Montant—Fuselage strut.
Nacelle—That part of an aeroplane containing the engine and pilot and passenger, and to which the tail plane is not fixed.
Neutral Lift Line—A line taken through a surface in a forward direction relative to its direction of motion, and starting from its trailing edge. If the attitude of the surface is such as to make the said line coincident with the direction of motion, it results in no lift, the reaction then consisting solely of drift. The position of the neutral lift line, i.e., the angle it makes with the chord, varies with differences of camber, and it is found by means of wind-tunnel research.
Newton's Laws of Motion—1. If a body be at rest, it will remain at rest; or, if in motion, it will move uniformly in a straight line until acted upon by some force.
2. The rate of change of the quantity of motion (momentum) is proportional to the force which causes it, and takes place in the direction of the straight line in which the force acts. If a body be acted upon by several forces, it will obey each as though the others did not exist, and this whether the body be at rest or in motion.
3. To every action there is opposed an equal and opposite reaction.
Ornithopter (or Orthopter)—A flapping wing design of aircraft intended to imitate the flight of a bird.
Outrigger—This term is usually applied to the framework connecting the main surface with an elevator placed in advance of it. Sometimes applied to the “tail-boom” framework connecting the tail-plane with the main lifting surface.
Pancake, to—To “stall ”
Plane—This term is often applied to a lifting surface. Such application is not quite correct, since “plane” indicates a flat surface, and the lifting surfaces are always cambered.