| Fixed-Wing aircraft | |
|---|---|
 | |
| An Air India Boeing 747, a modern passenger airliner | |
| Part of a series on Categories of Aircraft | |
| Lighter than air (aerostats) | |
| Unpowered | Powered |
| • Balloon | • Airship |
| Hybrid Lighter-than-air/Heavier-than-air | |
| Unpowered | Powered |
| • Hybrid airship | |
| Heavier than air (aerodynes) | |
| Unpowered | Powered |
| Flexible-wing • Hang glider | Flexible-wing • Powered hang glider |
| Fixed-wing • Glider | Fixed-wing • Powered airplane/aeroplane |
| Hybrid fixed/rotary wing • Tiltwing • Tiltrotor • Coleopter | |
| Rotary-wing • Rotor kite | Rotary-wing • Autogyro • Gyrodyne ("Heliplane") • Helicopter |
| Other means of lift • Ornithopter • Flettner airplane | |
| see also • Ground-effect vehicle • Hovercraft • Flying Bedstead • Avrocar | |
A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air craft whose lift is generated not by wing motion relative to the aircraft, but by forward motion through the air. The term is used to distinguish from rotary-wing aircraft or ornithopters, where the movement of the wing surfaces relative to the aircraft generates lift. In the US and Canada, the term airplane is used, though around the rest of the English speaking world, including Ireland and Commonwealth nations the spelling aeroplane is more common. These terms refer to any fixed wing aircraft powered by propellers or jet engines. The word derives from the Greek αέρας (aéras-) ("air") and -plane.[1] The spelling "aeroplane" is the older of the two, dating back to the mid-late 19th century.[2] Fixed-wing aircraft may be manned or not; they may be large or tiny; every fixed-wing aircraft is open to being scale modeled by perhaps a smaller or larger mimic fixed wing aircraft. Many fixed-wing aircraft may be remotely controlled or robot controlled.
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