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Aviation

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Fighter ace culture and mythology

Fighter ace culture and mythology traces how the five-victory ace, coined by French newspapers in World War I, became a propaganda hero and film archetype.

Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft, or fighter jet, is a military aircraft designed primarily to destroy other aircraft in air-to-air combat, with specialized fighters emerging by 1916 in World War I.

Fighter pilot

A fighter pilot, also called a combat pilot, is a military aviator who flies fighter aircraft in air-to-air and air-to-surface combat, including weapons delivery and electronic warfare.

Fighter-bomber

A fighter-bomber (Jagdbomber) is a fighter aircraft modified or mainly used to attack surface targets with bombs while keeping enough performance to defend itself in air combat.

Fiji Airways

Fiji Airways, formerly Air Pacific, is the flag carrier of Fiji, founded in 1951 by aviator Harold Gatty and majority owned by the Government of Fiji, with its hub at Nadi International Airport.

Finavia

Finavia is the Finnish state-owned airport company that owns, develops, and maintains most of Finland's airports, including Helsinki Airport; it was formed as a government-owned corporation in 2010.

Finnair

Finnair, originally Aero Oy, is the flag carrier of Finland, founded in Helsinki in 1923 and headquartered in Vantaa with its main hub at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.

Firebombing

Firebombing is the aerial or artillery delivery of incendiary bombs designed to destroy targets by fire, becoming the core technique of area bombing in World War II.

First aerial circumnavigation

The first aerial circumnavigation, the first flight around the world, was completed in 1924 by US Army Air Service aviators flying four Douglas World Cruiser biplanes.

First class (aviation)

First class is the highest service class on commercial airliners, above business and economy, typically offering private suites, exclusive lounges, and fares reaching five figures on long-haul routes.

First flight across the English Channel

The first flight across the English Channel was made by French aviator Louis Blériot on 25 July 1909, flying from Calais to Dover in about 37 minutes.

First-person view (radio control)

First-person view (FPV) is a method of flying a radio-controlled drone in which the pilot steers from a live camera feed to goggles, underpinning freestyle flying and drone racing.

Fixed-base operator

A fixed-base operator (FBO) is a commercial business granted rights by an airport sponsor to provide aeronautical services such as fueling, maintenance, hangaring, and flight instruction to the public.

Fixed-wing aircraft

A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine that generates lift from rigid wings fixed in position, in contrast to helicopters; it includes airplanes and gliders, and first flew in 1903.

Flag carrier

A flag carrier, also known as a national carrier or flagship airline, is a national airline a state designates, owns, or promotes as its representative in international air transport.

Flagship Airlines Flight 3379

Flagship Airlines Flight 3379 was an American Eagle commuter flight that crashed near Raleigh-Durham International Airport on December 13, 1994, killing 15 of the 20 aboard.

Flair Airlines

Flair Airlines is a Canadian low-cost airline headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, founded as a charter operator in 2005 and repositioned in 2017 as an ultra-low-cost carrier.

Flap (aeronautics)

A flap, also called a wing flap, is a movable trailing-edge device on an aircraft wing that increases lift by changing camber, allowing slower, safer takeoffs and landings.

Flat engine

A flat engine, also called a horizontally opposed engine, is a piston engine with two cylinder banks on either side of a central crankshaft. It powers almost all small aircraft built since World War II.

Flat-four engine

A flat-four engine is a four-cylinder engine with horizontally opposed cylinder banks on either side of the crankshaft, giving smooth balance and a low center of gravity.

Fleet Air Arm

The Fleet Air Arm, forerun by the Royal Naval Air Service, is the aviation branch of the British Royal Navy, formed in the late 1930s and based at RNAS Yeovilton.

Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One (VQ-1)

Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One (VQ-1), nicknamed the World Watchers, is the US Navy's shore-based signals reconnaissance squadron, flying the EP-3E Aries II since 1991.

Fleet carrier

A fleet carrier, also called a fleet aircraft carrier, is the largest class of aircraft carrier, built to operate with a navy's main battle fleet rather than escort convoys.

Fleet Replacement Squadron

A Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), also called a Replacement Air Group or RAG, is a US Navy or Marine Corps unit that trains aviators on their assigned front-line aircraft.

FlexFoil

FlexFoil is a gapless, shape-morphing wing trailing-edge flap developed by FlexSys Inc. of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and flight-tested by NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory from 2014 to 2015.

Flexible wing

A flexible wing is an aircraft wing whose shape is set by aerodynamic loads against its own elasticity, from Rogallo hang glider wings to flexible transport flaps.

Flexjet

Flexjet is a fractional private jet ownership and leasing company in Richmond Heights, Ohio, founded in 1995 as a Bombardier venture and owned by Directional Aviation since 2013.

Flight (2012 film)

Flight is a 2012 American drama directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Denzel Washington as a pilot who crash-lands a jet and faces scrutiny over his toxicology report.

Flight (opera)

Flight is a 1998 comic opera in three acts by Jonathan Dove, with a libretto by April de Angelis, set in an airport where a Refugee without papers is stranded.

Flight 19

Flight 19 was a group of five US Navy TBM Avenger bombers that disappeared off Florida in 1945 with 14 airmen, becoming a Bermuda Triangle legend.