heavier-than-air
Won't float naturally
Heavier-than-air describes aircraft that fly despite being denser than the atmosphere—planes, helicopters, and drones, as opposed to balloons and blimps that float.
The Wright brothers achieved the first powered heavier-than-air flight in 1903.
The term appears mainly in aviation history and technical contexts.
Airborne transportation vehicle
- airplanePowered flying machine
- aeroplanePowered flying vehicle
- flightAerial journey by aircraft
- Wright brothersFirst airplane builders
aerodynamics · lift · thrust · propeller · jet · glider · wing · fuselage
Purposeful creative planning
- propulsionForce driving movement forward
- engineMachine producing motion
- thrust-to-weightForce output divided by mass
- aerodynamicMinimizing drag through shape
structure · materials · aluminum · composite · airframe · powerplant · drag · efficiency
Mass-to-volume ratio
- buoyancyFluid's upward resistance
- gravityMutual mass attraction
- massQuantity of matter
- weightMeasure of heaviness
atmosphere · gas · displacement · Archimedes · flotation · specific gravity · air density · sinking
aircraft
Airborne transportation vehicle
Wright brothers · aerodynamics · lift · thrust · propeller · jet · glider · wing · fuselage · aeronautics
design
Purposeful creative planning
- propulsionForce driving movement forward
- engineMachine producing motion
- thrust-to-weightForce output divided by mass
aerodynamic · structure · materials · aluminum · composite · airframe · powerplant · drag · efficiency · payload
density
Mass-to-volume ratio
weight · atmosphere · gas · displacement · Archimedes · flotation · specific gravity · air density · sinking · descending