Glossary of Terms
- Airfoil
- (also Aerofoil); A body (such as an airplane wing or propeller blade)
designed to provide a desired reaction force when moving relative to the
surrounding air
- Angle of Attack
- The angle between the nose of the aircraft and its velocity vector
- Camber
- The convex, curved shape of an airfoil from leading edge to trailing edge
- Circulation
- Combustion
- The processes of burning fuel in an engine
- Compression
- A reduction in size or volume, as if by squeezing
- Compressor
- Part of an aircraft engine which compresses the gas prior to burn
- Drag
- The aerodynamic force, which opposes thrust, that tends to slow the forward
motion of an aircraft
- Escape velocity
- The velocity required for a spacecraft to escape the earth's gravitational
pull and travel in outer space
- Free-body Diagram
- A schematic of an object, which identifies all forces acting on the body
- Fuselage
- The central or body portion of an aircraft which accommodates the passengers
and crew, or cargo
- Harrier Jet
- A single-engine fighter-bomber, first flown on Aug. 31, 1966, designed to
fly from combat areas and aircraft carriers and to support ground forces
- Hybrid Aircraft
- An aircraft with moveable jet nozzles, which point downward to produce
vertical thrust and backward for forward thrust
- Hybrid Rocket
- A rocket which uses a combination of liquid and solid propellants. In
general the oxidizer, in a gaseous or liquid state, is combined with a solid fuel
- Hypercapnia
- The presence of excessive amounts of carbon dioxide in the blood
- Hypoxia
- A deficiency of oxygen reaching the tissues of the body
- Intake
- The opening through which air enters the aircraft engine
- Lift
- The component of the aerodynamic force acting on an aircraft, perpendicular
to the relative wind, which causes an aircraft to rise in altitude
- Light-piston
- An engine which uses a light-weight piston to produce thrust
- Nozzle
- The rear opening of an aircraft engine through which the gas is discharged in
order to produce thrust
- Payload
- The cargo being transported by the aircraft or spacecraft
- Pitch
- Rotation about a lateral axis such that the forward end rises or falls relative
to the aft end
- Propellant
- The combination of both fuel and oxidizers, in liquid or solid form,which are
burned by a rocket to produce thrust
- Prebreath
- Propellers
- Devices that consists of a central hub with radiating blades which spin to propel
the aircraft
- Single-spool
- Engine, such as a jet engine, in which a single compressor is connected by a
shaft to a sinlge turbine
- Thrust
- The forward-directed force developed in a jet or rocket engine as a reaction to
the rearward ejection of fuel gases
- Three-spool
- Engine, such as a turbofan, in which multiple turbines are connected by shafts to
various compressors and fans
- Turbine
- Part of an aircraft engine which converts the kinetic energy of moving air into
rotational power
- Two-spool
- Engine, such as a turbofan, in which two turbines are connected by multiple
shafts to a compressor and fan
- Weight
- The downward force on an aircraft, which opposes lift, equal to the product
of the mass of the aircraft and the local gravitational acceleration