Lesson 1: Flight Vocabulary

1. The amount of matter in an object.
3. A push or pull on an object resulting from the object's interaction with another object.
8. The force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth or any other physical body having mass.
9. To drive, or cause to move, forward.
14. The rate at which an object speeds up, slows down, or changes direction.
15. A force applied to a body to propel it in a desired direction. This force moves an aircraft through the air.
16. Up and down motion of the wings of an aircraft.
17. A gas or liquid that tends to take the shape of its container.
18. A side-to-side movement of the nose of the aircraft.
19. The force that directly opposes the weight of an airplane and holds the airplane in the air.
21. The force of gravity that pulls objects downward.
23. The air or sky above a country that is considered to belong to that country.
25. The part on an airplane that raises and lowers the wings causing an aircraft to roll.

2. A streamlined surface designed in such a way that air flowing around it produces useful motion.
4. Small moving section at the rear of the stabilizer that helps to control the yawing motion of the aircraft.
5. The means by which aircraft and spacecraft are moved forward.
6. The up or down movement of the nose of an aircraft.
7. The relationship among an object’s mass, acceleration, and an applied force, is Force equals mass times acceleration (F=ma).
10. The hinged part of the stabilizer on an aircraft that is used to deflect the tail of the plane up and down.
11. Resistance of the air against the forward movement of an airplane.
12. The main body of an aircraft where wings and stabilizers are attached.
13. Objects at rest stay at rest and objects in motion stay in motion unless an external force is applied. Also known as the law of inertia.
20. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
22. A measure of the curvature of the airfoil.
24. A person who operates the flying controls of an aircraft.