The most common form of plane travel is aboard a jet-powered aircraft. Jet engines provide more power than piston engined aircraft and have been proven to be much more reliable.

There are two main forms of jet engines, one with a propeller (called turboprop), and one without like the B747-400 shown here.

On the ground a plane needs wheels on which to "taxi", that is, move around. Generally the nosewheel is used for steering on the ground. After an aeroplane has become airborne it will retract these wheels to reduce drag and fly faster.

Not every plane can retract its wheels, but the reason that those that do is to reduce drag.

   
       
  Aeroplanes come in various shapes and sizes as shown by a few examples on this page. It doesn't matter if they have one wing, as in a delta shown below, or if they have two wings as in older planes. They all use the same principle to fly. They all need an airflow over their wings to generate lift  
The menu item "How a Plane flies" explains how a wing enables a plane to fly. It must be remembered that a plane has to move forward to create an airflow over the wing. Engines propel a plane forward.
 
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