Major Components of Airplanes

 The fuselage is the main body structure that holds the crew, passengers and cargo. It also provides the structural connection for the wings and tail of the airplane. In older aircraft, it is common to see an open truss structure made out of wood, steel, or aluminum tubing. In the more modern airplanes today you will mostly likely see monocoque and semi monocoque structures. The reason for this is weight and strength. In an monocoque fuselage the skin of the airplanes is stressed and supports all the flight and landing loads. The problem with this is that similar to a soda can, any little dent can lead to major structure failure. Therefore most airplanes use the semi monocoque fuselage structure that incorporates an substructure under the stressed skin give greater support to the fuselage.

  Another and newer method of building an airplanes fuselage is to use composite material. Composite construction offers to distinct advantages. One it creates any extremely smooth surface. This is turn reduces the parasite drag and allows the airplane to fly faster and more efficient. Two it is very flexible in the building process and allows for simpler building techniques. Composite material also doesn't corrode like metal does over time. This reduces maintenance bills over the life of the airplane. The disadvantage to composite material is the lack of visual proof of damage. Alot of time when damage occurs to an composite structure it is not visible from the outside. This can lead to fatal accidents.

  The wings are airfoils that are attached to either side of the fuselage and are the main sources of lift during flight. There are many different sizes and shapes of wings that are used depending on what the particular needs of the airplane they are being designed for. Wings may be attached at the top, middle, or bottom of the fuselage. The number of wings also varies depending on design. You can have one wing called a monoplane or two wings called a biplane. Many high wing airplanes have an external brace called a wing strut. The purpose of this strut is to transfer flight and landing loads to the fuselage to prevent damage to the wings.

 There are three main parts to a wing. First you have the rib. The ribs are what give the wing its shape. Than you have the spar. The spar is the main source of support and strength for the wing. The stringers are last but not least. They have the whole assembly together and run the length of the wing. Usually the fuel tank is built into the wing as well. One the trailing edge of the wing you have the ailerons and flaps. These are both control devices. The ailerons control the roll rate of the airplane. The flaps are used to give both added lift and drag during the landing portion of the flight to allow for steeper descents at slower air speeds. The flaps are also used to give added lift during takeoff to allow for a shorter takeoff run.

  The empennage is the entire tail assembly. It includes the fixed parts such as the vertical and horizontal stabilizer, and the movable parts such as the rudder and elevator. The rudder is attached to the back of the vertical stabilizer. Its swings back and forth allowing the pilot to yaw the nose left or right. It also provides directional control during the takeoff run and landing rollout. The elevator is attach to the horizontal stabilizer. It controls the up and down movement of the nose during flight.

 There is a second type of empennage that does not require an elevator. Instead, the entire horizontal stabilizer moves up and down. This is called a stabilator. Attached to the back of the stabilator is the antiservo tab. This tab runs the length of the stabilator. Its job is to make the stabilator less sensitive and easier to fly.

 The landing gear provides support for the airplane when taxing, landing, or taking off. While most landing gear consist of wheels, airplanes can also be equiped with floats for water, and skis for snow and ice covered areas. Landing gear consist of two main tires and a third tire either mounted in front under the nose or in the back under the tail. Airplanes with the third wheel under the tail are called tailwheel airplanes while airplanes with the third wheel under the nose are called tricycle gear airplanes. Tailwheel airplanes require greater care when handling on the ground because they tend to act like a weather vane where a tricycle gear likes to travel in a straight path.

  Those are the main structures of an airplane. I didnt cover the power plant in this aritcle but because they are so complex and there are so many different variations that I will devote an entire article to them in the near future.