A hangar is a large building where aircraft are stored, maintained, and repaired. Think of it as a garage for airplanes and helicopters, but much, much bigger. Some hangars are so enormous they could fit several football fields inside.

At airports, you'll see hangars near the runways where mechanics work on engines, replace parts, and prepare planes for flight. Military bases have hangars that protect fighter jets and transport planes from weather and enemies. Even the earliest pilots needed hangars: the Wright brothers built a simple wooden hangar in 1902 to shelter their experimental aircraft from North Carolina's coastal winds.

Modern hangars range from simple metal structures at small airfields to massive facilities at major airports. NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building, where they assembled space shuttles, is sometimes described as a type of hangar and stands 525 feet tall.

Don't confuse hangar with hanger, the device you use for clothes in your closet. That's a completely different word, even though they sound identical. Remember: hangar has an “a” like airplane, while hanger has an “e” like sleeve.