The Visual Dictionary of Flight

Flight (DK Visual Dictionaries) EYEWITNESS VISUAL DICTIONARIES Windshield THE VISUAL DICTIONARY of L GH1 Static air pressure plate Radome NOSE OF A BAE 146 JETLINER Elevator , Main crankpin ^~ Inducti[.]

EYEWITNESS VISUAL DICTIONARIES

EY1«NESS VISUAL DICTIONARIES

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Here is an entirely new kind of dictionary — one that is packed with

The VISUAL DICTIONARY OF FLIGHT will give you instant access to the specialized

If you know what part of an aircraft looks like but don't know its name,

then turn to the labels around the illustrations If you know an

aviation term but don't know what itrefers to, then the comprehensive

Aircraft are depicted "whole" and also taken apart — or "exploded" — in full-color photographs

or illustrations Individual components are identified with carefully researched labels.

When were aircraft powered by Gnomes?

What is the difference between

a turboprop and a turbofan?

How is a helicopter steered?

Where on an aircraft would you

find a ram scoop?

This volume forms part of a series which, like the Dorling Kindersley

exquisitely photographed treasure trove of words and pictures

EYEWITNESS VISUAL DICTIONARIES

BLACKBURN MONOPLANE, 1912

Rotating beacon

I entilator exit,

EYEWITNESS VISUAL DICTIONARIES

Own aircraft symbol

ARTIFICIAL HORIZON FLIGHT INSTIUMFN I

DORLING KINDERSLEY, INC.

A DORLING RINDERSLEY ROOR

Senior Editor Martyn Page

Illustrations Mick Gillah, Dave Pugh, Chris Woolmer

Fuel and oil tank

Control column

Rudder

Pilot's seat

CURTISS MODEL-D PUSHER, 1911

FirstAmericanEdition,1992

10987654521

dorlingklndersley,inc.,252 madisonavenue,

NewYork,NewYork10016

Copyright©1992 DorlingKindersley Limiteo,LondonAllrightsreservedunderInternationaland Pan-AmerjcanCopyright Conventions

PublishedintheUnitedStatesbyDorlingKindersley,Inc.,NewYork,NewYork

DistributedbyHoughtonMieflinCompany,Boston, Massachusetts

PublishedinGreatBritainbyDorlingKindersley Limited,London

Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrieval system,

OR transmittedinanyformorbyany means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording,

OR otherwise,without thepriorwritten permission ofthecopyright owner

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-PublicationData TheEyewitnessvisualdictionaryofflight.—1stAmericaned

p. cm.—(TheEyewitnessvisual dictionaries)

Includesindex

Summary:Text andlabeled illustrations depictavarietyofhistoric\numodernaircraft

andtheircomponents,aswellasaviation-related equipment

ISBN1-56458-101-2

I.Airplanes—Terminology—Juvenile literature

2.Airplanes—Pictorialworks—Juvenile literature

5.Aeronai tos—Terminologi—Juvenile literature

I. Yiiiowi iks—Pictorialworks—Juvenileliteratihi.

5.Picture dmtionaries,English—Juvenile literature

|1.Airplanes.2.Aeronautics.]I.Series

TI.547.F.85 1992

629 133'0!4—dc20 . 92-7670

CIP

AC

REPRODICEDBlCOI'ii RSI w.SlNGAPORl

Printed \m>boindi\ I iuim Irno Mondadori,Verona

World War I Aircraft 14

World War II Aircraft 22

Modern Piston Aircraft Engines 26

Systems cabinet

Electronic-component housing

AIRFIELD RADAR, 1953

Personal survival pack

Axle bolt

NOSE GEAR OF A MODERN LIGHT AIRCRAFT

-°&7\ ->f

Balloons and airships

and the hot air (which provided the lift) was produced by burning

gases (hydrogen, helium, or coal gas) until about 1970, when

or hot air (hydrogen, used in early airships, is dangerously

inflammable) Unlike balloons, airships have some means of

propulsion and can be steered Many modern airships also have

was made in Paris, France, in 1852, but the best-known airship maker

MONTGOLFIER RALLOON, 1783

fe

flnnfllW^^V:

was the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, who built his first craft

were a popular form of transport until the 1930s,

as convoy escorts in both world wars, and today they are used for

advertising.

.Varnished, painted envelope of handmade

SECTIONED GAS CYLINDER

Pilot-light vapor supply valve

HOT-AIR RALLOON RASKET SECTIONED HOT-AIR RALLOON RURNER

CROSS-SECTION OF USS AKRON AIRSHIP, 1951

Gasbag

plate

Outer skin

Ballast control point

Pioneers of flight

FLIGHT HAS FASCINATED MANKIND for centuries,

by the French Montgolfier brothers in 1783, when

they flew a balloon over Paris (see pp 6-7) The next

major advance was the development of gliders,

in 1845 designed the first glider to make a sustained

flight, and by the German Otto Lilienthal, who became

internal-combustion engines at the end of the 19th century Then,

first powered flight in their Wright Flyer biplane, which used a

advanced rapidly, and in 1909 the Frenchman

Louis Bleriot made his pioneering flight across

the English Channel (see pp 10-11) The

Body cradle that pivots to control ailerons

arm

Rudder

control

wheel

Rudder-Propeller-shaft bracing strut

Softwood

strut Tail plane Elevator control wire

Rudder

Elevator operating arm

Port aileron

steel leg \ Interplane strut pin-jointed

to front Main landing gear

spar-lateral brace

Early monoplanes

disadvantage of this arrangement in early wooden-framed aircraft was

advantages: they experienced less drag than multiple wings, allowing

wings were easier to warp (twist) than double wings, and warping the wings was how pilots controlled the roll of early aircraft By 1912, the French pilot

Louis Bleriot had used a monoplane to make the first flight across the English Channel, and the Briton Robert Blackburn and the Frenchman Armand Deperdussin had proved the greater speed of monoplanes However,

by struts or bracing wires, but despite this, such planes were not widely adopted until the 1930s.

Turnbuckle to tighten bracing wire

Anti-lift bracing wire

Rib Bracing wire

bracing

Triangular-section rear fuselage Elevator-

operating

bracket

Tails kid

Lift bracing wire

rear strut

Carved wooden

propeller

Hub

Engine mount

Forward

fuselage structure

Rubber-sprung wheel

11

light

Biplanes and triplanes

wings strong compared with those of early monoplanes, although

Fokker triplane being a notable example However,

normal flying, and so most manufacturers continued to

looked rather like a Valve rocker

pipe collector ring

Main landing gear leg

Inflation valve Fabric-covered

steel wing Recessed nose

of aileron FRONT VIEW OF AVRO TRIPLANE IV, 1910 Unpainted, varnished fabric-

main purpose of military aircraft was Wingtip^

reconnaissance The British-built BE 2,

allowing the occupants to study the terrain, take photographs, and make notes The BE 2

was also one of the first aircraft to drop bombs.

On aircraft that had front-mounted propellers, the field

the aircraft The problem was solved in 1915 by the

Dutchman Anthony Fokker, who designed an interrupter

gear that prevented a machine gun from firing when a

aircraft of the war.

J 12 lb (51 kg)

bomb

SIDE VIEW OF LVG CVI, 1917

Pilot's cockpit Observer's cockpit

Pivoted sprung tailskid

Elevator control wire

FRONT VIEW OF LVG CVI, 1917

Lozenge-patterned fabric Forward-firing

Laminated wooden

Lift

bracing wire

Multiple rubber-cord suspension

Gravity-feed fuel tank

Steel lug

1

Aircraft registration code

Elevator

Elevator hinge

.

Spar-Trailing edge

Rib

HORIZONTAL TAIL OF A RE 2R

15

Indicator needle

THERMOCOUPLE

Case

containin aneroid capsule

had rudder pedals; a control column (for

maneuvering); and flight, engine, and systems

pitch), and magnetic compass (for navigation) Engine instruments typically

included an oil-pressure gauge, fuel-level gauge, tachometer (indicating engine

consumption) One of the earliest systems instruments was the flap indicator,

"WING SPRING" AIRSPEED INDICATOR, 1910

Aluminum

frame

Spring-tension adjuster

Closed end

Dynamic air pressure head

Airspeed scale in mph Wooden panel, Needle

Mounting

bracket

Static air pressure

DUAL ELECTRIC POWER

INDICATOR, c.1940

from 60 to 200 knots (70-230 mph;

Indicator needle

Indicator needle

FLAP POSITION INDICATOR, c.1958

Inner airspeed scale from 210

to 350 knots (240-400 mph;

390-650 kph)

AIRSPEED INDICATOR, 1930-1950

Outer casing

Hole for panel mounting

Oil pressure gauge

Control column

Cable to starboard aileron

Pilot's seat

17

trim tab

flying boats

Modern seaplanes have two large floats Some early

seaplanes had an additional tail float, or a large

Due to the lack of adequate runways, flying

until the end of World WarII Both types

of marine aircraft were also used for

dropping torpedoes, bombing,

reconnaissance, and transport Today

they are used mainly for racing and

stretching from fin to

bracing

strut

MACCI1I M59 RACING SEAPLANE, 192(>

Aileron control cable

Bristol Pegasus

nine-cylinder radial engine

variable-pitch propeller

Stabilizing wingtip float

Iiewing hatch for

aircraft were biplanes, with two

metal framework covered with fabric I """T""

or, sometimes, plywood Such aircraft were ^.Static discharge wick

unpressurized — cabin that carried a maximum of 10 people The passengers

effects of prolonged noise, were often required During the 1930s, all-metal

monoplanes, such as the Lockheed Electra shown here, became widespread.

Their streamlined design, more powerful engines, and pressurized

Fuel-jettison

valve

Split flap in

landing position

however, resulted in enough

landplanes to become

standard on all major

airline routes.

Cockpit windshield

Cockpit

door panel

Forward bulkhead lower panel

SIDE VIEW OF LOCKHEED

ELECTRA, 1934

\ose Propeller pitch-change

Main landing gear^

Aluminum wheel Mudguard Metal-skinned wing

Interior cabin trim for

cabin and luggage hold

Seat cushion

PORT KNOIIME COWLS

Fixed

WM

Inspection door

Aluminum riveted skin

flush-Port trim

,Ventilator exit

Swiveling rubber-tired tailwheel

Aircraft registration code

i Propeller hub

spinner

o

120° cowl segment

120° cowl panel

latch

21

World War II

aircraft

monoplanes Aircraft played a far

during World War II than ever before

The wide range of aircraft duties and the

systems put pressure on designers to improve

aircraft performance The main areas of

engine power Bombers became larger

and more powerful — converting from

two to four engines — in order to

Some aircraft increased their range by using drop tanks

(fuel tanks that were jettisoned when empty to reduce

Hawker Tempest shown here had a maximum speed of

capable of catching the German jet-powered VI "flying bomb."

aircraft, the Gloster Meteor fighter, and Germany had

introduced the fastest fighter in the world, the turbojet-powered

(454 kg)

bomb

Navigator's seat

gun turret

PORT WING NDERSIDE

ITiF radio whip antenna

Elevator hinge

Starboard

elevator

Elevator control

Flat, bulletproof \Armored

windshield seat back

Gyroscopic

gunsight

Plastic cockpit canopy

Cockpit front Cockpit center Tail band

belly panel belly panel

RAF

Cl-type roundel

Rear spar

Port

Cockpit rear belly panel

Wing fillet panel

Wing

front fillet panel

Outboard ammunition

Trailing edge

TAIL

Trailing edge

Cockpit port access panel

the first powered flights The engine used in the

1903 Wright Flyer (see pp 8-9) for the first recorded

had built their own engine and, although it worked,

system that created a spark by pulling apart two p ate

Seguin brothers built the first rotary engine, the Gnome.

motion of rotary engines could cause aircraft to pull to one side,

and so by 1918 these engines were being replaced by two other

line (in-line) or in a V-shape (like the V12 Kestrel shown here).

Main crankpin

bolt

Holler bearing Induction pipe for

fuel/air mixture

Crankcase

Connecting rod (con-rod)

Inlet valve Air-cooling fins

on cylinder

Crankshaft ball-bearing

14-CYLINDER RADIAL ENGINE, 1931

A ir-co o ling fins

Fuel transfer port

hub Crankcase

Spark plug Tube enclosing

valve push-rod

Gas-tight piston ring

480-111' ROLLS-ROYCE KESTREL VI2 WATER-COOLED ENGINE, c.1952

Rear water-jacketed

inlet manifold

I aire cover Air-intake

Italer pipe between

pump and cylinder

Piston Cylinder barrel

THREE-CYLINDER ENGINE

Exhaust manifold

Torsional vibration

are used mainly to power the

and ultralights, as well as

small helicopters, and

heavier aircraft are now powered by jet engines.

Modern piston aircraft engines work on the

used by the Wright brothers in the

first powered flight in 1903.

However, today's engines

For example, modern drive

aircraft engines may use a flange

two-stroke or a four-stroke

combustion cycle; they may

have from one to nine air- or

may be arranged horizontally,

in-line, in V formation or radially; and they

or through a reduction gearbox One of the more

unconventional types of modern aircraft engine is the

shaped like a fat figure-eight ROTOR AND HOUSINGS OF A MID WEST SINGLE-ROTOR ENGINE

housing

Propeller

bolt hole Propeller

Exhaust

tract

MID WEST 90-111' TWIN-ROTOR ENGINE

Electric cable

over exhaust port

Lower rubber anti-vibration engine mount

Drive gear

Front bearing

Flywheel retaining thread

Starter-ring teeth Oil seal spacer ring

!

Tip seal groove

Botor-gear

teeth

H

Wings Aluminum-skinned

leading edge

ALL AIRCRAFT EXCEPT RALLOONS AND AIRSHIPS rely on wings to fly Even the

Riveted

trailing edge, are moved down to increase lift during takeoff, climbing, and

descent and to increase lift and drag during the landing approach Slats, Fixed

aircraft from stalling The Handley Page Gugnunc

shown here was one of the first aircraft to combine WING SKELETON OF A BRISTOL FIGHTER, 1917

with a skin made of metal or of a

composite material such as Alt I I I I f

carbon fiber Wings on large

aircraft may carry fuel Main n

Leading

edge

WING RIB OF A BRISTOL FIGHTER, 1917

\Strengthening junction gusset

Stringer and

fuel tank breather pipe

Lower rib boundary member

OUTBOARD WING FRAME OF A

VICKERS WELLINGTON 1A, 1959

Tank inspection Fuel filler

WING STRUCTURE OF AN ARV SUPER 2 MODERN LIGHT AIRCRAFT

Retracted

slat recess

Aileron Aileron

aft rib spar

registration letters

Varnished fabric

Aileron

Aileron hinge

Trailing edge

Access to

control bellcrank Flap hinge

PRESSURIZED FUSELAGE OF A MODERN JETLINER

Electrical wiring loom

wooden-framed, fabric-skinned fuselages were soon

covered only the nose and cockpit During the 1920s

covered with a metal skin or with metal and wooden

streamlined surface The Vickers Wellington

shown here has an unusual fuselage frame

maintain normal air pressure inside the aircraft so that

the passengers can breathe while the aircraft is flying at

high altitudes, where the external air pressure is extremely

expansion and contraction under varying external

air pressures while remaining

Reflective

insulating/oil

Seal rail

Transverse floor beam

Fuselage nose ring Geodetic metal structure Platform for pilot's seat, flight controls,

and control console

Lower

longeron Navigator

and roof of

bomb bar

Bomb

bay forward bulkhead

Copilot's

folded

seat fail plum

covered with doped

fuselage bracing wire

Rubber bungee

shock absorber

I~-stnit

Insertion point for

lifting bar

Stern post

Stern frame

Tail control wires (disconnected)

Wooden

stringer

Rubber-tired tailwheel

31

Landing gear

the ground, and absorbs shocks to enable

aircraft used wire wheels, wooden struts to

brace them to the fuselage, and, usually, a simple skid beneath the tail.

As aircraft became heavier and faster, pressed-steel wheels, metal legs,

sprung shock absorbers, and fluid dampers came into use During the

flight With the introduction of large, heavy jetliners, multiwheel landing

Latch lock spring

Modern jetliners 1

MODERN JETLINERS HAVE ENABLED ordinary people to travel to places where

Tr z?~rrzi ]wia£» •"* once only the wealthy could afford to go Compared with the first jetliners (which

were introduced in the 1940s), modern jetliners are much quieter, burn fuel more

bae 146 jetliner efficiently, and produce less air pollution These advances are largely due to the

replacement of turbojet engines with turbofan engines (see pp 42-43) The greater power of turbofan engines

at low speeds enables modern jetliners to carry more fuel and passengers than turbojet aircraft; a modern Boeing 747-400 (popularly known as a "jumbo jet") can fly 400 people for 8,500 miles (13,700 km) without needing to refuel Jetliners fly at high altitudes, typically cruising at 26,000-36,000 ft (8,000-11,000 m), where

they can use fuel efficiently and usually avoid bad weather The pilot always controls the aircraft

during takeoff and landing, but at other times the

Nose cowling

aircraft is usually controlled by an

onboard mechanisms that detect

to the flight controls Flight decks

are also equipped with radar that

discharge indicator

Oil-Juler door

Push-in doorfor

hand-held fire extinguisher

Fan duct nozzle Core-engine

jet pipe

STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS

OF A BAE 146 JETLINER Oil-filler door for

integrated-drive generator

door frame

service connector