General Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Key Terms

Learn aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul key terms

By Cathy Salustri

Whether your company is in the business of repairing, maintaining, and overhauling aircraft or simply owns aircraft that need repair, maintenance, or overhauling, anyone coming near the aircraft should know the basics. The basics, in this case, include understanding some common terms that relate to aircraft, their maintenance, and, when needed, their repair.

Some words, like those describing the parts of an airplane, make the most sense when shown on a drawing or diagram. Other terms, like those surrounding the engine and avionics, require a little more understanding of the aircraft. This guide uses examples of both diagrams and written definitions; use it to familiarize yourself with the basic terms surrounding general aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul.

Airframe and powerplant mechanic

An airframe and powerplant mechanic, also called an A & P in the industry, performs all the required maintenance and repair on any aircraft. An A & P may oversee another mechanic learning the trade but the A & P will inspect all work and sign off on it.
Try: The United States Department of Labor has a full job description for an airframe and powerplant mechanic.

Control surfaces

The control surfaces of an aircraft are any parts of the surface of the aircraft that a pilot controls in flight. Control surfaces, such as flaps an ailerons, must have free range of motion, move fluidly and happen on the pilot's command.
Try: The Aviation History Online Museum has an interactive page that lists the control surfaces of an airplane. As you move your mouse over a control surface, the website provides you with a comprehensive definition for that control surface.

Flight instruments

Inside the cockpit there are six flight instruments that must work for a pilot to be able to fly safely and navigate accurately. These six flight instruments include the airspeed indicator, attitude indicator, altimeter, turn coordinator, heading indicator and vertical speed indicator.
Try: Silent Giants, from Ronald H. Gruner, defines these six instruments and explains how they work together.

Empennage

The empennage refers to the rear parts of an airplane. Generally this does not include the powerplant, cockpit or passenger cabin. The empennage has cables and control surfaces that must remain in good working order for the pilot to be able to fly the plane.
Try: American Flyers illustrates and describes empennage.

Fuselage

The fuselage includes the main body of the airplane. It does not include the empennage or the powerplant. The wings attach to the fuselage. The fuselage must remain structurally sound for a plane to remain in good working order.
Try: WiseGEEK defines fuselage, while the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has a basic drawing of a fuselage.

Powerplant

An aircraft's powerplant includes its power source, or engine. It also includes its propeller.
Try: Free-online-private-pilot-ground-school.com not only defines an aircraft's powerplant, but it breaks down the various systems and explains how they work as well.