Aviation Maintenance Terms beginning with W

Weight-shift-control aircraft

A powered aircraft with a framed pivoting wing and a fuselage controllable only in pitch and roll by the pilot’s ability to change the aircraft’s center of gravity with respect to the wing. Flight control of the aircraft depends on the wing’s ability to flexibly deform rather than the use of control surfaces.

Winglet or tip fin

An out-of-plane surface extending from a lifting surface. The surface may or may not have control surfaces.