Most aircraft have the following major components.

fuselage

wings

empennage

landing gear

power plant

Describing the fuselage and substructure

The fuselage is the central structure of an aircraft and includes the cabin, cockpit and area for
storing cargo. When describing the fuselage also consider the materials it is made of, and how
it is constructed. You should also know the following vocabulary:

truss, longeron, members, tubing, cross-brace, monococque, aluminium, skin, formers,

bulkheads, airframe

Structure: You can also use the following verbs to describe the fuselage. Be aware of the form
of the verb eg feature / features, and also if there are any necessary prepositions that go with
the verb.

The truss-type fuselage is constructed of steel or aluminum tubing.

The Warren truss features longerons, as well as diagonal and vertical web members

Small airplanes generally utilize aluminum alloy tubing

A monocoque design uses stressed skin to support almost all imposed loads

The monocoque construction mainly consists of the skin, formers, and bulkheads.

The substructure reinforces the stressed skin by taking some of the bending stress from the
fuselage.

On single-engine aircraft, the engine is usually attached to the front of the fuselage

A firewall is made of heat-resistant material such as stainless steel.

Describing the wings

Describing a wing in English

The main spar of a de Havilland DH60 Moth

Wings are attached at either the top, middle, or lower part of the fuselage and are referred to
as high-wing, mid-wing or low-wing. You should know the following vocabulary:

bi-plane, mono-plane, external braces / wing struts, cantilever, semi-cantilever, spar, ribs,
aileron, stringers, ailerons,

wing flaps, trusses, I-beams, leading edge, trailing edge, fuel tanks, faring, airfoil/aerofoil,
flush, port, starboard, inboard, outboard

Structure: In addition to being able to identify the above parts of an aircraft, you should be
able to describe it’s function. You can use the following structures:

wing struts transmit the flight and landing loads through the struts to the main fuselage
structure

wing ribs determine the shape and thickness of the wing

ailerons create aerodynamic forces that cause the aircraft to roll

flaps are used to increase the lifting force of the wing for takeoff and landing

The flaps are normally flush with the wing´s surface during cruising flight

Describing the tail-section (empennage)

The empennage includes the entire tail section, consisting of the vertical and horizontal
stabiliser. Basic vocabulary to describe the tail section includes:

rudder, elevator, stabilator, trim tabs, antiservo , tail fin, inclining, forward swept/sweeping,
livery, vertical, horizontal, leading edge, trailing edge,

Exercise: Describe the following picture using 5 of the words above.

Describe the tail section of this aircraft

Describing the landing gear

Aircraft can have different types of landing gear eg wheels, skis or floats depending on
whether the aircraft is used on land, water or snow. When describing landing gear consider
what that particular type of landing gear is designed for. Essential vocabulary includes:

nose wheel, tail wheel, tyres, tricycle, floats, skis, undercarriage, fixed gear, retractable,
extending, wheel well, shock absorbers, pontoons, skid, conventional “taildragger”, tail strike,
skid, tail bumper, spats, axle, wheel assembly, tracks, pivoting, steering,

Exercise: Describe the following pictures using 5 of the words listed above.

How would you describe the landing gear on this aircraft?

Describing landing gear on an aircraft

What stage of flight is this Airbus A330 in? How can you tell?

Advice for describing aircraft in ICAO English tests

There is a lot of vocabulary listed in this article, some of which you may already be familiar
with – but learning English is not just a matter of remembering vocabulary. In order to
communicate effectively in English you must be able to use vocabulary with reasonably
accurate grammar. Try to create sentences using the structures presented above, or compare
pictures of different types of aircraft. There are a lot of interesting pictures on websites such
as airliners.net that you can practice describing.