A
ABS A type of plastic often used for vacuum formed components such as cowlings.
ACTUATOR A device for moving a control surface or throttle by electro-mechanical means.
ADVERSE YAW A turn in the direction opposite to that introduced by the ailerons, caused by the drag of the down-going aileron exceeding the turning moment introduced by the up-going aileron.
AERIAL On a transmitter a metal rod, usually collapsible, which radiates the transmitted signal; or a trailing or rigid wire on a receiver which collects the signal.
AERODYNAMICS The science or study of the forces acting on an aircraft in motion.
AEROFOIL The cross-section shape of a wing taken at right angles to the wing span. Also known as the wing section or rib section.
AEROTOW A method of launching a glider by towing it to altitude behind a powered aircraft.
AIRBRAKE An aerodynamic control which can be extended to increase drag and slow down an aircraft
ALL FLYING TAIL Horizontal tail surfaces which do not have a separate elevator. The whole surface moves as one to give pitch control.
AMPHIBIAN An aircraft capable of operating off either land or water.
ANEMOMETER A device for measuring windspeed.
ANHEDRAL Where the wings are set an angle such that the tips are lower than the centre. The opposite of a DIHEDRAL
ANGLE OF ATTACK The angle at which a wing strikes the air stream.
ANGLE OF INCIDENCE Angle of the wing in relation to an arbitrary line fore and aft in the fuselage.
ASPECT RATIO The relationship of the wing span to the wing chord, expressed numerically by the number of times the span can be divided by the chord.
AUTOGYRO An aeroplane that flies by virtue of the lift generated by freewheeling rotating wings set 'windmill'' fashion above the fuselage. The forward motion of the autogiro provides the force to keep the rotors turning so unlike a helicopter the autogiro cannot hover.
AUTO-RUDDER (A/R) A system used in free-flight models either to keep the rudder of a glider straight during tow and then automatically to set the glide turn on release, or, on rubber- and power-driven aircraft, to alter the rudder setting in flight, usually to re-trim from power to glide.
B
BALSA WOOD Very light wood with excellent strength-to-weight ratio. Grown mainly in South America and used extensively in model aeroplane construction.
BALLAST Weight carried by an aeroplane to increase the Wing Loading.
BANK A turn made in flight with one wing lip lower than the other.
BATTERY A means of storing electrical power chemically.
BEAM MOUNT Engine mounting consisting of a plate or beams to which the engine is mounted by means of the lugs on either side of the crankcase.
BELLCRANK The pivoted wood, metal, or plastic arm which converts the motion of the control lines to up-and-down movement of the elevators in a control line model aeroplane.
BOOM A wood tube or strip that extends rearward from the wings or from a short fuselage to support the tail surfaces.
BULKHEAD A former within the fuselage used as internal support for longerons, sheet sides, stringers and so on.
BUNTER A free-flight aircraft, either engine-assisted or a glider, which uses a quarter outside loop to effect the transition from climb or high-energy tow-launch into the glide, and thus maximise the possible altitude and hence duration.
C
CABANE The strut assembly at the centre section of a biplane or a PARASOL monoplane.
CAMBER The curvature of the wing or horizontal tail, from the leading edge to the trailing edge.
CANARD An aeroplane designed to fly with its tailplane in front of the wing.
CANTILEVER A wing built in such a way that it does not require external bracing. Model scale aircraft may have dummy external bracing to replicate the original even though the wings are actually strong enough not to need it.
CENTRE OF GRAVITY OR WEIGHT (CoG) The spot where the mass or weight of an aeroplane may be said to centre.
CENTRE OF LIFT (CL) The spot where the lift of a wing (or wings) is said to centre.
CENTRE OF PRESSURE (CP) The point on the upper surface of a wing, relative to the chord, where the lift can be said to centre.
CHORD The width of a wing or tailplane from front (leading edge) to back (trailing edge).
CIRCLE TOW A system by which a free-flight glider may be held captive on the towline and circled until the flyer detects a thermal into which to launch.
CIRCUIT A rectangular flight path around the runway in use; the flight-path used by aircraft approaching for landing.
CLEVIS A sprung link connecting a control rod to the surface being controlled.
CLOSED LOOP A means of operating a control surface by means of flexible wires, under tension, attached to either side; sometimes known as pull-pull.
CLUNK TANK A fuel tank where the fuel pickup is at the end of a flexible tube. Gravity ensures that the clunk is always at the bottom, enabling fuel to be collected whatever the orientation of the fuel tank.
CONDENSER TISSUE An ultra-light paper, originally used for insulation in electronic capacitors, used for covering some types of indoor free-flight aircraft.
CONSTANT-CHORD-WING One that has parallel leading and trailing edges, with no taper.
CONTROL-LINE (CL) FLYING A method of flying a model aircraft by means of two thin wires connecting the model to a control handle held by the pilot. The model flying in a circular path and its elevation is controlled by the pilot.
CONTROL HANDLE Device held in the hand, to which control lines are attached; vertical rocking movements of handle are carried via lines to the aeroplane elevators.
CONTROL HORN An arm fastened to a control surface to which is connected the control rod.
COUPE HIVER The F1G small free-flight rubber duration class, originated in France during World War II.
COWLING A specially shaped nose to enclose an engine.
CRYSTAL A component used to determine the operating frequency of a Radio Transmitter or Receiver. The frequency or Channel of R/C equipment can be changed by plugging in the appropriate crystals.
CYANOACRYLATE A type of instant acting adhesive.
D
DATUM A reference line or point from which measurements are taken.
DEAD STICK A term used to describe a power model making a glide approach after the engine has stopped.
DELTA An aircraft with a wing of a triangular planform.
DETHERMALISER (D/T) A device operated by a slow-burning fuse or by a mechanical or electronic timer that puts a free-flight aircraft into a super-stalled condition to bring it down after a pre-set flight time.
DIHEDRAL The uptilt of wing panels toward the tips. Dihedral is applied for purposes of stability and to provide a turning moment for rudder-only models.
DIFFERENTIAL (ailerons) When ailerons are set to give more up movement than down movement. This is to reduce the effect of adverse yaw.
DOLLY A wheeled frame which a model sits on to effect a take-off. The dolly either remains on the ground or drops off almost immediately.
DOUBLER A second sheet of material fixed inside {or sometimes outside) the main fuselage side sheets on each side for added strength.
DOUBLE-SURFACE WING A wing which is covered on both top and bottom with paper, cloth or other material.
DOWNTHRUST The slight tilting down of the engine or propeller thrust line to exert a slight downward pull under pressure.
DOWNWIND In the circuit flying parallel with the runway in the opposite direction to take-off.
DRAG A force acting on an aeroplane resisting its acting on an aircraft in motion resisting the movement through the air.
DUCTED FAN (DF) A small diameter multi-bladed fan, operated at high rpm inside a tube or duct. The ejected air provides thrust in the same way as a jet engine, which why the DF is often used to simulate jet models.
DUTCH ROLL A side-to-side wallowing motion of a model, often caused by insufficient fin area.
E
ELEVATOR The hinged control section of the tailplane, used to control pitch.
ELEVON An elevator split into 2 halves which can be operated independently so that the same control surfaces can be used to control the roll of an aircraft as well as the pitch. Often seen on Flying Wings and Delta planform models.
ENGINE BRAKE A timer-operated device to stop the propeller of a free-flight duration aircraft at the end of the permitted engine run.
F
FF Short form of Free Flight
FAIL SAFE A system which closes the throttle and moves the control surfaces to pre-set positions in the event of loss of signal from the transmitter. Required by larger models and is intended to bring the model to earth quickly in the event of radio interference or transmitter failure.
FAIRING A streamlined cover over a joint or around angular parts of an aircraft intended to reduce drag.
FILLET A rounded contour used at the junction of vertical and horizontal surfaces on an aeroplane, to reduce wind resistance.
FIN The fixed forward portion of the vertical tail surfaces.
FINAL APPROACH The last phase of a flight when lined up with the runway during the landing approach.
FIREWALL A strong bulkhead immediately behind the engine on a powered aeroplane.
FLAPS Hinged surfaces attached to the trailing edge of a wing, either to increase manoeuvrability (as on a control line aerobatic model) or to increase lift at the expense of drag (as on most full size aircraft and some radio control aeroplanes).
FLAPERONS Ailerons which can be moved both up or both down to act as SPOILERS or flaps.
FLUTTER Rapid oscillation of a wing or control surface. Usually appears only at high speed and is often caused by excessive gaps between wing and control surface, or by inadequately stiff control rods, or in the case of a wing insufficiently stiff structure.
FLYING BOAT An aeroplane with a fuselage shaped like a boat. For operation off water.
FLYING SCALE MODEL A flyable miniature of a manned aeroplane.
FORMER See BULKHEAD.
FREEWHEELER A propeller with a special device that allows it to windmill after the rubber motor is unwound.
FREQUENCY MONITOR Multi-channel radio receiver used to check for interference on model radio control frequencies.
FUSELAGE The body of an aeroplane.
G
GEODETIC A latticework or basket-weave construction.
GLIDER A highly efficient engineless aeroplane. Capable of flying for long periods in gently rising air currents (thermals).
GLITCH A colloquial word to descrive the momentary uncontrolled operation of control surfaces caused by electronic interference or equipment malfunction.
GROUND LOOP A rapid circular rotation of a model on the ground, usually performed while taxying or during take off TAILDRAGGER aircraft are particulalrly suceptible to this as they are sensitive to crosswinds.
GUSSET Small strengtheners fixed at points of heavy stress in an aircraft structure.
H
HAND-LAUNCH (HL) To start a model in flight by releasing it or throwing it from the hand.
HELICOPTER An aircraft that can rise or descend vertically, by means of large overhead power-driven rotor or rotors.
I
INCIDENCE The angle, relative to the fuselage datum, at which a wing is set.
INDUCED DRAG Resistance of a wing to forward movement due to disturbance of the surrounding air and related to the lift produced by the wing.
INVERTED Flying upside down.
J
JAPANESE TISSUE A very light paper, usually made from rice straw, used for covering some free-flight aircraft.
JIG A fixture or form for holding parts together for assembly.
K
KNOCK-OFF A way of mounting parts such as wings, tailplane or undercarriage so that they will knock-off without damage in the event of a crash landing.
L
LANDING GEAR See Undercarriage.
LANDING WIRE Bracing wires which take the non-flying loads on a wing or wings; usually found on bi-planes.
LEADING EDGE The front or entering edge of a wing or tail.
LEADOUT The wires that are attached to the BELLCRANK and which extend out past the wing tip, to fasten to the control wires on a control line model.
LIFT COEFFICIENT An indication of the relative lift of an aerofoil.
LIFT-DRAG RATIO The relation of total lift to total drag of an aerofoil, expressed as a mathematical proportion; 6 to 1; 15 to 1 and so on.
LOMCOVAK An aerobatic manoeuvre which combines extreme roll pitch and yaw changes to produce a violent movement of the aircraft. The name is derived from a Polish word which describes the effect of too much liqueur spirit.
LONGERONS The main fore-and-aft strips in a fuselage
M
MAX An abbreviation for the maximum time for which the flight of a free-flight aircraft is recorded, typically three minutes.
MICROFILM A cellulose lacquer solution poured onto the surface of a tank of water to form an extremely thin film used for the covering of certain types of free-flight indoor aircraft.
MID-AIR Collision of 2 models in flight.
MIXER A mechanical or electronic device which allows two different inputs to operate a control surface; flaperons for example.
MOMENT ARM The distance between the point at which a force is applied and the point of action of the force. For example, the distance between the CoG and nose, or CoG and tail.
MONOCOQUE A form of fuselage construction with rounded exterior and very little internal structure in which the skin carries virtually all stresses.
MOTOR BEARER Hardwood (or plywood) strip mount for model aeroplane engines.
MOTOR STICK A strong strip used to support the rubber motor; the body of stick-type models.
MUSH A nose-high, slow-speed flight attitude resulting from a slightly tail-heavy trim.
N
NEEDLE VALVE Fuel mixture adjustment on a model engine.
NICAD Nickel Cadmium rechargeable battery.
NORDIC The World Championship class for free-flight gliders, the specification for which originated in
Scandinavia.
NOSE PLUG A shaped wooden block used to support the propeller bearing in many rubber powered models.
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Source:
http://entertainment.vsnl.com/aeromodelling/gloss.html