Aviation English: Parts of a plane vocabulary part 1 exercise

Knowing and remembering the names of the different parts and sections of an aircraft/airplane in English is essential for both flying a plane and wanting to become a pilot.

To help you to both learn and (more importantly) remember the names in English, I have created the below exercise. Through first reading a text and then doing a quiz/text you will quickly learn what the main parts of an airplane are and what they are used for.

If you already know these names and just want to test yourself, you can go directly to the quiz/test and do that.

This is the first part of two exercises on parts of a plane vocabulary in English. In the second part of this exercise, you will learn the names of the different parts of an aircraft which are used to make the plane move (go up and down, and left and right).

To see our other exercises on aviation English vocabulary, go to our aviation English exercise menu.

To help you know what the parts are, when reading the text look at the drawing of an aircraft below. This drawing shows all the parts of an aircraft you'll learn in this exercise except two (the propeller and the landing gear).

Exercise: Describing parts of a plane

In the following conversation, Peter (a professional pilot) explains to Juan (a Spanish trainee pilot) the names in English of the different parts of an airplane.

From using both the text and the image of aircraft above, try to guess what each aircraft part in bold in the text is. Then do the quiz at the end to check if you are right.

Peter:'So now, I'm going to ask you about what the different parts of a plane are.'

Juan:'Ok.'

Peter:'So what's the main part of a plane called? The part which contains the passengers, crew and cargo?'

Juan:'I think that's called the fuselage.'

Peter:'That's right. And what do you call the front part of the fuselage?'

Juan:'That's called the nose. And the section at the back of the airplane is called the tail.'

Peter:'Perfect. And the part of the fuselage behind the nose where the pilots fly the aircraft from?'

Juan:'That's called the flight deck.'

Peter:'Yes it is, but it is more commonly called the cockpit. And what's the section of the plane where the passengers travel in?'

Juan:'That's called the cabin.'

Peter:'And the section under the cabin where the passengers suitcases, bags and other things are carried?'

Juan:'That's called the hold or baggage hold.'

Peter:'Perfect. So what are the wheels called which an aircraft uses when travelling on the ground?'

Juan:'They are called the landing gear and they are on the bottom of the aircraft.'

Peter:'Is the landing gear just attached to the fuselage of the plane?'

Juan:'No, some of the landing gear is also attached to the wings as well. The two long horizontal parts of the aircraft attached to the middle part of the fuselage.'

Peter:'Good. And what do you call the things which power the aircraft so it can move and fly?'

Juan:'That depends on the type of aircraft. On some aircraft (especially bigger ones), they are powered by jet engines which are attached to the wings. On other aircraft (especially smaller ones), they are powered by a propeller which is normally attached to the nose of the airplane.'

Peter:'Perfect.'

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Quiz:

Below is a photo/picture of each of the parts of a plane in bold from the above text. Now choose the part from the question's selection box which you believe matches the photo/picture. Only use each part once. Click on the "Check" button at the bottom of the quiz to check your answers.

When the answer is correct, two icons will appear next to the answer. The icon contains extra information about the word/phrase. In the icon, you can listen to the pronunciation of the word/phrase.

1. This is a part of a plane which are called

fuselage nose tail cockpit cabin baggage hold landing gear wings jet engines propeller          

Wings: (noun) The 'wings' are the two long horizontal fins which are located in the middle part of the aircraft. All aircraft have 'wings' to give them both stability when flying and to generate lift to leave the ground. In Spanish: "alas". Close

Wings:

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2. This is called a

fuselage nose tail cockpit cabin baggage hold landing gear wings jet engines propeller          

Propeller: (noun) This is one method used to power aircraft (the other being 'jet engines'). On most small aircraft, the 'propeller' is attached to the nose of the aircraft (the front part). For larger aircraft (and on these there are normally between 2 to 4 'propellers' on each aircraft), they are attached to the wings. In Spanish: "hélice". Close

Propeller:

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3. This is called the

fuselage nose tail cockpit cabin baggage hold landing gear wings jet engines propeller          

Fuselage: (noun) This is a plane's main body section (the cylinder part) which the 'wings' and 'fins' of the plane are attached to. This is the part which holds the crew and passengers and/or cargo. The 'fuselage' has a number of different section: the 'nose' at the very front of the plane, the 'cockpit', the 'cabin', the 'baggage hold' and then the 'tail' at the back of the plane. In Spanish: "fuselaje". Close

Fuselage:

Close

4. This is called the

fuselage nose tail cockpit cabin baggage hold landing gear wings jet engines propeller          

Nose: (noun) This is the name for the part of the 'fuselage' at the very front of an aircraft (in front of the 'cockpit'). On small aircraft (e.g. Cessnas), a 'propeller' is attached to the 'nose' of the aircraft. In Spanish: "cabecera/morro de avion". Close

Nose:

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5. This is called the

fuselage nose tail cockpit cabin baggage hold landing gear wings jet engines propeller          

Cabin: (noun) Also called the 'aircraft cabin'. This is the part of the 'fuselage' of an aircraft in which passengers travel in. In small aircraft (e.g. Cessnas), the 'cabin' and the 'cockpit' are combined. In larger aircraft, they are separated. In Spanish: "cabina". Close

Cabin:

Close

6. This is a part of a plane which are called

fuselage nose tail cockpit cabin baggage hold landing gear wings jet engines propeller          

Jet engines: (noun) These are often just called the 'engines'. This is one method used to power aircraft (the other being a 'propeller'). On most commercial aircraft, the 'jet engines' (and on these there are normally between 2 to 4 on each aircraft) are attached to the wings. In Spanish: "reactores/motores a reacción". Close

Jet engines:

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7. This is called the

fuselage nose tail cockpit cabin baggage hold landing gear wings jet engines propeller          

Tail: (noun) Also called the 'tail section'. This is the name for the part of the 'fuselage' at the back of an aircraft. The 'tail' is where the 'fin' and the 'tailplanes' are attached to the airplane. In Spanish: "cola". Close

Tail:

Close

8. This is called the

fuselage nose tail cockpit cabin baggage hold landing gear wings jet engines propeller          

Cockpit: (noun) Also called the 'flight deck'. This is the part of the 'fuselage' at the front of an aircraft (behind the 'nose' of the airplane) which contains the flight instruments and where the plane is flown from. In Spanish: "cabina del piloto". Close

Cockpit:

Close

9. This is a part on a plane called the

fuselage nose tail cockpit cabin baggage hold landing gear wings jet engines propeller          

Landing gear: (noun) Also called the 'undercarriage'. These are the wheels on the aircraft which are used to move the airplane around on the ground (to taxi, take off or land). 'landing gear' on most aircraft is retractable (it can be folded into the 'fuselage' or 'wings') when the aircraft is in flight. In Spanish: "tren de aterrizaje". Close

Landing gear:

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10. This is called the

fuselage nose tail cockpit cabin baggage hold landing gear wings jet engines propeller          

Baggage hold: (noun) Also called the 'hold'. On medium to large aircraft which transport people, this is the part of the 'fuselage' under the 'cabin' section which is used to transport baggage (e.g. suitcases, bags etc...) and cargo (e.g. packages, goods etc...). In some small aircraft, the 'baggage hold' is at the back of the aircraft. In Spanish: "bodega de una aeronave". Close

Baggage hold:

Close

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