Parts of an Airplane

You may not be familiar with some of the terms in the descriptions of the parts of an airplane. Don't worry. Just keep this page open as a reference while you are learning how airplanes fly.

Fuselage - The body of the airplane. The wings, tail, and engine are attached to the fuselage.

Wing - a horizontal airfoil that produces lift. The ailerons and flaps are hinged to the wing.

Ailerons - hinged surfaces on the outside of the wing that swing up and down. While the right aileron hinges up, the left aileron hinges down. And vice versa. These surfaces control the roll of the airplane.

Tail - The rear section of the plane that consists of a horizontal stabilizer and a vertical stabilizer. The elevator hinges to the horizontal stabilizer. The rudder hinges to the vertical stabilizer.

Elevator - hinged surfaces on the horizontal part of the tail that swing up and down. These surfaces control the pitch of the airplane.

Rudder - hinged surface on the vertical part of the tail that swings left and right. This surface controls the yaw of the airplane.

Flaps - hinged surfaces on the wing just inside the ailerons. The flaps hinge down to increase lift on take off and landing.

Engine - Provides the power to turn the propeller to produce thrust for sustaining flight.

Propeller - A turning blade or twisted airfoil that produces thrust when powered by the engine.

Spinner - The nose cone that covers the hub of the propeller. Helps smooth the airflow over the engine.

Cockpit - where the pilot sits while flying the plane. Houses all the controls and instrumentation.