Questions tagged [terminology]
For questions about words, phrases, and definitions that are specific to aviation or used in a different way in aviation. (Questions about standard words, phrases, and abbreviations used by pilots and ATC specifically in radio transmissions should usually use the [phraseology] tag instead.)
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Why do I keep getting different results to an aircraft's turn radius when I plug variables into different calculators and solve on my own?
I'm trying to solve for an aircraft's turn radius at mach 3.17 (2432 mph) and a bank angle of 19.8; however, after using various online calculators and personally solving the equation, I keep getting ...
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Is there an equation to solve for bank angle using load factor and wing loading as variables? If so, what is it?
The problem is that I'm looking for both wing loading and load factor as variables to solve for bank angle and cannot find any equation that represents this. After searching various websites and not ...
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What does pre/post modification mean in Airbus MPD?
What is the difference between POST MOD (with partial mod i.e SXXXX) and PRE MOD (with partial mod) in the applicability column of an Airbus MPD (Maintenance Planning Document)?
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What is meant by "shroud" in a gas turbine? For example, an inner shroud and an outer shroud in a vane device in a gas turbine? Thank You
Vane device comprises inner shroud, outer shroud, aerofoils. I cannot understand what shrouds are, and their function.
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accelerated turns in helicopter
In flight Manual of Russian Mi-17 helicopter, it is give that ”max bank permitted in accelerated turns is 45 deg up to 1km altitude”. At the same time it also mention max bank permitted is 30 deg up ...
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What is the difference between Maintenance planning document(MPD) and Maintenance Manual (AMM)?
Could someone explain to a layman, relatively new to Aviation maintenance, the difference between the Maintenance planning document(s) (MPD) and the Maintenance manual (AMM). Is one a subset of the ...
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Is the DC-6 Supercharged? And what is a Turbosupercharger?
What it says on the tin. Is the DC-6 supercharged? I thought all planes that fly above around 10,000-15,000 feet need forced induction, but wikipedia doesn't list the DC-6s engines as supercharged or ...
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What does "Bull's-eye 090, 50, tacked southwest" mean?
In Top Gun Maverick (2022), Capt Pete and his squadrons enters enemy terittory meanwhile
they noticed two bandits on the radar:
Pheonix: Comanche, what's their heading?
Comanche: Bull's-eye 090, 50, ...
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What does "a pop-up strike with a steep dive" mean?
In Top Gun Maverick (2022), Capt Pete trains squadrons:
Capt Pete: It's the most difficult stage of the mission.
It's a pop-up strike with a steep dive, requiring nothing less
than two consecutive ...
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What does "Splitting the throttles" mean?
In Top Gun Maverick (2022), Maverick flies F14 and evades from enemy flight:
Maverick: Splitting the throttles. Coming around.
What does "Splitting the throttles" mean?
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What do you mean by "high-G climb out"?
In Top Gun Maverick (2022), Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson speaks to squadrons about enemy terrain:
Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson: Well, Lieutenant, you have a fighting ...
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What "north wall" is Simpson refer to?
In Top Gun Maverick (2022), Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson speaks to squadrons about enemy terrain:
Vice Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson: Well, Lieutenant, you have a
fighting ...
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What's the difference between a balked landing and a go-around?
Is there a difference between a balked landing and a go-around?
If there is, what exactly is a balked landing?
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What would define a thunderstorm that you would stay 20 miles away from?
In summer time, we get pop up cumulonimbus clouds that often develop into thunderstorms. So is there a defined point at which it would be considered a thunderstorm to stay 20 miles away from? Is it ...
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What is the FAA definition of a "flight"?
For the purposes of aeronautical experience for glider ratings, the FAA requires a certain number of "flights". However, I cannot find a definition of "flight" in the federal ...
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Why do acronyms aviation often have words in orders unusual?
"Airplane Single Engine Land" (rather than "Single Engine Land Airplane"
"Certified Flight Instructor Instrument" (rather than "Certified Instrument Flight ...
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What is the difference between an aircraft and a projectile?
18 U.S. Code § 31(a)(1) says,
The term “aircraft” means a civil, military, or public contrivance invented, used, or designed to navigate, fly, or travel in the air.
What exactly is an aircraft? ...
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What is a "pickle switch" in civil aviation?
In an episode of "Air Crash Investigation" the term "pickle switch" was used. I tried to search this term in all the resources available to me and I didn't find any citation, ...
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What does Line imply in Line Replaceable Unit?
Does line indicate the aircraft is lined up in hangar (!) and maintenance crew can replace it?
Or does it mean something else?
Wiki talks about operating location and distances.. What is that?
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In a push-pull twin, which engine is number one?
I know this is kind of a silly question, but I'm curious.
On a "standard" multi-engine airplane, the engines are numbered from port to starboard, with the furthest port engine being number ...
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What altitude does the "Apt Elev" on the Jeppesen charts represent?
What altitude does the "Apt Elev" on the Jeppesen charts represent?
According to my research, the height we call "airport elevation" indicates the highest altitude on the landing ...
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What is an "emergency squat switch activation"?
I understand what a squat switch does and what it's for: it indicates weight on wheels/skids to indicate that the aircraft is sufficiently on the ground for ground-only things to happen (like ...
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What is meant by the sentence, "It relates to aircraft handling speeds and circling area development."?
What exactly is meant by the sentence:
It relates to aircraft handling speeds and circling area development.
For which values does the phrase "aircraft handling speeds and circling area ...
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what does upwind engine and down wind engine mean?
can anyone illustrate with a picture what does upwind engine and downwind engine mean?
for example, i came across this - “The outer engines are critical. If there is any crosswind then the upwind ...
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What is the name for the spherical type of attitude indicator that also shows heading?
Is there a special name for the type of attitude indicator or artificial horizon that is more or less a complete sphere and includes lines to show the aircraft heading? I've seen them in the cockpits ...
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Is there a name for change in attitude with respect to time?
I'm in the process of writing a flight-dynamics software program, but I'm not sure what to call the derivatives of the aircraft attitude. If it was in one dimension, they would be the "angular ...
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What is the difference between position and navigation lights on light training aircraft?
What is the difference between position and navigation lights on light training aircraft (or general)? When I search for both, I find the same lights: red on the left, green on the right, and white on ...
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What exactly is the interval and duration of occurrence represented by the acronym TEMPO?
What exactly is the interval and duration of occurrence represented by the acronym TEMPO? When we look at this How to interpret BECMG and TEMPO in TAF? question, we see the following in the answer ...
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What is "negative geometric washout"?
I read that the wing of a hang glider should be tightened with cables so that it has a "negative washout", but I didn't really find anything about what this means
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Why is there a FAF database identifier with the code [FS044] even though it says no FAF and why is there an RNAV fix symbol for that point?
Why is there a FAF database identifier with the code [FS044] even though it says no FAF and why is there an RNAV fix symbol for that point? The code [FS044] means FAF for the approach (What is the ...
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Which values do "PANS-OPS" and "Standard" labels represent in the minimum table seperately? (minimums, circle-to-land values, aircraft categories...)
What is the difference between these two labels and which values do they represent in the minimum table exactly? ("PANS-OPS" and "Standard") What are the values that Standard and ...
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What values will I use for circle-to-land in categories A and B? RVR 1800m or RVR 2200m?
What values will I use for circle-to-land in categories A and B? RVR 1800m or RVR 2200m? And if I am using them, why are the visibility values such as 1500m-1600m determined?
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What exactly does the expression "higher straight-in minimums" describe as "higher" relative to which value?
What does the description of note 1 that I marked in the image mean? What exactly does the expression "higher straight-in minimums" describe as "higher" relative to which value? ...
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What is the name of the pedal assembly in an aircraft cockpit?
I'm proofreading a document about rudder control systems and client insists on calling the pedal assembly under the pilot's feet the "rudder". Would this ever be used?
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Should people flying UAVs be called "Operators" or "Pilots"?
I'm wondering if there is any formal/official definition* pertaining to the title given to people controlling Unmanned Aerial Vehicles? Are they "more" correctly titled Operators or Pilots?
*As set ...
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What is meant by "Fox Two"?
Numerous Movies, Video Games, and TV shows featuring fighter pilots depict the pilots calling out "Fox Two" on the radio as they fire a missile.
The transmission (as depicted, I'm not sure ...
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Why is it common to speak of "Concorde" rather than "the Concorde"?
"Suppose you were researching a book on the history of Boeing B-17."
"Suppose you were researching a book on the history of the Boeing B-17."
Which of those sentences sounds more ...
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What is the difference between a spin and an uncontrolled roll in an high speed dive?
A comment I had on another (now deleted) question states that Air china 006 didn't spin. For me it was a spin (unwanted roll due to asymmetrical stall). The comment states it was "it was a slow ...
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What is the origin of the "Pickle" switch for release of ordnance?
I am looking for proper proof of the theory that it is called so due to the Norden sight of the B17, which was said to assist the bomber in putting a bomb into a pickle jar, and hence it stuck.
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(In English) is there a way/shorthand to refer to the minutes part of a plane's landing time? (I.e. omitting the hour)
For example, if a plane lands at 17:34, is it possible (in English) to only report the minutes (34) portion of the time? If so, how?
The reason/context for the question: I'm trying to translate ...
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Does “balls to the wall” mean “full speed ahead” or “full speed ahead and nosedive”?
Full speed ahead: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/balls_to_the_wall
Full speed ahead and nosedive: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2006/02/why-we-say-balls-to-the-wall.html
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What is the relation between body-frame, body-fixed-frame and vehicle-frame?
When I first came across these three terms, I thought they were all the same. A frame attached to the body of a plane and centered at its center-of-mass with the frame's $\left\{\hat{\mathbf{i}},\hat{\...
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What is the difference between a vertical stabilizer and a rudder?
I saw two questions on locating these surfaces ahead of CG:
Vertical Stabilizer and Rudder
How are these the same or different control surfaces?
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What is the correct terminology for the ICON A5's wing configuration?
The ICON A5 would seem to be a "conventional" (if we stretch the limits of the term) high-wing monoplane.
But what about these things right here:
The protrusions from the hull, circled in ...
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What does "Get a bearing on" mean?
In Top Gun (1986), a flight got hit by a missile:
Airboss: Get a bearing on Hollywood and Wolfman
and launch the rescue helicopter immediately.
What does "Get a bearing on" mean?
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What does "with information Alpha" mean? [duplicate]
In Top Gun Maverick (2022), Lt Pete Maverick speaks on comm:
Lt Pete Maverick: Tower, this is Darkstar. We are taxiing with
information Alpha.
Traffic Controller: Darkstar, you are clear to taxi.
...
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What is the difference between centre of pressure, aerodynamic centre and neutral point?
I have just started learning some aerospace concepts, and I am not able to understand the difference between the three terms centre of pressure, aerodynamic centre and neutral point. What are their ...
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What does "mode-four check" mean?
I heard this line in Top-Gun (1986):
Voodoo 1: Mustang, when you get the chance, can you give me a
mode-four check?
What does "mode-four check" mean?
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What does "Zero for twenty" mean?
In Top Gun (1986), a flight got hit by a missile:
Pilot: I'm hit! I'm hit! We're coming apart! I can't control it! Hold on!
Zero for twenty! We're going down!
What ...
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Jettison and Dump fuel - Do they have separate meanings?
According to the definitions, is there any difference between Jettison and Dump fuel? Does one of them use a different procedure, or they are simply synonyms?
