Copy of `British Model Flying Association - Model planes terms`

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British Model Flying Association - Model planes terms Category: Hobbies and Crafts > Model Aircraft Date & country: 30/08/2013, UK Words: 210

abs
A type of plastic often used for vacuum formed components such as cowlings

actuator
A device for moving a control surface or throttle by electro-mechanical means

adverse yaw
A turn in the direction opposite to that introduced by the ailerons, caused by the drag of the down-going aileron exceeding the turning moment introduced by the up-going aileron

aerial
On a transmitter a metal rod, usually collapsible, which radiates the transmitted signal; or a trailing or rigid wire on a receiver which collects the signal

aerodynamics
The science or study of the forces acting on an aircraft in motion

aerofoil
The cross-section shape of a wing taken at right angles to the wing span, Also known as the wing section or rib section

aerotow
A method of launching a glider by towing it to altitude behind a powered aircraft

airbrake
An aerodynamic control which can be extended to increase drag and slow down an aircraft

all flying tail
Horizontal tail surfaces which do not have a separate elevator The whole surface moves as one to give pitch control

amphibian
An aircraft capable of operating off either land or water

anemometer
A device for measuring windspeed

angle of attack
The angle at which a wing strikes the air stream

angle of incidence
Angle of the wing in relation to an arbitrary line fore and aft in the fuselage

anhedral
Where the wings are set an angle such that the tips are lower than the centre The opposite of DIHEDRAL

aspect ratio
The relationship of the wing span to the wing chord, expressed numerically by the number of times the span can be divided by the chord

auto-rudder (a/r)
A system used in free-flight models either to keep the rudder of a glider straight during tow and then automatically to set the glide turn on release, or, on rubber- and power-driven aircraft, to alter the rudder setting in flight, usually to re-trim from power to glide

autogiro
An aeroplane that flies by virtue of the lift generated by freewheeling rotating wings set 'windmill'' fashion above the fuselage The forward motion of the autogiro provides the force to keep the rotors turning so unlike a helicopter the autogiro cannot hover

ballast
Weight carried by an aeroplane to increase the Wing Loading

balsa wood
Very light wood with excellent strength -to-weight ratio Grown mainly in South America and used extensively in model aeroplane construction

bank
A turn made in flight with one wing lip lower than the other

battery
A means of storing electrical power chemically

beam mount
Engine mounting consisting of a plate or beams to which the engine is mounted by means of the lugs on either side of the crankcase

bellcrank
The pivoted wood, metal, or plastic arm which converts the motion of the control lines to up-and-down movement of the elevators in a control line model aeroplane

boom
A wood tube or strip that extends rearward from the wings or from a short fuselage to support the tail surfaces

bulkhead
A former within the fuselage used as internal support for longerons, sheet sides, stringers and so on

bunter
A free-flight aircraft, either engine-assisted or a glider, which uses a quarter outside loop to effect the transition from climb or high-energy tow-launch into the glide, and thus maximise the possible altitude and hence duration

cabane
The strut assembly at the centre section of a biplane or Parasol monoplane

camber
The curvature of the wing or horizontal tail, from the leading edge to the trailing edge

canard
An aeroplane designed to fly with its tailplane in front of the wing

cantilever
A wing built in such a way that it does not require external bracing Model scale aircraft may have dummy external bracing to replicate the original even though the wings are actually strong enough not to need it

centre of gravity or weight (cog)
The spot where the mass or weight of an aeroplane may be said to centre

centre of lift (cl)
The spot where the lift of a wing (or wings) is said to centre

centre of pressure (cp)
The point on the upper surface of a wing Relative to the chord Where the lift can be said to centre

chord
The width of a wing or tailplane from front (leading edge) to back (trailing edge)

circle tow
A system by which a free-flight glider may be held captive on the towline and circled until the flyer detects a thermal into which to launch

circuit
A rectangular flight path around the runway in use; the flight-path used by aircraft approaching for landing

clevis
A sprung link connecting a control rod to the surface being controlled

closed loop
A means of operating a control surface by means of flexible wires, under tension, attached to either side; sometimes known as pull-pull

clunk tank
A fuel tank where the fuel pickup (the

condenser tissue
An ultra-light paper, originally used for insulation in electronic capacitors, used for covering some types of indoor free-flight aircraft

constant-chord- wing
One that has parallel leading and trailing edges, with no taper

control handle
Device held in the hand, to which control lines are attached; vertical rocking movements of handle are carried via lines to the aeroplane elevators

control horn
An arm fastened to a control surface to which is connected the control rod

control-line (cl) flying
A method of flying a model aircraft by means of two thin wires connecting the model to a control handle held by the pilot The model flying in a circular path and its elevation is controlled by the pilot

coupe d
The FAI

cowling
A specially shaped nose to enclose an engine

crystal
A component used to determine the operating frequency of a Radio Transmitter or Receiver The frequency or Channel of R/Cequipment can be changed by plugging in the appropriate crystals

cyanoacrylate
A type of instant acting adhesive

datum
A reference line or point from which measurements are taken

dead stick
A term used to describe a power model making a glide approach after the engine has stopped

delta
An aircraft with a wing of a triangular planform

dethermaliser (d/t)
A device operated by a slow-burning fuse or by a mechanical or electronic timer that puts a free-flight aircraft into a super-stalled condition to bring it down after a pre-set flight time

differential
(ailerons) When ailerons are set to give more up movement than down movement This is to reduce the effect of adverse yaw

dihedral
The uptilt of wing panels toward the tips Dihedral is applied for purposes of stability and to provide a turning moment for rudder-only models

dolly
A wheeled frame whcih a model sits on to effect a take-off The dolly either remains on the ground or drops off almost immediately

double-surface wing
A wing which is covered on both top and bottom with paper, cloth or other material

doubler
A second sheet of material fixed inside the main fuselage side sheets on each side For added strength

downthrust
The slight tilting down of the engine or propeller thrust line to exert a slight downward pull under pressure

downwind
In the circuit flying parallel with the runway in the opposite direction to take-off

drag
A force acting on an aeroplane resisting its acting on an aircraft in motion resisting the movement through the air

ducted fan (df)
A small diameter multi-bladed fan, operated at high rpm inside a tube or duct The ejected air provides thrust in the same way as a jet engine, which the DF is often used to simulate

dutch roll
A side-to-side wallowing motion of a model, often caused by insufficient fin area

elevator
The hinged control section of the tailplane, used to control pitch

elevon
An elevator split into 2 halves which can be operated independently so that the same control surfaces can be used to control the roll of an aircraft as well as the pitch Often seen on Flying Wings and Delta planform models

engine brake
A timer-operated device to stop the propeller of a free-flight duration aircraft at the end of the permitted engine run

fail safe
A system which closes the throttle and moves the control surfaces to pre-set positions in the event of loss of signal from the transmitter Required by larger models and is intended to bring the model to earth quickly in the event of radio interference or transmitter failure

fairing
A streamlined cover over a joint or around angular parts of an aircraft intended to reduce drag

ff
Free Flight

fillet
A rounded contour used at the junction of vertical and horizontal surfaces on an aeroplane, to reduce wind resistance

fin
The fixed forward portion of the vertical tail surfaces

final approach
The last phase of a flight when lined up with the runway during the landing approach

firewall
A strong bulkhead immediately behind the engine on a powered aeroplane

flaperons
Ailerons which can be moved both up or both down to act as spoilers or flaps

flaps
Hinged surfaces attached to the trailing edge of a wing, either to increase manoeuvrability (as on a control line aerobatic model) or to increase lift at the expense of drag (as on most full size aircraft and some radio control aeroplanes)

flutter
Rapid oscillation of a wing or control surface Usually appears only at high speed and is often caused by excessive gaps between wing and control surface, or by inadequately stiff control rods, or in the case of a wing insufficiently stiff structure

flying boat
An aeroplane with a fuselage shaped like a boat For operation off water

flying scale model
A flyable miniature of a manned aeroplane

former
See Bulkhead

freewheeler
A propeller with a special device that allows it to windmill after the rubber motor is unwound

frequency monitor
Multi-channel radio receiver used to check for interference on model radio control frequencies

fuselage
The body of an aeroplane

geodetic
A latticework or basket-weave construction

glider
A highly efficient engineless aeroplane Capable of flying for long periods in gently rising air currents (thermals)

glitch
(colloquialism) momentary uncontrolled operation of control surfaces caused by electronic interference or equipment malfunction

ground loop
A rapid circular rotation of a model on the ground, usually performed while taxying or during take off Taildragger aircraft are particulalrly suceptible to this as they are sensitive to crosswinds

gusset
Small strengtheners fixed at points of heavy stress in an aircraft

hand-launch (hl)
To start a model in flight by releasing it or throwing it from the hand

helicopter
An aircraft that can rise or descend vertically, by means of large overhead power-driven rotor or rotors,

incidence
The angle, relative to the fuselage datum, at which a wing is set

induced drag
Resistance of a wing to forward movement due to disturbance of the surrounding air and related to the lift produced by the wing

inverted
Flying upside down

japanese tissue
A very light paper, usually made from rice straw, used for covering some free-flight aircraft

jig
A fixture or form for holding parts together for assembly

knock-off
A way of mounting parts such as wings, tailplane or undercarriage so that they will knock-off without damage in the event of a crash landing

landing gear
See Undercarriage

landing wire
Bracing wires which take the non-flying loads on a wing or wings; usually found on bi-planes

leading edge
The front or entering edge of a wing or tail

leadout
The wires that are attached to the bellcrank and which extend out past the wing tip, to fasten to the control wires on a control line model

lift coefficient
An indication of the relative lift of an aerofoil

lift-drag ratio
The relation of total lift to total drag of an aerofoil, expressed as a mathematical proportion; 6 to 1;15 to 1 and so on