ICAO defines an aircraft as “any machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air other than the reactions of air against the earth’s surface”
Probably the best place for us to start is with a general description of an aircraft.
An aircraft is comprised of:
1. Airframe
2. Powerplant
3. Systems
4. Equipment
1. The airframe is made up of a fuselage, wings and tail plane. This structure is supported on the ground by the undercarriage which is generally raised and lowered by hydraulic power. In flight it is supported by the wings.
2. The powerplant on an aircraft is usually either piston, turboprop or turbojet. Fuel for a piston engine aircraft is petrol, while that for turboprop or turbojet is kerosene.
3. The main systems on modern aircraft are air conditioning, automatic flight, electrics, flight controls, fuel, hydraulics, landing gear, pneumatics, powerplant and pressurization. Each system has an ATA reference number.
4. Equipment consists of various items such as passengers seats, galleys, radios, computers, fire extinguishers, toilets, etc.
Answer the questions.
1. What is an aircraft comprised of?
2. What is airframe made up of?
3. What types of the power plant are these on the aircraft?