Powered lift in the context of "Thrust vectoring"

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, in a few cases, direct downward thrust from its engines. Common examples of aircraft include airplanes, drones, rotorcraft (including helicopters), airships (including blimps), gliders, paramotors, and hot air balloons. Part 1 (Definitions and Abbreviations) of Subchapter A of Chapter I of Title 14 of the U. S. Code of Federal Regulations states that aircraft "means a device that is used or intended to be used for flight in the air."

The human activity that surrounds aircraft is called aviation. The science of aviation, including designing and building aircraft, is called aeronautics. Crewed aircraft are flown by an onboard pilot, whereas unmanned aerial vehicles may be remotely controlled or self-controlled by onboard computers. Aircraft may be classified by different criteria, such as lift type, aircraft propulsion (if any), usage and others.

A helipad is the landing area of a heliport, in use by helicopters, powered lift, and vertical lift aircraft to land on surface.

While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where such aircraft can land safely.

A heliport is a small airport which has a helipad, suitable for use by helicopters, powered-lift craft, and other types of vertical-lift aircraft.

Designated heliports typically contain one or more touchdown and liftoff areas and may also have limited facilities such as fuel or hangars. In some larger towns and cities, customs facilities may also be available. The broader term vertiport refers to take-off/landing sites for all aircraft landing vertically.

In aeronautics, a ducted fan is a thrust-generating mechanical fan or propeller mounted within a cylindrical duct or shroud. Other terms include ducted propeller or shrouded propeller. When used in vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) applications it is also known as a shrouded rotor.

Ducted fans are used for propulsion or direct lift in many types of vehicle including airplanes, airships, hovercraft, and powered lift VTOL aircraft. The high-bypass turbofan engines used on many modern airliners is an example of a very successful and popular use of ducted fan design.