Aircraft Anatomy

Fuselage: The big metal tube where the humans get crammed in, along with their questionable carry-on luggage.

Cockpit: The office with the best view (and the most complicated light switches). Usually occupied by two highly trained individuals arguing about the weather.

Door: The portal to adventure (and the occasional frantic dash to the lavatory).

Passenger windows: Tiny portholes offering a limited glimpse of the outside world, often featuring a blurry wing and your own reflection looking vaguely airsick.

Left turbofan engine: The loud fan that makes the "we're actually flying" magic happen. Also responsible for 90% of the airplane's noise.

Left wing: The flat thing that defies gravity, mostly. Also a convenient place to hang the noisy fan.

Outboard leading edge slat: Secret flaps that pop out to give the wing extra "oomph" when things get slow and dicey (like during landing).

Spoiler: The airplane's way of saying "nope, not today, lift!" Used to come down in a hurry.

Winglet: The fancy upturned tips that make the plane look like it has stylish little ears and save a tiny bit of fuel (allegedly).

Outboard aileron: The little wing flaps that make the plane roll left and right, controlled by the captain's enthusiastic steering wheel movements.

High speed aileron: Smaller ailerons for when things get really fast and the big ones are too sensitive. Like using a tiny wrench for a tiny bolt.

Inboard slat: Same as the outboard one, just closer to the body. More "oomph," closer to the humans.

Right turbofan engine: The other loud fan. Twin the fun!

Right wing: The other flat thing. Teamwork makes the dream (of not falling) work.

Outboard leading edge slat: Its right-wing twin, equally eager to lend a low-speed hand.

Spoilers: The right wing's "nope, not today, lift!" crew.

Winglet: The right ear. Fashionable and (supposedly) frugal.

Outboard aileron: The right-hand roll controller.

High speed aileron: The right wing's tiny, high-speed helper.

Inboard flap: Bigger flaps for more drag and lift during the slow dance of landing.

Outboard flap: More big flaps for the even slower dance of landing.

Trimmable horizontal tail: The big flat thing at the back that tries to keep the nose from constantly wanting to point at the ground. Can be adjusted by the pilots, usually after much internal debate.

Split elevator: The hinged bits on the horizontal tail that the pilots yank on to make the nose go up or down (gently, usually). The split design is just showing off.

Auxiliary power unit (APU): The little engine in the back that whirs when the big engines are off, providing precious air conditioning so the passengers don't mutiny on the ground.

Split rudder: The hinged bit on the vertical fin that the pilots use to kick the tail left or right (yaw). The split is just for extra fanciness in windy situations.

Vertical fin: The tall fin at the back that stops the plane from wagging its tail all over the sky. Like the airplane's sense of direction.

Trimmable horizontal tail: (Again!) Still trying its best to keep the nose in check. It's a demanding job.

Main rotor blades: The big, floppy things on top that go "whomp whomp whomp" and somehow keep this whole contraption airborne.

Main rotor hub assembly: The brain center up top where all the swashy and flappy magic happens to control where we're (mostly) going.

Fuselage: The egg carton that holds the precious human cargo and maybe a slightly nervous pilot.

Landing gear or skid: The stilts or sleds that remind us we eventually have to come back to earth (whether we like it or not).

Pylon: The neck that holds the head (rotor) high, like a proud giraffe of the skies.

Airframe: The skeleton of our flying bug, hopefully bolted together tightly enough.

Stabilizer: The little wings on the tail that try their best to stop the whole thing from spinning like a top.

Tail boom: The long stick that keeps the noisy little rotor far away from polite conversation.

Tail rotor: The angry little fan at the back that says "no way" to the main rotor's spinning tantrums, providing sideways scooting action.

Tail skid: The little bumper on the tail, for those "oops" moments during takeoff or landing.

Powerplant: The noisy beast that drinks expensive fuel and makes everything else go 'round (and 'whomp').

Transmission: The super-complicated gearbox that takes the engine's enthusiasm and divvies it up nicely (or not so nicely) to the rotors.