airbrake

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.
   • 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...2022 January 12, Chris Hegg, “The secret railway in the woods”, in RAIL, number 948, page 37
2. 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.