Things in front of wings?

Question

i saw that there were these things that popped out in front of the wings.

i saw this on a 747

Answer 1

Those are called Kruiger slats.  Usually called leading edge slats.  They work along with the flaps in the back of the wings deploy during takeoff and landing to increase the surface area of the wing for greater lift and control at low speeds as when landing.  Watch them in action in this video.  

.

http://www.flightlevel350.com/aviation_v...

.

http://www.flightlevel350.com/aviation_v...

.

Answer 2

when you say popped out are you talking about something like a slat or something smaller like landing lights flipping out

Answer 3

Those are leading edge slats that open to increase lift at low speeds and high angles of attack.  They improve short-field landing and takeoff performance.

Answer 4

Slats in the front and flaps in the back are used at the same time to take-off and land with low speed.