Challenges for the Industry

The aerospace industry has cut thou­sands of jobs in recent years, however, because of a drop in orders due to finan­cial problems in the airline industry. A decline in airline business followed terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001. Rising fuel prices also hit airlines hard, and several major U. S. airlines have filed for bankruptcy in recent years.

The aerospace industry has also been troubled by disputes between the United States and Europe over government sub­sidies (payments to offset the cost of developing new aircraft). Boeing, facing stiff competition from the new, giant

Airbus A380, has complained to the World Trade Organization about low – interest loans made to Airbus by the European Union.

The space industry has been hit by uncertainty over plans for the future of manned flights. Programs such as the International Space Station (ISS) and a replacement vehicle for the Space Shuttle, however, continue to create demand and challenge the industry’s best workers. Aerospace manufacturers are facing another challenge, posed by envi­ronmental concerns—how to build quiet and fuel-efficient aircraft for the future.

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SEE ALSO:

• Aircraft, Commercial • Aircraft,

Military • Boeing • Curtiss, Glenn

• Wright, Orville and Wilbur

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Aileron and Rudder

he ailerons and rudder are two of the three control surfaces on an airplane (the third is the elevator). They are the moving parts that steer a plane through the air. The ailerons are panels in the trailing (back) edges of the wings. The rudder is part of an airplane’s tail fin.

Pilots use the ailerons and rudder together to make a turn. They learn how to steer their aircraft smoothly through a turn with the nose pointing in the right direction.