Air brake (aeronautics)
Flight control surface meant to increase drag / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Not to be confused with Aerobraking.
Not to be confused with Air brake (road vehicle).
In aeronautics, air brakes or speed brakes are a type of flight control surface used on an aircraft to increase the drag on the aircraft.[1] When extended into the airstream, air brakes cause an increase in the drag on the aircraft. When not in use, they conform to the local streamlined profile of the aircraft in order to help minimize drag.[2]
Air brakes differ from spoilers in that air brakes are designed to increase drag while making little change to lift, whereas spoilers reduce the lift-to-drag ratio and require a higher angle of attack to maintain lift, resulting in a higher stall speed.[3]