Definition
An aircraft engine and propeller installation mounted at the front of the airframe so the propeller pulls the aircraft through the air. The propeller is positioned ahead of the engine and ahead of the wing or fuselage structure it is attached to.
Plain English
The engine sits at the front and the propeller pulls the aircraft forward, like a tractor pulling a load behind it.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft design, engine installation, and propeller arrangement discussions, especially when comparing front-mounted propellers with rear-mounted propellers.
Derivation
From the Latin trahere, meaning 'to pull or drag.' A tractor on a farm pulls equipment behind it. A tractor engine pulls the aircraft through the air in the same way — the name describes the direction of the pull, not the type of engine.
Why Pilots Care
Knowing whether an engine is a tractor or pusher configuration affects how you think about airflow over the airframe, cooling, propeller wash over the tail, and where thrust is applied relative to the center of gravity.
Intuition Check
Tractor does not mean a farm vehicle here. It means the propeller is arranged to pull the aircraft forward.
Example Sentence 1
The Cessna 172 uses a tractor engine, with the propeller mounted on the nose pulling the aircraft through the air.
Example Sentence 2
Many single-engine trainers use a tractor engine mounted at the nose of the fuselage.