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On the leading edge, they're called "slats" [1]. Most passenger jets have them, and they're rather important for take-off: The first fatal 747 crash, a Lufthansa machine departing Nairobi, came down because the slats were not deployed [2].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leading-edge_slats

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lufthansa_Flight_540



You're correct on most airliners, but not the 747 (on which the VC-25 is based).

A 747 has Kreuger flaps [1] between fuselage and inner engines and 'variable camber leading edge flaps' on the rest of the wing.

[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-lift_device [1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krueger_flap


Awesome, thanks. Nice illustration as to the differences in the Wikipedia article. The LH crash Wikipedia article seems inaccurate, then.

Edit: put a note in the Wikipedia article.




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