
Airplane | Definition, Types, Mechanics, & Facts | Britannica
Jan 22, 2025 · An airplane is any of a class of fixed-wing aircraft that is heavier than air, propelled by a screw propeller or a high-velocity jet, and supported by the dynamic reaction of the air against its wings. Learn more about the different types of airplanes as well as their construction.
airplane - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help
The term airplane, which is often shortened to plane, usually refers to any type of power-driven aircraft that has fixed wings and is heavier than air. An airplane moves through the air with the help of its engine and wings.
airplane - Students | Britannica Kids | Homework Help
That is exactly what an airplane is, a flying machine. An airplane is heavier than air and yet it flies. It does this by propelling itself through the air and by supporting itself on wings so shaped that the air flowing over them gives them lift.
Airplane - Civil Aviation, Design, Flight | Britannica
Jan 22, 2025 · Airplane - Civil Aviation, Design, Flight: All nonmilitary planes are civil aircraft. These include private and business planes and commercial airliners. Private aircraft are personal planes used for pleasure flying, often single-engine monoplanes with nonretractable landing gear.
Airplane - Jet, Propeller, Glider | Britannica
Jan 22, 2025 · Airplane - Jet, Propeller, Glider: There are a number of ways to identify aircraft by type. The primary distinction is between those that are lighter than air and those that are heavier than air.
Development and components of airplanes | Britannica
airplane, Fixed-wing aircraft that is heavier than air, propelled by a screw propeller or a high-velocity jet, and supported by the dynamic reaction of the air against its wings. An airplane’s essential components are the body or fuselage, a flight-sustaining wing system, stabilizing tail surfaces, altitude-control devices such as rudders, a ...
Plane Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary
PLANE meaning: 1 : a vehicle that has wings and an engine and can carry people or things in the air airplane often used before another noun; 2 : a flat or level surface that extends outward like a sheet
Plane tree | Leaves, Bark, Shade | Britannica
Plane tree, any of the 10 species of the genus Platanus, the only genus of the family Platanaceae. These large trees are native in North America, eastern Europe, and Asia and are characterized by scaling bark; large, deciduous, usually palmately lobed leaves; and globose heads of …
U-2 | Facts, Plane, History, & Incident | Britannica
Mar 13, 2025 · U-2, single-seat, high-altitude jet flown by the United States for intelligence gathering, surveillance, and reconnaissance. Perhaps the most famous spy plane ever built, the U-2, also known as the Dragon Lady, has been in service since 1956. A prototype flew in 1955, and the last plane in the series was built in 1989.
Plane wave | physics | Britannica
A discussion of sound waves and their propagation can begin with an examination of a plane wave of a single frequency passing through the air. A plane wave is a wave that propagates through space as a plane, rather than as a sphere…