An aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly by being supported by the air, or in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift as with balloons, blimps and dirigibles or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil as with vehicles that plane the air with wings in a straight manner, such as airplanes and gliders, or vehicles that generate lift with wings in a rotary manner, such as helicopters or gyrocopters).Although rockets and missiles also travel through the atmosphere, most are not considered aircraft because they use rocket thrust instead of aerodynamics as the primary means of lift A cruise missile may be considered to be an aircraft because it relies on a lifting wing. The human activity which surrounds aircraft is called aviation. Manned aircraft are flown by an onboard pilot. Unmanned aerial vehicles may be remotely controlled or self-controlled by onboard computers. Target drones are an example of UAVs. Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, esp. heavier-than-air aircraft Air Transport, general Aviation, and Military Aviation |