Aerodrome : place where an aircraft can Take-Off or Land whether on a prepared or unprepared Airport ) surface (ie) paved runway, gravel ,grass , sand beach, water, snow , ice
Aeroplane : vehicle that can travel through the air
AFE : Above Field Elevation
AFT : The direction against the aircraft movement
AGL : Above Ground Level
Ailerons : are a control surface usually on the trailing edge of the wings.
Aircraft : vehicle that can travel through the air/has wings that do not move.
A/L (a/l) : Air Line (air line)
Airplane : A powered aircraft that derives its lift from the movement of air over fixed lifting surfaces.
ALS : Approach Lighting System
Altimeter : an instrument used for measuring the altitude of something (such as an airplane or a mountain) merriam-webster.com
Altitude : term that describes height or distance above the earth’s surface
AME : Aircraft Maintenance Engineer
Amphibian : aircraft capable of Take-off & Landing on both land or water
AMSL : Above Mean Sea LevelAOA : Angle of Attack
AOC : Air Operator's Certificate
AOG : Aircraft on Ground
Apron : airport apron is the area of an airport where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refueled, or boarded. Although the use of the apron is covered by regulations, such as lighting on vehicles, it is typically more accessible to users than the runway or taxiway.
AP : Autopilot
APT : Airport
A/P : Airport
APU : Auxiliary Power Unit
A/S : Air Service
ASI : Airspeed Indicator
ASL : Above Sea Level
ATA : Air Traffic Association
ATC : Air Traffic Control
ATIS : Automatic Terminal Information Service
ATPL : Airline Transport Pilot Licence
Attitude : the orientation of an aircraft with respect to the horizon.
Bi-plane : an aircraft with two sets of wings mounted one above the other.
Bow : front part of a Flying Boat
CAA : Civil Aviation Authority
Camber : The curved upper surface of the wing.
Cantilever Wing : the wing is unsupported by external braces or struts . It relies on a more robust structural main spar placed inside the wing extending between wing tips across the top of fuselage . Some examples : Cessna 190 : photo # 32 , Found FBA-2C : photo # 41 , Helio Courier : photo # 148 (far left) Captain : sits in left seat , is the PIC and is the one person totally accountable for everyone & everything on the aircraft
CAR : Civil Aviation Requirements
C of G/ CG & ) : The point at which the mass of the aircraft would be balanced if it were placed on Centre of Gravity ) that single point. The point changes depending on the loading of the aircraft : fuel, passengers, luggage, etc. Each aircraft has CG limits specified by its manufacturer. If the CG of the aircraft in its current configuration is outside of the specified limits, the aircraft may be unsafe to fly as the control surfaces will have insufficient authority to safely control the aircraft. For example, if the CG is behind the aft (rear) CG limit, the aircraft will tend to stall/stop
flying.Chord : The dimension of a wing parallel to the direction of motion
Cockpit : space at front of an aircraft for the pilots Co-pilot : sits in the right seat, is expected to know everything about the aircraft (not paid to make major decisions
Course : The direction in which the aircraft is moving, not to be confused with the heading which is the direction the aircraft is pointing. The course and heading will usually differ because of crosswinds (see crab). The course is also different from the track which is properly the path over the ground that the aircraft has already flown (although course and track are sometimes used synonymously).
CPL : Commercial Pilot Licence
Crab : A crab is a maneuver used to counteract the drift of an aircraft caused by a crosswind. The pilot will offset the heading of the aircraft from the desired track by a calculated amount, and the aircraft's velocity combined with the wind through vector addition will give a net movement in the desired direction.
Control surface : Any moveable surface on an aircraft which controls its motion about one of the three principal axes. Ailerons, elevators, and the rudder are examples of control surfaces. In addition, other type of roll control surfaces are roll spoilers that dump lift on one wing or another (as opposed to ailerons), spoilerons (combined spoiler and aileron), and Flaperon (combined flap and aileron). Other combined controls include the ruddervator (combined elevator and rudder as on the V tailed Beech Model 35), Elevons combining elevator and ailerons and Flailavators which control pitch & roll as well as flaps in wing trailing edge control surfaces. Other subsidiary controls are pitch, roll, and rudder trim tabs and the adjustable pitch tailplane (the whole tailplane moves to trim the pitch axis).
CVR : Cockpit Voice Recorder
Departure area: The area of the terminal for airplanes leaving the airport.
Destination : The place an aircraft is going to. An aircraft may have more than one destination. This is because it takes people to many places along its travel.
DG : Directional Gyro
DME : Distance Measuring Equipment
DR : Dead Reckoning
Dihedral : The angle that an aeroplane's wings make relative to the lateral axis (horizontal plane, when on level ground). A larger dihedral angle gives greater roll(lateral) stability at the cost of efficiency. If the wings angle upwards, it is called the dihedral angle. Downward angled wings are said to have an anhedral angle (increasingly referred to as negative dihedral).
Dual : 2 pilots sitting beside each other , one usually taking instruction as in learning
EGT : Exhaust Gas TemperatureElevator : controls UP & Down movement (located at rear of aircraft
ELT : Emergency Locator Transmitter
ETA : Estimated Time of ArrivalETD : Estimated Time of Departure
EW : Empty Weight
FAA : U.S. Department of Transportations' Federal Aviation Administration
FBO : Fixed Base Operator
FBY : Fly-By-WireFeather : To rotate the pitch of the propeller blades until they are oriented directly into the airflow, providing the least air resistance and no thrust.
Fin : that part of an aircraft perpendicular to the fuselage. Usually it refers to the vertical structure that the rudder is attached. Float planes often have small ones attached underneath the horizontal stabilizer for in flight stability
FIR : Flight Information Region First Officer or F/O : the Co-Pilot is sometimes referred to as the F/O. Prior to the year 1990, many a/c required several pilots in the cockpit. . Some acted as engineers or radio communicators. Those aircraft were not equipped with the computer technology that is used currently (ie) Boeing 737-400+, 757, 777, etc; AirBus 319, 320, 330, 380 ; et cetera
FL : Flight Level
Flaps : Flaps (often confused with any of the other moveable surfaces) are used on wings to increase lift and/or increase drag as an aircraft flies progressively slower. Increased lift is usually achieved by increasing the wing area and the camber(shape) of the wing to a lesser extent. Increased drag will arise from increasing the area and camber but the greatest effect is achieved with large changes in camber.
Flight : The noun form of Fly.
Float plane : 2 aerodynamic pontoons affixed to underside of fuselage FLying Boat : an aircraft that can only Taxi , Take-off & Land on water
Glideslope : An instrument on the ground to allow an instrumental landing.
GND : ground
GPS : Global Positioning System
GPU : Ground Power UnitGPWS : Ground Proximity Sarning System
G/S : Glideslope
GS : Groundspeed
Hangar : a large building which can store airplanes.
Heading : The direction in which an aircraft is pointing, measured clockwise in degrees from North. Note that this is not necessarily the same as the aircraft's track because of wind.
Helicopter : A rotor craft with one or more sets of powered blades rotating above fuselage
HDG : Heading
HIGE : Hover In Ground Effect. Hovering within one rotor diameter of the ground in order where performance is increased by the interaction of the helicopters rotor downwash and the ground.
HLD : hold (hold altitude or speed or something else) (same as maintain, but not maintenance!)Horizontal Stabilzer : elevator attaches to this non moving structure at tail or back of a/c
HSI : Horizontal Situation Indicator
Hub : central location an airline uses for its operations.
HUD : Head-up DisplayIAS : Indicated Airspeed
IATA : International Air Transport Association
ICAO : International Civil Aviation Organization
ICO : Idle Cut-off IFR / instrument flight rules : A regulatory term describing a flight which may be conducted in atmospheric conditions where the pilot cannot fly the aircraft solely by reference to the natural horizon (e.g. in cloud and fog) and must fly only by reference to the aircraft instruments. and IFR : I Follow Railways or I Follow Rivers & Lakes (see VFR) [my move in November 1976 from YYQ/Churchill,MB to YTH/THompson,MB was in a Lamb Air helicopter. Very poor visibility because it was snowing, flat muskeg terrain with perhaps 30ft high bush/trees — the pilot flew below the tree tops just above the parallel lines of steel railway track ! = IFR
ILS : Instrument Landing SystemINS : Inertial Navigation System
ISA : International Standard Atmosphere Jet Aircraft : use jet engines to make them move.
Jug : a cylinder (main part of a piston engine where fuel is burned to produce power)
KIAS : Knots Indicated AirspeedLanding : The act of an airplane returning to the ground
Landing Gear : Structure that supports the aircraft's weight when it is not airborne, often including a shock absorbing mechanism. Wheels can be used for hard surfaces, skis or skids for ice or snow, and floats or pontoons if landing on the water. Some aircraft like flying boats do not require landing gear, since their hull can support them.Left Seat : the PIC or Captain sits on that side of the cockpitLivery : colouration applied to outer skin of an aircraft to identify the owner or company LLZ : Localizer LOC : Loss of Control ( Loss of control may be due to turbulent weather, pilot disorientation.)Long Lining : a helicopter lifting an object with a long lineLW : Landing WeightMayday : International distress call, derived from the French M'aidez literal translation help me.Monocoque : an object (as in a wing or fuselage) whose skin supports the load as opposed to an internal frame.Monoplane : An aeroplane with one wing (or pairs of wings).Mule : a 4 vheeled heavy tractor used to move aircraft Nose : front or forward most part of an aircraftO - H : engine cylinders opposed horizontally (ie) Cessna’s , Found Bros. FBA-2C , Piper AircraftO - X : engine cylinders opposed diagonally in shape of an X (photo # 39)PAN : French (panne) for non critical breakdown, acronym PANPax : passenger(s) PIC : Pilot in Command (refers to the person sitting in the left seat-flying fixed wing ; whereas the PIC in a helicopter occupies the right seat, unless the craft is liftingor longlining. (apparently there is better visibility from the left side)Pitch : A measure of the degree to which an aircraft's nose tilts up or down. Also a measure of the angle of attack of a propeller. Pitot Tube : is a measuring instrument used to measure fluid flow, and more specifically, used to determine airspeed on aircraft. The Pitot tube is named after its inventor, Henri Pitot, and was modified to its modern form by Henry Darcy.Powerplant : A powered aircraft's source of power, usually either a jet engine or a conventional engine and propeller.PPL : Private Pilot LicensePressure Altitude : The indicated altitude when an altimeter is set to 1013 hPa (29.92 in Hg/Mercury : US and Canada).Prop : propellor/propeller Propellor powered aircraft : uses propellers to make them move.Right Seat : the cockpit seat on the aircraft’s right hand side occupied by the Co-pliot/ First OfficerRoll : Rotation about an axis aligned with the direction in which the aircraft is flying. This axis is also known as the longitudinal axis.Rotary Engine : an odd number of cylinders arranged around the crankshaft (ie) used by aircraftrequiring high horsepower De Havilland Canada : Beaver, Otter ; Douglas : DC-3 ,DC-4, DC-6 Rotary Wing / Rotorcraft : such as Helicopters / aircraft that derives its lift from rotating lifting surfaces (usually called blades)Rudder : On an aeroplane, the rudder is a control surface usually on the trailing edge of the vertical stabilizer or fin. The rudder is used to control yaw. Runway : The part of the airport where planes take off or land.Slip : A manoevre where an aeroplane pilot rolls the aircraft in one direction with the ailerons and yaws it in the opposite direction with the rudder. This results in the aircraft continuing to move forward but presenting a larger cross-section to the oncoming air - thereby creating drag and causing the aeroplane to lose altitude rapidly in a controlled manner.Span : The dimension of a wing perpendicular to the direction of motion. (Compare with chord and thickness.)Stabilator : On an aeroplane, a stabilator is a surface which combines the function of the horizontalstabilizer and elevators in one by allowing the entire horizontal stabilizer to move and control the pitch of the aircraft.Stall : a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases due to the separation of airflow.Stern : back or aft end of a flying boatTail : rear or back end of an a/c which including horizontal & vertical stabilizers , rudder & elevatorTailplane : Usually synonymous with Stabilator (q.v.). Take-Off : The act of an airplane leaving the ground. Tandem : 2 pilots or people sitting one behind the other Tarmac : a runway or other area surfaced with crushed stone mixed with tar ( Terminal : The main building of an airport used by passengers and cargo.Thickness : The vertical dimension of a wing. (Compare with span and chord.)Threshold : The beginning of the part of the runway usable for landingThrust : Thrust is the force upon a system (such as a rocket or jet engine) generated when that system expels or accelerates mass. The resultant thrust force is equal to and in the opposite direction of the expelled massTouchdown Zone/TDZ : The first 3000 feet of the runway or the first third of the runway, whichever is less, measured from the thresholdTower : The tower in an airport is a building used for air traffic control.Track : The path on the ground over which an aircraft has flown. Also used synonymously with course, the direction in which an aircraft is moving relative to the ground. Note that this is not necessarily the same as the aircraft's heading.Turboprop : a/c whose jet turbine engine’s thrust/power is translated via a propellor Ultralight : A small, powered aircraft which is extremely light(254 lbs or Less empty)and seats only one occupant. Ultralights are popular among hobbyists for being cost-effective and having lenient regulation. Ultralight type aircraft are generally heavier and can seat more than one occupant.Undercarriage : can include any of - floats/pontoons, skiis, wheels or any combination thereofVFR : Visual Flight Rules - A regulatory term describing flights that are conducted only in conditions where the pilot can see the ground, or in some instances is flying in the free space above a cloud. Compare to Instrument Flight Rules.V Speeds : Speeds that define certain performance and limiting characteristics of an aircraft.Vertical Stabilzer : aft end of an a/c to which the rudder is attachedVSI : Vertical Speed Indicator, shows the rate of climb or decent.Water Bomber : A type of aircraft used to fight a fire.Wind Shear : a quick change in wind speed or direction.Wing : A lifting surface of an airplane/aeroplane or sailplane.Yaw : Rotation in a horizontal plane about the normally vertical axis - turning to left or right. Generally the control surface to yaw is the rudder
Some Terms...
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