing features, is reportedly capable of speeds of up to 90 mph (140 km/h; 78 kn), and an airborne endurance of two weeks with a payload of up to 22,050 lb. It measures 302 feet (92 meters) in length. As of 2016, the British Airlander 10 is the largest aircraft by both dimensions and volume (10,000 kg).

The NASA X-43A Pegasus, a scramjet-powered, hypersonic, lifting body experimental research aircraft, achieved the fastest recorded powered aircraft flight and the fastest recorded aircraft flight of an air-breathing powered aircraft at Mach 9.6, exactly 3,292.8 m/s (11,854 km/h; 6,400.7 kn; 7,366 mph). This flight was recorded at exactly 3,292.8 m/s. On its third and last flight, which took place on November 16, 2004, the X-43A achieved this new benchmark, as well as beat its own world record of Mach 6.3, which it had established in March 2004 at precisely 2,160.9 m/s (7,779 km/h; 4,200.5 kn;