The Five Major Parts of an Airplane

The Five Major Parts of an Airplane

We tend to think of aircraft as single, uninterrupted units. There are in fact five major parts of an airplane which can be looked at separately. These can be found on nearly any model of aircraft out there.

The most obvious feature to begin with is the wing. Responsible for holding the craft aloft, it is also where the vast majority of fuel is stored during flights. Without the wing, you would have a missile instead. Wings are absolutely necessary for the kind of flight that planes do.

A wing is not much good unless the craft can be propelled forward. To this end the second main component would be the engine. These are high performance gas combustors for the most part, and the need to operate them at high output levels for extended periods of time means that they are meant to favor reliability over power.

The tail section is very important. Much of the stability and ability to maneuver comes from the tail surfaces. Without a tail an aircraft quickly becomes impossible to handle in the air and will be at an inevitable risk of crashing.

The main body of the aircraft is called the fuselage. This is typically where passengers and cargo are placed. The fuselage contains the cabin and the cockpit, and depending on the complexity of the aircraft, can be pressurized and climate controlled for the comfort of the human beings who are inside.

These are the main elements of a plane. With the wing, tail, engine, and fuselage all in place you almost have all the bits too make your own functional aircraft. Now let's think about how you are going to land this thing, because you are probably going to want to do that at some point.

Landing gear is pretty important. Sure, you can skid an aircraft down a runway on its belly, but you really aren't going to make any friends doing that. Airports probably hate it when that happens. So does the FAA. Be courteous and think of their feelings. A nice solid set of landing gear will allow your plane to take off and land without gouging huge scars in the tarmac.

That is the basic information about the configuration of aircraft. There are five major parts of an airplane, and those are them. The wing holds the machine aloft and holds the fuel for the engine. The tail and fuselage describe the main body of the craft and hold cargo or passengers. The landing gear, the final main component, is deployed when the airplane is preparing to arrive at an airstrip.