COMPONENTS OF AN AIRCRAFT

In this post we will be focusing on parts of an :-

1)Fuselage

2) Cockpit

3)Airfoil

4)Spoiler

5)Turbine Engine

6)Wingtip devices

7)Rudder

8)Propeller

9)Elevator

10)Aileron

Functions of different Aircraft Parts:

1)The fuselage is the main body structure to which all other components are attached.content =" The fuselage contains the cockpit or flight deck, passenger compartment and cargo compartment. While wings produce most of the lift, the fuselage also produces a little lift. A bulky fuselage can also produce a lot of drag. For this reason, a fuselage is streamlined to decrease the drag. We usually think of a streamlined sports car as being sleek and compact - it does not present a bulky obstacle to the oncoming wind. A streamlined fuselage has the same attributes. It has a sharp or rounded nose with sleek, tapered body so that the air can flow smoothly around it.

2)Cockpit is usually the front area of an aircraft from where Pilot controls the aircraft. It contains Flight instrument on an instrument panel and the controls that enable the pilot to fly the aircraft. In most airliners, a door separates the cockpit from the passenger compartment.

3)Aerofoil or An Airfoil is the shape of the wing which produces lift. It is designed using laws of aerodynamics. The component of this force perpendicular to the direction of motion is called lift.Airfoil design is a major facet of aerodynamics. Various airfoils serve different flight regimes. Asymmetric airfoils can generate lift at zero angle of attack, while a symmetric airfoil may better suit frequent inverted flight as in an aerobatic airplane.

Terminology Of an Airfoil.

4) Spoilers are used to reduce lift in an Aircraft
Lift dumpers are a special type of spoiler extending along most of the wing's length and designed to dump as much lift as possible on landing. Lift dumpers have only two positions, deployed and retracted, and must not be used in flight as they completely stall the aircraft. Spoiler controls at full extension also act as lift dumpers. Spoilers are different from airbrake as spoilers are responsible for reduction in lift and increase in drag.

 

5) Turbine Engine/ Gas Turbine is a type of Internal Combustion Engine. It has a compressor which sucks air and passes into the combustion chamber and then towards the downstream which is a turbine.

 

6) Wingtip devices are usually used on fixed wings aircraft.Wingtip devices increase the lift generated at the wingtip (by smoothing the airflow across the upper wing near the tip) and reduce the lift-induced drag caused by wingtip vortices, improving lift-to-drag ratio. This increases fuel efficiency in powered aircraft and increases cross-country speed in gliders, in both cases increasing range.

7) Rudder is a device used to steer an aircraft . On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane. A rudder operates by redirecting the fluid past the hull or fuselage, thus imparting a turning or yawing motion to the craft. In basic form, a rudder is a flat plane or sheet of material attached with hinges to the craft's stern, tail, or after end. Often rudders are shaped so as to minimize hydrodynamic or aerodynamic drag. On simple watercraft, a tiller—essentially, a stick or pole acting as a lever arm—may be attached to the top of the rudder to allow it to be turned by a helmsman. In larger vessels, cables, pushrods, or hydraulics may be used to link rudders to steering wheels. In typical aircraft, the rudder is operated by pedals via mechanical linkages or hydraulics.

 

8) A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust.A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid (such as air or water) is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modelled by both Bernoulli's principle and Newton's third law.

 

9) Elevators are flight control surfaces, usually at the rear of an aircraft, which control the aircraft's longitudinal attitude by changing the pitch balance, and so also the angle of attack and the lift of the wing.The elevators are usually hinged to a fixed or adjustable rear surface, making as a whole a tailplane or horizontal stabilizer. They may be also the only pitch control surface present, sometimes located at front (early airplanes) or integrated in a rear "all-moving tailplane" also called a slab elevator or stabilization.

 

10) Aileron is the hinged part on trailing edge of an airplane wing. It is used to control lateral turns.