The most beautiful dream that has haunted the heart of man since Icarus is today reality. — Louis...

AIRPLANES

The most beautiful dream that has haunted the heart of man since Icarus is today reality.

— Louis Bleriot

HISTORY OF AIRPLANES

Ever since man first saw a bird fly, man has wanted to fly. The first attempts were efforts to fly like a bird by attaching feathers to their arms and flapping. Those attempts were unsuccessful.

First AirplanesThe first airplane that was flown was a glider. A

glider is a non-motorized flying machine (and very hard to control). Early gliders were launched from high places like cliffs and floated on the wind to the ground.

A man named Sir George Cayce made the first glider that actually flew. His first glider didn’t have passengers or a pilot. It was too small and could not fit anyone in it.

In 1899, the Wright Brothers designed their first aircraft: a small, biplane glider flown as a kite to test their solution for controlling the craft by wing warping. Wing warping is a method of arching the wingtips slightly to control the aircraft's rolling motion and balance.

They believed that they could use this technique to obtain roll control by warping, or changing the shape, of a portion of the wing.

The Wrights spent a great deal of time observing birds in flight. They noticed that birds change the shape of their wings to turn and maneuver.

We owe our thanks to these two geniuses!

Development in time

On Dec. 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the first piloted airplane off the beach near Kitty Hawk.

N. C. Henri Blériot and Glenn H. Curtiss made significant improvements in airplane design and, as more powerful engines became available, flew successively longer distances.

In 1909 Blériot flew across the English Channel;

In 1939 the first transatlantic service carrying both mail and passengers was inaugurated.

VOCABULARYComponents of a plan:

Wing

Fuselaje Ailerons Rudder

Elevator

Flaps

Landing gear

Propeller

Engine compartment Empennage Propulsion system Plan direction

Vouchers

Aerodynamic braks Compensating

Characteristics of aircraft compared with other means of transport:

•More convenient •Faster •Safer •More elegant •Comfortable •More expensive •Sometimes dangerous

KEYWORDS:

StewardessPilotPassengerAirportRunwayTicketsDragGravityThrustLift   

Exercise I

Complete the text using the words given in the image.

What Are The Different Parts Of An Airplane?

Airplanes come in many shapes and sizes, but they all have similar parts.  Look at the next picture to see what they are!

The body of the airplane is called the … .  This includes the cockpit, where the pilot sits during the flight.

Airplanes have … to lift them up into the sky.  On the rear side of each wing is a part that moves up and down called an ….  Ailerons help the airplane turn right or left.  … help the airplane fly slowly for landing.

The tail that sticks straight up like a shark's fin has a part called the… . The rudder helps turn the nose of the airplane right or left. The flat part of the tail has a part called the ….  The elevator makes the airplane's nose move up or down.

Since the wings on an airplane don't move up and down like a bird's wings do, something has to make the airplane go forward.  That's where the … and the … come in.  The engine turns the propeller and the propeller pulls (or in some cases pushes) the airplane through the sky!

Back to image

Exercise IIMach the force with its definition

The Four Basic Forces of FlightThere are four forces that affect an airplane in flight:  Lift, Gravity, Thrust and Drag.

DRAG

GRAVITY THRUST

LIFT     

is the force that keeps all objects on earth.  If we pick up a ball and let it go, it will drop quickly to the ground because of gravity.

is a force that an airplane must create to overcome the force of gravity.   An airplane does this by making lift with its wings as the airplane moves forward.   An airplane's forward movement is produced by … .  Which is created by the engine and the rotating propeller. 

Just as lift overcomes the force of gravity during flight, thrust must overcome the force known as …, which resists movement of an object — in this case, our airplane!

SurveyOut of 16 people

1.Have you ever flown on an airplane?• Yes -6• No -10

2.Are you afraid of flying?• Yes -0• No- 15• I don’t know -1

3.If yes, why?No one answered

4. Why do you think people are afraid of flying?

• Heights• Flying doesn’t represent human nature• Due to lack of control, excessive promotion of

accidents• Fear of death• Because it’s dangerous• Don’t know

5.Why would you choose a plane as a means of transport?

• It’s faster• Safer [than a car]• For its comfort• It’s relaxing

6.Do you think traveling by plane is safe?• Yes -9• No -5• With some companies -2

7.If you were to fly on an airplane you would feel safer if you chose:

• A Romanian airplane company (e.g. TAROM) -3• A company from abroad (e.g. KLM etc.) -5• Any airplane company -8

8.Do you know who invented the first airplane?• Yes -5• No -10• I used to know -1

9. What is his/hers/their name?• 4 people answered correctly• 1 answered “Vuia”• 11 did not know

10.Do you think traveling on an airplane is popular among the Romanian people nowadays? ( known and used) 6 people answered that they agree with the fact that traveling on an airplane is popular among the Romanian people4 answered that they disagree2 persons said that flying by plane is known in Romania, but not used because it is expensive.

Claudia Crisca Andreea

Drumia Flaviu Lazar Antonia Rogos

Clasa aXIa A

Can the magic of flight ever be carried by words? I think not. — Michael Parfit, 'Smithsonian' magazine, May 2000