planes
An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a powered fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine or propeller. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectrum of uses for airplanes includes recreation, transportation of goods and people, military, and research.
Most airplanes are flown by a pilot on board the aircraft, but some are designed to be remotely or computer-controlled.
Etymology and usage
First attested in English in the late 19th century (prior to the first sustained powered flight), the word airplane, like aeroplane, derives from the French aéroplane, which comes from the Greek ἀήρ (aēr), "air"[1] and either Latin planus, "level",[2] or Greek πλάνος (planos), "wandering".[3][4] "Aéroplane" originally referred just to the wing, as it is a plane moving through the air.[5] In an example of synecdoche, the word for the wing came to refer to the entire aircraft.
In the United States and Canada, the term "airplane" is used for powered fixed-wing aircraft. In the United Kingdom and most of the Commonwealth, the term "aeroplane" is usually applied to these aircraft.
History
Main articles: Aviation history and First flying machine
Antecedents
Many stories from antiquity involve flight, such as the Greek legend of Icarus and Daedalus, and the Vimana in ancient Indian epics. Around 400 BC in Greece, Archytas was reputed to have designed and built the first artificial, self-propelled flying device, a bird-shaped model propelled by a jet of what was probably steam, said to have flown some 200 m (660 ft).[6][7] This machine may have been suspended for its flight.[8][9]
Some of the earliest recorded attempts with gliders were those by the 9th-century poet Abbas Ibn Firnas and the 11th-century monk Eilmer of Malmesbury; both experiments injured their pilots.[10] Leonardo da Vinci researched the wing design of birds and designed a man-powered aircraft in his Codex on the
Most airplanes are flown by a pilot on board the aircraft, but some are designed to be remotely or computer-controlled.
Etymology and usage
First attested in English in the late 19th century (prior to the first sustained powered flight), the word airplane, like aeroplane, derives from the French aéroplane, which comes from the Greek ἀήρ (aēr), "air"[1] and either Latin planus, "level",[2] or Greek πλάνος (planos), "wandering".[3][4] "Aéroplane" originally referred just to the wing, as it is a plane moving through the air.[5] In an example of synecdoche, the word for the wing came to refer to the entire aircraft.
In the United States and Canada, the term "airplane" is used for powered fixed-wing aircraft. In the United Kingdom and most of the Commonwealth, the term "aeroplane" is usually applied to these aircraft.
History
Main articles: Aviation history and First flying machine
Antecedents
Many stories from antiquity involve flight, such as the Greek legend of Icarus and Daedalus, and the Vimana in ancient Indian epics. Around 400 BC in Greece, Archytas was reputed to have designed and built the first artificial, self-propelled flying device, a bird-shaped model propelled by a jet of what was probably steam, said to have flown some 200 m (660 ft).[6][7] This machine may have been suspended for its flight.[8][9]
Some of the earliest recorded attempts with gliders were those by the 9th-century poet Abbas Ibn Firnas and the 11th-century monk Eilmer of Malmesbury; both experiments injured their pilots.[10] Leonardo da Vinci researched the wing design of birds and designed a man-powered aircraft in his Codex on the