Introduction to Air Transportation

• Aerodynamics


  The science of the action of air on an object, and with the motion of air on other gases. It deals with the production of lift by the aircraft, the relative wind, and the atmosphere
• Aircraft Categories


  • Airplane
  • Rotorcraft
  • Glider
  • Lighter than air
• Aircraft


  Any contrivance used for navigation of, or flight in the air. It is a device that is used or intended to be used for flight in the air
• Definition of Air Transportation according to RA 776, Chapter 2, Section 3 (h)
• Classes of Airplanes

  • Single-Engine Land
  • Single-Engine Sea
  • Multi-Engine Land
  • Multi-Engine Sea
• Gyro-plane


  • A rotorcraft whose rotors are not engine-driven, except for initial starting, but are made to rotate by action of the air when the rotorcraft is moving; and whose means of propulsion, consisting usually of conventional propellers, is independent of the rotor system
• Classes of Rotorcraft

  • Helicopter
  • Gyro-plane
• Lighter than air


  • An aircraft that can rise and remain suspended by using contained gas weighing less than the air that is displaced by the gas
• Aircraft Category


  A broad classification of aircraft based upon intended use or operating limitations
• Airplane


  • An engine-driven fixed-wing aircraft heavier than air, supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its wings
• Definition of Air Transportation according to FAR 1.1
• Rotorcraft

  • A heavier-than-air aircraft that depends principally for its support in flight on the lift generated by one or more rotors
• Atmosphere


  A blanket of air made up of a mixture of gases that surrounds the Earth and reaches almost 350 miles from the surface of the Earth
• Classes of Lighter than air aircraft

  • Airship
• Helicopter

  • A rotorcraft that, for its horizontal motion, depends principally on its engine-driven rotors
• Glider


  • A heavier-than-air aircraft, supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its lifting surfaces and whose free flight does not depend principally on an engine
• Free Balloon


  • A lighter-than-air aircraft that is not engine driven, and that sustains flight through the use of either gas buoyancy or an airborne heater
• Rocket


  • An aircraft propelled by ejected expanding gases generated in the engine from self-contained propellants and not dependent on the intake of outside substances. It includes any part which becomes separated during the operation
• Classes of Lighter than air aircraft

  • Airship
  • Free Balloon
• Definition of an aircraft
• Powered Parachute

  • A powered aircraft comprised of a flexible or semi-rigid wing connected to a fuselage so that the wing is not in position for flight until the aircraft is in motion. The fuselage contains the aircraft engine, a seat for each occupant, and is attached to the aircraft's landing gear
• Classes of Airports

  • Airport
  • Seaport
  • Heliport
  • Military Airport
• Terms to REMEMBER: Airline - A company that provides air transport services for travelling passengers and freight. Airline companies are recognized with an air operating certificate or license issued by a governmental aviation body
• Classes of Powered Parachute

  • Powered parachute land
  • Powered parachute sea
• Terms to REMEMBER: Airfoil - Any surface, such as a wing, propeller, rudder, or even a trim tab, which provides aerodynamic force when it interacts with a moving stream of air
• Airship


  • An engine-driven lighter-than-air aircraft that can be steered
• Terms to REMEMBER: Airport – means an area of land or water that is used or intended to be used for the landing and take-off of aircraft, and includes its buildings and facilities (FAR 1.1)
• Prepared by: BS Air Transportation Department, PATTS College of Aeronautics, ATRN 121 (INTRODUCTION TO AIR TRANSPORTATION)
• Types of aircraft

  • Glider
  • Lighter than air
  • Powered Lift
  • Powered Parachute
  • Rocket
• Powered Lift


  • A heavier-than-air aircraft capable of vertical takeoff, vertical landing, and low-speed flight that depends principally on engine-driven lift devices or engine thrust for lift during these flight regimes and on non-rotating airfoil(s) for lift during horizontal flight