main plane

British

noun

1. one of the principal supporting surfaces of an aircraft, esp either of the wings
2. both wings considered together

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This creates a larger gap between the main plane and the flap, which may reduce drag and increase straight-line speed.

From BBC • Sep. 19, 2024

They believe that the main plane of the wing flexes backwards, reducing drag and increasing straight-line speed.

From BBC • Dec. 1, 2021

And after my brief co-pilot stint, I’ll hand you back to today’s main plane driver, Captain Luke McLaughlin.

From The Guardian • Nov. 19, 2021

The Administration requested in its budget for fiscal year 2015 to retire the A-10 aircraft, the main plane flown out of the base.

From Time • Aug. 13, 2014

Even as Dick and his companion watched, a bullet cut through a pair of tension wires to the right-hand main plane.

From The Fight for Constantinople A Story of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023