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Sailplane
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the leisure activity and sport of gliding (also called soaring). This unpowered aircraft can use naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to gain altitude. Sailplanes are aerodynamically streamlined and so can fly a significant distance forward for a small decrease in altitude. In North America the term 'sailplane' is also used to describe this type of aircraft. In other parts of the English-speaking world, the word 'glider' is more common. Types Gliders benefit from producing very low drag for any given amount of lift, and this is best achieved with long, thin wings, a slender fuselage and smooth surfaces with an absence of protuberances. Aircraft with these features are able to soar – climb efficiently in rising air produced by thermals or hills. In still air, sailplanes can glide long distances at high speed with a minimum loss of height in between. Sailplanes have rigid wings and either ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glider Aircraft
A glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its lifting surfaces, and whose gliding flight, free flight does not depend on an engine. Most gliders do not have an engine, although motor-gliders have small engines for extending their flight when necessary by sustaining the altitude (normally a sailplane relies on rising air to maintain altitude) with some being powerful enough to take off by Motor glider, self-launch. There are a wide variety of types differing in the construction of their wings, aerodynamic efficiency, location of the pilot, controls and intended purpose. Most exploit lift (soaring), meteorological phenomena to maintain or gain height. Gliders are principally used for the air sports of gliding, hang gliding and paragliding. However some spacecraft have been designed to descend as gliders and in the past military gliders have been used in warfare. Some simple and familiar types of glider are toys such a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akaflieg Stuttgart FS-24
The Akaflieg Stuttgart fs24, nicknamed ''Phönix'' (German: " Phoenix"), was a glider designed and built in West Germany from 1951. Design and development The fs24 was the first glider to use fibreglass in its construction. The development of modern aerofoil sections for gliders required very accurate reproduction with smooth surfaces, using tolerances that were extremely difficult to achieve using conventional wood or metal construction, but could be achieved by using composite materials laid up in a mould. The design of the fs24 was started at Akaflieg Stuttgart, (''Akademische Fliegergruppe'' - academic flying group), by Richard Eppler and Hermann Nägele in 1951. Originally it was constructed of balsa wood with a strengthened outer layer of paper and glue layers, which proved unsatisfactory. The project was abandoned until a grant for further research was received from the state of Baden-Württemberg. By then glass fibre reinforced polyester resin was available and so it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sports, air sport in which pilots fly glider aircraft, unpowered aircraft known as Glider (sailplane), gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word ''soaring'' is also used for the sport. Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s. Initially the objective was to increase the duration of flights but soon pilots attempted cross-country flights away from the place of launch. Improvements in aerodynamics and in the understanding of weather phenomena have allowed greater distances at higher average speeds. Long distances are now flown using any of the main sources of rising air: Ridge Lift, ridge lift, thermals and lee waves. When conditions are favourable, experienced pilots can now fly hundreds of kilometres before returning to their home airfields; occasionally flights of more than are achieved. Some competitive pilots fly in races around pre-defined course ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hang Gliding
Hang gliding is an air sports, air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised, fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or Composite material, composite frame covered with synthetic sailcloth to form a wing. Typically the pilot is in a harness suspended from the airframe, and controls the aircraft by shifting body weight in opposition to a control frame. Early hang gliders had a low lift-to-drag ratio, so pilots were restricted to gliding down small hills. By the 1980s this ratio significantly improved, and since then pilots have been able to Lift (soaring), soar for hours, gain thousands of meters of altitude in thermal updrafts, perform aerobatics, and glide cross-country for hundreds of kilometers. The Federation Aeronautique Internationale and national airspace governing organisations control some regulatory aspects of hang gliding. Obtaining the sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wasserkuppe
The Wasserkuppe (;) is the highest mountain in the Rhön Mountains, Rhön range and the tallest elevation in the Germany, German state of Hesse, standing at above sea level. It forms a prominent plateau within the Fulda district and is known as the "cradle of gliding". Great advances in sailplane development took place here during the Aviation between the World Wars, interwar period, driven by annual contests. To this day, an airfield near the summit continues to be used by gliding clubs and light aircraft pilots. Etymology The German language, German name is derived from ''Wasenkuppe, Asenberg'' or ''Weideberg'' and means ''Pasture mountain''. Geography The Wasserkuppe lies in the administrative district Fulda (district), Fulda north of Gersfeld. Other villages nearby are Poppenhausen, Hesse, Poppenhausen ( west - south west) and Wüstensachsen ( east, part of Ehrenberg, Hesse). It is part of the Rhön Biosphere Reserve. The Wasserkuppe sources the spring of the river Ful ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winglet
Wingtip devices are intended to improve the efficiency of fixed-wing aircraft by reducing drag. Although there are several types of wing tip devices which function in different manners, their intended effect is always to reduce an aircraft's drag. Such devices reduce drag by increasing the height of the lifting system, without greatly increasing the wingspan. Extending the span would reduce lift-induced drag, but would increase parasitic drag and would require boosting the strength and weight of the wing. At some point, there is no net benefit from further increased span. There may also be operational considerations that limit the allowable wingspan (e.g. available width at airport gates). Physics When a conventional wing generates lift, it also experiences lift-induced drag. Higher pressure air under the wing flows to the lower pressure surface on top at the wingtip, which results in a vortex caused by the forward motion of the aircraft. Trefftz-plane theory shows that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paragliding
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or in a cocoon-like 'pod' suspended below a fabric wing. Wing shape is maintained by the suspension lines, the pressure of air entering vents in the front of the wing, and the aerodynamic forces of the air flowing over the outside. Despite not using an engine, paraglider flights can last many hours and cover many hundreds of kilometres, though flights of one to five hours and covering some tens of kilometres are more the norm. By skillful exploitation of sources of lift, the pilot may gain height, often climbing to altitudes of a few thousand metres. History In 1966, Canadian Domina Jalbert was granted a patent for a ''multi-cell wing type aerial device—''"a wing having a flexible canopy constituting an upper skin and with a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs form ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motor Glider
A motor glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that can be flown with or without engine power. The FAI Gliding Commission Sporting Code definition is: a fixed-wing aerodyne equipped with a means of propulsion (MoP), capable of sustained soaring flight without thrust from the means of propulsion. History In 1935, an occasional or auxiliary motor that could be retracted was suggested by Sir John Carden. This was incorporated into the Carden-Baynes Auxiliary that first flew on 8 August of the same year. A later version of the Budig glider was powered. Categories Most motor gliders are equipped with a propeller, which may be fixed, feathered (e.g. AMS-Flight Carat), or retractable. However jet engine-powered motorgliders are now available from some manufacturers, some of which are intended for use only as "sustainer" engines, i.e. for sustaining gliding flight rather than as self-launching aircraft. Sustainer motor gliders Sustainer motor gliders must be launched like an unpowere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Glider
Military gliders (an offshoot of common gliders) have been used by the militaries of various countries for carrying troops ( glider infantry) and heavy equipment to a combat zone, mainly during the Second World War. These engineless aircraft were towed into the air and most of the way to their target by military transport planes, e.g., C-47 Skytrain or Dakota, or bombers relegated to secondary activities, e.g., Short Stirling. Most military gliders do not soar, although there were attempts to build military sailplanes as well, such as the DFS 228. Once released from the tow craft near the front, they were to land on any convenient open terrain close to the target, hopefully with as little damage to the cargo and crew as possible, as most landing zones (LZ) were far from ideal. The one-way nature of the missions meant that they were treated as semi-expendable leading to construction from common and inexpensive materials such as wood. Most nations seriously attempted to recover ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takeoff
Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff. For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a transition from moving along the ground on a runway. For balloon (aircraft), balloons, helicopters and some specialized fixed-wing aircraft (VTOL aircraft such as the Hawker Siddeley Harrier, Harrier and the Bell Boeing V22 Osprey), no runway is needed. Horizontal Power settings For light aircraft, usually full power is used during takeoff. Large transport category (airliner) aircraft may use a flex temp, reduced power for takeoff, where less than full power is applied in order to prolong engine life, reduce maintenance costs and reduce noise emissions. In some emergency cases, the power used can then be increased to increase the aircraft's performance. Before takeoff, the engines, particularly piston engines, are routinely run up at high po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aircraft Glider Vampyr
An aircraft ( 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, rotorcraft (including helicopters), airships (including blimps), gliders, paramotors, and hot air balloons. Part 1 (Definitions and Abbreviations) of Subchapter A of Chapter I of Title 14 of the U. S. Code of Federal Regulations states that aircraft "means a device that is used or intended to be used for flight in the air." The human activity that surrounds aircraft is called ''aviation''. The science of aviation, including designing and building aircraft, is called ''aeronautics.'' Crewed aircraft are flown by an onboard pilot, whereas unmanned aerial vehicles may be remotely controlled or self-controlled by onboard computers. Aircraft may be classified by different criteria, such as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
