AEROPLANE • FREE-TRANSLATOR.COM • Definition of Aeroplane

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noun

aeroplane n. (Aeronautics)

1.

A light rigid plane used in aerial navigation to oppose sudden upward or downward movement in the air, as in gliding machines; specif., such a plane slightly inclined and driven forward as a lifting device in some flying machines. Also called airfoil.

2.

Hence: A heavier-than-air flying machine using such a device to provide lift; an airplane. In a modern aeroplane, the airfoils are called the wings, and most of the lift is derived from these surfaces. In contrast to helicopters, the wings are fixed to the passenger compartment (airframe) and do not move relative to the frame; thus such a machine is called a fixed-wing aircraft. These machines are called monoplanes, biplanes, triplanes, or quadruplanes, according to the number of main supporting planes (wings) used in their construction. After 1940 few planes with more than one airfoil were constructed, and these are used by hobbyists or for special purposes. Being heavier than air they depend for their levitation on motion imparted by the thrust from either propellers driven by an engine, or, in a jet plane, by the reaction from a high-velocity stream of gases expelled rearward from a jet engine. They start from the ground by a run on small wheels or runners, and are guided by a steering apparatus consisting of horizontal and vertical movable planes, which usually form part of the wings or tail. There are many varieties of form and construction, which in some cases are known by the names of their inventors. In U.S., an aeroplane is usually called an airplane or plane.

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Etymology of 'Aeroplane'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Aeroplane" Quotes from Famous Books

... desert. But this misadventure had delayed matters and the heat after midday was very trying for marching although in the distance one could see the snow on the higher summits of the Pusht-i-kuh Mountains which form the dividing line between Persia and Turkey. From an aeroplane the picture of the Tigris flowing through this flat country with all its numerous twists and turns must resemble a huge snake. A short halt was made in the middle of the day for lunch, and a final halt was not called till within five miles of Sheikh-Saad, and a distance of twenty-two ...

— With a Highland Regiment in Mesopotamia - 1916--1917 • Anonymous

... German companies attacked the British trenches and were driven off by machine-gun fire. Bombardment of British positions continued during the night. Two aeroplane raids carried out by the British airmen damaged trains on the German line of communications. Important military points were also bombed with some success, but in encounters with German aircraft ...

— The Story of the Great War, Volume VI (of VIII) - History of the European War from Official Sources • Various

... Sam. But a monoplane or a biplane, or any kind of an aeroplane, isn't an auto or ...

— The Rover Boys in the Air - From College Campus to the Clouds • Edward Stratemeyer

... slum just in the nick of time, cleverly concealing herself in the branches of the great eucalyptus tree that grew hard by, while her maddened pursuers scattered in their search for the prize. Again she was captured, this time to be conveyed by aeroplane, a helpless prisoner and subject to the most fiendish insults by Black Steve, to the frozen North. But in the far Alaskan wilds she eluded the fiends and drove swiftly over the frozen wastes with their only dog team. Having ...

— Merton of the Movies • Harry Leon Wilson

... staggered back against the door in consternation. If Mr. Crowninshield had affirmed that the thieves had taken flight in an aeroplane he could not have been more astonished than by the turn affairs ...

— Walter and the Wireless • Sara Ware Bassett

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