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96-513: The Avro 706 Ashton was a British prototype jet airliner made by Avro during the 1950s. Although it flew nearly a year after the de Havilland Comet , it represented an experimental programme and was never intended for commercial use. The Avro 689 Tudor 9 was based on the Avro 689 Tudor II piston-engined airliner using experience on work on the Rolls-Royce Nene jet-powered experimental variant,

192-404: A combustion chamber , and accelerate the exhaust rearwards to provide thrust. Different jet engine configurations include the turbojet and turbofan , sometimes with the addition of an afterburner . Those with no rotating turbomachinery include the pulsejet and ramjet . These mechanically simple engines produce no thrust when stationary, so the aircraft must be launched to flying speed using

288-593: A jet-powered 100-seat design at the request of Geoffrey de Havilland , involved in the first jet fighters development. After a brief contest, the Type I design was given to the Bristol Aeroplane Company , building on a "100 ton bomber " submission. This evolved into the Bristol Brabazon but this project folded in 1951 as BOAC lost interest and the first aircraft needed a costly wing re-design to accommodate

384-433: A lifting gas such as helium , hydrogen or hot air , which is less dense than the surrounding air. When the weight of the lifting gas is added to the weight of the aircraft itself, it is same or less than the mass of the air that the craft displaces. Small hot-air balloons, called sky lanterns , were first invented in ancient China prior to the 3rd century BC and used primarily in cultural celebrations, and were only

480-614: A Caravelle successor. The Super-Caravelle was a supersonic transport project of similar size and range to the Caravelle. It was merged with the similar Bristol Aeroplane Company project into the Anglo-French Concorde . The Concorde entered service in January 1967 as the second and last commercial supersonic transport , after large overruns and delays, costing £1.3 billion. All subsequent French airliner efforts were part of

576-618: A batch of nine. The Ford Trimotor had two engines mounted on the wings and one in the nose, and a slabsided body, it carried eight passengers and was produced from 1925 to 1933. It was an important early airliner in America. It was used by the predecessor to Trans World Airlines , and by other airlines long after production ceased. The Trimotor helped to popularise numerous aspects of modern aviation infrastructure, including paved runways , passenger terminals , hangars , airmail , and radio navigation . Pan Am opened up transoceanic service in

672-557: A catapult, like the V-1 flying bomb , or a rocket, for example. Other engine types include the motorjet and the dual-cycle Pratt & Whitney J58 . Compared to engines using propellers, jet engines can provide much higher thrust, higher speeds and, above about 40,000 ft (12,000 m), greater efficiency. They are also much more fuel-efficient than rockets . As a consequence nearly all large, high-speed or high-altitude aircraft use jet engines. Some rotorcraft, such as helicopters , have

768-665: A common fuel type – kerosene-based jet fuel – is another advantage. Some variants of airliners have been developed for carrying freight or for luxury corporate use . Many airliners have also been modified for government use as VIP transports and for military functions such as airborne tankers (for example, the Vickers VC10 , Lockheed L-1011 , Boeing 707 ), air ambulance ( USAF / USN McDonnell Douglas DC-9 ), reconnaissance ( Embraer ERJ 145 , Saab 340 , and Boeing 737 ), as well as for troop-carrying roles. Modern jetliners are usually low-wing designs with two engines mounted underneath

864-555: A few experimental or military designs, all aircraft built to date have had all of their weight lifted off the ground by airflow across the wings. In terms of aerodynamics , the fuselage has been a mere burden. NASA and Boeing are currently developing a blended wing body design in which the entire airframe, from wingtip to wingtip, contributes lift. This promises a significant gain in fuel efficiency . The major manufacturers with large aircraft airliners currently in production include: The narrow-body and wide-body airliner market

960-617: A greater wingspan (94m/260 ft) than any current aircraft and a tail height equal to the tallest (Airbus A380-800 at 24.1m/78 ft) — flew only one short hop in the late 1940s and never flew out of ground effect . The largest civilian airplanes, apart from the above-noted An-225 and An-124, are the Airbus Beluga cargo transport derivative of the Airbus A300 jet airliner, the Boeing Dreamlifter cargo transport derivative of

1056-898: A growth by 3.5 from 2004 to 2020 is unprecedented and highly unusual for any mature market. In 2016, the deliveries went for 38% in Asia-Pacific, 25% in Europe, 22% in North America, 7% in Middle East, 6% in South America and 2% in Africa. 1,020 narrowbodies were delivered and their backlog reach 10891: 4,991 A320neo, 644 A320ceo; 3,593 737 Max, 835 737NG, 348 CSeries, 305 C919 and 175 MC-21; while 398 widebodies were delivered : 137 Dreamliners and 99 B777 for Boeing (65%) against 63 A330 and 49 A350 for Airbus, more than 2,400 widebodies were in backlog, led by

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1152-507: A higher gross weight of 5,500 lb (2,500 kg). Later aircraft were amongst the first airliners to be fitted with flaps for improved landing performance, along with downwards-facing recognition light and metal propellers, which were often retrofitted to older aircraft. It was also used in military roles; civil Dragon Rapides were impressed into military service during the Second World War . Metal airliners came into service in

1248-670: A marginal case. The forerunner of the fixed-wing aircraft is the kite . Whereas a fixed-wing aircraft relies on its forward speed to create airflow over the wings, a kite is tethered to the ground and relies on the wind blowing over its wings to provide lift. Kites were the first kind of aircraft to fly and were invented in China around 500 BC. Much aerodynamic research was done with kites before test aircraft, wind tunnels , and computer modelling programs became available. The first heavier-than-air craft capable of controlled free-flight were gliders . A glider designed by George Cayley carried out

1344-772: A maximum loaded weight of 550–700 t (1,210,000–1,540,000 lb), it was also the heaviest aircraft built to date. It could cruise at 500 mph (800 km/h; 430 kn). The aircraft was destroyed during the Russo-Ukrainian War . The largest military airplanes are the Ukrainian Antonov An-124 Ruslan (world's second-largest airplane, also used as a civilian transport), and American Lockheed C-5 Galaxy transport, weighing, loaded, over 380 t (840,000 lb). The 8-engine, piston/propeller Hughes H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose" — an American World War II wooden flying boat transport with

1440-555: A maximum of 14 seated passengers. and around 60 were built. Initially, several publicity flights were made, including one on 8 February 1919, when the Goliath flew 12 passengers from Toussus-le-Noble to RAF Kenley , near Croydon , despite having no permission from the British authorities to land. Dozens of early airlines subsequently procured the type. One high-profile flight, made on 11 August 1919, involved an F.60 flying eight passengers and

1536-560: A payload of up to 22,050 lb (10,000 kg). The largest aircraft by weight and largest regular fixed-wing aircraft ever built, as of 2016 , was the Antonov An-225 Mriya . That Soviet-built ( Ukrainian SSR ) six-engine transport of the 1980s was 84 m (276 ft) long, with an 88 m (289 ft) wingspan. It holds the world payload record, after transporting 428,834 lb (194,516 kg) of goods, and has flown 100 t (220,000 lb) loads commercially. With

1632-533: A powered "tug" aircraft. For a glider to maintain its forward air speed and lift, it must descend in relation to the air (but not necessarily in relation to the ground). Many gliders can "soar", i.e. , gain height from updrafts such as thermal currents. The first practical, controllable example was designed and built by the British scientist and pioneer George Cayley , whom many recognise as the first aeronautical engineer. Common examples of gliders are sailplanes , hang gliders and paragliders . Balloons drift with

1728-491: A powered rotary wing or rotor , where the rotor disc can be angled slightly forward so that a proportion of its lift is directed forwards. The rotor may, like a propeller, be powered by a variety of methods such as a piston engine or turbine. Experiments have also used jet nozzles at the rotor blade tips . Aircraft are designed according to many factors such as customer and manufacturer demand, safety protocols and physical and economic constraints. For many types of aircraft

1824-577: A rigid basket or gondola slung below it to carry its payload. Early aircraft, including airships , often employed flexible doped aircraft fabric covering to give a reasonably smooth aeroshell stretched over a rigid frame. Later aircraft employed semi- monocoque techniques, where the skin of the aircraft is stiff enough to share much of the flight loads. In a true monocoque design there is no internal structure left. The key structural parts of an aircraft depend on what type it is. Lighter-than-air types are characterised by one or more gasbags, typically with

1920-420: A supporting structure of flexible cables or a rigid framework called its hull. Other elements such as engines or a gondola may also be attached to the supporting structure. Heavier-than-air types are characterised by one or more wings and a central fuselage . The fuselage typically also carries a tail or empennage for stability and control, and an undercarriage for takeoff and landing. Engines may be located on

2016-1054: A survey by Inside MRO and Air Transport World , and this is a reason why Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation purchased the Bombardier CRJ program. It is an entry barrier for new entrants like the Xian MA700 and Comac C919 , with no credible previous experience with the MA60 , or the Irkut MC-21 after the Sukhoi Superjet 100 . The airliner fleet went from 13,500 in 2000 to 25,700 in 2017: 16% to 30.7% in Asia/Pacific (2,158 to 7,915), 34.7% to 23.6% in USA (4,686 to 6,069) and 24% to 20.5% in Europe (3,234 to 5,272). In 2018, there were 29,398 airliners in service: 26,935 passenger transports and 2,463 freighters, while 2,754 others were stored. The largest fleet

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2112-609: A testbed for its Olympus turbojet. The aircraft was fitted with two Olympus engines under the wings, outboard of the Nenes. This aircraft had a starring role in the 1960 British movie Cone of Silence , masquerading as the "Atlas Phoenix". Later the same aircraft was used as a test bed for the Bristol Siddeley Orpheus , its port engine having been upgraded to the Orpheus features for trials. The forward fuselage of Ashton 2 ( WB491 )

2208-553: A ton of supplies from Paris via Casablanca and Mogador to Koufa, 180 km (110 mi) north of Saint-Louis, Senegal , flying more than 4,500 km (2,800 mi). Another important airliner built in 1919 was the Airco DH.16 ; a redesigned Airco DH.9A with a wider fuselage to accommodate an enclosed cabin seating four passengers, plus pilot in an open cockpit. In March 1919, the prototype first flew at Hendon Aerodrome . Nine aircraft were built, all but one being delivered to

2304-517: Is a lifting body , which has no wings, though it may have small stabilizing and control surfaces. Wing-in-ground-effect vehicles are generally not considered aircraft. They "fly" efficiently close to the surface of the ground or water, like conventional aircraft during takeoff. An example is the Russian ekranoplan nicknamed the " Caspian Sea Monster ". Man-powered aircraft also rely on ground effect to remain airborne with minimal pilot power, but this

2400-437: Is a powered one. A powered, steerable aerostat is called a dirigible . Sometimes this term is applied only to non-rigid balloons, and sometimes dirigible balloon is regarded as the definition of an airship (which may then be rigid or non-rigid). Non-rigid dirigibles are characterized by a moderately aerodynamic gasbag with stabilizing fins at the back. These soon became known as blimps . During World War II , this shape

2496-478: 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 lift type, aircraft propulsion (if any), usage and others. Flying model craft and stories of manned flight go back many centuries; however,

2592-400: Is dominated by Airbus and Boeing, and the regional airliner market is shared between ATR Aircraft , De Havilland Canada , and Embraer . Setting up a reliable customer support network, ensuring uptime, availability and support 24/7 and anywhere, is critical for the success of airliner manufacturers. Boeing and Airbus are ranked 1 and 2 in customer satisfaction for aftermarket support by

2688-452: Is only because they are so underpowered—in fact, the airframe is capable of flying higher. Rotorcraft, or rotary-wing aircraft, use a spinning rotor with aerofoil cross-section blades (a rotary wing ) to provide lift. Types include helicopters , autogyros , and various hybrids such as gyrodynes and compound rotorcraft. Helicopters have a rotor turned by an engine-driven shaft. The rotor pushes air downward to create lift. By tilting

2784-549: Is preserved at the Newark Air Museum , Winthorpe , UK. Data from Jane's. General characteristics Performance Armament Related development Airliner Regional airliners typically seat fewer than 100 passengers and may be powered by turbofans or turboprops . These airliners are the non- mainline counterparts to the larger aircraft operated by the major carriers, legacy carriers , and flag carriers , and are used to feed traffic into

2880-623: Is stored in tanks, usually in the wings but larger aircraft also have additional fuel tanks in the fuselage . Propeller aircraft use one or more propellers (airscrews) to create thrust in a forward direction. The propeller is usually mounted in front of the power source in tractor configuration but can be mounted behind in pusher configuration . Variations of propeller layout include contra-rotating propellers and ducted fans . Many kinds of power plant have been used to drive propellers. Early airships used man power or steam engines . The more practical internal combustion piston engine

2976-465: Is the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird , a U.S. reconnaissance jet fixed-wing aircraft, having reached 3,530 km/h (2,193 mph) on 28 July 1976. Gliders are heavier-than-air aircraft that do not employ propulsion once airborne. Take-off may be by launching forward and downward from a high location, or by pulling into the air on a tow-line, either by a ground-based winch or vehicle, or by

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3072-612: The Airbus pan-European initiative. Soon after the war, most of the Soviet fleet of airliners consisted of DC-3s or Lisunov Li-2s . These planes were in desperate need of replacement, and in 1946, the Ilyushin Il-12 made its first flight. The Il-12 was very similar in design to American Convair 240, except was unpressurized. In 1953, the Ilyushin Il-14 made its first flight, and this version

3168-487: The Airbus A300 / A310 , A330 and A350 ; the 767 , 777 and 787 . Regional airliners seat fewer than 100 passengers. These smaller aircraft are often used to feed traffic at large airline hubs to larger aircraft operated by the major mainline carriers , legacy carriers , or flag carriers ; often sharing the same livery. Regional jets include the Bombardier CRJ100/200 and Bombardier CRJ700 series , or

3264-675: The BAC 1-11 , Vickers VC10 , and Hawker Siddeley Trident . The STAC committee was formed to consider supersonic designs and worked with Bristol to create the Bristol 223 , a 100-passenger transatlantic airliner. The effort was later merged with similar efforts in France to create the Concorde supersonic airliner to share the cost. The first batch of the Douglas DC-4s went to the U.S. Army and Air Forces, and

3360-619: The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey ), tiltwing , tail-sitter , and coleopter aircraft have their rotors/ propellers horizontal for vertical flight and vertical for forward flight. The smallest aircraft are toys/recreational items, and nano aircraft . The largest aircraft by dimensions and volume (as of 2016) is the 302 ft (92 m) long British Airlander 10 , a hybrid blimp, with helicopter and fixed-wing features, and reportedly capable of speeds up to 90 mph (140 km/h; 78 kn), and an airborne endurance of two weeks with

3456-645: The Bleriot-SPAD S.33 was introduced during the early 1920s. It was commercially successful, initially serving the Paris- London route, and later on continental routes. The enclosed cabin could carry four passengers with an extra seat in the cockpit. It was further developed into the Blériot-SPAD S.46 . Throughout the 1920s, companies in Britain and France were at the forefront of the civil airliner industry. By 1921,

3552-909: The Boeing 707 and its competitor the Douglas DC-8 . They were followed by smaller models : the Douglas DC-9 and its MD-80 / MD-90 / Boeing 717 derivatives; the Boeing 727 , 737 and 757 using the 707 cabin cross-section; or the Tupolev Tu-154 , Ilyushin Il-18 , and the Ilyushin Il-62 . Currently produced narrow-body airliners include the Airbus A220 , A320 family , Boeing 737 , Embraer E-Jet family and Comac C919 , generally used for medium-haul flights with 100 to 240 passengers. They could be joined by

3648-634: The Boeing 747 jet airliner/transport (the 747-200B was, at its creation in the 1960s, the heaviest aircraft ever built, with a maximum weight of over 400 t (880,000 lb)), and the double-decker Airbus A380 "super-jumbo" jet airliner (the world's largest passenger airliner). The fastest fixed-wing aircraft and fastest glider, is the Space Shuttle , which re-entered the atmosphere at nearly Mach 25 or 17,500 mph (28,200 km/h) The fastest recorded powered aircraft flight and fastest recorded aircraft flight of an air-breathing powered aircraft

3744-561: The Bristol Proteus engine. The Type II was split between the de Havilland Dove and Airspeed Ambassador conventional piston designs, and the Vickers model powered by newly developed turboprops : first flown in 1948, the VC.2 Viceroy was the first turboprop design to enter service; a commercial success with 445 Viscounts built. The Type III requirement led to the conventional Avro Tudor and

3840-804: The Cessna Caravan and Pilatus PC-12 ; or twin piston-powered aircraft made by Cessna , Piper , Britten-Norman , and Beechcraft . They often lack lavatories , stand-up cabins, pressurization , galleys , overhead storage bins, reclining seats, or a flight attendant . Until the beginning of the Jet Age , piston engines were common on propliners such as the Douglas DC-3. Nearly all modern airliners are now powered by turbine engines, either turbofans or turboprops . Gas turbine engines operate efficiently at much higher altitudes, are more reliable than piston engines, and produce less vibration and noise. The use of

3936-678: The Embraer ERJ family . Currently produced turboprop regional airliners include the Dash-8 series, and the ATR 42 / 72 . Light aircraft can be used as small commuter airliners, or as air taxis . Twin turboprops carrying up to 19 passengers include the Beechcraft 1900 , Fairchild Metro , Jetstream 31 , DHC-6 Twin Otter and Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante . Smaller airliners include the single-engined turboprops like

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4032-750: The Fokker F.II , then the enlarged F.III . These were used by the Dutch airline KLM , including on its Amsterdam-London service in 1921. A relatively reliable aircraft for the era, the Fokkers were flying to destinations across Europe, including Bremen, Brussels, Hamburg, and Paris. The Handley Page company in Britain produced the Handley Page Type W , its first civil transport aircraft. It housed two crew in an open cockpit and 15 passengers in an enclosed cabin. Powered by two 450 hp (340 kW) Napier Lion engines,

4128-628: The Harrier jump jet and Lockheed Martin F-35B take off and land vertically using powered lift and transfer to aerodynamic lift in steady flight. A pure rocket is not usually regarded as an aerodyne because its flight does not depend on interaction with the air at all (and thus can even fly in the vacuum of outer space ); however, many aerodynamic lift vehicles have been powered or assisted by rocket motors. Rocket-powered missiles that obtain aerodynamic lift at very high speed due to airflow over their bodies are

4224-861: The Vickers Vimy , into a civilian version, the Vimy Commercial. It was redesigned with a larger-diameter fuselage (largely of spruce plywood), and first flew from the Joyce Green airfield in Kent on 13 April 1919. The world's first all-metal transport aircraft was the Junkers F.13 , which also made its first flight in 1919. Junkers marketed the aircraft towards business travellers and commercial operators, and European entrepreneurs bought examples for their private use and business trips. Over 300 Junkers F 13s were built between 1919 and 1932. The Dutch Fokker company produced

4320-562: The Wright brothers made the world's first sustained heavier-than-air flight , they laid the foundation for what would become a major transport industry. Their flight, performed in the Wright Flyer during 1903, was just 11 years before what is often defined as the world's first airliner. By the 1960s, airliners had expanded capabilities, making a significant impact on global society, economics, and politics. During 1913, Igor Sikorsky developed

4416-444: The swept wings , while turboprop aircraft are slow enough to use straight wings. Smaller airliners sometimes have their engines mounted on either side of the rear fuselage. Numerous advantages and disadvantages exist due to this arrangement. Perhaps the most important advantage to mounting the engines under the wings is that the total aircraft weight is more evenly distributed across the wingspan, which imposes less bending moment on

4512-435: The 1930s, large intercontinental flying boats were also sometimes referred to as "ships of the air" or "flying-ships".  — though none had yet been built. The advent of powered balloons, called dirigible balloons, and later of rigid hulls allowing a great increase in size, began to change the way these words were used. Huge powered aerostats, characterized by a rigid outer framework and separate aerodynamic skin surrounding

4608-562: The 1930s, the British de Havilland Dragon emerged as a short-haul, low-capacity airliner. Its relatively simple design could carry six passengers, each with 45 lb (20 kg) of luggage, on the London-Paris route on a fuel consumption of 13 gal (49 L) per hour. The DH.84 Dragon entered worldwide service. During early August 1934, one performed the first non-stop flight between the Canadian mainland and Britain in 30 hours 55 minutes, although

4704-475: The 1930s. In the United States, the Boeing 247 , and the 14-passenger Douglas DC-2 , flew during the first half of the decade, while the more powerful, faster, 21–32 passenger Douglas DC-3 first appeared in 1935. DC-3s were produced in quantity for the Second World War and were sold as surplus afterward, becoming widespread within the commercial sector. It was one of first airliners to be profitable without

4800-649: The A350 with 753 (31%) then the Boeing 787 with 694 (28%). The most important driver of orders is airline profitability , itself driven mainly by world GDP growth but also supply and demand balance and oil prices , while new programmes by Airbus and Boeing help to stimulate aircraft demand. In 2016, 38% of the 25 years old airliners had been retired, 50% of the 28 years old : there will be 523 aircraft reaching 25 years old in 2017, 1,127 in 2026 and 1,628 in 2041. Deliveries rose by 80% from 2004 to 2016, they represented 4.9% of

4896-458: The Comet took off on the world's first jetliner flight carrying fare-paying passengers and simultaneously inaugurated scheduled service between London and Johannesburg. However, roughly one year after introduction, three Comets broke up mid-flight due to airframe metal fatigue , not well understood at the time. The Comet was grounded and tested to discover the cause, while rival manufacturers heeded

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4992-479: The Mediterranean area and to London . The Sud-Aviation Caravelle was developed during the late 1950s as the first short range jet airliner. The nose and cockpit layout were licensed from the de Havilland Comet , along with some fuselage elements. Entering service in mid 1959, 172 Caravelles had been sold within four years and six versions were in production by 1963. Sud Aviation then focused its design team on

5088-590: The Tudor 8, which made its first flight on 6 September 1948. The Avro Type 689 Tudor 9, later renamed the Avro 706 Ashton, was a four-jet-engined research aeroplane powered by Rolls-Royce Nene engines paired in wing nacelles. Six were built using the Tudor airframe, beginning with the conversion of Tudor I initially powered by Nene 5 engines. The Ashtons that followed incorporated the upgraded Nene 6 and featured an enlarged, "square-shaped" tail fin and tricycle landing gear replacing

5184-632: The US for military transport aircraft and the UK for heavy bombers . That such a policy was suggested or implemented have been disputed, at least by Sir Peter Masefield . British aircraft manufacturers were tied up to fulfill military requirements, and had no free capacity to address other matters though the war. The committee final report pushed four designs for the state-owned airlines British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and later British European Airways (BEA): three piston-powered aircraft of varying sizes, and

5280-470: The aircraft's weight. There are two ways to produce dynamic upthrust — aerodynamic lift by having air flowing past an aerofoil (such dynamic interaction of aerofoils with air is the origin of the term "aerodyne"), or powered lift in the form of reactional lift from downward engine thrust . Aerodynamic lift involving wings is the most common, and can be achieved via two methods. Fixed-wing aircraft ( airplanes and gliders ) achieve airflow past

5376-501: The autogyro moves forward, air blows upward across the rotor, making it spin. This spinning increases the speed of airflow over the rotor, to provide lift. Rotor kites are unpowered autogyros, which are towed to give them forward speed or tethered to a static anchor in high-wind for kited flight. Compound rotorcraft have wings that provide some or all of the lift in forward flight. They are nowadays classified as powered lift types and not as rotorcraft. Tiltrotor aircraft (such as

5472-564: The capacity of airliners needed to be increased to achieve more favourable economics. The English company de Havilland , built the 10-passenger DH.29 monoplane, while starting work on the design of the DH.32, an eight-seater biplane with a more economical but less powerful Rolls-Royce Eagle engine. For more capacity, DH.32 development was replaced by the DH.34 biplane, accommodating 10 passengers. A commercially successful aircraft, Daimler Airway ordered

5568-604: The cockpit and front compartment of the Ashton. A larger complement could be carried in the spacious fuselage when warranted. Production was completed rapidly through modifications of surplus Tudor 2 airframes with a single example each of the Ashton 1 ( WB490 ), Ashton 2 ( WB491 ), Ashton 4 ( WB494 ) and three Ashton 3 s ( WB492 , WB493 and WE670 ), all built by Avro at Woodford. Test flights began in 1950 with evaluations of jet operations, navigation and at least one Ashton (Mk 4) tested bombing equipment with two streamlined underwing bomb containers fitted. Despite being one of

5664-435: The design process is regulated by national airworthiness authorities. The key parts of an aircraft are generally divided into three categories: The approach to structural design varies widely between different types of aircraft. Some, such as paragliders, comprise only flexible materials that act in tension and rely on aerodynamic pressure to hold their shape. A balloon similarly relies on internal gas pressure, but may have

5760-509: The first commercial plane to circumnavigate the globe during December 1941 and January 1942. In the United Kingdom, the Brabazon Committee was formed in 1942 under John Moore-Brabazon, 1st Baron Brabazon of Tara to forecast advances in aviation technology and the air transport needs of the postwar British Empire (in South Asia, Africa, and the Near and Far East ) and Commonwealth ( Australia , Canada , New Zealand ). For British use, multi-engine aircraft types were allegedly split between

5856-411: The first jet-engined air transports, the Ashton was engaged in primarily experimental work and was soon eclipsed in technology by the first of the full-scale production airliners, the de Havilland Comet . Ashton WB491 was modified with an under-fuselage mounting for testing turbine engines. It was used by Rolls-Royce for trials with the Conway and Avon . Bristol Siddeley used Ashton WB493 as

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5952-550: The first large multi-engine airplane, the Russky Vityaz . This aircraft was subsequently refined into the more practical Ilya Muromets , being furnished with dual controls for a pilot and copilot and a comfortable cabin with a lavatory, cabin heating and lighting. This large four-engine biplane was further adapted into an early bomber aircraft , preceding subsequent transport and bomber aircraft. It first flew on 10 December 1913 and took off for its first demonstration flight with 16 passengers aboard on 25 February 1914. However, it

6048-477: The first manned ascent — and safe descent — in modern times took place by larger hot-air balloons developed in the 18th century. Each of the two World Wars led to great technical advances. Consequently, the history of aircraft can be divided into five eras: Lighter-than-air aircraft or aerostats use buoyancy to float in the air in much the same way that ships float on the water. They are characterized by one or more large cells or canopies, filled with

6144-532: The first true manned, controlled flight in 1853. The first powered and controllable fixed-wing aircraft (the airplane or aeroplane) was invented by Wilbur and Orville Wright . Besides the method of propulsion (if any), fixed-wing aircraft are in general characterized by their wing configuration . The most important wing characteristics are: A variable geometry aircraft can change its wing configuration during flight. A flying wing has no fuselage, though it may have small blisters or pods. The opposite of this

6240-602: The fleet at the end of 2012 and 11.3% at the end of 2001. Since it began, the jet airliner market had a recurring pattern of seven years of growth followed by three years of deliveries falling 30–40%, except a steady growth from 2004 due to the economic rise of China going from 3% of world market in 2001 to 22% in 2015, expensive jet fuel till 2014 stimulating old jets replacement allowed by low interest rates since 2008, and strong airline passenger demand since. In 2004, 718 Airbus and Boeings were delivered, worth $ 39.3 billion; 1,466 are expected in 2017, worth $ 104.4 billion:

6336-619: The fleet in 2004 and 5.9% in 2016, down from 8% previously. Oil prices and airshow orders are trending together. Heavier-than-air flight An aircraft ( pl. : 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 (including blimps ), gliders , paramotors , and hot air balloons . The human activity that surrounds aircraft

6432-418: The fuselage or wings. On a fixed-wing aircraft the wings are rigidly attached to the fuselage, while on a rotorcraft the wings are attached to a rotating vertical shaft. Smaller designs sometimes use flexible materials for part or all of the structure, held in place either by a rigid frame or by air pressure. The fixed parts of the structure comprise the airframe . The source of motive power for an aircraft

6528-400: The gas bags, were produced, the Zeppelins being the largest and most famous. There were still no fixed-wing aircraft or non-rigid balloons large enough to be called airships, so "airship" came to be synonymous with these aircraft. Then several accidents, such as the Hindenburg disaster in 1937, led to the demise of these airships. Nowadays a "balloon" is an unpowered aerostat and an "airship"

6624-453: The in-development Irkut MC-21 . The larger wide-body aircraft , or twin-aisle as they have two separate aisles in the cabin, are used for long-haul flights. The first was the Boeing 747 quadjet, followed by the trijets: the Lockheed L-1011 and the Douglas DC-10 , then its MD-11 stretch. Then other quadjets were introduced: the Ilyushin Il-86 and Il-96 , the Airbus A340 and the double-deck A380 . Twinjets were also put into service:

6720-417: The intended destination had originally been Baghdad in Iraq . British production of the Dragon ended in favour of the de Havilland Dragon Rapide , a faster and more comfortable successor. By November 1934, series production of the Dragon Rapide had commenced. De Havilland invested into advanced features including elongated rear windows, cabin heating, thickened wing tips, and a strengthened airframe for

6816-469: The large airline hubs. These regional routes then form the spokes of a hub-and-spoke air transport model. The lightest aircraft are short-haul regional feeder airliner type aircraft that carry a small number of passengers are called commuter aircraft, commuterliners, feederliners, and air taxis , depending on their size, engines, how they are marketed, region of the world, and seating configurations. The Beechcraft 1900 , for example, has only 19 seats. When

6912-666: The late 1920s and early 1930s, based on a series of large seaplanes – the Sikorsky S-38 through Sikorsky S-42 . By the 1930s, the airliner industry had matured and large consolidated national airlines were established with regular international services that spanned the globe, including Imperial Airways in Britain, Lufthansa in Germany, KLM in the Netherlands, and United Airlines in America. Multi-engined aircraft were now capable of transporting dozens of passengers in comfort. During

7008-402: The lessons learned while developing their own aircraft. The improved Comet 2 and the prototype Comet 3 culminated in the redesigned Comet 4 series which debuted in 1958 and had a productive career over 30 years, but sales never fully recovered. By the 1960s, the UK had lost the airliner market to the US due to the Comet disaster and a smaller domestic market, not regained by later designs like

7104-493: The more ambitious Bristol Britannia , although both aircraft suffered protracted developments, with the latter entering service with BOAC in February 1957, over seven years following its order. The jet-powered Type IV became the de Havilland Comet in 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four de Havilland Ghost turbojet engines buried in the wings, a pressurised fuselage, and large square windows. On 2 May 1952,

7200-574: The nascent airline, Aircraft Transport and Travel , which used the first aircraft for pleasure flying, and on 25 August 1919, it inaugurated the first scheduled international airline service from London to Paris. One aircraft was sold to the River Plate Aviation Company in Argentina , to operate a cross-river service between Buenos Aires and Montevideo . Meanwhile, the competing Vickers converted its successful First World War era bomber,

7296-439: The original "taildragger" configuration. The engines were tightly grouped in two nacelles that were faired neatly into the wing but also extended below in streamlined pods. The four-engine arrangement compensated for the low thrust of the early jet engines and greatly reduced asymmetric effects in an "engine-out" scenario. The crew was composed of a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, flight engineer and radio operator clustered together in

7392-523: The planes. American planes were allegedly more comfortable and had superior flight decks than those produced in Europe. In 1936, the French Air Ministry requested transatlantic flying boats that could hold at least 40 passengers, leading to three Latécoère 631s introduced by Air France in July 1947. However, two crashed and the third was removed from service over safety concerns. The SNCASE Languedoc

7488-464: The project was abandoned due to a lack of customer demand and its high development costs. Rival planes include the Martin 2-0-2 and Martin 4-0-4 , but the 2-0-2 had safety concerns and was unpressurized, while the 4-0-4 only sold around 100 units. During the postwar years, engines became much larger and more powerful, and safety features such as deicing, navigation, and weather information were added to

7584-589: The prototype first flew on 4 December 1919, shortly after it was displayed at the 1919 Paris Air Show at Le Bourget . It was ordered by the Belgian firm Sabena , a further ten Type Ws were produced under license in Belgium by SABCA . In 1921 the Air Ministry ordered three aircraft, built as the W.8b, for use by Handley Page Transport , and later by Imperial Airways , on services to Paris and Brussels . In France,

7680-411: The rotor forward, the downward flow is tilted backward, producing thrust for forward flight. Some helicopters have more than one rotor and a few have rotors turned by gas jets at the tips. Some have a tail rotor to counteract the rotation of the main rotor, and to aid directional control. Autogyros have unpowered rotors, with a separate power plant to provide thrust. The rotor is tilted backward. As

7776-436: The second type of aircraft to fly, the first being kites , which were also first invented in ancient China over two thousand years ago (see Han Dynasty ). A balloon was originally any aerostat, while the term airship was used for large, powered aircraft designs — usually fixed-wing. In 1919, Frederick Handley Page was reported as referring to "ships of the air," with smaller passenger types as "Air yachts." In

7872-707: The support of postal or government subsidies. Long-haul flights were expanded during the 1930s as Pan American Airways and Imperial Airways competed on transatlantic travel using fleets of flying boats , such as the British Short Empire and the American Boeing 314 . Imperial Airways' order for 28 Empire flying boats was viewed by some as a bold gamble. At the time, flying boats were the only practical means of building aircraft of such size and weight as land-based aircraft would have unfeasibly poor field performance. One Boeing 314, registration NC18602 , became

7968-530: The tether or kite line ; they rely on virtual or real wind blowing over and under them to generate lift and drag. Kytoons are balloon-kite hybrids that are shaped and tethered to obtain kiting deflections, and can be lighter-than-air, neutrally buoyant, or heavier-than-air. Powered aircraft have one or more onboard sources of mechanical power, typically aircraft engines although rubber and manpower have also been used. Most aircraft engines are either lightweight reciprocating engines or gas turbines . Engine fuel

8064-460: The wind, though normally the pilot can control the altitude, either by heating the air or by releasing ballast, giving some directional control (since the wind direction changes with altitude). A wing-shaped hybrid balloon can glide directionally when rising or falling; but a spherically shaped balloon does not have such directional control. Kites are aircraft that are tethered to the ground or other object (fixed or mobile) that maintains tension in

8160-431: The wing. A flexible wing is a wing made of fabric or thin sheet material, often stretched over a rigid frame, similar to the flight membranes on many flying and gliding animals . A kite is tethered to the ground and relies on the speed of the wind over its wings, which may be flexible or rigid, fixed, or rotary. With powered lift, the aircraft directs its engine thrust vertically downward. V/STOL aircraft, such as

8256-433: The wings and allows for a lighter wing structure. This factor becomes more important as aircraft weight increases, and no in-production airliners have both a maximum takeoff weight more than 50 tons and engines mounted on the fuselage. The Antonov An-148 is the only in-production jetliner with high-mounted wings (usually seen in military transport aircraft ), which reduces the risk of damage from unpaved runways. Except for

8352-402: The wings by having the entire aircraft moving forward through the air, while rotorcraft ( helicopters and autogyros ) do so by having mobile, elongated wings spinning rapidly around a mast in an assembly known as the rotor . As aerofoils, there must be air flowing over the wing to create pressure difference between above and below, thus generating upward lift over the entire wetted area of

8448-608: Was based on the C-97 Stratofreighter military transport, it had a double deck and a pressurized fuselage. Convair produced the Convair 240 , a 40-person pressurized airplane; 566 examples flew. Convair later developed the Convair 340 , which was slightly larger and could accommodate between 44 and 52 passengers, of which 311 were produced. The firm also commenced work on the Convair 37 , a relatively large double-deck airliner that would have served trans continental routes; however,

8544-515: Was equipped with much more powerful engines. The main contribution that the Soviets made in regards to airliners was the Antonov An-2 . This plane is a biplane, unlike most of the other airliners, and sold more units than any other transport plane. The most common airliners are the narrow-body aircraft , or single-aisles. The earliest jet airliners were narrowbodies: the initial de Havilland Comet ,

8640-525: Was in Asia-Pacific with 8,808 (5% stored), followed by 8,572 in North America (10% stored), 7,254 in Europe (9% stored), 2,027 in Latin America, 1,510 in Middle East and 1,347 in Africa. Narrowbody are dominant with 16,235, followed by 5,581 Widebodies, 3,743 Turboprops, 3,565 Regional jets and 399 Others. By the end of 2018, there were 1,826 parked or in storage jetliners out of 29,824 in service (6.1%): 1,434 narrowbodies and 392 widebodies, down from 9.8% of

8736-636: Was named the C-54 Skymaster . Some ex-military DC-6s were later converted into airliners, with both passenger and cargo versions flooding the market shortly after the war's end. Douglas also developed a pressurized version of the DC-4, which it designated the Douglas DC-6 . Rival company Lockheed produced the Constellation , a triple-tailed aircraft with a wider fuselage than the DC-4. The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

8832-658: Was never used as a commercial airliner due to the onset of the First World War which led to military applications being prioritised. In 1919, shortly after the end of the First World War, large numbers of ex-military aircraft flooded the market. One such aircraft was the French Farman F.60 Goliath , which had originally been designed as a long-range heavy bomber ; a number were converted for commercial use into passenger airliners starting in 1919, being able to accommodate

8928-657: Was of the NASA X-43 A Pegasus , a scramjet -powered, hypersonic , lifting body experimental research aircraft, at Mach 9.68 or 6,755 mph (10,870 km/h) on 16 November 2004. Prior to the X-43A, the fastest recorded powered airplane flight, and still the record for the fastest manned powered airplane, was the North American X-15 , rocket-powered airplane at Mach 6.7 or 7,274 km/h (4,520 mph) on 3 October 1967. The fastest manned, air-breathing powered airplane

9024-452: Was the first French post-war airliner. Accommodating up to 44 seats, 40 aircraft were completed for Air France between October 1945 and April 1948. Air France withdrew the last Languedoc from its domestic routes in 1954, being replaced by later designs. First flying in February 1949, the four-engined Breguet Deux-Ponts was a double-decker transport for passengers and cargo. Air France used it on its busiest routes, including from Paris to

9120-490: Was used for virtually all fixed-wing aircraft until World War II and is still used in many smaller aircraft. Some types use turbine engines to drive a propeller in the form of a turboprop or propfan . Human-powered flight has been achieved, but has not become a practical means of transport. Unmanned aircraft and models have also used power sources such as electric motors and rubber bands. Jet aircraft use airbreathing jet engines , which take in air, burn fuel with it in

9216-439: Was widely adopted for tethered balloons ; in windy weather, this both reduces the strain on the tether and stabilizes the balloon. The nickname blimp was adopted along with the shape. In modern times, any small dirigible or airship is called a blimp, though a blimp may be unpowered as well as powered. Heavier-than-air aircraft or aerodynes are denser than air and thus must find some way to obtain enough lift that can overcome

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