Ocean,
1. A magneto is historically a basic "generator" that creates power for a spark on an engine. Older cars had a rotating mechanical distributor which used battery voltage to power each of the spark plug leads in turn- a magneto is very similar in principle, but uses a basic generator that is un-connected to the rest of the electrics, to power the spark plug.
2. Rule: Take off and land into wind. Why? Good question. Imagine your aircraft takes off at say 70 kts- this means that when the wind is passing over your wings at 70kts, you will have positive lift and you can climb out. If you have wind coming towards you at say 30kts, you need only achieve a ground speed of 40kts to achieve the same- likewise, if you have wind coming from behind you at 30kts you will need to achieve 100kts to take off. Now this isn't so bad on take off, but the same rule applies on landing- and if you are in a light aircraft at 100kts then you are in for a bumpy time. So you try and land and take off into wind; seldom is the wind dead ahead or dead behind, but you must choose the direction that is best to give the closest to flight into wind.
Downwind: You are travelling WITH the direction of the wind. This is NOT the direction you want to land.
Upwind: You are travelling AGAINST the wind. This IS the direction that is best for landing.
Crosswind: you are at right angles to the wind, so that it is coming in from starboard or port side.
Entry into airports is seldom straight into the runway and you will enter a trafic pattern; this will vary very much between airfield and airport around the world but typically, you will enter the pattern at DOWNwind- you will see the runway to your left or right as you pass along the runway. You will then turn left or right on the CROSSwind leg before again turning onto the runway heading for your landing. This is the common approach for small airfields- large airports with commercial jets will often have far more complicated patterns. In fact, my training airfield DID have a straight in approach as it was very quiet (except when we were being taught the pattern system)
The purpose is to bring aircraft into the airfield "pattern" that might be coming from any direction and bring them into a safe queue ready for landing- think of a roundabout on a busy road where everyone enters that and goes around it until they are lined up with the exit (in this case final approach)
3. As earlier answers have shown, there are several type of engines. The suck, squeaze, bang, blow, is a quite good description of how a 4 stroke works.
1. Piston goes down, valve opens sucking in air (and fuel if mixed in manifold by carb, or by injection)
2. Piston goes back up, compressing fuel and then ignites at TDC (by compression in a diesel or spark in petrol)
3. Piston goes back down
4. Piston goes back up, exhaust valve opens forcing out waste gas
You will notice that on each cycle of a piston, it travels up and down twice per time it ignites- the reason is that its neighbour is timed opposite- so that when say cylinder 1 is on stage 1, cylinder 2 is on stage 3.
A two stroke is a much simpler version which as its name implies has only one up and one down stroke per ignition of the cylinder (I haven't come across any in aircraft but that's not to say they aren't in use).
Modern engines are laid out in the same way as a car- that is each cylinder is in a line one after the other. Large engines or older engines will employ the radial system whereby the cylinders are built in a circle around one common crankshaft- these are MUCH larger in diameter but are far shorter and thus lighter and stronger.
So that is the propellor driven aircraft.
Now there is the turbo prop, turbojet and turbofan
Turboprop is (very basically) a simple gas turbine where air is compressed, fuel is squirted in, it ignites, drives a small turbine which powers the intitial fan to compress the air. However very little of the exhaust or intake of air moves the aircraft, but a normal propeller blade is used- it appears very similar to a conventional piston engine.
Turbojets employ a similar principle to the turboprop, but use a large fan in place of the prop to draw air in (sucking the plane forward) whilst the exhaust gases race out of the back at such a pressure it forces the aircraft forward.
The turbofan is a modern advancement on the turbojet and is the system in use today. I would have to direct you to someone more knowledgeable to explain the mathematical difference, but the principle is that a turbofan is quieter and more fuel efficient.
The wikipedia link is worth looking at for more of an explanation between turbojet and turbofan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbofan
