Of the many things one hopes to be structurally sound in an airplane, the wings have to be at the top of the list. They must be strong enough to survive brutal turbulence and light enough to allow us to bring passengers, fuel, and baggage.
Most aircraft wings are made in the same general fashion, although the amount of components vary. The primary structural component of the wing is a spar, typically running the full length from fuselage to wing tip. These can be made from wood, aluminum, fiberglass, or advanced composites. Most look like a steel I-beam. There may be secondary and tertiary spars, but most of those don’t go the full length.
Ribs give the wing its shape. They look like a wing’s cross section, and attach along the length of the spar. The fabric or aluminum covers them to form the camber, and so on. To give the wing stiffness, stringers can be added that run lengthwise both fore and aft of the spars.
We use the plural “wings” because in almost all cases they are two distinct pieces that can be unbolted from the fuselage for maintenance, storage, or travel. The portion they attach to on the fuselage is called a wing box, and it carries the spar through to form one solid piece when both wings are installed.
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