Powered lift

Powered lift or powered-lift refers to a type of aircraft that can take off and land vertically and functions differently from a rotorcraft in horizontal flight.

The term is particularly used by the United States Federal Aviation Administration for classification purposes. Powered-lift is one of the seven categories of aircraft designated by the Federal Aviation Administration; the other six being Airplane, Rotorcraft, Glider, Lighter-Than-Air, Powered parachute, and Weight-shift control.

The first powered-lift ratings to be issued by the FAA on a civilian pilot certificate were on 21 August 1997, to pilots of Bell Helicopter and Boeing, and of the United States Marine Corps.

Convertiplane

A convertiplane is an aircraft which uses rotor power for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and converts to fixed-wing lift in normal flight.

In tiltrotor and tiltwing designs such as the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, the rotor swings forward to act as a propeller in forward flight. Some designs have a ducted rotor design, in which the rotor is surrounded by a large ring-shaped duct to reduce tip losses.