The basic structures of an airframe include the fuselage, wings, empennage, landing gear, and powerplant. The fuselage is the main body to which the other components are attached and which accommodates the crew, passengers, and cargo. The wings are airfoils that provide the lift necessary for flight. They can be attached to the fuselage at the top (high-wing configuration), to the middle (mid-wing configuration), or to the bottom (low-wing configuration). Aircraft with one set of wings are called monoplanes and those with two sets are called biplanes. Most high-wing aircraft have external braces, or struts, that extend down from the bottom of the wing at the halfway point and connect with the side of the fuselage. This type of design is called semi-cantilever. Some high-wing aircraft and most low-wing aircraft are full cantilever and can carry the wing loads without external support structures. 

The basic parts of a wing include spars, ribs, and stringers which can be reinforced with trusses, I-beams, tubing, or even the external skin. The spar is the main supporting feature which extends outward from the wing root (where it attaches to the fuselage) toward the tip. A series of curved ribs are attached to the spar or spars in perpendicular fashion and determine the wing’s shape and thickness. Stringers are aligned parallel to the spar and connect the ribs together Most modern aircraft utilize fuel tanks that are mounted inside the wing or built into its structure in order to reduce the risk of fire in the event of a crash.

The empennage can have various configurations. Most typical is a horizontal stabilizer with a moveable elevator for pitch control and a vertical stabilizer with a moveable rudder for yaw control. The elevator and sometimes the rudder will have trim tabs on their trailing edges which allow the pilot too set the desired pitch and/or yaw position from inside the cockpit. The horizontal stabilizer can be placed below the vertical stabilizer in alignment with the fuselage or placed above the vertical stabilizer in a "T” configuration. A T-tail keeps the horizontal stabilizer out of the wing downwash, making the aircraft less pitch-sensitive during power changes and when adding flaps. However, changing pitch at low airspeeds requires greater control deflection. Some aircraft utilize a one-piece moveable horizontal stabilizer or stabilator instead of an elevator for pitch control. The stabilator pivots from a central hinge point and moves up or down to change the aircraft pitch. An anti-servo tab moves in the same direction as the trailing edge, making it less sensitive to control movements and allowing the pilot to set the stabilator in the desired position in a manner similar to a trim tab. Some aircraft employ a v-shaped empennage or "V-Tail,” which combines functions of the vertical and horizontal stabilizers and their trailing edge control surfaces. 

The landing gear consists of three wheels, or three sets of wheels in larger transport category aircraft. There are two main wheels located under the wings which bear the primary load upon landing. A third wheel is positioned under the nose of the aircraft in a trycicle gear configuration, or at the tail—called a conventional or tailwheel configuration. The gear can be an be fixed or retractable and wheels may be replaced with floats for water operations or skis for landing in snow.

The powerplant provides the thrust necessary to overcome the force of drag and drive the wing forward through the air so that it generates lift. Powerplants can employ piston-engines or turbine engines. Piston engines can utilize cylinders that are arranged opposite each other in a circular pattern (radial engines), horizontally opposed, or angled in a v-shape. Horizontally opposed engines are the most common in modern small aircraft. Turbine engines are used to power jet aircraft, but some employ a propeller to generate thrust in order to create better performance characteristics at low altitudes and to allow operations on shorter runways.