The Structure Of An Airplane Essay Research

The Structure Of An Airplane Essay, Research Paper

The idea of flight has fascinated people for centuries, even to this day, which is why I decided to research on airplanes. When I researched the history on planes, I was surprised at the effort and the time people long ago spent trying to make a machine that flies. I also wondered, like many, how an airplane is able to fly and sustain in the air. Wanting to know the answers to these types of questions I had, gave me the determination to really researched this topic. History of Planes Early History The idea of flying existed from a long time ago. Ancient legends showed numerous references to the possibility of flight. Philosophers believed that it could be achieved by imitating the wing motions of birds. The artist Leonardo Da Vinci sketched ideas on how a man can fly. 19th Century The development of aviation took various paths during the 19th century. The father of aviation, Sir George Cayley was a British aeronautical engineer and inventor. He proved his ideas of flight with experiments involving kites and controlled human-carrying gliders. Charles Augustus Lindbergh was the first person to make a nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic. He made the flight to win the prize of $25,000 offered by Raymond B. Orteig of New York City for the first nonstop transatlantic solo flight between New York City and Paris. In his single-engine monoplane named the Spirit of St. Louis, he left Roosevelt Field at 7:52 AM on May 20, 1927. After a flight of 33 hours 32 minutes, he landed at Le Bourget Airport near Paris. The Wright Brothers On December 17, 1903, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright made the world’s first successful flights in a heavier-than-air aircraft. The brothers had designed, constructed, and flown the airplane. On that day, each brother made two flights. In 1904, the brothers continued the development of their airplanes design and also improved their skill as pilots. They made 105 flights, the longest flight lasting more than 5 minutes. In 1905, their best flight was 24.2 miles in 38 minutes and 3 seconds. On September 9,1908 Wilbur completed the world’s first flight of more than one hour carrying a passenger. On September 17, 1908, the airplane crashed injuring Orville and his passenger Lieutenant Thomas E. Selfridge. Lieutenant Thomas E. Selfridge died hours later from a concussion. Orville continued demonstrations for the Signal Corps in July 1908. By the end of the month he met their requirements and the airplane was purchased on August 2, 1908. It became the first successful military airplane. It stayed in active service for two years. Today it is located at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Principle of Flight Lift Airplanes are able to fly because air moving over and under its surfaces, like its wings, travel at different velocities. It produces air pressure which is high below the wing and low above it. The high pressure pushes and the low pressure pulls. The lift of an airplane depends on the area, shape and tilt of the wing. And on the speed of the aircraft. The area of the wing is significant in causing the lift in an aircraft because, the more the wing is exposed to the air, the greater the lift. Different wing shapes produce a different area. The up or down tilt of the wing is called the angle of attack. As a wing is tilted upward, its angle of attack is increased which also increases the lift. Aircraft speed is also important to the lift of an aircraft. The faster the air moves over and under the surfaces of an airplane, the greater the lift. Drag Drag is the force that slows the motion of the airplane through the air. Drag is often a result of the resistance of air to objects moving through it. Airplane Structure Fuselage A fuselage is the center part of an airplane. In the early days of aviation, the fuselage was simply an open structural mount. It was used to support the other components of the plane and the bottom of the airframe was used as the landing gear. Later on the years, due to the need for greater strength and better performance, an enclosed, box-like fuselage was developed. It is also known as a truss. It not only increased lift and decreased drag, but it also provided protection for the pilot, passengers, and the space for cargo. Wings The structure of a typical wing is composed of a spar-and-rib framework enclosed by a thin covering of metal sheet or treated fabric. Metal is used primarily for larger planes and fabric for smaller ones. Sometimes the wing is covered with bonded plywood or with resin-impregnated glass fiber. The spar is a beam that extends from the fuselage to the wing tip. One or more spars may be used in the wing, but usually a single spar is used. The ribs give the wing its external shape. They are arranged at right angles to the spar. The amount of wings on a plane varies. A single-winged plane is known as a monoplane. The monoplane made its appearance in the first decade of powered flight. In early airplane construction there was the use of two wings on a plane, which is called a biplane. Multiple-wing planes have the advantage of greater lift, but the monoplane has less drag. Cantilever wings are another type. They obtain their entire strength from structural elements inside the skin. The size and shape of wings also vary, depending on specific aerodynamic of the plane. For example, the wings of most supersonic planes are really thi