Chapter 2
Basic Airplane Anatomy
© 2008 Delmar, Cengage Learning
Objectives
• Identify components of basic aircraft anatomy
• Understand aircraft size and weight categories
• List different types and examples of
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General aviation aircraft
Military aircraft
Civil aircraft
Specialized aircraft
• Identify similarities and differences among
aircraft
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Introduction
• Emergency responders need to understand
aircraft production and components
• Hidden dangers lie under the “aircraft skin"
• Understanding the airplane makes aircraft
emergency operation safer and more effective
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Basic Airplane Anatomy
• Preplan for emergency incidents
– Learning about the aircraft servicing in your area
• All aircraft have common general characteristics
– Fuselage: main body of the airplane
• Transports people and cargo
• Can accommodate fuel tanks
– Cabin: passenger compartment
– Cockpit/flight deck: where the pilot sits
© 2008 Delmar, Cengage Learning
Basic Airplane Anatomy (con’t.)
• All aircraft have common general characteristics
(con’t.)
– Canopy: allows the pilot/crew to see out
– Airframe: provides aircraft with structural strength
and shape
– Understanding the common location of airframe
components is important, such as:
• Longerons/Stringers run from the front to the rear
of the aircraft
• Bulkhead
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Basic Airplane Anatomy (con’t.)
• All aircraft have common general characteristics
(con’t.)
– Steps: provide access to the cockpit or cabin
– All aircraft contain electrical systems, including:
• Batteries, generators and magnetos
• Lighting systems
• Auxiliary/Emergency power units
– Most aircraft have hydraulic systems
• Perform retraction of landing gear and aircraft
movement (turn, bank, climb, descend)
© 2008 Delmar, Cengage Learning
Figure 2-4 Hydraulic lines and reservoirs inside a large passenger jetliner.
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Basic Airplane Anatomy (con’t.)
• All aircraft have common general characteristics (con’t.)
– Control panel: houses gauges and controls
• Located in the cockpit
– Engine: powers the aircraft
• Can be designed as piston, jet turbine or turboprop
• Separated by a firewall
– Aircraft: designed with entry/exit doors
• Many aircraft are equipped with escape slides for a quick
escape exit
• Many can be used as rafts for water landing survival
© 2008 Delmar, Cengage Learning
Basic Airplane Anatomy (con’t.)
• All aircraft have common general characteristics (con’t.)
– Empennage: complete tail assembly
• Contains horizontal and vertical stabilizers
• Elevator controls the pitch
• Rudder controls the side to side turning
– Wing root: portion of the aircraft which joins the wing to the
fuselage
– Aileron: enables a plane to bank left or right
– Flaps are extended from the rear edge of the wing at
slower speeds to enable stable low speed flight.
• Some aircraft have slats that extend from the leading wing
edge enhancing control and stability at slower speeds
© 2008 Delmar, Cengage Learning
Basic Airplane Anatomy (con’t.)
• All aircraft have common general characteristics (con’t.)
– Wing struts: connected to the bottom wing and to the
fuselage
– Engines: Multi engine: Often mounted on the wings, and or
tail, or rear fuselage; most fighter type aircraft jet engines
are inside the fuselage.
• Single engine: Usually mounted on the front of the fuselage
– Auxiliary power units (APU) supply electrical power, air
conditioning, and backup power during flight
• Some aircraft use an emergency power unit (EPU) in event
of engine failure
– Flight data recorder records in-flight information
© 2008 Delmar, Cengage Learning
Figure 2-17 A diagram illustrating APU locations on a Boeing 717 and 757.
Note the locations of fuel lines; if you have to cut into an aircraft, it is
important to know where the fuel lines are.
© 2008 Delmar, Cengage Learning
Aircraft Size and Weight
• Aircraft are categorized by payload size,
fuselage width and number of passenger seats
• Aircraft weight classes include:
– Small aircraft has 41,000 pounds or less
– Heavy aircraft, or jumbo jets, can accommodate
takeoff weights of 255,000 pounds or more
– Large aircraft is capable of hauling more than
41,000 pounds at takeoff up to 255,000 pounds
• Passenger aircraft also transport freight and
baggage
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Types of Aircraft
• General aviation (GA) aircraft includes a variety
of airplanes used for sport, leisure, or business
• Small-frame aircraft includes:
– Very light jets (VLJs) use low-noise turbofan jet
engines
• Cruising speeds are 325-375 mph and maximum
altitude is nearly 40,000 feet
• Can land on short runways, increasing access to
air-taxi services
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Types of Aircraft (con’t.)
• Small-frame aircraft includes (con’t.):
– Commuter aircraft can carry up to 19 passengers
• Nicknamed puddle-jumpers
• Use a single engine
• Connect small cities with the major commercial airlines
“hubs” in big cities
• Medium-frame civil aircraft seats less than 100
passengers
– Designated for shorter regional flight routes
– STOL is a term describing aircraft capable of short take off
and landings
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Types of Aircraft (con’t.)
• Large-frame aircraft includes:
– Narrow body aircraft
• Used for medium distances
• Have only one aisle
– Wide body aircraft
• Fall into the heavy aircraft classification
• Contain two aisles in the main passenger cabin
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Types of Aircraft (con’t.)
• Military aircraft configurations are diverse and
are used for a variety of purposes
– Combat aircraft have bomb bays, which release
weapons while in flight
– Ammunition, bombs, explosives, or rockets
carried on-board are referred to as ordnance
– Responders to military aircraft incidents face
complex situations with cargo, weapons, and a
varying number of passengers on board
– Can be both small or large-frame
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Types of Aircraft (con’t.)
• An assortment of specialized aircraft
– Agricultural aircraft account for 25% of crop
protection activities in the US
• Dispense various farm-related products such as
fertilizers, pesticides, and plant seeds
• Agricultural pilots are well-trained professionals
• May be converted general aviation aircraft
• Helicopters may also be used
© 2008 Delmar, Cengage Learning
Types of Aircraft (con’t.)
• An assortment of specialized aircraft (con’t.)
– Aerial firefighting aircraft: commonly referred to
as tankers
• Pilots are skilled, often flying in adverse conditions
• Aircraft also has bomb bays filled with fire-fighting
agents, like water or chemical slurry
• Today’s firefighting agents are less toxic, but still
pose dangers
• Jet aircraft and helicopters may also be used
© 2008 Delmar, Cengage Learning
Figure 2-32 A Sky Crane firefighting helicopter
© 2008 Delmar, Cengage Learning
The Similarities and Differences Among
Aircraft
• All fixed-wing aircraft have the same basic
components:
– Fuselage, wings, empennage, wheels, and wheel
(landing gear) struts
– Fuel and electrical systems
– May have a hydraulic system
© 2008 Delmar, Cengage Learning
The Similarities and Differences Among
Aircraft (con’t.)
• Important differences among aircraft
– Ballistic recovery systems (BRS)
• Available in some lighter aircrafts
• Life-saving device that acts as a parachute for an airplane in
trouble
• Contains explosive charges and hatch covers
• BRS in a bent airframe aircraft is unstable and dangerous
• Cutting the BRS activation cord must be done with a Felco
battery-cable cutter. Cable cutter can be obtained from
various sources, including Sanlo Manufacturing Co:
http://www.sanlo.com/product/tools.htm
• Greenlee Company, Div. of Textron, manufactures similar
products made specifically for cutting cables, it can be
viewed online at: http://www.greenlee.textron.com
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The Similarities and Differences Among
Aircraft (con’t.)
• Other differences in specialized aircraft:
– May carry imaging or radar systems
– Law enforcement airplanes may carry small
weapons and ammunition
– Can contain toxic chemicals, such as pesticides
and disease control for insects
– Military aircraft contain weapons and other
dangers; may be converted civilian aircraft
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Summary
• All fixed-wing aircraft have a fuselage, wings,
fuel, and means of propulsion (engines)
• All aircraft have electrical systems, airframes,
and batteries
• Most aircraft (except the very small) have
hydraulic systems, which pose additional threats
to responders
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Summary (con’t.)
• Dealing with a crashed combat aircraft, such as
an A-10 or F-22, poses a wide range of hazards
different from those of a crashed commuter or
cargo aircraft
• Similar aircraft types may be designated to carry
out vastly different missions, such as weather
data gathering, firefighting, cargo, or passenger
transport
© 2008 Delmar, Cengage Learning
Summary (con’t.)
• Preplanning includes understanding not only
what kinds of aircraft traverse your community’s
airspace, but also these airplanes’ basic
anatomy and the functions of their various
systems
• Check your progress by completing the
exercises at the end of this chapter
© 2008 Delmar, Cengage Learning