|
Basic Aircraft Empty Weight
In aviation, manufacturer's empty weight (MEW) (also known as manufacturer's weight empty (MWE)) is the weight of the aircraft "as built" and includes the weight of the structure, power plant, furnishings, installations, systems, and other equipment that are considered an integral part of an aircraft before additional operator items are added for operation. ''Basic aircraft empty weight'' is essentially the same and excludes any baggage, passengers, or usable fuel. Some manufacturers define this empty weight as including optional equipment, i.e. GPS units, cargo baskets, or spotlights. Specification MEW This is the MEW quoted in the manufacturer's standard specification documents and is the aircraft standard basic dry weight upon which all other standard specifications and aircraft performance are based by the manufacturer. The Specification MEW includes the weight of:Torenbeek, Egbert. ''Synthesis of Subsonic Airplane Design''. Delft University Press. . * Airframe structure � ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Usable Fuel
In aviation, usable fuel is the fuel on board an aircraft that can actually be used by its engines. The opposite of usable fuel is unusable fuel.Websters dictionary oUnusable fuel visited 19 March, 2012 The unusable fuel figure is calculated for an aircraft fuel tank in "the most adverse fuel feed condition occurring under each intended operation and flight maneuver involving that tank".Cornell Law online library https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/23.959, accessed 24 November 2017 The figure usable fuel is used when calculating or defining other key figures of an aircraft such as MTOW, zero-fuel weight The zero-fuel weight (ZFW) of an aircraft is the total weight of the airplane and all its contents, minus the total weight of the usable fuel on board. Unusable fuel is included in ZFW. For many types of airplane, the airworthiness limitations incl ... etc. Usable fuel is the total amount of fuel in an aircraft minus the fuel that cannot be fed into the engine(s): fuel under t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Airframe
The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aerospace engineering that combines aerodynamics, materials technology and manufacturing methods with a focus on weight, strength and aerodynamic drag, as well as reliability and cost.Michael C. Y. Niu (1988). ''Airframe Structural Design''. Conmilit Press LTD. History Modern airframe history began in the United States when a 1903 wood biplane made by Orville and Wilbur Wright showed the potential of fixed-wing designs. In 1912 the Deperdussin Monocoque pioneered the light, strong and streamlined monocoque fuselage formed of thin plywood layers over a circular frame, achieving . First World War Many early developments were spurred by military needs during World War I. Well known aircraft from that era include the Dutch designer Anth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage, which in turn is used as a floating hull. The fuselage also serves to position the control and stabilization surfaces in specific relationships to lifting surfaces, which is required for aircraft stability and maneuverability. Types of structures Truss structure This type of structure is still in use in many lightweight aircraft using welded steel tube trusses. A box truss fuselage structure can also be built out of wood—often covered with plywood. Simple box structures may be rounded by the addition of supported lightweight stringers, allowing the fabric covering to form a more aerodynamic shape, or one more pleasing to the eye. Geodesic construction Geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expressed as its lift-to-drag ratio. The lift a wing generates at a given speed and angle of attack can be one to two orders of magnitude greater than the total drag on the wing. A high lift-to-drag ratio requires a significantly smaller thrust to propel the wings through the air at sufficient lift. Lifting structures used in water include various foils, such as hydrofoils. Hydrodynamics is the governing science, rather than aerodynamics. Applications of underwater foils occur in hydroplanes, sailboats and submarines. Etymology and usage For many centuries, the word "wing", from the Old Norse ''vængr'', referred mainly to the foremost limbs of birds (in addition to the architectural aisle). But in recent centuries the word's meaning has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nacelle
A nacelle ( ) is a "streamlined body, sized according to what it contains", such as an engine, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. When attached by a pylon entirely outside the airframe, it is sometimes called a pod, in which case it is attached with a pylon or strut and the engine is known as a podded engine. In some cases—for instance in the typical "Farman" type "pusher" aircraft, or the World War II-era P-38 Lightning—an aircraft cockpit may also be housed in a nacelle, rather than in a conventional fuselage. Etymology Like many aviation terms, the word comes from French, in this case from a word for a small boat. Development The development of the Arado Ar 234, merging the four nacelles into two The Arado Ar 234 was one of the first operational jet aircraft with engines mounted in nacelles. During its development, the four jet engines were merged from having four distinct nacelles, all of which contained their own landing gear wheel, to two nacelles with two engi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landing Gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin Company. For aircraft, Stinton makes the terminology distinction ''undercarriage (British) = landing gear (US)''. For aircraft, the landing gear supports the craft when it is not flying, allowing it to take off, land, and taxi without damage. Wheeled landing gear is the most common, with skis or floats needed to operate from snow/ice/water and skids for vertical operation on land. Faster aircraft have retractable undercarriages, which fold away during flight to reduce drag. Some unusual landing gear have been evaluated experimentally. These include: no landing gear (to save weight), made possible by operating from a catapult cradle and flexible landing deck: air cushion (to enable operation over a wide range of ground obstacles and wat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Powerplant
Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived from two Latin words: ''pro'', meaning'' before'' or ''forward''; and '' pellere'', meaning ''to drive''. A propulsion system consists of a source of mechanical power, and a ''propulsor'' (means of converting this power into propulsive force). Plucking a guitar string to induce a vibratory translation is technically a form of propulsion of the guitar string; this is not commonly depicted in this vocabulary, even though human muscles are considered to propel the fingertips. The motion of an object moving through a gravitational field is affected by the field, and within some frames of reference physicists speak of the gravitational field generating a force upon the object, but for deep theoretic reasons, physicists now consider the curved p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auxiliary Power Unit
An auxiliary power unit (APU) is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft and naval ships as well as some large land vehicles. Aircraft APUs generally produce 115 V AC voltage at 400 Hz (rather than 50/60 Hz in mains supply), to run the electrical systems of the aircraft; others can produce 28 V DC voltage. APUs can provide power through single or three-phase systems. Transport aircraft History During World War I, the British Coastal class blimps, one of several types of airship operated by the Royal Navy, carried a ABC auxiliary engine. These powered a generator for the craft's radio transmitter and, in an emergency, could power an auxiliary air blower. One of the first military fixed-wing aircraft to use an APU was the British, World War 1, Supermarine Nighthawk, an anti-Zeppelin night fighter.Andrews and Morgan 1987, p. 21. During World War II, a number of large Ameri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hydraulic Fluid
A hydraulic fluid or hydraulic liquid is the medium by which power is transferred in hydraulic machinery. Common hydraulic fluids are based on mineral oil or water. Examples of equipment that might use hydraulic fluids are excavators and backhoes, hydraulic brakes, power steering systems, automatic transmissions, garbage trucks, aircraft flight control systems, lifts, and industrial machinery. Hydraulic systems like the ones mentioned above will work most efficiently if the hydraulic fluid used has zero compressibility. Functions and properties The primary function of a hydraulic fluid is to convey power. In use, however, there are other important functions of hydraulic fluid such as protection of the hydraulic machine components. The table below lists the major functions of a hydraulic fluid and the properties of a fluid that affect its ability to perform that function: Composition Base stock The original hydraulics fluid, dating back to the time of ancient Egypt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aircraft Gross Weight
The aircraft gross weight (also known as the all-up weight and abbreviated AUW) is the total aircraft weight at ''any moment'' during the flight or ground operation. An aircraft's gross weight will decrease during a flight due to fuel and oil consumption. An aircraft's gross weight may also vary during a flight due to payload dropping or in-flight refuelling. At the moment of releasing its brakes, the gross weight of an aircraft is equal to its takeoff weight. During flight, an aircraft's gross weight is referred to as the ''en-route weight'' or ''in-flight weight''. Design weight limits (structural design weights) An aircraft's gross weight is limited by several weight restrictions in order to avoid overloading its structure or to avoid unacceptable performance or handling qualities while in operation. Aircraft gross weight limits are established during an aircraft's design and certification period and are laid down in the aircraft's type certificate and manufacturer specific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operating Empty Weight
Empty weight (EW) is the sum of the ‘as built’ manufacturer's empty weight (MEW), plus any standard items (SI) plus any operator items (OI), EW = MEW + SI + OI. The EW is calculated for each aircraft series and each unique configuration of an aircraft and is confirmed by periodically weighing it. The "Operating empty weight" (OEW) is the sum of the empty weight and the crew plus their baggage. Standard items include all structural modification or configuration orders that may have altered the MEW, including all fluids necessary for operation such as engine oil, engine coolant, water, hydraulic fluid and unusable fuel. Operator items include fixed, optional equipment added by the operator for service reasons. The weight added to the aircraft above its OEW for a given flight is variable and includes fuel for the flight and the cargo. Cargo depends upon the type of aircraft; i.e., passengers plus baggage for a transport or commuter airplane, materiel for a cargo airplane, stores ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_GTCP36-150_APU2.JPG "Click for more on -> Auxiliary Power Unit")