Parts of a Glider
Many people refer to unpowered aircraft as gliders. Today, however, these airplanes are more often called sailplanes when talking about sophisticated powerless flight. The difference is based on how the aircraft's movement is managed. In the case of a glider, the pilot alters the angle of incidence of the wing by moving her body to change the direction of the craft (in the case of a hang glider, for example.) In a sailplane, the pilot creates control inputs from the cockpit that move various control surfaces to create the same result.
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The Fuselage
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In French, the word fuselage is defined is a "spindle shaped" structure. The word was coined in 1909, probably by Lous Bleriot, the first aviator to fly from the continent of Europe to Britain. In engineering terms the word is defined as: "the complete central structure to which the wing, tail surfaces, and engines are attached on an airplane."
The Wings
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Webster's defines the word wings as "a pair of airfoils attached transversely to the fuselage of an aircraft and providing lift." These are curved horizontal components that balance dynamic pressures associated with low and high pressure. As the wings travel through the air lower speed and lower pressure is produced over the curved upper surface. Conversely, higher pressure is produced due to the higher speed of the lesser-curved lower surface. Together these dynamic forces balance the two pressures to create lift.
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The Rudder
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Webster's defines the the word rudder as: "a movable control surface attached to a vertical stabilizer, located at the rear of an airplane and used, along with the ailerons, to turn the airplane." This structure controls the yaw (left-right) of an aircraft by altering its angle of incidence.
The Elevator
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Webster's defines the word elevator as: "a hinged horizontal surface on an airplane or the like, used to control the longitudinal inclination and usually placed at the tail end of the fuselage." This structure controls the pitch (up-down) of an aircraft by altering its angle of incidence.
The Control Surfaces
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A sailplane (glider) utilizes the same control mechanisms as a powered airplane. As previously defined a rudder and an elevator are employed in addition to a pair of ailerons that are defined as; "movable surfaces, usually near the trailing edge of the wings, that control the roll of the airframe or effect roll maneuvers." However, additional control surfaces central to landing without power include "spoilers" and "slats."
The word spoiler in aeronautical terms is defined as: "a device used to break up the airflow around an aerodynamic surface to decrease the lift on the surface and, as a result, provide descent control." These wing surfaces "pop up" on top of the wing surfaces to induce drag and shorten the landing approach, and on certain types of high-performance sailplanes leading edge "slats" are also employed. These devices slide forward of the leading edge of the wings to produce better slow-speed stability.
Once the aircraft is released from its tow mechanism (this can be applied as either an aero-tow or by the use of a ground winch system) the pilot has full authority over its ability to turn, climb and/or descend by managing thermal convection.
Unpowered sailplanes (gliders) have produced significant distances and altitudes dating from the late 1930s. Today, according to the Soaring Society of America, the altitude record for a free flight off of an aero-tow is 50,721 feet, along with a distance record of 1,879 miles.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit An Unpowered Aircraft
