flying machine
Powered aerial craft
A flying machine is any apparatus designed to travel through the air—a term that once encompassed speculative contraptions and early experimental aircraft.
Before the Wright brothers proved powered flight possible, flying machine evoked both serious engineering attempts and fanciful dreams: Leonardo sketched flying machines centuries before anyone left the ground.
The phrase now sounds quaint or deliberately old-fashioned, since we simply say airplane, helicopter, or drone.
Aircraft with two wing levels
- jetForced fluid stream
- airshipSteerable lighter-than-atmosphere craft
- zeppelinRigid lighter-than-air craft
- blimpNon-rigid flying vessel
drone · ultralight · gyrocopter · seaplane · ornithopter · monoplane · triplane · autogyro
Rotating blades creating thrust
- wingLimb enabling flight
- fuselageAircraft's central structure
- rudderPivoting stern blade
- flapsHinged control surfaces
ailerons · elevator · landing gear · cockpit · engine · turbine · rotor · tail
Mythical overreacher who fell
- DaedalusLegendary craftsman and inventor
- magic carpetEnchanted aerial floor covering
- PegasusDivine airborne horse
- broomstickCleaning tool's handle
levitation · steampunk · Jules Verne · H.G. Wells · contraption · fantastical · imaginary · mythical
First airplane builders
- Da VinciTuscan Renaissance polymath
- LangleyIntelligence agency location
- prototypeFirst functional specimen
- patentObvious; inventor's monopoly
breakthrough · pioneering · experimentation · workshop · blueprint · first flight · Kitty Hawk · trial and error
Mechanism for vertical transport
- dragResistance through fluid
- thrustForceful forward motion
- airspeedAircraft's atmospheric velocity
- altitudeMeasured height above reference
glide · soar · hover · ascend · descend · stall · pitch · yaw
One who pilots aircraft
- airmanOne who pilots aircraft
- airwomanWoman who flies aircraft
- barnstormerItinerant exhibition pilot
- aceSingle-pip card
flyer · aeronaut · balloonist · test pilot · flight instructor · co-pilot · navigator · Earhart
Traveling through unknown regions
- expeditionOrganized exploratory journey
- voyageJourney by sea
- journeyTravel from place to place
- daringAdventurous courage
thrill · adrenaline · pioneering · discovery · frontier · escapade · quest · record-breaking
biplane
Aircraft with two wing levels
- jetForced fluid stream
- airshipSteerable lighter-than-atmosphere craft
- zeppelinRigid lighter-than-air craft
blimp · drone · ultralight · gyrocopter · seaplane · ornithopter · monoplane · triplane · autogyro · dirigible
propeller
Rotating blades creating thrust
flaps · ailerons · elevator · landing gear · cockpit · engine · turbine · rotor · tail · nacelle
Icarus
Mythical overreacher who fell
- DaedalusLegendary craftsman and inventor
- magic carpetEnchanted aerial floor covering
- PegasusDivine airborne horse
broomstick · levitation · steampunk · Jules Verne · H.G. Wells · contraption · fantastical · imaginary · mythical · wingsuit
Wright brothers
First airplane builders
- Da VinciTuscan Renaissance polymath
- LangleyIntelligence agency location
- prototypeFirst functional specimen
patent · breakthrough · pioneering · experimentation · workshop · blueprint · first flight · Kitty Hawk · trial and error · wind tunnel
lift
Mechanism for vertical transport
altitude · glide · soar · hover · ascend · descend · stall · pitch · yaw · roll
aviator
One who pilots aircraft
- airmanOne who pilots aircraft
- airwomanWoman who flies aircraft
- barnstormerItinerant exhibition pilot
ace · flyer · aeronaut · balloonist · test pilot · flight instructor · co-pilot · navigator · Earhart · Lindbergh
exploration
Traveling through unknown regions
- expeditionOrganized exploratory journey
- voyageJourney by sea
- journeyTravel from place to place
daring · thrill · adrenaline · pioneering · discovery · frontier · escapade · quest · record-breaking · circumnavigation
- aircraftairliner, airplanes, plane, biplane, planes
- inventionsprinting press, steam engine, lightbulb, light bulb, microscope
- Early AviationWright brothers, Wright Flyer, first flight, Kitty Hawk, Orville Wright
- Leonardo da VinciMona Lisa, Last Supper, Vitruvian Man, Annunciation, notebooks
- Alexander legendsBucephalus, Gordian knot, world conquest, divine birth, water of life
- early sci-fiJules Verne, H.G. Wells, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man
flying machineautomobile
Self-propelled passenger conveyance
car · ship · watercraft · submarine · boat
machine, flying, airplane, helicopter, glider, aviate, jetliner, flying machines