Appendix A: Glossary

aerodynamic center: a point on an airfoil about which pitching moment is independent of angle of attack.
aerodynamic twist: a spanwise change in airfoil camber on a wing.
aerodynamics: the study of phenomena associated with flowing gases.
aeronautics: the science of flight.
afterburner: a device attached to the exhaust of a turbojet or turbofan engine in which additional fuel is added to the exhaust gases and burned to increase engine thrust.
aileron: control surfaces mounted on wings used to control roll.
air force: military organization that primarily uses aircraft for its mission.
aircraft: vehicle that is capable of moving through the air.
aircraft reference line: an arbitrarily chosen line on an aircraft from which angle of attack is measured.
airfoil: a streamwise cross section of a wing. Also, a wing that has the same cross-sectional shape across its span and that spans the test section of a wind tunnel, so that the flow around it is two dimensional.
airplane: aircraft that is heavier than air and uses wings to generate lift in order to remain aloft.
airship: lighter-than-air powered aircraft. A dirigible.
airspeed: an aircraft's speed relative to the air mass.
calibrated: indicated airspeed corrected for position error.
equivalent: calibrated airspeed corrected for nonstandard pressure. At sea level on a standard day, true airspeed is equal to equivalent airspeed.
indicated: the airspeed displayed on the cockpit pitot-static airspeed indicator.
indicator: a differential pressure gauge connected to a pitot tube and a static port and calibrated so that pressure differences can...

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Introduction to Aeronautics: A Design Perspective, Second Edition

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