The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system.
Airframe design is a field of aerospace engineering that combines aerodynamics, materials technology and manufacturing methods with a focus on weight, strength and aerodynamic drag, as well as reliability and cost.
A folding wing is a wing configuration design feature of aircraft to save space and is typical of carrier-based aircraft that operate from the limited deck space of aircraft carriers. The folding allows the aircraft to occupy less space in a confined hangar because the folded wing normally rises over the fuselage decreasing the floor area of the aircraft. Vertical clearance is also limited in aircraft carrier hangar decks. In order to accommodate for this, some aircraft such as the Supermarine Seafire and Fairey Gannet, have additional hinges to fold the wingtips downward, while others such as the A-5 Vigilante and S-3 Viking have folding tails. The F-14 Tomcat's variable-sweep wings can be "overswept" to occupy less space.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) is a division of the Boeing Company. It designs, assembles, markets, and sells commercial aircraft, including the 737, 767, 777, and 787, along with freighter and business jet variants of most. The division employs nearly 35,000 people, many working at the company's division headquarters in Renton, Washington, or at more than a dozen engineering, manufacturing, and assembly facilities, notably the Everett Factory and Renton Factory (both outside of Seattle), and the South Carolina Factory.
It includes the assets of the Douglas Aircraft division of the former McDonnell Douglas Corporation, which merged with Boeing in 1997. As of the end of 2021, BCA employed about 35,926 people.
The Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) are rules prescribed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) governing all aviation activities in the United States. The FARs comprise Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR). A wide variety of activities are regulated, such as aircraft design and maintenance, typical airline flights, pilot training activities, hot-air ballooning, lighter-than-air aircraft, human-made structure heights, obstruction lighting and marking, model rocket launches, commercial space operations, model aircraft operations, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and kite flying. The rules are designed to promote safe aviation, protecting pilots, flight attendants, passengers and the general public from unnecessary risk.
An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology industry.
The aircraft industry is the industry supporting aviation by building aircraft and manufacturing aircraft parts for their maintenance. This includes aircraft and parts used for civil aviation and military aviation. Most production is done pursuant to type certificates and Defense Standards issued by a government body. This term has been largely subsumed by the more encompassing term: "aerospace industry".