Page:Dictionary of aviation.djvu/106

 82 DICTIONARY OF AVIATION

down-stroke 'daun x stOok n. the downward stroke or stueep of a reciprocating part such as a flapping wing : the eppo- sit of upfstroke.

down ways 'daon,weez adv. in a downward way; downwards.

draft-kite 'dra:ft,kait n. the lower of the two kites used in Wenham's kite?carriage, designed to furnish the drafting, drawing, or tjactiv power, and distinguisht from the upper or draft kite; a carrying^kite. compare pilottkite.

drag draeg intr. be drawn, pold, or hauld along as the drag? rope of a balloon en the ground, or an airship en the ground or en the surface of water; also, move with undue friction, as a flymg?machine in its passage thru the air.

drag draeg n. the action or fact of dragging; the impediment placed in the way of free motion; specifically, the differ- ence between the speed of a ship and that of its screw pro- peller when the speed of the ship is greater than that of the screw; the slip.

viscous drag, the drag occasiond by a viscous fluid upon a selid bedy moving thru it; entjainment.

drag-line 'draeg^am n. a line of definit length one end of tuhich is attacht to a kite tuhile the other end drags on the ground, its purpose being to keep the kite in the air, or to regulate its motion or position, by means of the friction of the line on the ground.

dragon-fly 'draeg3n,fi,ai n. any neurepterous insect of the group Libellulina, characterized by a long slender body, large eyes, and two pairs of large reticulated wings, and by their strong, sunft flight : as, a mechanical *dragon?fly.

dragon-kite 'dr3eg9n,kait n. a Chinese kite consisting of a series of light elliptic bamboo disks and India^paper, deco- rated and garnisht and undulating in the air so as to re- semble a dragon or crawling serpent.

5-rope 'draeg,z:oop n. a rope of definit length attacht to

e car of a balloon or dirigible and allowd to hang down

, that when the ship approaches too near to the earth, the

r jpe drags aleng en the surface of the land or water and

thus, by lightening the load; causes the ship to rise, or at

least prevents it from descending any further; a guide?

rope; a balancer.

drift drift n.

1. the fact or state of being driven; slow course or cur- rent : as, the *drift of the air or of the clouds.

planetary drift, the drift of the air in the planetary cir- culation of the earth's atmosfere; the drift of the planetary winds.

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