Complete the table according to the content of the text

UNIT	FUNCTION
Landing gear
Pneumatic tyres
Shock-absorbing struts
Tail skid
Wheel well

2. Define the main idea of paragraphs D and H.

Complete the sentences below with suitable words from the box.

main legs oleo unit to support to provide skid nacelles nose leg

1. The landing gear is designed _____ the airplane on the ground and _____ the shock absorption.

2. Tricycle landing gear consists of one _____ and two _____.

3. After take-off main legs are retracted into special ____ .

4. The tail wheel consists of a single _____ .

5. The rear part of some airplanes is supported by the _____ .

Ask questions to which the following sentences are answers. Remember to use “wh” words: why, what, where, when.

- tricycle landing gears and the landing gear with a skid.

- it simplifies landing and prevents nosing over.

- after take off.

- into the well of special nacelles.

- large diameter low-pressure tyres.

- to protect the aircraft and crew from damage through static electrical charge.

- by a framework of hollow tubes called struts.

Give your own definitions for the words from the text.

Tail skid, low-pressure tyre, aircraft centre line, landing gear well, framework, retractable landing gear.

Vocabulary Focus

1. Match the word in column A with the word in column B having a similar meaning. Be careful! There are some extra words in column B.

A B

fit linkage

strut skid

rear design

landing gear maintain

intend equip

support back

tail wheel leg

conventional usual

undercarriage

provide

Find in the text antonyms of the following words.

Fixed (A); similar (B); add, complicate (D); straight (G); different, result in, repair (H).

A) Check if you know the meaning of the following words.

To intend, to carry, to mount, to install, to employ, to perform, to attach, to withstand, to impose, to prevent.

B) Make up your own word combinations using these verbs.

Complete the missing part of the table.

Verb	Noun	Adjective (Participle)
		simple
absorb
		arranged
	retraction
mount
	addition
		conductive

Writing

Match the beginnings and the endings of the sentences.

1. The shock is usually absorbed by … a) eliminates danger of nosing over.

2. Landing gear with a skid comprises b) prevents the aircraft and crew from

two main wheels located …. damage through static electrical

charges.

3. Tricycle landing gear simplifies c) pneumatic tyres and shock

landing and ….. absorbing struts.

4. The landing wheels are fitted with… d) slightly forward of the airplane’s

centre of gravity and a tail skid

at the rear.

5. The tail wheel provides electrical e) large diameter low-pressure tyres.

contact and so ….

Speaking

You are a guide of the museum of aviation. Tell a group of the first-year students about different types of landing gear.

UNIT 13

Helicopters

Preparing to Read

Look at the picture and fill in the table. Compare the information from table with your partner.

Helicopter and Airplane
Similarity	Difference

Helicopters have many applications in a variety of fields. Brainstorm as many uses of the helicopter as possible.

Reading

Read the text to see whether your ideas were correct.

Read the text and write out the words and word combinations you don’t know, try to guess their meaning from the context. Compare your notes with your partners.

Helicopters

A. Rotary wing aircraft (helicopters) are made to fly by fast-turning blades, or rotors. These aircraft can land in a small space, take off without running along the ground, and hover in the air.

B. The helicopter is a rotary wing aircraft. It depends for its support in flight on the lift generated by one or more rotors. Rotating blades send the airflow downward thus creating lift. It enables the helicopter to take off and land vertically.

C. Besides its main, or lift rotor, the helicopter usually has an auxiliary, or tail rotor. This is a small rotor mounted at the tail to counteract the torque of the main rotor. The tail rotor diverts some part of engine power and lowers the powerplant efficiency.

D. As an aircraft, the primary advantages of the helicopter are due to the rotor blades that revolve through the air, providing lift without requiring the aircraft to move forward the way an airplane does. The lift from the rotor also allows the helicopter to hover in one area for extended periods of time. It is also able to load and unload without actually landing due to hovering capability and special loading equipment. This is one of the greatest advantages as compared to fixed-wing aircraft.

E. Heavy fuel consumption, restricted range and speed make the helicopter impractical for long range transportation. Even the best helicopter makes have an endurance not exceeding 3-4 hours. Among the disadvantages – vibration and noise generated by the rotors.

F. At present helicopters are extensively used for military and peaceful purposes and a result of that there is a great variety of helicopter types and designs.

G. One of the most unusual commercial uses of helicopters is the aerial crane or skycrane. As aerial cranes, helicopters carry loads connected to long cables or slings in order to place heavy equipment such as transmission towers and large air conditioning units on the tops of tall buildings or when an item must be raised up in a remote area, such as a radio tower raised on the top of a hill or mountain, far from the nearest road.

H. Aerial firefighting (or water bombing) is a method to combat wildfires that often uses helicopters. Helicopters may be fitted with tanks or carry buckets or deliver firefighters. Buckets are usually filled by submerging in lakes, rivers, reservoirs, or portable tanks. Helicopters are also used to resupply firefighters on the ground with tools, food, water and other supplies.

I. Helicopters are often used as an air ambulance for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional ambulance cannot easily or quickly reach the scene or when a patient needs to be transported at a distance where air transportation is most practical. Air ambulance crews are supplied with equipment that enables them to provide medical treatment to a critically injured or ill patient.

J. Police departments and other law enforcement agencies use helicopters to search for and pursue suspects. Since helicopters can achieve a unique aerial view and don't need to negotiate ground obstacles, they are often used in conjunction with police on the ground to report on suspects' locations and movements. They are often mounted with lighting and heat-sensing equipment for night pursuits.

K. Military forces use helicopters to conduct aerial attacks on ground targets. Such helicopters are fitted with missile launchers and miniguns. Militaries also use transport helicopters to ferry troops in and out of constrained combat zones where the lack of an airstrip would make transport via fixed-wing aircraft impossible.

Comprehension Check