Parts of an Airplane and Their Functions Beginners Guide

There is a function for every airplane part, all of which work in conjunction with each other to make it stable and safe to fly.

Whether you are a student pilot, an enthusiast of aviation, or simply someone who’s always wondered how airplanes can stay in the air, this guidebook will walk you through all the components of the airplane you require, what each component does, and why each component is utilized. 

By the time you’ve completed reading, you’ll know what’s in an airplane flying in the skies.

1. Fuselage

The aircraft body is referred to as the fuselage. It is the backbone of the aircraft and also the mount for the rest of the equipment, i.e., wings, tail, and landing gears.

Purpose:

• Carries cargo, passengers, and crew
• Supports wings and tail
• Supports fuel tanks in some airplanes
• Provides overall structural strength

The cross-sectional fuselage shape differs from the airplane. A jet airliner is cylindrical, whereas private airplanes are tapered.

2. Wings

Wings are one of the most important components of an airplane. Without wings, an airplane could not fly because wings provide the lift, or upward motion, employed to lift the airplane off the ground.

Purpose:

• To generate lift to enable flight
• To bear the weight of the plane during flight
• Contain fuel tanks in most aircraft
• Occasionally, accommodate huge plane engines

Wings also vary in shape: some are flat, and others slope or lean backward so that the airplane can fly at faster speeds and become stable.

3. Empennage (Tail Section)

Empennage or tail section consists of several components, i.e., horizontal stabilizer, vertical stabilizer, rudder, and elevators. Empennage stabilizes the airplane in flight.

Function:

• Makes it stable
• Controls pitch (up and down movement)
• Controls yaw (side-to-side movement)
• Assists the pilot in steering and balancing the plane

It would be very difficult to turn the plane, particularly at high speeds, without an empennage.

4. Horizontal Stabilizer

The horizontal stabilizer is found on the tail and is set toward the back of the airplane. It keeps the airplane’s nose from nose-diving forward or backward.

Function:

• Maintains balance in flight
• Prevents the nose from pitching up or down
• Assists elevators in control
• Most critical during takeoff and landing when the airplane is most pitch-sensitive.

5. Vertical Stabilizer

The vertical stabilizer, or fin, is the vertical part of the tail and keeps the side-to-side movement of the airplane.

Function:

• Prevents directional instability
• Assists the rudder in airplane control
• Keeps the nose of the airplane in the direction the airplane needs to fly

That is, the vertical stabilizer maintains the airplane straight in flight so that it doesn’t “slip” to the right or left.

6. Rudder

The rudder, which swings around the vertical stabilizer, allows the pilot to turn the airplane nose left or right.

Purpose:

• Controls yaw (movement from side to side)
• Aids in turning the airplane
• Coordinates with ailerons and rudder to produce stable flight

During crosswind landings, the rudder maintains the airplane’s heading down the runway.

7. Elevators

Elevators are mounted on the horizontal stabilizer and control the movement of the airplane’s nose up and down.

Function:

• Control pitch
• Help the aircraft descend or ascend
• Maintain balance in flight
• Help maintain smooth flight and avoid dips or rises, especially in turbulent air.

8. Ailerons

Ailerons are located on the wing tips and control the roll of the aircraft.

Function:

• Make the aircraft turn left or right
• Help bank turns
• Give lateral stability

During turning flight, ailerons and rudder are coordinated by the pilot to achieve coordinated turns.

9. Flaps

Flaps are wing surfaces that can be made operational during landing and takeoff.

Function:

• Increase the lift at low speed
• Prevent stall
• Reduce takeoff and landing time
• Flaps are particularly crucial for big planes that require extra lift when flying slowly.

10. Slats

Slats are located at the leading edge of wings. They are the same as flaps but are utilized to allow extra air along the wing.

Function:

• Provide extra lift under low-speed flight
• Prevent wing stalling
• Assist in decreasing take-off and landing speeds

When deployed, slats allow the wing to fly at slower airspeeds, i.e., required during some stages of flight.

11. Landing Gear

Landing gear consists of wheels, struts, and shock absorbers to allow the airplane to travel on the ground.

Function:

• Support the airplane on landing and takeoff
• Shock-absorb on landing
• Support taxiing on the runway

Landing gear may be fixed or retractable. Retractable landing gear reduces in-flight drag as it is more streamlined.

12. Engines

The engines generate the thrust that is used to propel the airplane forward. Commercial airplanes use jet engines, and small or light airplanes use propellers.

Function:

• Provide thrust to propel
• Enable takeoff, climb, and cruise flight
• Provide power for in-flight systems on an intermittent basis

Without enough thrust from the engines, even a flawlessly designed airplane won’t fly.

13. Cockpit

The cockpit contains the aircraft’s pilots. The cockpit is complete with communications equipment, controls, and instruments.

Purpose:

• Comforts the pilots
• Controls speed, direction, and altitude of the aircraft
• Comforts the navigation, communication, and safety equipment

The cockpit is actually the plane’s control center with the function of flight decision-making.

Overview of Control Surfaces

Most aircraft have a series of control surfaces that help pilots fly safely:

• Rudder – left/right yaw
• Elevators – pitch up/down
• Ailerons – roll left/right
• Flaps & Slats – lift and low-speed control aid

These control surfaces are balanced in such a way that smooth, precise, and stable flight is possible.

Conclusion

Plans are complex, but when broken down into their parts, they’re a lot easier to understand. From the fuselage, where freight and passengers fly, to the wings, which provide the aircraft with lift, the tail, which provides the aircraft with stability, and the engines, which provide the aircraft with thrust.

Control surfaces like ailerons, rudders, and elevators allow turns to be made by the pilot, and flaps and slats allow takeoff and landing to be safely performed.

Reading these regulations, you’ll see how airplanes can fly in control, smoothly, and safely. When you next go on vacation, take a closer look at the airplane around you, a wonderful thing to see how all those factors come together that make flight possible.

Not only is it informative, but it’s also a real eye-opener to someone who wishes to enter aviation, flying school, or aircraft design.