Air brake (aeronautics)

[3] However, flight spoilers are routinely referred to as "speed brakes" on transport aircraft by pilots and manufacturers, despite significantly reducing lift.

It discusses different types of air brakes and their requirements, in particular that they should have no appreciable effect on lift or trim and how this may be achieved with split trailing edge flaps on the wings, for example.

A US report[8] written in 1949 describes numerous air brake configurations, and their performance, on wings and fuselage for propeller and jet aircraft.

[9] Virtually all jet-powered aircraft have an air brake or, in the case of most airliners, flight spoilers that also generate drag, albeit with the additional lift dumping effect.

Many early jets used parachutes as air brakes on approach (Arado Ar 234, Boeing B-47) or after landing (English Electric Lightning).

Split-tailcone air brakes have been used on the Blackburn Buccaneer naval strike aircraft designed in the 1950s and Fokker F28 Fellowship and British Aerospace 146 airliners.

Flight spoilers operating as speed brakes on Airbus A320
Air brakes on the rear fuselage of a Eurowings BAe 146-300
Convair F-106 Delta Dart air brake deployed
A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon showing its split speed brakes inboard of the stabilators or "tailerons"
An F-15 landing with its large dorsal air brake panel deployed
Extended DFS type air brakes on a Slingsby Capstan
Space Shuttle Discovery on landing, showing its rudder deployed in speed brake mode