The ability to change forces gives us a means of controlling and maneuvering the airplane. In the figure, these moving sections are colored brown. Changing the rear portion of a wing will change the amount of force that the wing produces. Such a configuration is called a canard after the French word for “duck”).Īt the rear of the wings and stabilizers are small moving sections that are attached to the fixed sections by hinges. (On the Wright brother’s first aircraft, the horizontal stabilizer was placed in front of the wings. The horizontal stabilizer prevents an up-and-down motion of the nose, which is called pitch. The vertical stabilizer keeps the nose of the plane from swinging from side to side, which is called yaw. The stabilizers’ job is to provide stability for the aircraft, to keep it flying straight. The tail usually has a fixed horizontal piece, called the horizontal stabilizer, and a fixed vertical piece, called the vertical stabilizer. To control and maneuver the aircraft, smaller wings are located at the tail of the plane. Smaller, low-speed airplanes use propellers for the propulsion system instead of turbine engines. The turbine engines, which are located beneath the wings, provide the thrust to overcome drag and push the airplane forward through the air. Modern airliners use winglets on the tips of the wings to reduce drag. The air resists the motion in the form of aerodynamic drag. To generate lift, the airplane must be pushed through the air. The wings generate most of the lift to hold the plane in the air. Wingsįor any airplane to fly, one must lift the weight of the airplane itself, the fuel, the passengers, and the cargo. The airplane shown on this slide is a turbine-powered airliner which has been chosen as a representative aircraft. Airplanes come in many different shapes and sizes depending on the mission of the aircraft. Airplanes are transportation devices which are designed to move people and cargo from one place to another.

This page shows the parts of an airplane and their functions. Home > Beginners Guide to Aeronautics Airplane Parts and Function

Drawing simple airplane