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Air New Zealand Limited
Learn how airplanes fly
Supermarine Spitfire F-86 turbojet flight simulator airship Searcher UAV unmanned aerial vehicle glider
For Students
airplane summary
Quizzes
(Left) Ball of predictions with answers to questions based on the Magic 8 Ball; (right): Rubik's Cube. (toys)
The Dating Game: Which Came First?
NASA's Reduced Gravity Program provides the unique weightless or zero-G environment of space flight for testing and training of human and hardware reactions. NASA used the turbojet KC-135A to run these parabolic flights from 1963 to 2004.
Man-Made Birds in the Sky
Concorde. Front end of one of the 20 Concorde supersonic airplanes. A joint British French production they flew for 30 years (1973-2003).
Navigating the Sky
Hindenburg zeppelin crashing, 1937
Transportation and Technology Firsts Quiz
Read Next
Airplane in the sky with a trace of steam contrail.
What Is Known (and Not Known) About Contrails
Still from the film Deliverance, 1919. The story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan. View shows Keller in the cockpit/front seat of an airplane.
How Did Helen Keller Fly a Plane?
Businessman using tablet phone on airplane
Why Do You Have to Turn Off Electronic Devices on an Airplane?
Discover
Stylish light blue jeans on wooden background, closeup of inset pocket
Why Do Jeans Have That Tiny Pocket?
Ahura Mazda - relief of the Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda at the ancient ruins of Persepolis in Iran. Also known as Ormazd Zoroastrianism,
Which Religion Is the Oldest?
Orange basketball on black background and with low key lighting. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society
The 10 Greatest Basketball Players of All Time
Panama Canal infographic
Timeline and Map of the Panama Canal
King Cobra snake in Malaysia. (reptile)
9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes
Colorful winter sunset
What's the Difference Between a Solstice and an Equinox?
Coriander leaves, fresh green cilantro on wooden background, herbs
Why Does Cilantro Taste Like Soap to Some People?

There are a number of ways to identify aircraft by type. The primary distinction is between those that are lighter than air and those that are heavier than air. Aircraft such as balloons, nonrigid airships (blimps), and dirigibles are designed to contain within their structure a sufficient volume that, when filled with a gas lighter than air (heated air, hydrogen, or helium), displaces the surrounding ambient air and floats, just as a cork does on the water. Balloons are not steerable and drift with the wind. Nonrigid airships, which have enjoyed a rebirth of use and interest, do not have ...(100 of 8335 words)

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