One of these following facts about aeroplanes should give you much information about what aeroplane is. Most of you must have once flown in an aeroplane. However, do you know what aeroplane is and when was it discovered? Aeroplane 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. To get to know more about it, here are some facts about aeroplanes you might like to know.

Facts about aeroplanes 1: Food

Airports are extremely strict on regulations and safety, and although the premade meals are much safer than if they were made on board, there is still a risk for food related illness. For this reason, most airlines have their pilots eat different meals. This minimizes the threat because if one meal is contaminated, it is highly unlikely that the other is, ensuring the safety of at least one pilot.

Facts about aeroplanes 2: Crocodile on the Plane

Facts about aeroplanes 3: Term

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.

Facts about aeroplanes 4: Antecedents

Many stories from antiquity involve flight, such as the Greek legend of Icarus and Daedalus, and the Vimana in ancient Indian epics. Around 400BC 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).This machine may have been suspended for its flight.

Facts about aeroplanes 5: Early Powered Flights

The Wright brothers flights in 1903 are recognized by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), the standard setting and record-keeping body for aeronautics, as “the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight”.By 1905, the Wright Flyer III was capable of fully controllable, stable flight for substantial periods.

Facts about aeroplanes 6: Development of Jet Aircraft

The first ‘operational’ jet aircraft was the German Heinkel He 178, which was tested in 1939. In 1943, the Messerschmitt Me 262, the first ‘operational’ jet fighter aircraft, went into service in the German Luttwaffe. In October 1947, the Bell X-1 was the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound.

Facts about aeroplanes 7: Propeller Engines

Smaller and older propeller planes make use of reciprocating engines to turn a propeller to create thrust. The amount of thrust a propeller creates is determined by its disk area – the area in which the blades rotate. If the area is too small, efficiency is poor, and if the area is large, the propeller must rotate at a very low speed to avoid going supersonic and creating a lot of noise, and not much thrust.

Facts about aeroplanes 8: Electric Engines

An electric aircraft runs on electric motors rather than internal combustion engines, with electricity coming from fuel cells, ultracapacitors, power beaming, or batteries. Currently, flying electric aircraft are mostly experimental prototypes, including manned and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Facts about aeroplanes 9: Airframe

The structural parts of a fixed-wing aircraft are called the airframe. The parts present can vary according to the aircraft’s type and purpose. Early types were usually made of wood with fabric wing surfaces, When engines became available for powered flight around a hundred years ago, their mounts were made of metal.

Facts about aeroplanes 10: Wing Structure

Airplanes have flexible wing surfaces which are stretched across a frame and made rigid by the lift forces exerted by the airflow over them. Larger aircraft have rigid wing surfaces which provide additional strength.

Hope you would find those aeroplanes facts really interesting, useful, and helpful for your additional reading.