ABSTRACT
Aircraft that use lift generated by wings to sustain flight, including: powered aircraft that gain thrust from an engine, gliders that use air currents to climb, and microlights and powered hang gliders. Aircraft controls usually include control column/joystick/yoke, throttles and rudder pedals. Fixed wing aircraft form bulk of aviation due to flexibility, cost effectiveness, speed and range, capacity. Wide variety of roles and types exist: fighter, fighter/attack, and military transport/parachute drop, commercial and general aviation. Composition of altitude relatively constant until around 300,000 ft altitude. At normal engine power settings, air entering cabin has passed through engine compressors at high temperatures, breaking O3 down to molecular oxygen. Layers of atmosphere closely represents pressure and temperature characteristics of the real atmosphere at temperate latitude of 45° North and are used as basis for calibration of flight instruments and to allow accurate comparisons between the performance of various aircraft and aircraft systems.
