airbrake

See also: air brake

English

Alternative forms

• air brake (usually only for air-actuated brakes, not aerodynamic brakes)

Etymology

From air +‎ brake.

Noun

airbrake (plural airbrakes)

1. A brake (slowing device) that is operated pneumatically (by air pressure).

   The powerful airbrake of the truck quickly brought it to a stop.

   • 2022 January 12, Chris Hegg, “The secret railway in the woods”, in RAIL, number 948, page 37:

     These VEAs (of which some 550 were built in total) would themselves have been converted from 1962 vanwides, refurbished and fitted with airbrakes specifically with Ministry of Defence munitions traffic in mind, as many military establishments and depots would have had track too sharply curved for newer airbraked wagons.

2. (aviation) A movable control surface that extends to increase drag without affecting lift (unlike a spoiler); a device that provides aerodynamic braking.

   The BAe 146 and Fokker 100's tailcone-mounted airbrakes allow them to slow down quickly for steep approaches without experiencing the lift degradation seen with spoiler-only aircraft.

Related terms

• air-braked

Translations

pneumatic brake

Finnish: paineilmajarru German: Druckluftbremse f Greek: αερόφρενο (el) n (aerófreno) Indonesian: rem angin (id), rem udara Irish: aerchoscán m Malay: brek udara

aerodynamic brake

Finnish: lentojarrut pl German: Luftbremse f Greek: αερόφρενο (el) n (aerófreno) Irish: coscáin eitilte m pl