• Modern passenger planes use powerful jet engines.airplane#8 image by krynio from Fotolia.com
  
  For more than a century, airplanes have been a fixture of the modern world, from the Wright Brothers' first flight in 1903 to modern jumbo jets. Planes make it possible to travel quickly between cities or continents and also carry freight, provide scientific observation and facilitate warfare. Despite these diverse purposes, most airplanes share the same basic components and controls.
  
  

Fuselage

• The fuselage is the main body of an aircraft, extending the length of the plane. All other controls and components are affixed to the fuselage, which must be rigid enough to withstand the torsional forces that occur during maneuvers. On a passenger aircraft, the fuselage contains the cockpit at its foremost end and the passenger cabin, with space for storing luggage below. The fuselage of a cargo plane is mostly an open space for stowing crates and boxes. Other types of planes have fuselages that include weapons mounts, bomber bays or scientific instruments.
  
  

Wings

• An aircraft's wings generate lift by creating different air pressures that push the entire plane upward. Aircraft wing designers use mathematical formulas and wind tunnel testing to design wings to the precise shape that will generate the right amount of lift for the weight of the plane. Aircraft wings also have ailerons and spoilers, which are motorized panels the pilot can adjust to control motion of the plane. They produce drag to slow the plane during landing and adjust while in flight to control upward and downward motion.
  
  

Vertical Stabilizer

• An aircraft's vertical stabilizer is a vertical wing attached to the rear of the fuselage. Extending upward, it includes the rudder, which is an adjustable section that allows the pilot to control yaw, or side to side motion, of the plane. At the base of the vertical stabilizer is the horizontal stabilizer, which resembles a small pair of wings. The horizontal stabilizer includes the elevator, which is a pair of flaps that control pitch, or up and down motion, for the rear of the aircraft.
  
  

Engine

• An aircraft's engine produces the power to lift it off the ground and keep it in flight. Propeller planes use an internal combustion engine, similar to that in a gas-powered car. Some have a single-engine mounter near the front of the plane, and others use an even number of propellers and engines mounted below the wings. Airplane engines use turbochargers to force additional air into the combustion chambers for a more powerful combustion stroke. Jets use a different means of propulsion. They feature powerful jet engines, which force a stream of air toward the rear of the plane to generate forward thrust. Jet engines use special jet fuel and can produce much more power than a combustion engine with a propeller.