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aircraft

technology

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  • major reference
    • Air New Zealand Limited
      In airplane

      …of a class of fixed-wing aircraft that is heavier than air, propelled by a screw propeller or a high-velocity jet, and supported by the dynamic reaction of the air against its wings. For an account of the development of the airplane and the advent of civil aviation see history of…

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  • aerodynamic principles
    • differential manometer, Torricellian barometer, and siphon
      In fluid mechanics: Drag

      …is the wing of an aircraft with a slot through its leading edge; the current of air channeled through this slot imparts forward momentum to the fluid in the boundary layer on the upper surface of the wing to hinder this fluid from moving backward. The cowls that are often…

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  • contribution by Tsiolkovsky
  • liability insurance coverage
    • flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina
      In insurance: Aviation insurance

      …covers physical damage to the aircraft and legal liability arising out of its ownership and operation. Specific policies are also available to cover the legal liability of airport owners arising out of the operation of hangars or from the sale of various aviation products. These latter policies are similar to…

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  • regulation by air law
    • In air law: Airports

      …an airport requires special permission, aircraft leaving or entering a country will normally be required to do so at an airport having customs and immigration facilities. Airports that are open to public use are generally subject to some form of licensing or control in order to ensure compliance with minimum…

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  • significance of Boeing Company
    • Boeing 707
      In Boeing Company

      …a leading producer of military aircraft, helicopters, space vehicles, and missiles, a standing significantly enhanced with the company’s acquisition of the aerospace and defense units of Rockwell International Corporation in 1996 and its merger with McDonnell Douglas Corporation in 1997. Formerly Boeing Airplane Company, the firm assumed its current name…

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aerospace industry

  • Assembly of the Boeing 787
    In aerospace industry: Civil aircraft

    Builders of civil aircraft comprise two categories: producers of general aviation aircraft and producers of heavy aircraft. General aviation is defined as all aircraft activities not related to military, major airline, or air-cargo flying. It includes light planes and helicopters used for private pleasure…

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  • sonic boom
    • In sonic boom

      When an aircraft travels at subsonic speed, the pressure disturbances, or sounds, that it generates extend in all directions. Because this disturbance is transmitted earthward continuously to every point along the path, there are no sharp disturbances or changes of pressure. At supersonic speeds, however, the pressure…

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effect of

    • clear-air turbulence
      • In clear-air turbulence

        …and constitute a hazard to aircraft. This turbulence can be caused by small-scale (i.e., hundreds of metres and less) wind velocity gradients around the jet stream, where rapidly moving air is close to much slower air. It is most severe over mountainous areas and also occurs in the vicinity of…

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    • microbursts
      • thunderstorm microburst
        In microburst

        …create a particular hazard for airplanes at takeoff and landing because the pilot is confronted with a rapid and unexpected shift from headwind to tailwind.

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    use in

      use of

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        Maxie Anderson
        Table of Contents
        Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
        Quizzes
        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.
        History of Flight Quiz

        Maxie Anderson

        American balloonist
        Also known as: Max Leroy Anderson
        Written and fact-checked by
        The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
        Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
        The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
        Article History
        Quick Facts
        Byname of:
        Max Leroy Anderson
        Born:
        Sept. 10, 1934, Sayre, Okla., U.S.
        Died:
        June 27, 1983, near Bad Brückenau, W.Ger. (aged 48)
        See all related content

        Maxie Anderson (born Sept. 10, 1934, Sayre, Okla., U.S.—died June 27, 1983, near Bad Brückenau, W.Ger.) was a balloonist who, with Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman, made the first transatlantic balloon flight and, with his son Kristian, made the first nonstop trans-North American balloon flight.

        Anderson entered the Missouri Military Academy, Mexico, Mo., at the age of eight and throughout his schooling worked summers with his father, a pipeline builder. Anderson held a pilot’s license at the age of 15, having lied about his age. By the age of 29 he owned his own mining company in Albuquerque, N.M. He began flying hot-air balloons in New Mexico, alone and with his friend Ben Abruzzo, who was also a light-aircraft flyer (planes, gliders, and helicopters). In 1977 they decided to attempt the transatlantic flight in honour of the 50th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s flight to Le Bourget field near Paris. Ed Yost, balloonist and balloon builder, whose transatlantic flight had failed in 1958, built the Double Eagle, a helium balloon, for them and trained them to fly it. They launched the balloon near Marshfield, Mass., on Sept. 9, 1977, but had to set down off the coast of Iceland on September 13. In 1978 a third crew member was added, Larry Newman, head of the Electra Flyer Corporation, a maker of hang gliders, who applied his expertise to the building of the Double Eagle II. On August 11 it was launched from Presque Isle, Maine, and landed near Miserey, France, on August 17.

        On May 8, 1980, Anderson and his son Kristian launched the helium balloon Kitty Hawk from Fort Baker, Calif., and landed, on May 12, at Sainte-Félicité, Que., Can., the first trans-North American nonstop balloon flight.

        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.
        Britannica Quiz
        History of Flight Quiz

        Anderson was killed in an accident during a balloon race.

        This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
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