Aircraft
Design and construction
The structure comprises the main load-bearing elements and associated equipment. The propulsion system (if it is powered) comprises the power source and associated equipment, as described above. The avionics comprise the control, navigation and communication systems, usually electrical in nature. The approach to structural design varies widely between different types of aircraft. Some, such as paragliders, comprise only flexible materials that act in tension and rely on aerodynamic pressure to hold their shape. A balloon similarly relies on internal gas pressure, but may have a rigid basket or gondola slung below it to carry its payload. Early aircraft, including airships, often employed flexible doped aircraft fabric covering to give a reasonably smooth aeroshell stretched over a rigid frame. Later aircraft employed semi-monocoque techniques, where the skin of the aircraft is stiff enough to share much of the flight loads. In a true monocoque design there is no internal structure left.
Aircraft-43