What is fixed wing aircraft?

Brainyblonde

A fixed-wing aircraft (commonly called airplane in North America and aeroplane in Commonwealth countries and Ireland, is a heavier-than-air craft where movement of the wings in relation to the aircraft is not used to generate lift. The term is used to distinguish from rotary-wing aircraft, where the movement of the lift surfaces relative to the aircraft generates lift. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed-wing_aircraft Oct 11 06, 4:54 PM

What-A-Mess

Anything that flies that is not a Helicopter or a Rocket. fixed-wing  /ˈfɪkstˈwɪŋ/ of or pertaining to aircraft that derive lift from the motion of air over aerodynamically designed surfaces that are rigidly and permanently attached to the fuselage. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fixed%20wing http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fixed%20wing There are a few exceptions...The USAF have a few planes that have moving-fixed wing planes. The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable geometry wing aircraft. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-14_Tomcat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-14_Tomcat Oct 11 06, 11:26 PM

Baloo55th

Balloons and airships fly as well.... To clarify: Wings are needed to provide lift if lift isn't obtained by other means. Rockets go fast enough to stay up (until they run out of fuel!). Helicopters and autogyros rely on whirly things to provide lift - which is why helicopters can go straight up. The lift is caused by air flowing over certain shapes that are used in the wing/rotor, so if a rotor is already moving, the craft it's attached to doesn't need to be going forwards to get this flow. Autogyros can't go straight up, but take off like ordinary planes. Fixed wing refers to the majority of planes, and as What-A-Mess points out, there are some - pioneered by the Harrier - that have alterable wings. These count as fixed, as the plane is dependent on them and they are always there (but in diffeent shapes). The Harrier takes off (or can - it will do it the ordinary way too) by directing jets straight down so it goes straight up. When it gets up, it needs a large wing area as it's not going forward very much. When it gets up speed, it needs less area, so the wings slide back to create less resistance. Now when we come to another class of aircraft, things get a bit muddy. Is an ornithopter a fixed wing or not? The wings don't rotate, but stay in the same place from one point of view. But they flap up and down. Still, I don't think anyone's built a really practical working one yet, so it doesn't matter much.... Oct 12 06, 4:40 AM

jimmyrussell23

fixed winged aircraft are the aircraft that have wings to enable them to fly. helicopters are called rotary wing aircraft May 07 07, 1:02 AM

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