All forms of flying, and the uses to which aircraft are put. Aviation is divided into two principal areas. Military aviation deals with the use of aircraft by military forces, either as a weapon in its own right, or as a platform from which to launch other weapons, together with the aircraft's use as a reconnaissance vehicle and military transport. Civil aviation deals with the organization and use of aircraft as a means of commercial transportation. The principal interest is the use of aircraft on scheduled and chartered flights to carry passengers and cargo, but the subject also covers the use of aircraft for pleasure, business, and medical services. Because of the international character of civil aviation, governments play a major role in its conduct and regulation, through both national legislation and international agreements. This governmental influence was a major factor in commercial airline operation until the early 1980s, when the US domestic market was deregulated. The result was a massive increase in competition, which led in turn to a reorganization of the airlines into larger groupings. It seems likely that this process will continue in the international market, which will lead to an increase in air travel, and increased pressure on airports and air traffic control.
Aviation refers to flying using aircraft, machines designed by humans for atmospheric flight.
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History
There are records of early short-distance glider flights from the 10th and 11th centuries and possibly earlier human-carrying kites from China, but practical human aviation (trips lasting more than a few seconds) began on November 21, 1783, with the first untethered human flight in a hot air balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers. A little over a century later, on December 17, 1903, the Wright brothers flew the first successful powered, heavier-than-air flight, though their aircraft was impractical to fly for more than a short distance because of control problems. The widespread adoption of ailerons made aircraft much easier to manage, and only a decade later, at the start of World War I, heavier-than-air powered aircraft had become practical for reconnaissance, artillery spotting, and even attacks against ground positions.
Aircraft began to transport people and cargo as designs grew larger and more reliable.
After WWII, especially in North America, there was a boom in general aviation, both private and commercial, as thousands of pilots were released from military service and many inexpensive war-surplus transport and training aircraft became available. Small aircraft manufacturers such as Cessna, Piper, and Beechcraft expanded production to provide small aircraft for the new middle class market.
On June 21, 2004, SpaceShipOne became the first privately funded aircraft to make a spaceflight, opening the possibility of an aviation market outside the earth's atmosphere.
Civil aviation
Civil aviation includes all non-military flying, both general aviation and scheduled air transport.
Commercial transport
While there were many more in the past, there are currently only five major manufacturers of civil transport aircraft:
Airbus, based in Europe (primarily France) Boeing, based in the United States Bombardier, based in Canada Embraer, based in Brazil Tupolev, based in Russia (scheduled to be merged into the United Aircraft Building Corporation)Boeing, Airbus, and Tupolev concentrate on larger airliners, while Bombardier and Embraer concentrate on commuter aircraft.
General Aviation
General aviation includes any flight that is not military and does not fly on a regular schedule, ranging from a recreational flight in a hang glider to a non-scheduled cargo flight in a Boeing 747.
Because of the huge range of activities, it is difficult to cover general aviation with a simple description — general aviation may include business flights, private aviation, flight training, parachuting, gliding, hang gliding, foot-launched powered hang gliders, air ambulance, crop dusting, charter flights, traffic reporting, police air patrols, forest fire flighting, and many other types of flying.
Each country regulates aviation differently, but typically, general aviation falls under several different types of regulations depending on whether it is private or commercial and on the type of equipment involved.
Many small aircraft manufacturers, including Cessna, Piper, Mooney, Cirrus Design, Raytheon, and others serve the general aviation market, with a focus on private aviation and flight training. The most important recent developments for small aircraft have been the introduction of advanced avionics (including GPS) that were formerly found only in large airliners, and the introduction of composite materials to make small aircraft lighter and faster.
Military aviation
Simple airships were used as surveillance aircraft as early as the 18th century.
Types of military aircraft
Fighter aircraft's primary function is to destroy other aircraft. U-2, MiG-25R and SR-71)Air Traffic Control (ATC)
Air traffic control (ATC) involves humans (typically on the ground) who communicate with aircraft to help maintain separation — that is, they ensure that aircraft are far enough apart horizontally or vertically that there is no risk of collision.
While the exact terminology varies from country to country, there are generally three different types of ATC:
control towers (including tower, ground control, clearance delivery, and other services), which control aircraft within a small distance (typically 10-15 km horizontal, and 1,000 m vertical) of an airport. terminal controllers, who control aircraft in a wider area (typically 50-80 km) around busy airports centre controllers, who control aircraft enroute between airportsATC is especially important for aircraft flying under Instrument flight rules (IFR), where they may be in weather conditions that do not allow the pilots to see other aircraft. However, in very high-traffic areas, especially near major airports, aircraft flying under Visual flight rules (VFR) are also required to follow instructions from ATC.
In addition to separation from other aircraft, ATC may provide weather advisories, terrain separation, navigation assistance, and other services to pilots, depending on their workload.
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