Assembly And Rigging

Front 1

Airfoil

Back 1

Lift producing surfaces of an aircraft, such as the wings of an airplane or the rotor of a helicopter, having aerodynamic efficient shape.

Front 2

Angle of Attack

Back 2

The angle between the chord line of the airfoil and the direction of the relative wind.

Front 3

Truss

Back 3

Uses stunts and wire braced wings.

Front 4

Monocoque

Back 4

A stressed skin type of construction in which the stiffness of the skin provides a large measure of the strength of the structure.

Front 5

Rib

Back 5

The structural member of an airfoil that gives it the desired aerodynamic shape.

Front 6

Spar

Back 6

The main, or principle, span wide structural members of a wing or other airfoil.

Front 7

Semi monocoque

Back 7

A stressed skin structure in which the skin is supported by a light weight framework to provide extra rigidity.

Front 8

Former

Back 8

A frame of light wood or metal that attaches to the fuselage or wing in order to provide the required aerodynamic shape.

Front 9

Elevon

Back 9

A control surface that combines the functions of both ailerons and elevators.

Front 10

Flutter

Back 10

The rapid and uncontrolled oscillation of a flight control resulting from an unbalanced surface.

Front 11

Drag wire

Back 11

A diagonal, load carrying member of a Pratt truss wing. Carries tensile loads that tend to drag back on the wing.

Front 12

Center of lift

Back 12

The resultant of all the centers of pressure of an airfoil.

Front 13

Cap Strip

Back 13

Extrusions former angles, or milled sections to which the web is attached. These members carry the loads caused by wing bending and also provide a foundations for attaching the skin.

Front 14

Speed brake

Back 14

A control system that extends from the airplane structure into the slipstream to produce drag and slow the airplane.

Front 15

Compression rib

Back 15

A heavy duty rib made with heavy caps and extra strength webs. It is designed to withstand compression loads between the wing spars.

Front 16

Anti drag wire

Back 16

A diagonal, load carrying member of a Pratt truss wing. Opposes tensile loads tending to pull forward on the wing.

Front 17

Anti servo tab

Back 17

A tab insert into the trailing edge of a stabilator that’s moves in the same direction as the trailing edge of the control surface.

Front 18

Cantilever

Back 18

A beam or other member that is supported at or near only one end, without external bracing.

Front 19

False rib

Back 19

Short, semi-rib extending from the spar to the leading edge of the wing. It is used to give rigidity and better shape to the leading edge of fabric covered wings.

Front 20

Ruddervator

Back 20

A pair of control surfaces on the tail of an aircraft arranged in the form of a “V”. When moved in the same direction vertically by the control wheel, serve as elevators. When moved in the same direction horizontally by the rudder pedals, they serve as a rudder.

Front 21

Downwash

Back 21

Air deflected perpendicular to the motion of the airfoil.

Front 22

Boundary layer

Back 22

The later of air between the surface of an object, such as an airfoil, and the free stream air.

Front 23

Control lock

Back 23

A device that locks the control surfaces into a fixed position while the aircraft is parked.

Front 24

Gussett

Back 24

A small reinforcing member used to support the corners of a structure.

Front 25

Chemical Millimg

Back 25

A chemical etching process used to machine large sheets of metal.

Front 26

Rib stop doubler

Back 26

A type of repair modification to certain aircraft structures (primarily windows and doors) to address cracks that develop from the flexing of the aircraft structure due to cabin pressurization and depressurization.

Front 27

Shock induced separation

Back 27

Separation of the air from the surface of the wing due to the formation of a shock wave on top of the wing, causing loss of lift and reduced control effectiveness.

Front 28

Electrochemical milling

Back 28

A process that uses sodium hydroxide to remove shallow layers of aluminum material from large area aircraft components such as skin, panels, extruded parts and airframes. Also known as wet etching.

Front 29

Compression strut

Back 29

A brace that fits between two structural members. The members tend to move toward each other in compression.

Front 30

Stabilator

Back 30

A single piece, horizontal tail component that combines the function of a stabilizer and an elevator.

Front 31

Strut braced wing

Back 31

A type of wing installed on high-wing aircraft that uses b-struts for support and load distribution. These wings have provisions for adjusting both the dihedral angle and the incidence angle of the wing.

Front 32

Aileron drag

Back 32

A condition caused by the natural movement of the ailerons which the aileron that moves downward creates both more lift and more drag.

Front 33

Angle of incidence

Back 33

An angle formed between the chord line of the wing and the longitudinal axis of the airplane. Increasing the incidence angle washes out the wing in whereas decreasing this angle washes the wing out.

Front 34

Dihedral angle

Back 34

The positive acute angle between the lateral axis of an airplane and a line through the center of the wing or horizontal stabilizer to its outboard edge.

Front 35

V-strut

Back 35

A type of support strut on high wing aircraft that connects the underside of the wing to the fuselage just forward if the entry door or passenger compartment.

Front 36

Rudder aileron interconnect spring

Back 36

A spring connecting the control wheel to the rudder pedals and used to counteract yaw induced by aileron drag.

Front 37

Frise aileron

Back 37

An aileron having the nose portion projecting ahead of the hinge line. When the trailing edge of the aileron moves up, the nose projects below the wing’s lower surface and produces some parasite drag, decreasing the amount of adverse yaw.

Front 38

Full cantilever

Back 38

A type of wing on high wing aircraft in which all of the load is carried by the wing spar rather than the external bracing.

Front 39

Washing the wing in

Back 39

Increasing the angle of incidence of a wing.

Front 40

Washing out a wing

Back 40

Decreasing the angle of incidence of a wing.

Front 41

Negative stagger

Back 41

The placement of the wings of a biplane in which the leading edge of the lower wing is ahead of the leading edge of the upper wing.

Front 42

Wash in

Back 42

A condition of a wing in which a specific section, typically the outboard section has a greater angle of incidence when compared to another section.

Front 43

Non flexible cable

Back 43

A grouping of seven or 19 strands of solid wire performed into a helical or spiral shape. Can be used for straight runs where it does not pass over any pulleys.

Front 44

Extra flexible cable

Back 44

A type of control cable that has seven strands, each strand consisting of 19 separate wires. Extra flexible cables must change direction over small-diameter pulleys. Referred to as 7x19 cable.

Front 45

Positive stagger

Back 45

A design feature in biplanes in which the upper wing is formed of the lower wing.

Front 46

Gyroplane

Back 46

A rotorcraft whose rotors are not engine driven, except for initial starting, but are made to rotate by action of the air when the rotorcraft is moving, and whose means of propulsion, consulting usually of conventional propellers, is independent of the rotor system.

Front 47

Helicopter

Back 47

A rotorcraft that, for its horizontal motion, depends principally on its engine-driven rotors.

Front 48

Autorotational flow

Back 48

An aerodynamic force created by air coming up through the blades that causes an autogyro or helicopter rotor to turn when no power is supplied to it.

Front 49

Anti torque rotor

Back 49

I’m rotorcraft, a rotor turning in a plane perpendicular to that of the main rotor and parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage. It is used to control the torque of the main rotor and to provide movement about the yaw axis of the helicopter.

Front 50

Flapping hinge

Back 50

In rotorcraft, the hinge that permits the rotor blade to flap and thus balance the lift generated by the advancing and retreating blades.

Front 51

Flapping hinge

Back 51

In rotorcraft, the hinge that permits the rotor blade to flap and thus balance the lift generated by the advancing and retreating blades.

Front 52

Flapping

Back 52

In rotorcraft, the vertical movement of a blade about a flapping hinge.

Front 53

Flapping hinge

Back 53

In rotorcraft, the hinge that permits the rotor blade to flap and thus balance the lift generated by the advancing and retreating blades.

Front 54

Flapping

Back 54

In rotorcraft, the vertical movement of a blade about a flapping hinge.

Front 55

Lead lag hinge

Back 55

A design feature of a fully articulated rotor hub system a fore and aft movement of the Tory or blade along the plane of rotation.

Front 56

Drag hinge

Back 56

The hinge on a helicopter rotor blade parallel to the axis of rotation of the blade. It allows the blade to move back and forth on a horizontal plane, minimizing the blade vibrations.

Front 57

Drag hinge

Back 57

The hinge on a helicopter rotor blade parallel to the axis of rotation of the blade. It allows the blade to move back and forth on a horizontal plane, minimizing the blade vibrations.

Front 58

Lead lag

Back 58

The fire and aft movement of rotor blades in a fully articulated rotor blade system. Occurs when the blades move along the plane of rotation due to Coriolanus forces.