2.1 Aircraft Components

• The major parts of a fixed-wing aircraft (fuselage, wings, empennage, landing gear, power plant)
• The parts of a rotary-wing aircraft (main rotor, tail rotor)
• The function of each major part
• Modelling a heavier-than-air aircraft

• explain the functions of the parts of an aircraft
• illustrate the parts of an aircraft
• model a heavier-than-air aircraft
• appreciate the role of different parts in the operation of an aircraft

“What are the main parts of an aircraft, and what does each do?”

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1. Aircraft components
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The major parts of a fixed-wing aircraft (fuselage, wings, empennage, landing gear, power plant) and of a helicopter (main rotor, tail rotor), the function of each, and how they work together to make flight possible.
2. The fuselage
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The fuselage as the body and backbone of the aircraft: what it carries, what attaches to it, and the truss, monocoque and semi-monocoque ways of building it.
3. Wings and lift
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Wings generate lift; spars, ribs and skin make the structure; high, mid and low wing positions with Kenyan examples.
4. Control surfaces on the wings
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Ailerons roll the aircraft; flaps add lift and drag for take-off and landing - the moving parts of the wing a Grade 10 learner must be able to name and explain.
5. The empennage
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The tail assembly: fixed fin and tailplane for stability; rudder (yaw) and elevator (pitch) for control.
6. Landing gear
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Wheels, skids and floats: how landing gear supports taxi, take-off and landing, with tricycle, tailwheel, retractable and helicopter examples from Kenya.
7. The power plant
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The engine as the source of thrust: piston-propeller, turboprop and jet, with Kenyan examples and why thrust is required for wing-borne flight.
8. Rotary-wing components
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   How a helicopter differs from a fixed-wing aircraft: the main rotor as both wing and propeller, and the tail rotor as anti-torque and yaw control.
9. How aircraft parts work together
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Pulling the five (or seven) major parts into one story of controlled flight, and answering the inquiry: what each part does, and why none is optional.
10. Sketching and modelling an aircraft
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Meeting the illustrate and model outcomes: a labelled freehand sketch of major parts, and a heavier-than-air model from local materials.