aeronautics

1. The design and construction of aircraft.
2. The theory and practice of aircraft navigation.

The science and art of flying through the air. This term now refers to all aspects of flight in the atmosphere, from design and manufacturing to operation and maintenance of aircraft and spacecraft, and extends to the economics and logistics of airline operation. See also Air transportation.

Contributors to the field of aeronautics come from many disciplines, including engineering, particularly aeronautical engineering, business administration, economics, computer technology, and such basic disciplines as physics, chemistry, and materials science. Pilot training is another traditional source of entry into the field. Specialties which are important for aeronautics include aerodynamics, airfoil theory, heat transfer, compressor and turbine analysis, jet propulsion, and structural design. See also Aerodynamics; Aeronautical engineering; Airfoil; Astronautics; Heat transfer; Jet propulsion; Turbine propulsion.

The science and art of flight, encompassing the functioning and ownership of aircraft vehicles from balloons to those that travel into space.

Aviation is travel by means of an aircraft that is heavier than air. Aerospace is a term used in reference to the atmosphere and the area beyond, such as the aerospace industry, which is involved with the planning and building of vehicles operating in both air and space.

Airspace is the region that extends above real property. Air transportation, as set forth by federal statute, refers to interstate and distant conveyance of people, cargo, and mail by U.S. and foreign aircraft vehicles.

Airspace Rights

The federal government has jurisdiction over airspace within its domain, and each state has authority over the space above the grounds within its borders except in places within the domain of federal regulation. An aircraft is subject to the authority of the federal government and to the authority of a particular state while traveling over it. Landowners have air rights that extend upward beyond their property, the boundaries of which are delineated by local zoning ordinances. These air rights ordinarily may be used to the extent that they are connected to the enjoyment of the property.

Since the general public has a right to freedom of travel in the navigable airspace of the United States, an aircraft may have legal access to airspace above private property. A landowner might have a civil cause of action for trespass or nuisance, however, where an aircraft enters his or her airspace in such manner as to constitute an infringement on the landowner's right to the use and possession of the property. In some instances the landowner is entitled to an injunction to prohibit unlawful intrusion of his or her airspace.

Air Transportation Regulation

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the agency with the authority to govern air commerce. The intent of such regulation is to advance the growth and safety of air travel while simultaneously satisfying national defense needs. The director of the FAA has the power to engage in, or monitor, work and testing that will bring about the production of advanced aircraft; to set forth prescribed rules and regulations for the planning and servicing of airplanes; and to administer stringent sanctions if the regulations are not observed. The FAA is also responsible for air traffic control at airports. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is charged with the responsibility of investigating the circumstances surrounding, and the causes of, accidents involving aircraft.

Certificate Requirements

An airplane must have a valid airworthiness certificate in order for it to be lawfully operated. The airworthiness of a plane is determined by an inspector authorized by the FAA. The inspector may neither delegate this duty to inspect the aircraft nor depart from procedures for inspection that have been prescribed by the administrator of the FAA.

The FAA administrator is empowered to create minimum standards for the inspection, maintenance, and repair of air carrier equipment as well as for safe operation of the vehicle. Another important function of the administrator is to issue certificates to eligible aeronautical personnel: that includes pilots, navigators, and people who inspect, maintain, overhaul, and repair aircraft. The administrator specifies the particular function that each of these individuals is qualified to perform.

Certain prerequisites exist for an airline pilot rating, including a great degree of technical skill, medical fitness, care, judgment, and emotional stability. If public safety is endangered, the FAA administrator will either revoke or suspend a pilot's license. A pilot is entitled to notice and a fair hearing before the revocation or suspension of his or her certification, absent an emergency that warrants such immediate action. The pilot may appeal the order of suspension or revocation to the NTSB, and subsequent appeals may be brought to the usual appellate channels of federal courts.

Regulation on the State and Local Level

A state or municipality has the authority to regulate the air traffic that affects it. This power, however, is limited by the condition that the regulation must not interfere or conflict with either interstate commerce or federal restraints. State or municipal regulations on noise precipitated by aircraft engines may not, for example, conflict with federal rules governing noise pollution.

Airport Operation

The state can give a local legislature the power to regulate airports and their connected facilities. States may join together to form a regional airport authority to operate an airport. An airport may also be built and maintained by a private party or a corporation, subject to the requirement that use and enjoyment of neighboring landowners' property is not unreasonably disrupted.

Airports that are not properly constructed and operated might amount to nuisances. A private homeowner can sue for damages in the event that an improperly run airport constitutes a nuisance, and can attempt to have the court suspend its operation pursuant to the provisions of an injunction. Notice must be given to the municipality before such a cause of action may be commenced against it. In considering the need for intervention concerning the building and operation of airports, courts examine the interests of the concerned parties in light of prevailing public policy in favor of encouraging quiet use and enjoyment of one's land compared to the interests of society at large in accessible and convenient air travel.

The creation and maintenance of airports are subject to zoning regulations. In certain jurisdictions a public agency is empowered by the state to adopt zoning laws that limit the use of adjacent property. Such ordinances are designed to reduce interference with the operation of the airport.

The owner of a public airport may arrange leases for its use, and a municipality that owns an airport may charge reasonable fees for the right to do business there. A public airport owner has the power to govern its ground transportation, to give exclusive privileges to transport passengers to and from the airport to qualified individuals and companies, and to run an automobile rental company on airport grounds.

Use and Ownership of Aircraft Vehicles

The legality of the sale or conveyance of an aircraft is regulated by the statute of the jurisdiction where the document of conveyance or sale is transferred.

Federal law mandates the registration of aircraft and the proper recording of any paper that affects its title, such as a mortgage. Such recording must take place at the administration and records branch of the FAA. In addition, documents creating security interests in the aircraft must be recorded to provide notice to prospective purchasers of prior claims to the vehicle.

General principles of contract law govern aircraft rental and parties to the agreement are ordinarily bound by its terms. The renter of a defective vehicle might, however, have the right to terminate the contract since the individual offering the aircraft for rent is obligated to provide a vehicle in satisfactory operating condition.

Duties in Aircraft Operation

An individual who is injured as a result of the operation of an aircraft usually has a legally enforceable right to damages for any injuries or losses sustained.

Manufacturers

A manufacturer is under a duty to exercise reasonable care and proficiency in the design, production, and assembly of an aircraft vehicle. Liability for a departure from this duty may be extended to the manufacturer regardless of whether that company was directly involved in the manufacture of the parts. The law will imply a warranty of proper design and manufacture of an aircraft. A manufacturer of parts will also be held responsible for damage caused by the product and must use a high degree of care in their production, although they need not be made accident-proof. A manufacturer is not relieved of a continuing obligation to improve the component parts of an air vehicle when there is continuing risk to safe travel.

Pilots

The pilot of a private aircraft is subject to ordinary negligence standards in the absence of a special law. The pilot is required to exercise ordinary, but not extreme, care and caution regarding its operation. Negligence rules, however, impose a greater standard of care when applied to aviation, because of the severity and magnitude of potential harm posed by improper operation of an aircraft.

Owners

Generally ownership of an aircraft vehicle is insufficient to render an owner liable for damage resulting from its unreasonable operation by another. In certain jurisdictions, however, an owner who lends a plane to an individual he or she knows to be reckless or incompetent will be held responsible. Similarly, the federal or state government cannot evade liability for damage arising out of the improper operation of its aircraft by government employees.

Passengers

Passengers in a private aircraft have the obligation to exercise reasonable care for their own well-being. They must subscribe to the reasonable person standard and refrain from going on a particular flight that would be an obvious danger, such as a flight during a hurricane.

Passengers on airlines and other air common carriers must observe safety precautions by obeying instructions of flight attendants, such as by fastening their seatbelts.

Operators of Airplanes

An airport operator has the duty to exercise ordinary care in protecting aircraft on its premises and the people who use airport facilities. Neglecting to maintain the airport premises in a reasonably safe condition results in tort liability for resulting injuries to persons present.

Air Traffic Control

The federal government has responsibility for air traffic control. Air traffic controllers have a duty to keep aircraft from colliding with each other by guiding their paths. Liability can be extended to the federal government for the negligence of its air traffic controllers. Contributory negligence by the individual harmed might, however, block recovery against the United States for damage caused only partially by the negligence of controllers.

Airlines

An airline has the duty to employ the greatest degree of care possible to protect its passengers. Liability might be imposed for harm to a passenger resulting from wrongful behavior of its employees. It must also take steps to guard passengers against misconduct of fellow passengers.

Companies that accept goods for air transport must exercise a high degree of care to properly handle and deliver such goods. Liability for loss or damage may be restricted to a prearranged amount, which must be listed on the passenger's ticket in the case of baggage or on the bill of lading regarding the goods shipped.

Flying Schools

A flying school that maintains facilities that interfere with the customary use and enjoyment of property by neighboring landowners can be liable for nuisance or trespass. A student pilot flying with a flight instructor is considered legally to be a passenger, and, therefore, the school owes the same duty of care to the student as a commercial airline owes to its passenger. A trainee, however, assumes certain risks while being taught to fly and the school can successfully assert the defense of assumption of the risk in tort cases. A member of a flight club, as an owner of an airplane that belongs to the club, may be held personally liable for accidents that might occur while he or she is piloting the craft. Statutes that govern the liability of a flight club member should be consulted.

Air Piracy

Aircraft piracy or an attempt to hijack an airplane is a federal offense, punishable by either death or imprisonment. Airlines can deny an individual passage on an airplane if a magnetometer (an instrument used to measure magnetic intensity) indicates the presence of a metal object, such as a weapon, on that person by registering a positive reading and the person refuses to surrender to the appropriate officials any metal object that might have energized the instrument.

Aerospace

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established by Congress to organize, direct, and carry out research into difficulties attached to flight within and beyond the atmosphere of the earth and to facilitate the development and functioning of aeronautical vehicles.

See: Airlines; Carriers; Federal Aviation Administration; Hijacking; National Transportation Safety Board.

Antonov An-225, the largest airplane ever built.

Space Shuttle Atlantis on a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

The Eurofighter Typhoon.

Aeronautics (from Greek aero which means air or sky and nautis which means sailor, i.e. sailor of the air or sky) is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacture of flight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft. While the term—literally meaning "sailing the air"—originally referred solely to the science of operating the aircraft, it has since been expanded to include technology, business and other aspects related to aircraft.^[1] One of the significant parts in aeronautics is a branch of physical science called aerodynamics, which deals with the motion of air and the way that it interacts with objects in motion, such as an aircraft. Aviation is a term sometimes used interchangeably with aeronautics, although "aeronautics" includes lighter-than-air craft such as airships, while "aviation" does not.^[1]

Contents 1 Early aeronautics 2 References 3 See also 4 External links

Early aeronautics

The first mention of aeronautics in history was in the writings of ancient Egyptians who described the flight of birds. It also finds mention in ancient China where people were flying kites thousands of years ago. The medieval Islamic scientists were not far behind, as they understood the actual mechanism of bird flight. Before scientific investigation of aeronautics started, people started thinking of ways to fly. In a Greek legend, Icarus and his father Daedalus built wings of feathers and wax and flew out of a prison. Icarus flew too close to the sun, the wax melted, and he fell in the sea and drowned. When people started to scientifically study how to fly, people began to understand the basics of air and aerodynamics. One of the earliest scientists to study aeronautics was Ibn Firnas who studied the dynamism of flying and carried out a number of experiments in 8th century in Cordoba, Al-Andalus.^[2] Roger Bacon and Leonardo da Vinci were some of the first modern Europeans to study aeronautics. Leonardo studied the flight of birds in developing engineering schematics for some of the earliest flying machines in the late fifteenth century AD. His schematics, however, such as the ornithopter ultimately failed as practical aircraft. The flapping machines that he designed were either too small to generate sufficient lift, or too heavy for a human to operate. Although the ornithopter continues to be of interest to hobbyists, it was replaced by the glider in the 19th century. Sir George Cayley was one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics. Many consider him the first true scientific aerial investigator and the first person to understand the underlying principles and forces of flight.^[3] A pioneer of aeronautical engineering,^[4] he is credited as the first person to separate the forces of lift and drag which are in effect on any flight vehicle,^[5]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Aeronautics". Encyclopedia Americana. 1. Grolier. 1986. pp. 226. 
2. ^ First Flights, Saudi Aramco World, January-February 1964, p. 8-9.
3. ^ "Sir George Carley". Flyingmachines.org. http://www.flyingmachines.org/cayl.html. Retrieved 2009-07-26. "Sir George Cayley is one of the most important people in the history of aeronautics. Many consider him the first true scientific aerial investigator and the first person to understand the underlying principles and forces of flight." 
4. ^ "Sir George Carley (British Inventor and Scientist)". Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/100795/Sir-George-Cayley-6th-Baronet. Retrieved 2009-07-26. "English pioneer of aerial navigation and aeronautical engineering and designer of the first successful glider to carry a human being aloft." 
5. ^ "The Pioneers: Aviation and Airmodelling". http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/cayley.html. Retrieved 2009-07-26. "Sir George Cayley, is sometimes called the 'Father of Aviation'. A pioneer in his field, he is credited with the first major breakthrough in heavier-than-air flight. He was the first to identify the four aerodynamic forces of flight - weight, lift, drag, and thrust - and their relationship and also the first to build a successful human carrying glider." 

See also

• Aerodynamics
• Aeronautical abbreviations
• Aerospace engineering
• Aerostat
• Air safety
• Aircraft
• Aircraft design
• Airsickness and airsickness bags
• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Astronautics
• Aviation
• Aviation, aerospace, and aeronautical terms
• Hydrodynamics
• Hydrostatics
• Kite types
• Mechanics of fluids
• Shirt-sleeve environment
• Spacecraft
• The Royal Aeronautical Society

External links

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Aeronautics.

Look up aeronautics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Aeronautics History in Turkey
• Aeronautics History - Charles Vivian - 1920 (eLibrary Project - eLib full text)
• Aerospace courses at MIT OpenCourseWare
• American Academy of Aeronautics aeronautical science
• American Helicopter Society
• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• Examples of Aeronautic Designs
• What is aeronautics? The history of world Aeronautics (Russian)
• Aircraft Design: Synthesis and Analysis
• ACARE Taxonomy
• CREating innovative Air transport Technologies for Europe

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - aeronautik, flyvning

Nederlands (Dutch)
aëronautiek

Français (French)
n. - aéronautique

Deutsch (German)
n. - Aeronautik

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αεροναυτική (μηχανική)

Italiano (Italian)
aeronautica

Português (Portuguese)
n. pl. - aeronáutica (f)

Русский (Russian)
аэронавтика

Español (Spanish)
n. - aeronáutico, aeronáutica

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - flygteknik, luftfarts-
n. pl. - flygteknik, luftfarts-

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
航空学, 飞行术

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. pl. - 航空學, 飛行術
n. - 航空學, 飛行術

한국어 (Korean)
n. pl. - 항공학, 비행술
n. - 항공술, 항공학

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 航空学, 航空術

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) علم ألطيران‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮התיאוריה והמעשה של הטיס, טיס, נווטות, אווירונאוטיקה‬

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