On a airplane, are spoilers also known as speed brakes?

Question

Just Curious

Answer 1

Yes, In any basic aircraft flight control course Spoilers have flight spoilers and Ground spoilers and they are all called speed brakes. The only difference is in flight only flight spoilers are deployed or used and they deploy to a certain degree only (ex. 15 deg. only, note:numerical figure is not correct.) In ground, all spoilers deploys to their full deploy angle. This happens automatic as long as the speed brake handle is armed and certain conditions exist like anti-skid is on, wheel speed of nose wheel is less than 60knots etc..

Again number figures are not exact values are not Tobe memorized check AMM for true values.

Answer 2

yes

Answer 3

The short answer is, "yes".

They are panels on top of the wing hydraulically actuated. When in flight, they deploy as spoilers, they are are controlled as to how many degrees they will deploy.

On the ground they become speed brakes and will pop up to their full upright position (limited only by the amount of travel allowed by design from the actuator).

Answer 4

On commercial airliners, the same control surfaces usually serve the dual purpose of spoilers and speed brakes.  Spoilers "spoil" the lift of the wing, allowing the aircraft to descend quickly, but they also create enormous amounts of drag, so they also act as speed brakes, and can be used for that purpose as well.

On some aircraft (not normally commercial transports), the two functions are separate, with spoilers (mounted on the wings) used to diminish lift, and speed brakes (mounted somewhere else) used just to increase drag without any effect on lift.

Answer 5

Technically speaking spoilers and speed brakes are two different entities. Spoilers are meant to 'kill' the lift factor and help the aircraft to alight and descend at a faster rate; and also, once on the runway, induce more weight on the landing gear so that braking is more efficient. In simple terms they dump the lift created by the wings. In modern commercial aircraft (so brilliantly explained by deepseteyes), these spoilers when deployed beyond a certain angle of deflection, act as speed brakes. Spoilers are deployable below certain speeds and are invariably located on the main-planes.

Speed brakes, on the other hand, is a term used in fighters where thrust attenuators or speed brakes are specifically used to reduce the speed of the aircraft, rather than 'kill' the lift. These can be deployed at any speeds and are specially useful in air combat maneuvers or dogfights when a pilot wishes his opponent to overshoot him. Speed brakes can be installed on any part of the fighter aircraft, not necessarily on the wings.

Answer 6

Spoilers are not there to slow down the car (or airplane).  Speed brakes basically bleed off the speed.

On a car, spoilers actually "spoils" (or destroys) the vacuum that forms behind the car and helps with MPG and speed (faster not slower).

Good Luck...

Answer 7

yes.  on a commercial aircraft speed brakes are deployed as soon as the wheels are on the ground, helping to slow the plane down from landing speed (~130 knots) to taxi speed.

This is for people who think planes have spoilers like a car has...

When the pilot activates the spoilers, the plates flip up into the air stream. The flow over the wing is disturbed by the spoiler, the drag of the wing is increased, and the lift is decreased. Spoilers can be used to "dump" lift and make the airplane descend; or they can be used to slow the airplane down as it prepares to land. When the airplane lands on the runway, the pilot usually brings up the spoilers to kill the lift, keep the plane on the ground, and make the brakes work more efficiently. The friction force between the tires and the runway depends on the "normal" force, which is the weight minus the lift. The lower the lift, the better the brakes work. The additional drag of the spoilers also slows the plane down.

http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplan...