and passengers. Many aerodromes have takeoff and landing restrictions on weight and runway length, and so are not able to handle all types of aircraft. While the vast majority of fixed-wing aircraft land and take off on land, some are capable of take-off and landing on ice, snow, and calm water.

Autonomous or remotely-piloted airplanes are known as unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAV. These drones can range in size from less than a metre across to a full-sized