Aircraft Familiarization

This section introduces generic civil and military aircraft. Geometric definitions rele­vant to aerodynamic considerations are addressed in Chapter 3 and detailed descrip­tions of various types of aircraft and their classification are provided in Chapter 4. A diagram of aircraft with major subassemblies as components is provided herein. Indeed, aircraft design has become highly modular in the interests of the “family” concept, which facilitates low development cost by maintaining a high degree of parts commonality.

Aircraft span, length, and height are currently restricted by the ICAO to 80 m, 80 m, and 80 ft, respectively, for ground handling and storage considerations. The height is in feet but the span and length are in meters; this restriction may change. Section 1.6 highlighted the mix of SI and FPS units in aerospace engineering. In the future, only SI units will be used.