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vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

(Encyclopedia)vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (VTOL), craft capable of rising and descending vertically from and to the ground, thus requiring no runway. While a balloon or an airship has obvious VTOL capabil...

short takeoff and landing aircraft

(Encyclopedia)short takeoff and landing aircraft (STOL), heavier-than-air craft, capable of rising from and descending to the ground with only a short length of runway, but incapable of doing so vertically. The pre...

VTOL aircraft

(Encyclopedia)VTOL aircraft: see vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. ...

tilt-rotor aircraft

(Encyclopedia)tilt-rotor aircraft: see vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. ...

convertiplane

(Encyclopedia)convertiplane: see vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. ...

aircraft carrier

(Encyclopedia)aircraft carrier, ship designed to carry aircraft and to permit takeoff and landing of planes. The carrier's distinctive features are a upper deck (flight deck) that is flat and sometimes sloped to fu...

STOL aircraft

(Encyclopedia)STOL aircraft: see short takeoff and landing aircraft. ...

airfoil

(Encyclopedia)airfoil, surface designed to develop a desired force by reaction with a fluid, especially air, that is flowing across the surface. For example, the fixed wing surfaces of an airplane produce lift, whi...

wind shear

(Encyclopedia)wind shear, a sudden, drastic change in wind direction or speed over a comparatively short distance. Most winds travel horizontally, as does most wind shear, but under certain conditions, including th...

instrument-landing system

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Instrument-landing system (ILS), the most common instrument-landing approach system, uses two beams to guide an airplane. instrument-landing system (ILS), ground-based radio system designed to...