Explaining the Ariplane

No author writing a piece of modern fiction explains what an airplane looks like ("its two large engines hung beneath the wings like malovolent bats") or how it works, so why do Sci-Fi authors try to do this in their stories? It destroys the sense of realism that makes a sci-fi work really worth reading (this also applies largely to fantasy).

Title

So after writing for almost two years I have settled on a title for book 1: Outerborn. Of course, the publisher will probably want to change it but at least I have something to work off of.