Drawing an airplane takes a lot of time not only for children, but also for adults. Drawing small details, straight geometric lines and the correct slope are only part of what should be taken into account when creating an amateur painting. Therefore, in order not to be disappointed in the final result and lose a lot of time on creativity, in today’s article we offer our readers a step-by-step master class with photo instructions and recommendations. This approach will help you draw an airplane drawing in pencil, if not the first time, then the second or third time.

Below in the article you can find drawing lessons not only for passenger aircraft, but also for military and old aircraft. As an idea for your drawing, it is proposed to use templates for sketching, step-by-step master classes, and, of course, your imagination.

The simplest pencil drawings of airplanes

A pencil drawing of an airplane for children and adult beginners represents a base, somewhat similar to the tip of a spear, connected to two wings and a tail. On the ship itself there should be a highlighted porthole, and under it the engine.

After the outline of the aircraft is drawn, it is necessary to give it additional volume. To do this, you should use darkening, and only then move on to coloring with colored pencils.

The finished plane can be given as a gift to your parents or kept for yourself as a reminder of your first drawing lesson in this direction.


Passenger airplane pencil drawing

This airplane drawing can be classified as complex due to the use of multiple parts and lines. Therefore, if this drawing is chosen as an example for sketching, it should only be for adults or at least teenagers.

  • Stage 1

Prepare the necessary attributes for drawing: two simple pencils with hard and soft leads, an eraser, several white sheets of A4 paper (just in case the drawing doesn’t work out the first time), colored pencils for coloring.

  • Stage 2

Unfold the white sheet of paper horizontally. Draw the base in the form of an oval, draw a line inside it. At the right base, draw two straight lines, like the beginning of the tail, and at the left, a small oval or sketch of the right engine.

  • Stage 3

Referring to the photo below, draw a line in the area of ​​the tail and wings of the plane.

  • Stage 4

Draw the wing of a passenger plane on one side, leaving the background unchanged.

  • 5th floor

Add the necessary small details to the drawing, without which the aircraft cannot be complete. Windows, porthole, etc.

  • Stage 6

Apply shading and paint in the color you like.

Military aircraft pencil drawing

Drawing military equipment is also not easy, so before you start drawing, artists recommend carefully reviewing the step-by-step lesson. This will help to visually represent the step-by-step work, without missing a single small detail.

Attached in the photo below is a lesson offering two options for a military aircraft. The first one is based on five pictures, the other one is based on four.


Airplane drawing in pencil for children for sketching + photo lessons:



All boys love to play with cars, trains and other equipment. Anyone who enjoys doing artistic work may be interested in how to draw an airplane, steam locomotive, helicopter or tank. Using step-by-step methods for creating an image, decomposing a complex shape into several simple ones, you can easily complete any task.

How to Draw an Airplane for Kids

When choosing a sample to complete a task, you need to proceed from the level of training of the novice artist. Any object can be depicted flat (side view) or in volume, building a perspective. For schoolchildren and kindergarten children, the most basic picture with a minimum of details will be enough. The main thing is that the shape matches the real object. So, follow these steps:

1. Outline the general outline.

2. Add wings and tail elements.

3. Remove unnecessary lines.

4. Add realism with details.

How to draw an airplane step by step in volume

The second example is more difficult to perform, but the result looks much more realistic. To construct any shape, you can use the method of perspective or projection. In the first case, the parallel lines in the picture converge into one point on the horizon line, but in the second, they do not. Try to learn a simpler method - creating an image with parallel lines. This method is used in school drawing courses. So, in order to learn how to draw an airplane in volume, you first need to correctly perform auxiliary constructions. Your actions should be as follows:

1. Draw two intersecting axes as shown in the picture. Parallel to them, make the base of the rectangular part of the body. Bring the guides of the tail element to one point. Here all constructions will be geometric. Once you understand how to create this shape, rounding the edges is easy.

2. From the resulting corners, draw down the vertical edges of the object. Perform a tapered back. Approximately in the center of the resulting object, build a cabin.

3. Detail the image: add tail blades, wings, struts, landing gear.

4. Draw a propeller. A simplified picture of an airplane is ready.

Now you know how to draw an airplane in two ways. Choose any one that you find most simple and convenient for yourself. The resulting linear diagram can be used to perform work in watercolor, pencil, pen, or even as a basis for applique or plasticine relief.

Flight illusion

If you want to learn how to draw an airplane in motion, read and follow some simple tips:

1. Try to do the object diagonally, giving the impression of moving upward.

2. Position the image correctly on the sheet. More free space should be left in the direction where the plane is heading. This creates the illusion of the object moving. Our eyes are accustomed to perceiving text, reading from left to right, so the image enters the brain in the same way. It is better to make the tail part on the left side of the sheet, enhancing the effect of the perception of flight.

How to color a picture

Now you've learned how to draw an airplane step by step, but you might want to make more realistic drawings. They can be obtained using colored materials such as watercolors, gouache, pastels, wax crayons, felt-tip pens, and colored pencils. It's interesting to combine several techniques.

It is better for beginning artists not to try to completely fill the sheet with color. When the shade of the space behind the main subject is incorrectly selected, the main object will most likely get lost and merge with the background. If a child asks about how to draw a plane against a blue sky, this should be done very carefully. Having shown a bright shade along the contour of the object, you need to make a gradual transition to a white background towards the edges of the sheet. Another simple option is to take light blue tinted paper and paint the body of the aircraft with white gouache or pastel.

So, you have learned how to draw airplanes with a pencil. Regardless of the complexity of the image, the sequence of actions will be approximately the same in each case. By breaking down each object into its simple elements and drawing them step by step, you can make any illustration.

Now we will look at how to draw a military aircraft from the game “War Thunder”, and also draw the War Thunder icon (logo) with a pencil step by step. The drawing will not be at all complicated and will contain the plot of an attack on an airplane, military operations in the sky.

This is what the creation should look like.

Here is a screenshot from the game.

Using two lines we determine the direction of flight, the length of the aircraft and wings, and begin to draw the body. Click on images to enlarge.

Wings and tail of an airplane.

Draw the cockpit and propeller.

As a number, roughly draw a person in the cockpit, then the visible cannons under the wings. In the distance there are two attacking aircraft, as you can see they are not drawn at all, but only their silhouettes are drawn. Well, of course, we also draw traces of shells. You can, like the original, also draw traces of shells and war paint, but this is on your own.

This is what should happen. The next step is to look at the War Thunder badge.

Since, probably, only the word WAR from the logo confuses you, we will consider only drawing it; you will draw the word THUNDER yourself.

Take a piece of paper in a box, and we will draw on it accordingly. The word WAR took us two squares of 10 cells, well, another 1.5 on the left. Take a ruler, count the cells and draw the letters as shown.

Now in the middle of the letter “A” we draw the silhouette of an airplane, and in the “W” we draw the hull of a ship.

Erase all the side lines bordering the objects. We draw a silhouette of a tank with a star in the letter “R” and a silhouette of a mast with guns of a warship in the letter “W”.

The invention of the airplane made it possible not only to fulfill mankind's oldest dream - to conquer the sky, but also to create the fastest mode of transport. Unlike hot air balloons and airships, airplanes are little dependent on the vagaries of the weather and are capable of covering long distances at high speed. The components of the aircraft consist of the following structural groups: wing, fuselage, empennage, takeoff and landing devices, power plant, control systems, and various equipment.

Operating principle

An airplane is a heavier-than-air aircraft equipped with a power plant. With the help of this most important part of the aircraft, the thrust necessary for flight is created - the active (driving) force that is developed on the ground or in flight by a motor (propeller or jet engine). If the propeller is located in front of the engine, it is called a pulling propeller, and if behind it, it is called a pushing propeller. Thus, the engine creates forward motion of the aircraft relative to the environment (air). Accordingly, the wing also moves relative to the air, which creates lift as a result of this translational movement. Therefore, the device can stay in the air only if there is a certain flight speed.

What are the parts of an airplane called?

The body consists of the following main parts:

  • The fuselage is the main body of the aircraft, connecting the wings (wing), tail surfaces, power system, landing gear and other components into a single whole. The fuselage houses the crew, passengers (in civil aviation), equipment, and payload. It can also (not always) accommodate fuel, chassis, engines, etc.
  • Engines are used to propel an aircraft.
  • A wing is a working surface designed to create lift.
  • The vertical tail is designed for controllability, balancing and directional stability of the aircraft relative to the vertical axis.
  • The horizontal tail is designed for controllability, balancing and directional stability of the aircraft relative to the horizontal axis.

Wings and fuselage

The main part of the aircraft structure is the wing. It creates the conditions for fulfilling the main requirement for the possibility of flight - the presence of lifting force. The wing is attached to the body (fuselage), which can have one shape or another, but with minimal aerodynamic drag if possible. To do this, it is given a conveniently streamlined drop-shaped shape.

The front part of the aircraft houses the cockpit and radar systems. In the rear part there is the so-called tail unit. It serves to ensure controllability during flight.

Empennage design

Let's consider an average aircraft, the tail section of which is made according to the classical design, characteristic of most military and civilian models. In this case, the horizontal tail will include a fixed part - the stabilizer (from the Latin Stabilis, stable) and a movable part - the elevator.

The stabilizer serves to stabilize the aircraft relative to the transverse axis. If the nose of the aircraft goes down, then, accordingly, the rear part of the fuselage, together with the tail, will rise up. In this case, the air pressure on the upper surface of the stabilizer will increase. The pressure created will return the stabilizer (and, accordingly, the fuselage) to its original position. When the nose of the fuselage rises upward, the pressure of the air flow will increase on the lower surface of the stabilizer, and it will return to its original position. This ensures automatic (without pilot intervention) stability of the aircraft in its longitudinal plane relative to the transverse axis.

The rear of the aircraft also includes a vertical tail. Similar to the horizontal one, it consists of a fixed part - the keel, and a movable part - the rudder. The fin gives stability to the movement of the aircraft relative to its vertical axis in the horizontal plane. The principle of operation of the keel is similar to the action of a stabilizer - when the nose is deflected to the left, the keel deviates to the right, the pressure on its right plane increases and returns the keel (and the entire fuselage) to its previous position.

Thus, relative to two axes, flight stability is ensured by the tail. But there is one more axis left - the longitudinal one. To provide automatic stability of movement relative to this axis (in the transverse plane), the glider wing consoles are placed not horizontally, but at a certain angle relative to each other so that the ends of the consoles are deflected upward. This placement resembles the letter "V".

Control systems

Control surfaces are important parts of an aircraft designed for control. These include ailerons, rudders and elevators. Control is provided relative to the same three axes in the same three planes.

The elevator is the movable rear part of the stabilizer. If the stabilizer consists of two consoles, then, accordingly, there are two elevators that deflect down or up, both synchronously. With its help, the pilot can change the flight altitude of the aircraft.

The rudder is the movable rear part of the keel. When it is deflected in one direction or another, an aerodynamic force arises on it, which rotates the aircraft relative to a vertical axis passing through the center of mass, in the opposite direction from the direction of deflection of the rudder. Rotation occurs until the pilot returns the steering wheel to the neutral (not deflected) position, and the aircraft will move in a new direction.

Ailerons (from the French Aile, wing) are the main parts of the aircraft, which are the moving parts of the wing consoles. They are used to control the aircraft relative to the longitudinal axis (in the transverse plane). Since there are two wing consoles, there are also two ailerons. They work synchronously, but, unlike elevators, they deviate not in one direction, but in different directions. If one aileron moves up, the other moves down. On the wing console, where the aileron is deflected upward, the lift force decreases, and where it is deflected downward, it increases. And the fuselage of the aircraft rotates towards the raised aileron.

Engines

All aircraft are equipped with a power plant that allows them to develop speed and, therefore, provide lift. Engines can be located in the rear of the aircraft (typical for jet aircraft), in the front (light-engine aircraft) and on the wings (civil aircraft, transport aircraft, bombers).

They are divided into:

  • Jet - turbojet, pulsating, double-circuit, direct-flow.
  • Screw - piston (propeller), turboprop.
  • Rocket - liquid, solid fuel.

Other systems

Of course, other parts of the aircraft are also important. The landing gear allows you to take off and land from equipped airfields. There are amphibious aircraft where special floats are used instead of landing gear - they allow take-off and landing in any place where there is a body of water (sea, river, lake). There are known models of light aircraft equipped with skis for operation in areas with stable snow cover.

Stuffed with electronic equipment, communication and information transfer devices. Military aviation uses sophisticated weapons, target acquisition and signal jamming systems.

Classification

According to their purpose, aircraft are divided into two large groups: civil and military. The main parts of a passenger aircraft are distinguished by the presence of an equipped passenger compartment, which occupies most of the fuselage. A distinctive feature is the portholes on the sides of the hull.

Civil aircraft are divided into:

  • Passenger - local airlines, long-haul short-haul (range less than 2000 km), medium (range less than 4000 km), long-haul (range less than 9000 km) and intercontinental (range more than 11,000 km).
  • Cargo - light (cargo weight up to 10 tons), medium (cargo weight up to 40 tons) and heavy (cargo weight more than 40 tons).
  • Special purpose - sanitary, agricultural, reconnaissance (ice reconnaissance, fish reconnaissance), fire fighting, for aerial photography.
  • Educational.

Unlike civilian models, parts of military aircraft do not have a comfortable cabin with windows. The main part of the fuselage is occupied by weapons systems, equipment for reconnaissance, communications, engines and other units.

According to their purpose, modern military aircraft (taking into account the combat missions they perform) can be divided into the following types: fighters, attack aircraft, bombers (missile carriers), reconnaissance aircraft, military transport aircraft, special purpose aircraft and auxiliary aircraft.

Airplane structure

The design of aircraft depends on the aerodynamic design according to which they are made. The aerodynamic design is characterized by the number of main elements and the location of the load-bearing surfaces. While the nose of an aircraft is similar for most models, the location and geometry of the wings and tail can vary greatly.

The following aircraft design schemes are distinguished:

  • "Classical".
  • "Flying Wing"
  • "Duck".
  • "Tailless."
  • "Tandem".
  • Convertible circuit.
  • Combined scheme.

Airplanes made according to the classical design

Let's look at the main parts of the aircraft and their purpose. The classic (normal) layout of components and assemblies is typical for most devices in the world, be they military or civilian. The main element - the wing - operates in a pure undisturbed flow, which smoothly flows around the wing and creates a certain lift force.

The nose of the aircraft is reduced, which leads to a reduction in the required area (and therefore the mass) of the vertical tail. This is because the nose of the fuselage causes a destabilizing moment about the aircraft's vertical axis. The reduction of the forward fuselage improves visibility of the forward hemisphere.

The disadvantages of the normal scheme are:

  • The operation of the horizontal tail (HE) in a canted and disturbed wing flow significantly reduces its efficiency, which necessitates the use of a larger surface area (and, consequently, mass).
  • To ensure flight stability, the vertical tail (VT) must create a negative lift force, that is, directed downward. This reduces the overall efficiency of the aircraft: from the amount of lift that the wing creates, it is necessary to subtract the force that is created by the lift. To neutralize this phenomenon, a wing of increased area (and, consequently, mass) should be used.

Airplane structure according to the "duck" scheme

With this design, the main parts of the aircraft are placed differently than in the “classic” models. First of all, the changes affected the layout of the horizontal tail. It is located in front of the wing. The Wright brothers built their first airplane using this design.

Advantages:

  • The vertical tail works in an undisturbed flow, which increases its efficiency.
  • To ensure stable flight, the tail creates positive lift, which means it adds to the lift of the wing. This allows you to reduce its area and, accordingly, weight.
  • Natural “anti-spin” protection: the possibility of moving the wings to supercritical angles of attack for “ducks” is excluded. The stabilizer is installed so that it receives a greater angle of attack compared to the wing.
  • The movement of the aircraft's focus backwards as speed increases with the canard configuration occurs to a lesser extent than with the classic configuration. This leads to smaller changes in the degree of longitudinal static stability of the aircraft, in turn, simplifies its control characteristics.

Disadvantages of the "duck" scheme:

  • When the flow on the tails is disrupted, not only does the aircraft reach lower angles of attack, but it also “sags” due to a decrease in its overall lift force. This is especially dangerous during takeoff and landing modes due to the proximity of the ground.
  • The presence of fin mechanisms in the forward part of the fuselage impairs the visibility of the lower hemisphere.
  • To reduce the area of ​​the front GO, the length of the forward part of the fuselage is made significant. This leads to an increase in the destabilizing moment relative to the vertical axis, and, accordingly, to an increase in the area and weight of the structure.

Airplanes made according to the “tailless” design

Models of this type do not have an important, familiar part of the aircraft. Photos of tailless aircraft (Concorde, Mirage, Vulcan) show that they do not have horizontal tail. The main advantages of this scheme are:

  • Reducing frontal aerodynamic drag, which is especially important for aircraft with high speed, in particular cruising speed. At the same time, fuel costs are reduced.
  • Greater torsional rigidity of the wing, which improves its aeroelasticity characteristics, and achieves high maneuverability characteristics.

Flaws:

  • To balance in some flight modes, part of the mechanization of the trailing edge and control surfaces must be deflected upward, which reduces the overall lifting force of the aircraft.
  • The combination of aircraft controls relative to the horizontal and longitudinal axes (due to the absence of an elevator) worsens its controllability characteristics. The lack of specialized tail surfaces forces the control surfaces to be located on the trailing edge of the wing, performing (if necessary) the duties of both ailerons and elevators. These control surfaces are called elevons.
  • The use of some mechanical aids to balance the aircraft worsens its takeoff and landing characteristics.

"Flying Wing"

With this design, there is actually no such part of the aircraft as the fuselage. All volumes necessary to accommodate the crew, payload, engines, fuel, and equipment are located in the middle of the wing. This scheme has the following advantages:

  • Lowest aerodynamic drag.
  • Lowest weight of the structure. In this case, the entire mass falls on the wing.
  • Since the longitudinal dimensions of the aircraft are small (due to the absence of a fuselage), the destabilizing moment relative to its vertical axis is insignificant. This allows designers to either significantly reduce the area of ​​the airbox or abandon it altogether (birds, as is known, do not have vertical plumage).

The disadvantages include the difficulty of ensuring aircraft flight stability.

"Tandem"

The “tandem” scheme, when two wings are located one behind the other, is rarely used. This solution is used to increase the wing area with the same values ​​of its span and fuselage length. This reduces the specific load on the wing. The disadvantages of this scheme are the large increase in the moment of inertia, especially in relation to the transverse axis of the aircraft. In addition, as the flight speed increases, the longitudinal balancing characteristics of the aircraft change. The control surfaces on such aircraft can be located either directly on the wings or on the tail surfaces.

Combined scheme

In this case, the components of the aircraft can be combined using different structural schemes. For example, horizontal tail surfaces are provided in both the nose and tail of the fuselage. They can use so-called direct lift control.

In this case, the horizontal nose tail together with the flaps create additional lift. The pitching moment that occurs in this case will be aimed at increasing the angle of attack (the nose of the aircraft rises). To counter this moment, the tail unit must create a moment to reduce the angle of attack (the nose of the aircraft lowers). To do this, the force on the tail must also be directed upward. That is, there is an increase in lifting force on the nose cylinder, on the wing and on the tail cylinder (and, consequently, on the entire aircraft) without rotating it in the longitudinal plane. In this case, the plane simply rises without any evolution relative to its center of mass. And vice versa, with such an aerodynamic configuration of the aircraft, it can carry out evolutions relative to the center of mass in the longitudinal plane without changing the trajectory of its flight.

The ability to carry out such maneuvers significantly improves the tactical and technical characteristics of maneuverable aircraft. Especially in combination with a system of direct control of lateral force, for the implementation of which the aircraft must have not only a tail, but also a nose longitudinal empennage.

Convertible circuit

Built according to a convertible design, it is distinguished by the presence of a destabilizer in the forward part of the fuselage. The function of destabilizers is to reduce, within certain limits, or even completely eliminate the rearward displacement of the aerodynamic focus of the aircraft in supersonic flight conditions. This increases the maneuverability of the aircraft (which is important for a fighter aircraft) and increases the range or reduces fuel consumption (this is important for a supersonic passenger aircraft).

Destabilizers can also be used in takeoff/landing modes to compensate for the dive moment, which is caused by the deviation of the takeoff and landing mechanization (flaps, flaps) or the nose of the fuselage. In subsonic flight modes, the destabilizer is hidden in the middle of the fuselage or set to a weather vane mode (freely oriented along the flow).

Modern passenger and cargo transportation is simply impossible to imagine without airplanes. But behind the comfort and mobility of these “iron birds” there are decades of development and thousands of unsuccessful attempts. Aircraft design and construction are carried out by the best minds in the aircraft industry. The cost of a mistake in this field can be too high. Today we will plunge a little into the world of aircraft construction and find out what elements the aircraft structure consists of.

general characteristics

In the classic version, the aircraft is a glider (fuselage, wings, tail, engine nacelles), equipped with a power plant, landing gear and control systems. In addition, an integral part of modern aircraft is avionics (aviation electronics), designed to control all organs and systems of the aircraft and greatly simplify the fate of pilots.

There are other design schemes, but they are much less common and, as a rule, in military aircraft construction. So, for example, the B-2 bomber is designed according to the “flying wing” design. And the bright representative of aircraft manufacturing in Russia - the Mig-29 fighter - is made according to the “load-bearing design”. In it, the concept of “fuselage” is replaced by “hull”.

Depending on their purpose, aircraft are divided into two large groups: civil and military. Civilian models are divided into passenger, cargo, training and special-use vehicles.

Passenger versions differ in that most of their fuselage is occupied by a specially equipped cabin. Externally, they can be recognized by the large number of portholes. Passenger aircraft are divided into: local (fly at a distance of less than 2 thousand km); medium (2-4 thousand km); (distant 4-9 thousand km); and intercontinental (more than 11 thousand km).

Freight aircraft are: light (up to 10 tons of cargo), medium (10-40 tons of cargo) and heavy (more than 40 tons of cargo).

Special purpose aircraft can be: sanitary, agricultural, reconnaissance, fire fighting and intended for aerial photography.

Educational models, accordingly, are necessary for training novice pilots. Their design may lack auxiliary elements, such as passenger seats, etc. The same applies to the experimental versions that are used when testing new model aircraft.

Military aircraft, unlike civilian ones, they do not have a comfortable interior and windows. The entire fuselage space in them is occupied by weapons systems, reconnaissance equipment, communication systems and other units. Combat aircraft are divided into: fighters, bombers, attack aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, transport aircraft, as well as all kinds of special-purpose vehicles.

Fuselage

The fuselage of the aircraft is the main part that performs the load-bearing function. It is on this that all structural elements of the aircraft are attached. On the outside these are: wings with engine nacelles, tail and landing gear, and on the inside - the control cabin, technical rooms and communications, as well as a cargo or passenger compartment, depending on the type of vessel. The fuselage frame is assembled from longitudinal (spars and stringers) and transverse (frames) elements, which are subsequently sheathed with metal sheets. Light aircraft use plywood or plastic instead of metal.

Passenger cars can be narrow- and wide-body. In the first case, the cross-sectional diameter of the body is on average 2-3 meters, and in the second - from six meters. Wide-body aircraft usually have two decks: an upper one for passengers and a lower one for luggage.

When designing the fuselage, special attention is paid to the strength characteristics and weight of the structure. In this regard, the following measures take place:

  1. The shape of the aircraft is designed in such a way that the lifting force is maximum and the drag on air masses is minimal. The volume and dimensions of the machine must be ideally related to each other.
  2. To increase the useful volume of the body, the design provides for the most dense layout of the skin and load-bearing elements of the aircraft fuselage.
  3. They try to make the fastenings of the power plant, takeoff and landing elements and wing segments as simple and reliable as possible.
  4. Places for seating passengers and securing cargo or consumables are designed in such a way that, under different operating conditions of the aircraft, its balance remains within acceptable deviations.
  5. Crew accommodation must provide comfortable control of the aircraft, access to the main navigation instruments and maximum effective control in case of unforeseen situations.
  6. The aircraft is configured in such a way that when servicing it, technicians have the opportunity to easily diagnose the necessary components and assemblies of the aircraft and, if necessary, carry out their repairs.

The aircraft fuselage must be strong enough to withstand the loads encountered in various flight conditions, namely:

  1. Loads occurring at the attachment points of the main body elements (wings, tail, landing gear) during takeoff and landing.
  2. Aerodynamic loads arising during flight, taking into account the operation of units, inertial forces and the functioning of auxiliary equipment.
  3. Loads associated with pressure differences that occur during flight overloads in hermetically confined aircraft compartments.

Wing

An important structural element of any aircraft is the wings. They create the lift necessary for flight and allow maneuvering. In addition, the aircraft wing is used to accommodate the power unit, fuel tanks, attachments and takeoff and landing devices. The correct balance of weight, stiffness, strength, aerodynamics and workmanship of this structural element determines the proper flight and operational characteristics of the aircraft.

An airplane wing consists of the following parts:

  1. The hull, which consists of a frame (spars, stringers and ribs) and skin.
  2. Slats and flaps that allow an aircraft to take off and land.
  3. Interceptors and ailerons, with the help of which the pilot can change the direction of flight of the aircraft.
  4. Brake flaps that serve to stop the aircraft more quickly during landing.
  5. Pylons on which power units are mounted.

The wing is attached to the fuselage through the center section - an element connecting the right and left wings and partially passing through the fuselage. For low-wing aircraft, the center section is located in the lower part of the fuselage, and for high-wing aircraft - in the upper part. In combat vehicles it may be completely absent.

Fuel tanks are usually installed in the internal cavities of the wing (on large ships). For light fighter aircraft, additional fuel tanks can be suspended on special cantilever mounts.

Structural and power diagram of the wing

The structural power structure of the wing must provide resistance to shear, torsion and bending forces that arise during flight. Its reliability is determined by the use of a durable frame made of longitudinal and transverse elements, as well as durable cladding.

Longitudinal elements The wing frame is represented by spars and stringers. The spars are made in the form of a truss or a monolithic beam. They are placed throughout the entire internal volume of the wing at a certain interval. Spars impart rigidity to the structure and neutralize the effects of lateral and bending forces that arise at one or another stage of flight. Stringers play the role of a compensator for axial compression and tension forces. They also neutralize local aerodynamic loads and increase the rigidity of the skin.

Cross members The wing frame is represented by ribs. In this design they can be made in the form of trusses or thin beams. The ribs determine the profile of the wing and give its surface the rigidity necessary to distribute the load at the time of formation of the flight air cushion. They also serve for more reliable fastening of power units.

Sheathing not only gives the wing the necessary shape, but also provides maximum lift. Along with other frame elements, it increases the rigidity of the structure and neutralizes the impact of external loads.

Airplane wings may differ in design features and skin functionality. There are two main types:

  1. Spar. They are distinguished by a small thickness of the skin, which forms a closed contour with the ribs of the side members.
  2. Monoblock. The main amount of external load is distributed over the surface of a thick layer of sheathing, secured by a set of stringers. In this case, the cladding can be either monolithic or consist of several layers.

Speaking about the design of the wing, it is worth noting that its joining and subsequent fastening must be carried out in such a way that it ultimately ensures the transmission and distribution of torque and bending moments that may arise in different operating modes of aircraft.

Plumage

The tail of the aircraft allows you to change the trajectory of its movement. It can be tail or nasal (used less frequently). In most cases, the tail unit is represented by a vertical fin (or several fins, usually two of them) and a horizontal stabilizer, the design of which resembles a reduced-sized wing. Thanks to the fin, the directional stability of the aircraft is regulated, that is, stability along the axis of movement, and thanks to the stabilizer, longitudinal stability (along the pitch). The horizontal tail can be mounted on the fuselage or on top of the fins. The keel, in turn, is placed on the fuselage. There are different variations of the tail layout, but in most cases it looks like this.

Some military aircraft are additionally equipped with a nose tail. This is necessary to ensure proper directional stability at supersonic speeds.

Power plants

The engine is the most important element in the design of an aircraft, because without it the aircraft cannot even take off. The first planes flew for only a short time and could accommodate only one pilot. The reason for this is simple - low-power motors that do not allow developing sufficient traction force. In order for airplanes to learn how to transport hundreds of passengers and heavy loads, designers around the world had to work hard.

Over the entire evolution of the “iron birds”, many types of motors were used:

  1. Steam. The operating principle of such engines is based on the conversion of steam energy into movement, which is transmitted to the aircraft propeller. Since steam engines had a low efficiency, they were used by the aviation industry for only a short time.
  2. Piston. These are standard internal combustion engines, similar in design to car engines. The principle of their operation is to transfer thermal energy into mechanical energy. Ease of manufacture and availability of materials determine the use of such power plants on some aircraft models to this day. Despite their low efficiency (about 55%), these motors are somewhat popular due to their unpretentiousness and reliability.
  3. Reactive. Such motors convert the energy of intense fuel combustion into thrust necessary for flight. Today, jet engines are the most widely used in aircraft construction.
  4. Gas turbine. The operating principle of these engines is based on boundary heating and compression of fuel combustion gas aimed at rotating the turbine. They are used primarily in military types of aircraft.
  5. Turboprop. This is one of the subtypes of gas turbine engines. The difference is that the energy received during operation is converted into drive energy and rotates the aircraft propeller. A small part of the energy goes into the formation of a pushing jet stream. Such motors are used mainly in civil aviation.
  6. Turbofan. These engines are equipped with the injection of additional air necessary for complete combustion of the fuel, which makes it possible to achieve maximum efficiency and environmental friendliness of the power plant. Motors of this type are widely used in the construction of large airliners.

We got acquainted with the main types of aircraft engines. The list of engines that aircraft designers have ever tried to install on aircraft is not limited to the list considered. At different times, a lot of attempts were made to create all kinds of innovative power units. For example, in the last century, serious work was carried out to create nuclear aircraft engines, which did not take root due to the high environmental hazard in the event of a plane crash.

Typically, the engine is mounted on the wing or fuselage of an aircraft via a pylon, through which drives, fuel pipes, etc. are supplied to it. In this case, the engine is wrapped in a protective nacelle. There are also aircraft in which the power plant is located directly inside the fuselage. Aircraft can have from one (An-2) to eight (B-52) engines.

Control

The aircraft's controls are the complex of on-board equipment, as well as command and control devices. Commands are issued from the pilot's cabin and are carried out by elements of the wing and tail. Different aircraft may use different types of control systems: manual, automated and semi-automatic.

Regardless of the type of system, the working bodies are divided into main and additional.

Main control. Includes actions that are responsible for adjusting flight modes and restoring the ship's balance within predetermined parameters. The main control bodies include:

  1. Levers that are directly controlled by the pilot (elevators, horizon rudders, helm, command panels).
  2. Communications used to connect control levers to actuators.
  3. Actuating devices (stabilizers, ailerons, spoiler systems, wheel arch liners and flaps).

Additional control. Used only during takeoff and landing.

Regardless of whether manual or automatic control is implemented in the aircraft design, only the pilot can collect and analyze information about the state of the aircraft systems, load indicators and compliance of the trajectory with the plan. And most importantly, only he is able to make a decision that is most effective in the current situation.

Control

To read objective information about the state of the aircraft and the flight environment, the pilot uses instruments divided into several main groups:

  1. Aerobatics and navigation. They are used to determine the coordinates, vertical and horizontal position, speed and linear deviations of the aircraft. In addition, these devices monitor the aircraft's angle of attack, the operation of gyroscopic systems and other important flight parameters. On modern aircraft, these devices are presented in the form of a single flight and navigation system.
  2. Controlling the operation of the power plant. This group of instruments provides the pilot with data on oil temperature and pressure, fuel mixture consumption, crankshaft rotation speed, and vibration indicators.
  3. Devices for monitoring the operation of additional equipment and systems. This complex also consists of instruments, the sensors of which can be found in all elements of the aircraft structure. These include: pressure gauges, differential pressure indicators in pressurized cabins, flap position indicators, etc.
  4. Instruments for assessing the state of the environment. They are used to measure outdoor temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and other things.

All instruments that serve to monitor the condition of the aircraft and the external environment? adapt to work in any weather conditions.

Takeoff and landing systems

Takeoff and landing are quite complex and important stages of flight. They are inevitably associated with heavy loads on all structural elements. Acceptable acceleration to lift a multi-ton vessel into the sky and a soft touch of the runway during landing is ensured by a reliably designed takeoff and landing system (chassis). This system is also necessary for parking the car and steering it when driving around the airport.

The aircraft landing gear consists of a damper strut on which a wheeled trolley is mounted (in hydroplanes a float is used instead). The landing gear configuration depends on the weight of the aircraft. The most common options for takeoff and landing systems are:

  1. Two main struts and one front (A-320, Tu-154).
  2. Three main struts and one front (IL-96).
  3. Four main struts and one front strut (Boeing 747).
  4. Two main struts and two front ones (B-52).

Early aircraft had a pair of main struts and a rear rotating wheel without a strut (Li-2). The Il-62 model also had an unusual chassis design, which was equipped with one front strut, a pair of main struts and a retractable bar with a pair of wheels at the very tail. On the first aircraft, struts were not used at all, and the wheels were mounted on simple axles. A wheeled trolley can have from one (A-320) to seven (An-225) wheel pairs.

When the aircraft is on the ground, it is controlled by a drive equipped with the front landing gear. For ships with several engines, differentiation of the operating mode of the power plant can be used for these purposes. During the flight, the aircraft's landing gear is retracted into specially equipped compartments. This is necessary to reduce aerodynamic drag.