slot pair

Qantas 'bought' or acquired (outright purchases may well be illegal) two slot pairs for over USD 1 5 million per slot pair.

2003, Air and Space Law, volume 28, page 275:

The airport was already full, which meant that any airline wanting to start Heathrow service had to find an airline willing to sell gate rights or, more accurately, slot pairs.

2015, Bret Wallach, A World Made for Money: Economy, Geography, and the Way We Live Today:

In 2010 it was estimated that at Heathrow Airport, over 400 weekly slots were being traded and that the value of a slot pair was £30–40 million for pre-0900 arrivals and £10 million for 0900–1300 arrivals (Steer Davies Gleave, 2011).

2016, Anne Graham, Airport Finance and Investment in the Global Economy:

Therefore, the air carrier is willing to pay a fee for the slot pair as long as the fee plus the opportunity cost of the investment are not higher than the expected profit for a given route.

2016, Achim I. Czerny, Airport Slots: International Experiences and Options for Reform:

(aviation) The commercial rights for an airline to take off and land planes at a particular airport at a particular time.


hardover

Move the remote Stick full aft (toward tail of helicopter); the null meters should move aft to a hardover position on the flight director and aft pilot control panel.

1990, Headquarters, Department of the Army, Operator's Manual: Army Model, CH-54A Helicopter, Part 101:

(aviation, uncountable) The condition where a control surface or actuator has moved to its extreme limit.

Scenario 4 involves a preexisting yaw damper hardover condition that resulted in a rudder surface movement to 3° to the right, which the pilots compensated for with 3° of left rudder trim.

1999, National Transportation Safety Board, Aircraft Accident Report: Uncontrolled Descent and Collision With Terrain, USAir Flight 427, Boeing 737-300, N513AU, Near Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, September 8, 1994, page 123:

(aviation, countable) An instance of a control surface or actuator moving to its extreme limit.


rampie

Make life difficult for the other rampies and it's just a matter of time before you're out the door. Mikey has spent enough time with rampies and is savvy enough to know how important they are to Buffalo's success.

2012, Michael Vlessides, The Ice Pilots: Flying with the Mavericks of the Great White North:

(aviation, informal) A member of the groundcrew.


dynafocal

Blend of dynamic + focal. Genericised from the product name "Dynafocal Suspensions" from Lord Corporation in 1939, earlier called "Dynamic Suspensions".

This alternate method for installing a dynafocal mount is preferred by some builders.

1992, Sport Aviation, volume 41, page 80:

(aviation) Of or pertaining to a particular kind of aircraft engine mount that gives directional support to a radial engine to reduce vibration.


uniball

(automotive, aviation) A spherical bearing.


castoring

(aviation, of a wheel) able to be turned in different directions; pivoting.


right of repentance

en-noun

right of repentance (plural rights of repentance)

(aviation, travel, consumer law) The right of a passenger, in some jurisdictions, to obtain a full refund on an airline ticket within a specific period of time.


undernose

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-undernose.wav

(aviation) Located under the nose of the aircraft


ultra low cost carrier

ultra low cost carrier (plural ultra low cost carriers)

(aviation) A type of airline that tries to keep ticket prices as low as possible, by charging for everything, such as checked-in baggage, carry-on baggage, food, beverages, assigned seat numbers, etc.


CBG

CBG (countable and uncountable, plural CBGs)

carrier battle group
carrier battle group#English

(countable, military, nautical, aviation) Initialism of carrier battle group.


omnibearing

Consequently the capsule could be positioned only by omnibearings reported from the capsule.

1959, Kenneth Franklin Gantz, Man in Space:

By map reference and omnibearings, he erroneously estimated his position at E', and would have attempted to fly a heading away from the station had he not been corrected.

1967, Norman R. Driscoll, Effects of a Simple Stability Augmentation System on the Performance of Non-instrument-qualified Light-aircraft Pilots During Instrument Flight., page 11:

Then a continuous readout of the omnibearing appears in the space used for frequency display, followed by an "F" when "from" is selected, for positive identification.

1976, Flying: Used Planes - What Ten Grand Can Buy, page 12:

The bearing of the aircraft is shown in degrees on the aircraft's omnibearing selector. Left-right displacement from the bearing line is shown on the course-line-deviation indicator. To denote direction of the omnibearing line with respect to the VOR, a "to-from" ambiguity indicator is used.

1995, Samuel B. Fishbein, Flight management systems: the evolution of avionics and navigation:

(aviation) The bearing of an aircraft, usually relative to magnetic north, determined by omnidirectional radio signals.


autobrake

(aviation) A system that automatically applies an aircraft's hydraulic wheel brakes upon touchdown during landing, or when the throttle is reduced to idle during a rejected takeoff.


near space

A region of the Earth's (or another planet's) atmosphere or exosphere which is near outer space:

(aviation) The region of the atmosphere between the Armstrong limit (above which atmospheric pressure is sufficiently low that water boils at the normal temperature of the human body) and the Kármán line (one boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space); the region of the atmosphere near space.


upwing

This method involves the use of a radar transponder sited (at any rate for the purpose of this illustration) at a known distance upwing from the landing threshold — say 4,000 yards — and complementary airborne equipment capable of measuring to an accuracy of 1/10 n. ml.

1952 -, The Canadian Air Line Pilot - Volumes 8-10, page 39:

The extra drag on the upwing side causes the nose of the plane to yaw toward the upwing direction.

1979, Richard A. Wolters, The world of silent flight, page 68:

Feeling the sensation of banking as the airplane turned onto its upwing approach to landing, he reached between his feet and hoisted a briefcase onto his lap

1990, Tom Willard, Bold Forager, →ISBN, page 36:

(aviation) Toward the side of the plane where the wing is higher than the plane.


equivalent shaft horsepower

equivalent shaft horsepower (uncountable)

(aviation) In a turboprop engine, the power measured in horse power equivalent to that delivered to a propeller shaft.


transit lounge

(aviation) A waiting room at an (international) airport for passengers changing flights, or for long-haul passengers who have to leave their aircraft while it is serviced and refuelled (in both cases for passengers who haven't finished their journey).


SAF

The industry is counting on SAF for two-thirds of the contribution to achieving its net zero target.

2023 May 28, John Gapper, “The price of flying will keep rising, even on Ryanair”, in FT Weekend, page 9:

(aviation) Initialism of sustainable aviation fuel.


climbout

(aviation) The period after takeoff and before cruising, during which the aircraft climbs to a predetermined altitude.


FAR

(aviation, proscribed) Initialism of Federal Aviation Regulations.


flare path

(aviation) A runway (or simple field) that is illuminated at night, or during fog, to enable aircraft to land or take off safely.


space equivalent zone

(aviation) The top of the Earth's atmosphere, from 50,000 ft (the start of the stratosphere) and up (to the edge of the exosphere at 1000 mi); where the effects of exposure to the environment on human life is similar to that of exposure to space; it being physiologically incompatible with human life.

physiological deficient zone (12,500-50,000ft)


CoA

CoA (countable and uncountable, plural CoAs)

certificate of airworthiness
certificate of airworthiness#English

(aviation) Initialism of certificate of airworthiness.


wax someone's tail

en-verb

wax someone's tail (third-person singular simple present waxes someone's tail, present participle waxing someone's tail, simple past and past participle waxed someone's tail)

waxes someone's tail (present singular third-person)
waxing someone's tail (participle present)
waxed someone's tail (participle past)
waxed someone's tail (past)

(military, aviation, slang) To lock one's weapons onto the tail of an enemy aircraft.


AoA

Alternative form of AOA (“"A..." of "A..."”)

(aviation) Initialism of angle of attack.


alpha max

en-noun

alpha max (countable and uncountable, plural alpha maxes)

(aviation) The maximum angle of attack (AoA), maximum nose-up angle. The highest degree of displacement from (relative) horizontal (the airstream, not the ground level, nor the theoretical flat gravitational surface), that an airplane can achieve and still maintain forward flight (without stalling), at the speed that the aircraft is travelling.


quadjet

(aviation) A jet aircraft powered by four engines.


blisk

mechanical engineering
mechanical engineering

(aviation, mechanical engineering) An aircraft turbine engine rotor that has integral blades.


Vy

(aviation) The indicated airspeed at which an aircraft's climb rate is at a maximum.


shock stall

/ˈʃɒk ˌstɔːl/

The noun is derived from shock + stall (“loss of lift due to an airfoil’s critical angle of attack being exceeded”). The verb is derived from the noun.

When I was down to 32,000 feet the altimeter was spinning merrily and the dive was very steep and I was pulling back on the stick in the usual way due to the change of trim at the shock stall.

1944 April 27, Peter Caygill, quoting Tony Martindale, “Problems with Compressibility”, in Sound Barrier: The Rocky Road to MACH 1.0+, Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Aviation, Pen & Sword Books, published 2006, →ISBN, page 41:

His [Group Captain Hugh Joseph Wilson's] flights revealed at least two things: the effectiveness of turbojets used for the first time in international record breaking, and he came sufficiently close to the speed of sound to experience the effects of a partial shock stall. [...] It was noticed that changes in the air flow occur when the speed approaches the speed of sound—or, in other words, the speed at which waves propagate themselves in air—and that these changes could lead to a partial or complete shock stall.

1947 August, Oliver Stewart, “Breaking the World’s Speed Record”, in Max Karant, editor, Flying, volume 41, number 2, Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 60, column 1:

A new realm in aerodynamics is entered, with sound and shock waves, Mach number and compressibility making their appearance. Life saving dope is disseminated [during ground training] on the warning signals and recognition of shock stalls and measures in recovering from them.

1949 December, “Jetterbugs Made: Not Born to the Trade”, in Arthur L. Schoeni, editor, Naval Aviation News, number 332, Washington, D.C.: Chief of Naval Operations and Bureau of Aeronautics, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2, column 2:

Direct evidence is meagre, but suggests that local shockstalls of this type do not generally imply a severe increase of drag, but may occasionally set up buffeting effects.

1956, A. S. Hartshorn, L. F. Nicholson, The Aerodynamics of the Cooling of Aircraft Reciprocating Engines (Reports and Memoranda; 2498), London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, →OCLC, page 37:

Compressibility effects are not found to change the dynamic stall characteristics in principle until the Mach number gets high enough to cause shock-stall rather than leading edge stall.

1968, Lars E. Ericsson, J. Peter Reding, Unsteady Airfoil Stall and Stall Flutter (NASA Contractor Report; NASA/CR-111906), Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, →OCLC, page 34:

In the present work, the shock stall of an oscillating NACA64A010 airfoil for which detailed experimental data are available is studied.

2001, Paola Cinnella, “Numerical Study of Transonic Shock/Boundary Layer Interactions on an Oscillating Airfoil Using a Third-order Scheme and Nonlinear Turbulence Models”, in Nobuyuki Satofuka, editor, Computational Fluid Dynamics 2000: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Computational Fluid Dynamics, ICCFD, Kyoto, Japan, 10–14 July 2000, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, →DOI, →ISBN, part V (Compressible Flows), section 1 (Introduction), page 157:

Anyone on the instructor's course should be experienced enough to handle the odd shock stall, which by definition was only going to happen at height where there was plenty of room to sort things out.

2010, Tony Doyle, “To Valley on the Gnat”, in Flying at the Edge: 20 Years of Front-line and Display Flying in the Cold War Era, Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Aviation, Pen & Sword Books, →ISBN, part 2 (The Crest of the Wave), page 159:

(aviation) A stall (“sudden loss of lift”) caused when the airflow over an aircraft's wings is disturbed by shock waves that occurs at a specific Mach number when the aircraft is accelerating to transonic speeds.

yliäänisakkaus

sudden loss of lift that occurs at a specific Mach number


shock stall

en-verb

shock stall (third-person singular simple present shock stalls, present participle shock stalling, simple past and past participle shock stalled)

shock stalls (present singular third-person)
shock stalling (participle present)
shock stalled (participle past)
shock stalled (past)

/ˈʃɒk ˌstɔːl/

The tailplane usually becomes more effective as a stabiliser at high Mach numbers because there are decreases of wing lift-curve slope and rate of change of downwash with mean lift coefficient. The latter effect is mainly due to the wing-root shock stalling at a lower Mach number than the rest of the wing.

1947, S. Kirkby, A[braham] Robinson, Interference on a Wing due to a Body at Supersonic Speeds (Aeronautical Research Council Reports and Memoranda; no. 2500), London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, published 1952, →OCLC, page 23:

[A] loss of downwash due to the main wing shock stalling would result in an undesirable diving tendency.

1947 January, The Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, volume 51, part 1, London: Royal Aeronautical Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 130, column 1:

The separation of the flow over wings precipitated by the compression shock that forms as speeds are increased into the supercritical Mach number range has imposed serious difficulties in the improvement of aircraft performance. These difficulties arise principally as a consequence of the rapid drag rise and the loss of lift that causes serious stability changes when the wing shock-stalls.

1948 August, John Stack, W. F. Lindsey, “Summary”, in Characteristics of Low-aspect-ratio Wings at Supercritical Mach Numbers (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Technical Note; no. 1665), Washington, D.C.: National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, →OCLC, page 1:

In fact, in this case, after stalling in the normal manner, he would probably have fallen off in a dive and in doing so, increase his speed until he shock[-]stalled before effecting recovery.

1949 June, R. G. Naugle, “Are Jet Fighters Overrated?”, in William B[ernard] Ziff [Sr.], editor, Flying, volume 44, number 6, Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 68, column 1:

As a result of these tests it was shown that at the design incidence the conventional cascade shock stalled at some 75 per cent of the critical inlet velocity.

1949 October, K. W. Todd, An Experimental Study of Three-dimensional High-speed Air Conditions in a Cascade of Axial-flow Compressor Blades (Aeronautical Research Council Reports and Memoranda; no. 2792), London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, published 1954, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2015-10-03, page 1:

When the wing shock stalls, the lift gradient a falls and, if no shock stalling occurs on the tail plane, the term #92;frac#123;a#95;1#92;bar#123;V

1951, staff of the RAE [Royal Aircraft Establishment] High Speed Wind Tunnel, High Speed Wind Tunnel Tests on Models of Two Jet-propelled Fighters (Meteor and Vampire) (Aeronautical Research Council Reports and Memoranda; no. 2504), London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, →OCLC, page 35:

(intransitive, aviation) Of an aircraft or a component of it: to undergo a shock stall.


cargo liner

(aviation) The lining of an aircraft's cargo hold.


noon balloon

Coordinate term: shoulder

We did not have a noon balloon, but when needed I met VIPs at the airport. I chauffeured them between the airport, hotel and the plant.

1995, Edward C. Welter, GM Means Good Money, page 105:

The noon balloon was chosen as the basis for the traffic model because during this arrival rush demand exceeds airport capacity and air traffic managers impose time-based metering restrictions […]

1999, Journal of Aircraft, volume 36, numbers 4-6, page 788:

(aviation) A period around midday when an airport has a particularly large amount of air traffic.


hot rock

It is the privilege of every pilot to think of himself, privately at least, as a hot rock of the first magnitude. Whether he is or not is an evaluation that he is not altogether qualified to make for himself.

1949, Flying Magazine, volume 45, number 4, page 28:

If a hot rock racing plane pilot seems so calm, cool, collected, and nonchalant, it's because he's formed a habit pattern of making his flying routine. That's exactly how you want dangerous flying — or dangerous anything — to be. Routine.

2011, Dick Jonas, A Fighter Pilot Looks At the World Upside Down:

(aviation, slang) A daredevil pilot of great skill.


howgoesit

From the phrase how goes it, i.e. how are things going?

He reports how much fuel has been consumed and how much remains. He shows me a plotted chart of the gas consumed and miles flown. We call it the "howgoesit" curve. The gas consumed curve is below the mileage curve. That's fine.

1939, Flying Magazine, volume 25, number 4, page 68:

Construct and use simple "Howgoesit" curves.

1951, United States. Naval Air Technical Training Command, Aircraft Engines, page 317:

(aviation, informal, often attributive) A chart or instrument indicating the remaining fuel and the remaining flight distance.


Eurowhite

TWA's 1975 livery was among the first Eurowhite schemes outside Europe.

(aviation) Of aircraft livery: predominantly white, with a relatively small logo.


DVCS

(aviation) Initialism of digital voice communication system.


skip bombing

(aviation, military) A low-level bombing technique where an aircraft attacks shipping by skipping the bomb across the water like a thrown stone.


Link Trainer

Produced by Link Aviation Devices, Inc., founded by Ed Link.

(aviation, historical) Any of a series of early electromechanical flight simulators


shock-stalled

en-adj

shock-stalled (comparative more shock-stalled, superlative most shock-stalled)

more shock-stalled (comparative)
most shock-stalled (superlative)

The Meteor, Group Captain [Hugh Joseph] Wilson said, puts its nose up at the shock stall, so that had the aircraft become fully shock stalled during the record runs, the pilot would probably have been able to recover without hitting the sea. But at the speeds achieved—the fastest run recorded being 983 kilometers or 611 m.p.h.—only parts of the Meteor (for instance, the area over the wind screen) were shock stalled.

1946 February, Oliver Stewart, “London Letter”, in William B[ernard] Ziff [Sr.], editor, Flying, volume 38, number 2, Chicago, Ill.: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 50, columns 2–3:

This is only partially true, since drag increase can be overcome by brute force on the part of the propulsion system, but ignorance of the rather delicate stability and control problems when flying in a shock-stalled condition will probably result in disaster.

1951, William F. Hilton, High-speed Aerodynamics, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green, →OCLC, page 33:

At about Mach 0.9 a marked recovery in lift occurred, suggesting that the separated ("shock-stalled") flow tended to disappear as Mach 1 was approached.

1980, John V[ernon] Becker, The High-speed Frontier: Case Histories of Four NACA Programs, 1920–1950 (NASA SP; 445), Washington, D.C.: Scientific and Technical Information Branch, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, →OCLC, page 38:

Some parts of both Wilson's and Greenwood's aircraft were shock-stalled, which means that all normal lift characteristics were upset during the run.

1994, John Mills, When Peace Broke Out: Britain, 1945, London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, →ISBN, page 135:

(aviation) Of an aircraft or a component of it: having undergone a shock stall.


derotate

en-verb

derotate (third-person singular simple present derotates, present participle derotating, simple past and past participle derotated)

derotates (present singular third-person)
derotating (participle present)
derotated (participle past)
derotated (past)

(aviation, rare) To bring the nose of an aircraft down to the runway after touching down on the main gear.


aircraft movement

en-noun

aircraft movement (plural aircraft movements)

(aviation, often plural) The take-off or landing of an aircraft at an airport.


jetline

Blend of jetliner (“jet airliner”) + airline (“air carrier”)

blend

(aviation, dated) An airline which flies jet aircraft.


pickle fork

ref

By John R. Towers, c. 1936, from the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., USA.

(aviation, informal) A structure attaching an aircraft's wings to its body, having an arched shape with prongs at each end.


V/STOL

(aviation) Abbreviation of vertical/short takeoff and landing.


UAS

Looking at the commercial entities looking to fly in the UAE, they are able to capture images and data via UAS/drone use, and have access to large areas through the approval process of the UAE.

2017, Harrison G. Wolf, Drones: Safety Risk Management for the Next Evolution of Flight, Routledge, →ISBN:

Their presence in the skies and news have become so evident that Time recently titled a Special Report issue devoted to UAS "The Drone Age" (Time 2018). UAS are free-flying, powered aircraft that may be flown remotely by a pilot on the ground or programmed to fly autonomously along specified routes to designated waypoints.

2019, James S. Aber, Irene Marzolff, Johannes Ries, Susan Elizabeth Ward Aber, Small-Format Aerial Photography and UAS Imagery: Principles, Techniques and Geoscience Applications, Academic Press, →ISBN, page 119:

(aviation) Initialism of uncrewed aerial system or initialism of unmanned aerial system: an aircraft with no onboard pilot, and sometimes completely unpiloted, as well as the other components of the system, including automated guidance and telemetry, a remote operator if any, etc.


HOTAS

(aviation) Acronym of hands on throttle-and-stick.. A control methodology where one hand rests on the throttle lever, while the other rests on the control stick; and buttons, dials, and switches are placed on the throttle and stick; so that the pilot's hands need not leave the two, to command an aircraft.


coffin corner

coffin corner (American football)
coffin corner (aerodynamics)

Here, in fact, is the so-called “coffin corner,” with the pilot juggling the throttle betwixt buffeting and highspeed stalling.

1909, Flight International - Volume 64, page 700:

The U-2 had to fly in the “coffin corner” of its flight envelope, one knot from stalling, one knot from overstressing the airframe, and one SA-2 from an international incident.

2004, Laurence R. Newcome, Unmanned Aviation: A Brief History of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles:

Coffin corner continues to trap the unwary, as witness the losses of Air France 447 over the Atlantic in 2009 and Air Asia 8501 over the Java Sea in 2014.

(aviation) A situation in which the aircraft cannot increase or decrease its airspeed without stalling or buffeting.


puff pipe

Basically, the Bedstead proved that stabilizing a jet-borne aircraft by means of "puff pipes" was practical and that not only was auto-stabilizing possible but that, with training, manual stabilizing could also be achieved.

1966, Sung-ming Wang, VTOL vehicles: practice and potential, page 72:

(aviation) A pipe on a VTOL aircraft that expels compressed air in order to stabilize the craft.


Dutch roll

(aviation) An aircraft motion consisting of an out-of-phase combination of yaw and roll, especially prominent on sweptwing aircraft.


AWACS

(US, aviation, military) Acronym of airborne warning and control system.


bus-stop flight

en-noun

bus-stop flight (plural bus-stop flights)

It was a coastal "bus stop" flight, calling at Carnarvon, where banana plantations line the Gascoyne river […]

The only short-haul, inter-city air service in the country is closing down: Channel Airways has announced that its bus-stop flights that went from Southend to Scotland by way of Luton, Bradford and Newcastle […]

1969, The Economist, volume 233, page 78:

Every day RAE runs a special aircraft from Farnborough on a bus-stop flight to these outstations in the same way that industrial groups maintain their own car services.

1964, Education and Training, volume 6, page 184:

(aviation) A regular short-haul flight that carries passengers.


squawk book

Remember, for pilots it is very important to keep detailed notes in your squawk book and set aside some time to discuss the problem with your technician.

2001, Edward R. Maher, Avionics Troubleshooting and Repair, page xvi:

(aviation) An aircraft engineer's notebook listing the faults that need attention.


falling leaf

So called from the gradual "drifting" motion like a leaf falling from a tree.

(aviation) An aerobatic maneuver, a controlled stall that begins to induce a spin which is then countered with the rudder.


TAWS

terrain awareness and warning system#English

(aviation) Acronym of terrain awareness and warning system.


terrain awareness and warning system

terrain awareness and warning system (plural terrain awareness and warning systems)

terrain awareness and warning systems (plural)

controlled flight into terrain
controlled flight into terrain

(aviation) An onboard system used to avoid controlled flight into terrain (CFIT).

enhanced ground proximity warning system


RNZAF

Royal New Zealand Air Force
w:Royal New Zealand Air Force

(New Zealand, military, aviation) Initialism of Royal New Zealand Air Force.


dangle the Dunlops

en-verb

dangle the Dunlops (third-person singular simple present dangles the Dunlops, present participle dangling the Dunlops, simple past and past participle dangled the Dunlops)

dangles the Dunlops (present singular third-person)
dangling the Dunlops (participle present)
dangled the Dunlops (participle past)
dangled the Dunlops (past)

Last, but not least: Keep the pointy end forward, the dirty side down and dangle the dunlops.

Just as soon as we get this li'l baby off of the runway, we'll be taking such good care of you that before you know it we'll be dangling the Dunlops over Dallas.

1995, Yasmine Gooneratne, The pleasures of conquest, page 97:

(aviation, slang) To lower the landing gear of an aircraft in preparation for landing.


doghouse plot

From its resemblance to a drawing of a dog's kennel.

(aviation) A chart showing the relationship between speed at level flight and altitude (or sometimes other variables).


doll's eye

A standard NGL flow sensor at the inlet to the pressure demand regulator operated a doll's eye indicator […]

1996, North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development, AGARDograph, volume 286, page 58:

Eric Bennett showed me around the cockpit and off I went on a familiarization flight and I was very impressed. […] On the right-hand side of the cockpit were two switches and two 'doll's eye' indicators.

2006, Brian Mercer, Black Arrow Blue Diamond:

The doors locked into position either side of the rows of bombs like a dog baring its teeth and a magnetic doll's-eye indicator in the cockpit flicked from black to white.

2012, Rowland White, Vulcan 607, page 419:

(aviation, often attributive) A magnetic indicator in the cockpit that turns white in the event of a problem.


dip locker

'Good work, Sandy!' he told him. 'Go at once and put this in the dip-locker for safety.'

(aviation, informal) A secure storage area on an aircraft for diplomatic bags etc.


paddlefoot

The day after Tommy quit, a paddlefoot soldier on the base made a disparaging remark about Tommy to Sorrow Sorrel, the tail gunner, and Sorrow beat the living hell out of the paddlefoot.

1944, Oram C. Hutton, Andrew A. Rooney, Air Gunner, page 116:

He was a paddlefoot undeniably, and it seemed that I might have spared myself any worry about a hero's death. Still, I could never quite get rid of the lurking notion that he was marked for sudden and outlandish extinction.

1968, MacKinlay Kantor, The Day I Met a Lion, page 34:

(military, aviation, slang) A member of the groundcrew.


strangle the parrot

strangle the parrot (third-person singular simple present strangles the parrot, present participle strangling the parrot, simple past and past participle strangled the parrot)

strangles the parrot (present singular third-person)
strangling the parrot (participle present)
strangled the parrot (participle past)
strangled the parrot (past)

/ˌstɹæŋɡ(ə)l ðə ˈpæɹət/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-strangle the parrot.wav

/ˌstɹæŋɡəl ðə ˈpæɹət/

From parrot (“(aviation, slang) transponder”). “Parrot” was the British codename for the identification friend or foe system on World War II aircraft which used transponders.

If you fly jets, you know what it means to strangle the parrot (turning off the transponder that identifies aircraft as friendly or hostile) and that the howgozit is a dial that shows how much fuel is left.

1990, Tom Fahey, “Types of Jargon”, in The Joys of Jargon, Hauppauge, N.Y., London: Barron’s Educational Series, →ISBN, pages 21–22:

Over the radio, Kincaid heard the sounds of flights into the north: Air Force pilots talking to one another. […] Davis broke in with a radio call. “We strangle the parrot in five minutes.” Kincaid grinned. It meant that they would be turning off the IFF equipment.

1990, Kevin D. Randle, chapter 6, in Carrier War (Wings over Nam; 4), Naples, Fla.: Speaking Volumes, published 2014, →ISBN:

He had acquired a grey parrot on a trip to Africa and en route back to the UK, air traffic gave instructions to strangle the parrot, meaning of course switch off the identification, friend or foe (IFF) (codeword 'parrot'). Woobs feigned righteous indignation at this cruel command!

2017, Tony Blackman, Anthony Wright, V Force Boys: All New Reminiscences by Air and Ground Crews Operating the Vulcan, Victor and Valiant in the Cold War and beyond, London: Grub Street, →ISBN:

(idiomatic, aviation, slang) To switch off the transponder, for example, because it is interfering with the radar system.


bonedome

Unlike their USAF brethren with their 'bonedomes', the Australian pilots were only issued WW II type leather helmets. They afforded scant protection.

Still in their bonedomes, the pilots perched on top of the ladders, answering the ground crews' excited queries.

(aviation, slang) An aviator's protective helmet.


double bubble

en-noun

double bubble (countable and uncountable, plural double bubbles)

(aviation) A fuselage formed from two conjoined hulls.


debooster

(aviation) An aircraft component that reduces the brake fluid pressure to allow for smoother braking.


CILOP

(aviation) Acronym of conversion in lieu of procurement.


tailstand

(aviation) A vertical pole that supports the rear fuselage of an aircraft during the loading and unloading of cargo.


base leg

base leg (usually uncountable, plural base legs)

(aviation) The part of a landing before final approach, flown downwind of and at right angles to the runway.


unidentified aerial phenomenon

unidentified aerial phenomenon (plural unidentified aerial phenomena)

An Introduction to the Public's Misperception of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena and Extraterrestrial Life.

2016, “Only Weirdos See UFOs”, in Jason McClellan, →ISBN:

The company [involved in the DOD research] modified buildings in Las Vegas for the storage of metal alloys and other materials that program contractors said had been recovered from unidentified aerial phenomena.

2017, Rafi Letzter, Scientific American, "The Truth about Those "Alien Alloys" in The New York Times UFO Story", ISSN 0036-8733

The article describes a federally funded program that investigated reports of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs, the take-me-seriously acronym that includes UFOs). And within the story, the Times embedded videos of two such UAPs.

2018, Sarah Scoles, Wired, "What Is Up With Those Pentagon UFO Videos?", ISSN 1059-1028

2019, Kayla Epstein, The Washington Post, "Those UFO videos are real, the Navy says, but please stop saying ‘UFO’"
The Navy designates the objects contained in these videos as unidentified aerial phenomena.

So for the first time, video showing unidentified aerial phenomena was confirmed as just that, weird objects flying around the sky at a speed and in a trajectory that no known technology allows, and it was on television and cable news for a day, and then everyone just went back to talking about what Trump tweeted to the guy on CNN.

2020, Rob Long, The National Review, "The Great Coronavirus Non-Freakout", ISSN 0028-0038

2020, PRNewswire, Baker City Herald, "To the Stars Academy of Arts & Science Acknowledges the Pentagon's Official Release of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Video Footage"
Pentagon officially released three videos of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP).

unidentified flying object
unidentified flying object#English

(aviation) Synonym of unidentified flying object (“UFO”)


proverse

en-adj

proverse (comparative more proverse, superlative most proverse)

more proverse (comparative)
most proverse (superlative)

From Latin prōversus (“turned forwards”), perfect passive participle of prōvertō (“to turn forwards”), from prō- (“before, in front of”) + vertō (“to turn”). By surface analysis, pro- + -verse. Doublet of prose.

This is preferred over adverse yaw unless it becomes too proverse!

1995, Jan Roskam, Airplane Flight Dynamics and Automatic Flight Controls, page 117:

(aviation) Describing the tendency of a plane to roll in the same direction as yaw.


hard deck

Get your butts above the hard deck. Return to base immediately.

(aviation) In air combat training, the minimum allowed altitude below which the aircraft is considered destroyed by ground impact.


aileron roll

(aviation) An aerobatic maneuver in which the aircraft performs a full 360° revolution about its longitudinal axis.


attention getter

en-noun

attention getter (plural attention getters)

The results indicated significant performance degradation when a master visual attention-getter was not used. Mean detection times were substantially slower in the absence of an attention-getter in the pilot's primary field of vision.

1980, Aircraft Alerting Systems Standardization Study, Phase I, page 9:

Master caution and warning systems were developed to ease pilot workload, particularly on aircraft designed for operation without a flight engineer. In addition to the attention getter, it also directs the pilot towards the problem area concerned.

2009, David Wyatt, Mike Tooley, Aircraft Electrical and Electronic Systems, page 228:

(aviation) A warning light within an aircraft, indicating malfunction.


contour chase

en-verb

contour chase (third-person singular simple present contour chases, present participle contour chasing, simple past and past participle contour chased)

contour chases (present singular third-person)
contour chasing (participle present)
contour chased (participle past)
contour chased (past)

Latterly the visibility, due to the dense haze, had been poor indeed—they had to practically contour chase portions of the way in order to keep the "road" in sight. All hands, however, were glad to be on the job after the long flight from Melbourne […]

(aviation) To fly an aircraft at low altitude, following the shape of the ground below.


Dum Dum

Transliteration of Bengali দমদম (domodom).

transliteration

At the time of going to press the useful evidence report consists of the fact that a storm warning was given to [BOAC Flight 783]’s captain, but that he, after consultations with meteorological people, decided to take off according to plan. The aircraft, following fire-warning-circuit rectification at Singapore and radio fault-rectification at Dum Dum Airport, Calcutta was then two and a half hours behind schedule.

1953, “Comet Accident Inquiry”, in Roland E. Dangerfield, editor, The Aeroplane, volume 84, page 668:

(aviation) The international airport of Kolkata, West Bengal, India, officially Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.


VLAT

(firefighting, aviation) Acronym of very large airtanker. (a class of waterbomber)


Cuban eight

Said to have been invented and named by Len Povey, an American pilot who had served with the Cuban Air Force.

(aviation) An aerobatic maneuver following a path that resembles the figure 8 on its side.


positive control

(aviation) The air traffic control practice of controlling aircraft whose positions are determined by direct radar observation.


rotodyne

(aviation) An aircraft that has both wings and rotors


relief tube

(aviation, historical) A tube built into an aircraft allowing the crew to urinate while in flight.


area control center

en-noun

area control center (plural area control centers)

(aviation) A facility for controlling aircraft at high altitudes between airport approaches and departures.


LACC

Area Control Centre
area control centre#English

(UK, aviation) Abbreviation of London Area Control Centre.


Tempelhof

From German Tempelhof, from Middle High German Tempelhove. From being a fortified base for the Knights Templar.

Berlin Tempelhof Airport
w:Berlin Tempelhof Airport

(historical, aviation) Ellipsis of Berlin Tempelhof Airport. A former airport in Berlin, Germany


pitchmeter

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-pitchmeter.wav

(nautical, aviation) A device, encompassing a clinometer, used for measuring the pitch of a vehicle, especially a ship or aircraft.


dehub

en-verb

dehub (third-person singular simple present dehubs, present participle dehubbing, simple past and past participle dehubbed)

dehubs (present singular third-person)
dehubbing (participle present)
dehubbed (participle past)
dehubbed (past)

(transitive, aviation) To restructure flights or terminate operations at (an airport) in such a way that it ceases to be an airline hub.


AFS

(military, aviation) Initialism of air force station.


checkride

(aviation) A practical test in which the candidate flies an aircraft while accompanied by an examiner.


ruddervator

(aviation) A hinged control surface combining the functions of rudder and elevator.


dehost

dehost (third-person singular simple present dehosts, present participle dehosting, simple past and past participle dehosted)

dehosts (present singular third-person)
dehosting (participle present)
dehosted (participle past)
dehosted (past)

(transitive, aviation, travel) To separate (a CRS or GDS) from the internal reservation system of an airline.


flight information region

en-noun

flight information region (plural flight information regions)

(aviation) A specified region of airspace in which a flight information service and an alerting service are provided.


autoflare

(aviation) A form of autopilot-controlled landing in which the pilot controls the roll and yaw axes manually while the autopilot controls the "flare" or pitch.


TDZ

(aviation) Initialism of touchdown zone.


Christmas tree effect

Christmas tree effect (plural Christmas tree effects)

(aviation) The phenomenon where an aircraft's radar with limited directional capabilities receives strong echoes from the ground, swamping target signals and generating a triangular radar trace.


spoileron

(aviation) A spoiler panel which is extended on one wing of an aircraft in order to decrease the lift and increase the drag generated by said wing, rolling and yawing the aircraft towards that wing.


rudderon

(aviation) A type of control surface, usually found on flying wing aircraft, consisting of two pairs of panels (one mounted near each wingtip on the wing's trailing edge), with one lying on top of the other sandwich-style; to roll the aircraft, both panels on one wing deflect downwards (increasing the lift of that wing) and both panels on the othe wing deflect upwards (decreasing the lift of that wing), while, to yaw the aircraft, the panels on one wing split apart from each other (the upper panel deflects upwards, and the lower panel deflects downwards), increasing the drag on that wing.


hold short

en-verb

hold short (third-person singular simple present holds short, present participle holding short, simple past and past participle held short)

holds short (present singular third-person)
holding short (participle present)
held short (participle past)
held short (past)

Can I cross runway 4L? — No, hold short of 4L for now.

(intransitive, aviation, of an aircraft) To wait before entering a runway or a taxiway until given clearance to proceed.


blowdown limit

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the United Airlines flight 585 accident was a loss of control of the airplane resulting from the movement of the rudder surface to its blowdown limit. The rudder surface most likely deflected in a direction opposite to that commanded by the pilots as a result of a jam of the main rudder power control unit servo valve secondary slide to the servo valve housing offset from its neutral position and overtravel of the primary slide.

2001 March 27, National Transportation Safety Board, “3.2 Probable Cause”, in Aircraft Accident Report: Uncontrolled Descent and Collision With Terrain, United Airlines Flight 585, Boeing 737-200, N999UA, 4 Miles South of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, Colorado Springs, Colorado, March 3, 1991, archived from the original on 2022-05-08, page 139:

(aviation) The maximum deflection that a control surface is capable of reaching under given flight conditions, past which the aerodynamic forces acting on the control surface exceed the maximum opposing force available from the control surface's actuators.


manual reversion

In the event of a failure of both hydraulic systems A and B, the ailerons and elevators can be operated manually without hydraulic power (referred to as manual reversion). The rudder has no manual reversion capability but can be operated with the standby hydraulic system.

1999, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.6.2 Boeing 737 Hydraulic System Information”, in Uncontrolled Descent And Collision With Terrain, USAir Flight 427, Boeing 737-300, N513AU, Near Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, September 8, 1994, archived from the original on 2021-01-16, page 16:

(aviation) The actuation via purely mechanical means (using cables and/or pushrods) of one or more control surfaces that are usually controlled by hydraulics.


snozzle

A few minutes later, when the two RMFD vehicles arrived, the on-scene commander instructed one of them to take up a position on the left side of the airplane and to use its snozzle to apply firefighting agents in the airplane's main cargo compartment.

2005, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.15.3 Emergency Response”, in Aircraft Accident Report: Hard Landing, Gear Collapse, Federal Express Flight 647, Boeing MD-10-10F, N364FE, Memphis, Tennessee, December 18, 2003, archived from the original on 2020-10-18, page 24:

(aviation, firefighting) A reinforced firefighting nozzle used to pierce the exterior skin of an aircraft and spray water or firefighting foam inside the aircraft to help extinguish a fire.


deep stall

And even though my father had learned from past experience to watch this particular FAA pilot closely because of his tendency to pull back too far on the control column, Dad said he was still taken by surprise when the guy abruptly pulled back so hard that the 727 entered an extreme angle of attack—70 degrees rather than the usual maximum of 25 to 30 degrees—what an aerobatics pilot would do to start a snap roll or a spin. Suddenly, unbelievably, they were in a deep stall.

2014 May 14, Rebecca Wallick, “Seventeen Seconds in the Life of a Boeing Experimental Test Pilot”, in Seattle Magazine, archived from the original on 2021-01-31:

(aviation) An extremely dangerous type of aerodynamic stall (sudden loss of lift caused by airflow separation) where the angle of attack of a T-tailled aircraft becomes so high that the horizontal stabilizer and elevators are blanketed by the turbulent wake of the main wings, rendering the stabilizer and elevators ineffective and often preventing recovery from the stall.


stick time

en-noun

stick time (countable and uncountable, plural stick times)

Few pilots there matched his stick time.

2011, Michael D. Mullins, Out of the Mist, Memories of War, page 135:

(aviation) The amount of time that a pilot has spent flying.


arresting gear

arresting gear (countable and uncountable, plural arresting gears)

(aviation, military) A system used to quickly decelerate a landing aircraft, essential for landing on an aircraft carrier (although land-based airfields can also be equipped with arresting gear); the most common system consists of a series of transverse wire ropes designed to snag an aircraft's tailhook, connected to a hydraulic or mechanical energy-absorbing system, but other systems exist (typically only for use in an emergency situation) which use a net to slow down an aircraft.


seadrome

(historical, aviation) An airfield constructed at sea for the landing of aircraft unable to perform a nonstop crossing.


FTV

(aviation) Initialism of flight test vehicle.


gear-up landing

gear-up landing (plural gear-up landings)

The gear warning horn sounds if any of the gear are not down and locked when the throttle is pulled back to idle with the flaps down, providing a valuable protection against a gear-up landing.

(aviation) A landing of an aircraft with the landing gear retracted due to the pilot(s) forgetting to extend the gear or to take some other action necessary for the gear to deploy.


IGS

instrument guidance system
instrument guidance system#English

(aviation) Initialism of instrument guidance system.


scud run

en-verb

scud run (third-person singular simple present scud runs, present participle scud running, simple past and past participle scud ran)

scud runs (present singular third-person)
scud running (participle present)
scud ran (participle past)
scud ran (past)

When the weather worsened, the pilot elected to scud run and flew into a hill three miles past the end of the runway. I wisely elected to wait until conditions improved.

(aviation) To fly below the bases of low clouds and close to the ground in an attempt to maintain external visual reference in weather ordinarily considered too poor for visual flying.


roll off

roll off (third-person singular simple present rolls off, present participle rolling off, simple past and past participle rolled off)

rolls off (present singular third-person)
rolling off (participle present)
rolled off (participle past)
rolled off (past)

In addition to the large decrease in lift caused by the stall itself, further performance degradation can be expected as the airplane rolls off, as the spoilers on the high wing deploy in an attempt to fight the plane's sudden rolling motion.

(aviation, of an aircraft) To spontaneously roll suddenly and rapidly to one side or the other upon entering a stall (due to one wing stalling slightly before the other does, combined with the reduced effectiveness of ailerons for roll control at high angles of attack).


rolloff

en-noun

rolloff (usually uncountable, plural rolloffs)

The Learjet does not possess sufficient inherent prestall buffet characteristics at low speeds to provide the pilot with a clear warning that the aircraft is stalled before it enters a flight condition from which a normal recovery cannot be accomplished. Therefore, the aircraft is equipped with an artificial stall warning system which incorporates a stickshaker and stickpusher to provide a prestall warning in order to prevent an abrupt wing rolloff. The system includes a stall vane on each side of the nose of the aircraft, two angle of attack indicators, two stall warning lights, and a computer.

1982, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.16.2 Aircraft Characteristics”, in Aircraft Accident Report: Sky Train Air, Inc., Gates Learjet 24, N44CJ, Felt, Oklahoma, October 1, 1981, archived from the original on 2021-02-21, pages 11–12:

(aviation) A sudden large uncommanded roll to the left or right experienced by an aircraft entering a stall, resulting from one wing stalling slightly before the other and exacerbated by the reduction in aileron control authority at high angles of attack.


split S

Named for the resemblance of the aircraft's flightpath to the upper or lower half of the letter S (an aircraft performing two split Ses in sequence, with the first split S leading immediately into the second, would trace out a flightpath in the shape of a vertical S).

(aviation) An aerobatic maneuver in which an aircraft, starting from upright level flight, rolls inverted and then performs one-half of an inside loop, ending up in upright level flight in the opposite direction at a lower altitude; equivalent to an Immelmann turn (modern sense) performed in reverse.


MSAW

MSAW (usually uncountable, plural MSAWs)

minimum safe altitude warning
w:minimum safe altitude warning

(aviation) Initialism of minimum safe altitude warning.


pilot coat

So called because it was worn by seamen or aviators.

(aviation) A type of thick coat, typically leather with fur or wool lining, used by aviators in aircraft without an enclosed cockpit or having an uninsulated cabin.


back course

(aviation) The approach course formed by the rear lobe of the signal pattern of a localizer antenna array (the portion of the localizer signal emitted from the rear face of the antenna array), oriented in the reciprocal direction to the primary approach course (i.e., the back course - if a usable back course exists at all - will be rotated 180° from the primary course); not produced in usable form by all localizers, with newer equipment radiating very little signal into the rear and side lobes (not enough to allow for a back-course approach).


direction indicator

direction indicator (plural direction indicators)

(aviation) An instrument that shows both the current heading and the desired heading needed to follow a predetermined course.


flight director

flight director (plural flight directors)

(aviation) A system of a narrow horizontal and vertical bar overlaid on an aircraft's attitude indicator, with the bars deflecting to provide guidance as to the pitch and roll inputs required to maintain the desired flightpath.

lennonohjausnäyttö

system of bars overlaid on an attitude indicator


KCAS

calibrated airspeed
calibrated airspeed#English

(aviation) Initialism of knots calibrated airspeed.


KTAS

(aviation) Initialism of knots true airspeed.


calibrated airspeed

calibrated airspeed (usually uncountable, plural calibrated airspeeds)

(aviation) An aircraft's indicated airspeed corrected for errors introduced by instrument variations and by the position on the aircraft of the sensors of the aircraft's pitot-static system.


indicated airspeed

indicated airspeed (usually uncountable, plural indicated airspeeds)

(aviation) The airspeed displayed by an aircraft's airspeed indicator based on measurements from the pitot-static system; the airspeed used by pilots and air traffic control when flying and controlling aircraft.


equivalent airspeed

equivalent airspeed (usually uncountable, plural equivalent airspeeds)

(aviation) Dynamic pressure expressed as airspeed; the airspeed at sea level in the International Standard Atmosphere at which an airplane would experience the same dynamic pressure as it does in its current flight conditions; calibrated airspeed corrected for errors introduced by the compressibility of air at nonzero Mach numbers.


KEAS

It is critical to not allow EAS to get slower than 185 kts. If theta is greater than about 10°, and EAS is decreasing through about 200, then the CDR should take Pitch CSS and push to the horizon, θ = 0°. This will hold 185 to 195 KEAS, which is the bailout recommended airspeed.

2007 February 14, NASA, “4.10.6 Subsonic Stall”, in Contingency Aborts 21007/31007, archived from the original on 2021-02-26, page 59:

equivalent airspeed
equivalent airspeed#English

(aviation) Initialism of knots equivalent airspeed.


KIAS

A rolling takeoff was made, takeoff thrust was stabilized at 80 KIAS, and left rudder and right aileron were used to compensate for the right crosswind. The V₁ and V_R callouts were made about 2 sec after these speeds were recorded by the DFDR.

1979 December 21, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.11 Flight Recorders”, in Aircraft Accident Report: American Airlines, Inc., DC-10-10, N110AA, Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, May 25, 1979, archived from the original on 2022-08-17, page 4:

indicated airspeed
indicated airspeed#English

(aviation) Initialism of knots indicated airspeed.


true airspeed

true airspeed (usually uncountable, plural true airspeeds)

(aviation) The speed of an aircraft relative to the air mass within which it is flying.


CWS

(aviation) Initialism of control wheel steering.


ace in a day

(aviation, military) An aviator (usually a fighter pilot) who destroys five or more enemy aircraft (the number required to become an ace) in a single day.


TOGA

If you encounter windshear on approach, apply TOGA power and rotate the nose up to just below the stickshaker activation threshold to maximize the aircraft's climb capability.

(aviation, usually attributive) Initialism of takeoff / go-around (an engine thrust setting, usually the highest).


hot refuel

en-verb

hot refuel (third-person singular simple present hot refuels, present participle hot refueling or hot refuelling, simple past and past participle hot refueled or hot refuelled)

hot refuels (present singular third-person)
hot refueling (participle present)
hot refuelling (participle present)
hot refueled (participle past)
hot refueled (past)
hot refuelled (participle past)
hot refuelled (past)

The plane's APU was broken and the airport didn't have ground starting equipment, so we had to hot refuel the bird - if we'd shut both engines down, we wouldn't have been able to get them started again.

(aviation) To refuel an aircraft while one of its engines is running.


hot refuel

Hot refuels require the fueling crew to take great care to avoid getting sucked into the operating engine.

(aviation) An instance of hot refueling.


GBAS

ground-based augmentation system
w:ground-based augmentation system

(aviation) Initialism of ground-based augmentation system, a system for improving the precision and accuracy of GPS signals to allow their use for low-visibility instrument approaches.


spool down

spool down (third-person singular simple present spools down, present participle spooling down, simple past and past participle spooled down)

spools down (present singular third-person)
spooling down (participle present)
spooled down (participle past)
spooled down (past)

All ground personnel MUST be made aware that big jet engines take a considerable time to spool down. We don't want any more mechanics getting sucked in or catapulted across the apron.

(aviation, of a turbine engine) To decrease in rotational speed, producing a decrease in thrust.


spool up

spool up (third-person singular simple present spools up, present participle spooling up, simple past and past participle spooled up)

spools up (present singular third-person)
spooling up (participle present)
spooled up (participle past)
spooled up (past)

The large rotational inertia of the heavy compressor and turbine rotors makes the engine slow to spool up from idle.

(aviation, of a turbine engine) To increase in rotational speed, producing an increase in thrust.


GLS

(aviation) Initialism of GBAS landing system.


ZELL

(aviation, military, historical) Initialism of zero-length launch.


LOM

locator outer marker
locator outer marker#English

(aviation) Initialism of locator outer marker.


locator outer marker

en-noun

locator outer marker (plural locator outer markers)

(aviation, chiefly US) A ground-based radio navigation aid consisting of a pair of colocated radio beacons at the final approach fix of an ILS or IGS approach course: an NDB to guide aircraft to the approach fix, and an outer marker to alert aircraft as they pass over the station.


outer marker

(aviation) A type of marker beacon placed to indicate the final approach fix of an ILS or IGS approach, triggering a continuous sequence of visual and aural Morse code dashes from the marker beacon receiver in the cockpit of an aircraft flying over the marker.


cruise-climb

en-verb

cruise-climb (third-person singular simple present cruise-climbs, present participle cruise-climbing, simple past and past participle cruise-climbed)

cruise-climbs (present singular third-person)
cruise-climbing (participle present)
cruise-climbed (participle past)
cruise-climbed (past)

For a transatlantic crossing, the Concorde would be assigned a ~15,000-foot block of altitude; it started out at flight level 450 and gradually cruise-climbed up to between FL570 and FL600 over the mid-Atlantic before beginning to descend.

(aviation, usually intransitive, of an aircraft) To slowly but continuously climb during cruise flight as the aircraft's weight decreases due to fuel burnoff (done because flight at higher altitudes is more efficient but requires a lighter aircraft).


cruise-climb

A cruise-climb is more efficient than the standard step climb, but is rarely used since it's much harder for ATC to manage.

(aviation) An instance of cruise-climbing.


step climb

step climb (third-person singular simple present step climbs, present participle step climbing, simple past and past participle step climbed)

step climbs (present singular third-person)
step climbing (participle present)
step climbed (participle past)
step climbed (past)

The flight plan called for step climbing from an initial cruising altitude of FL330 to the final altitude of FL350 halfway through the flight.

(aviation, usually intransitive, of an aircraft) To periodically climb to higher and higher altitudes during cruise flight, as the aircraft becomes lighter from fuel burnoff, to take advantage of the reduced drag at higher altitudes; like cruise-climbing, but with the aircraft climbing in discrete steps instead of continuously.


step climb

The step climb from FL340 through FL360 and FL380 to FL400 will reduce our fuel burn compared to if we cruised at FL340 for the whole flight.

(aviation) An instance of step climbing.


inner marker

(aviation) A type of marker beacon placed to indicate when an aircraft crosses the runway threshold of a Category II or Category III ILS or IGS approach, triggering a continuous visual and aural sequence of rapid-fire Morse code dots from the marker beacon receiver in the cockpit of an aircraft flying over the marker.


NDB

non-directional beacon
nuclear depth bomb

(aviation) Initialism of non-directional beacon, a type of radiobeacon used in air navigation which transmits an omnidirectional radio signal containing no encoded information about the direction from an aircraft to the beacon.


middle marker

missed approach point
missed approach point

(aviation) A type of marker beacon placed to indicate the missed approach point of a Category I ILS or IGS approach (typically the point at which the glideslope descends through 200 feet AGL), triggering a continuous visual and aural sequence of alternating Morse code dots and dashes from the marker beacon receiver in the cockpit of an aircraft flying over the marker.


marker beacon

(aviation) A type of VHF radiobeacon which radiates in a tight cone pattern extending vertically from the transmitter; now generally only used to mark specific points along an ILS or IGS approach path, but formerly also commonly used to mark reporting points along en route airways.


fan marker

non-precision approach
non-precision approach

(aviation) An obsolescent type of marker beacon, usually used to mark en route airways but occasionally used as part of a non-precision approach, which radiates in a pattern that is considerably wider, from the perspective of an aircraft approaching the marker along the airway, than it is long (allowing an aircraft to pick up the signal from the marker even if slightly to one side of the airway's centerline).


ARFF

(aviation) Initialism of aircraft rescue and firefighting.


disreef

disreef (third-person singular simple present disreefs, present participle disreefing, simple past and past participle disreefed)

disreefs (present singular third-person)
disreefing (participle present)
disreefed (participle past)
disreefed (past)

Once the SRBs decelerate following initial main-parachute deployment, the parachutes disreef in stages to gradually slow the boosters to a safe splashdown speed.

(aviation, space flight) To allow (a reefed parachute) to fully open.


TAT

total air temperature
w:total air temperature

(aviation) Initialism of total air temperature.


viff

viff (third-person singular simple present viffs, present participle viffing, simple past and past participle viffed)

viffs (present singular third-person)
viffing (participle present)
viffed (participle past)
viffed (past)

From the initial letters of "vectoring in forward flight".

(aviation, of an aircraft) To change direction by changing the direction of thrust from the engine(s).


viff

en-noun

viff (countable and uncountable, plural viffs)

(aviation, countable) A change in direction by changing the direction of thrust from the engine(s).

(aviation, uncountable) The ability to make such changes in direction.


BWB

(aviation) Initialism of blended wing-body.


Mach tuck

(aviation, aerodynamics) A change in an aircraft's pitching tendency at transonic speeds, often manifesting as a strong tendency to pitch down into a dive.


Mach tuck

en-verb

Mach tuck (third-person singular simple present Mach tucks, present participle Mach tucking, simple past and past participle Mach tucked)

Mach tucks (present singular third-person)
Mach tucking (participle present)
Mach tucked (participle past)
Mach tucked (past)

(aviation, aerodynamics) To experience Mach tuck.


Vyse

en-noun

Vyse (usually uncountable, plural Vyses)

(aviation) The indicated airspeed at which a multiengine aircraft's rate of climb with only one engine running is at a maximum.


Vx

(aviation) The indicated airspeed at which an aircraft's maximum sustained angle of climb is the steepest.


soft-land

en-verb

soft-land (third-person singular simple present soft-lands, present participle soft-landing, simple past and past participle soft-landed)

soft-lands (present singular third-person)
soft-landing (participle present)
soft-landed (participle past)
soft-landed (past)

Coordinate term: hard-land

The Spirit and Opportunity rovers were soft-landed on Mars in 2004.

The crate of supplies soft-landed in the drop zone under its parachute, allowing the soldiers to replenish their food and ammo for the next few days of fighting.

(transitive, intransitive, astronautics, aviation) To land (a vehicle or other payload) on the surface of a body in such a manner that it survives the landing mostly or entirely intact and is usable or able to operate, at least briefly, following touchdown.


feet dry

The aircraft headed “feet-dry” by the pilot's judicious use of rudders and afterburners.

Feet wet: Fighter direction brevity code used to report that a plane had left land ("feet dry") and was now over water.

1994, Paul T. Gillcrist, Tomcat!: The Grumman F-14 Story, page 196:


feet wet

Three minutes later, at 2015, Captain Brindel entered the CIC and was notified of TN 2202 “feet wet” (aviation terminology meaning that an aircraft is over water) in the northern Persian Gulf and heading south.

1997, Jeffrey L. Levinson, Randy L. Edwards, Missile Inbound: The Attack on the Stark in the Persian Gulf, page 71:

[…] when you'd crossed the coastline after departing the ship Roger Klondike twelve dash four, understand flight of three. Feet wet.

2008, David A. Ballentine, Gunbird Driver: A Marine Huey Pilot's War in Vietnam, page 56:


chosen instrument

en-noun

chosen instrument (plural chosen instruments)

(aviation) An airline selected by government to represent the country.


jet pipe

(especially aviation) A pipe at the back of a gas turbine out of which exhaust gases are discharged


oil burner route

oil burner route (plural oil burner routes)

In reference to the smoke trails that jet engines may leave behind at low altitudes.

(aviation, slang, military) A region of airspace in which military jets are authorized to carry out low-altitude training.


ground wallah

(UK, military, aviation, slang, dated) An officer who does not fly aircraft.


flight control

flight control (countable and uncountable, plural flight controls)

The airplane's primary flight controls comprise elevators and ailerons driven by manually-controlled servo tabs, and a hydraulically-powered rudder and spoilerons.

(aviation, countable) A system for controlling an aircraft's rotational or translational motion in one or more axes.

(aviation, by extension, uncountable) The process of controlling an aircraft's rotational or translational motion in one or more axes.


rolleron

(aviation) An aerodynamic control surface device, used to control against unwanted rolling (rotation) about the axis of movement. The moving wingtip is self-gyro-stabilized with a rolling bladed wheel catching the airstream, providing the gyroscopic moment.


RATOG

(British, aviation, military) Initialism of rocket-assisted take-off gear.


spoolup

(aviation) The process of increasing the rotational speed of a turbine engine, causing an increase in thrust.


spooldown

At 1620:38, the captain stated, "gotta get it over again...at least upside down we're flyin." At 1620:49, the CVR recorded sounds similar to engine compressor stalls and engine spooldown. At 1620:54, the captain commanded deployment of the speedbrakes, and, about 1 second later, the first officer replied, "got it." At 1620:56.2, the captain stated, "ah here we go." The FDR recording ended at 1620:56.3, and the CVR recording ended at 1620:57.1.

2002 December 30, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.1 History of Flight”, in Aircraft Accident Report: Loss of Control and Impact with Pacific Ocean, Alaska Airlines Flight 261, McDonnell Douglas MD-83, N963AS, About 2.7 Miles North of Anacapa Island, California, January 31, 2000, archived from the original on 2022-06-16, page 9:

(aviation) The process of reduction of the rotational speed of a turbine engine, causing a reduction in thrust.


ADIZ

Thursday morning began with reports of multiple warplane incursions into the ADIZ, and cyber-attacks targeting the websites of the president’s office and the ministries of foreign affairs and defence.

2022 August 5, Helen Davidson, “What the fallout from Pelosi’s visit means for Taiwan and China”, in The Guardian:

air defense identification zone
w:air defense identification zone

(military, aviation) Initialism of air defense identification zone.


mast bumping

(aviation) A dangerous condition where the mast of a helicopter contacts adjacent fixed structure while rotating, damaging the mast and potentially resulting in the separation of the main rotor from the helicopter.


budget airline

I'll be interested to see how this service does. It will be basic with fares to match, so will be akin to a budget airline taking on a flag-carrier.

2021 June 30, Philip Haigh, “Regional trains squeezed as ECML congestion heads north”, in RAIL, number 934, page 52:


reporting point

reporting point (plural reporting points)

(aviation) A geographical reference point used to report the location of an aircraft


wizzo

From the colloquial pronunciation of WSO (“weapon systems officer”).

These comments on the latest generation of High-Tech-Attack aircraft, the McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, come front Captain Mark 'Bones' Wetzel, a senior Wizzo and a Flight Commander with the 334FW, the 'Fighting Eagles', part of the recently formed 4th Wing at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina.

1993, Andy Evans, Backseat Flyers: Navigation and Weaponry in the Modern Airplane, London: Arms and Armour Press, →ISBN, page 72:

But his vision had been good enough for the Backseater role, the Navigator, EWO, or Wizzo. As an Electronics Warfare Officer or Weapons Systems Officer he could still fly Gets or heavies), whatever his role finally ended up being upon graduation.

2013, F. P. Dorchak, Ero: A Novel, Wailing Loon, →ISBN, page 6:

The pilot explained the function and purpose of the screens and monitors and impressive equipment that were the responsibility of weapons systems officers, or "wizzos," as they were called.

2013, David Lyons, Blood Game: A Jock Boucher Thriller, New York, N.Y. […]: Emily Bestler Books, →ISBN, page 8:

"I wont put anyone else at risk," Gardiner promised. "Besides, Ray's got the stick, I'm just sitting wizzo."

2018, S. E. Soldwedel, Disintegration, Oakland, C.A.: Inkshares, Inc., →ISBN, page 327:

(aviation, slang) A weapon systems officer.


avcat

From aviation, aviation carrier (aircraft carrier), and aviation turbine fuel (avtur).

(US, military, aviation, nautical) Synonym of JP-5, the U.S. Navy jet fuel.


BFM

(military, aviation) Initialism of basic fighter maneuvers. The corpus of maneuvers and tactics expected of fighter aircraft and their pilots


BFM

(military, aviation) Initialism of basic fighter maneuver. A foundational maneuver or tactic used by fighter planes and fighter pilots.


EMAS

engineered materials arresting system
w:engineered materials arresting system

(aviation) Initialism of engineered materials arresting system.


IAF

(military, aviation) Any of several air forces

Any of several air forces
Initialism of Indian Air Force.

Any of several air forces
Initialism of Indonesian Air Force.

Any of several air forces
Initialism of Iraqi Air Force.

Any of several air forces
Initialism of Israeli Air Force.

Any of several air forces
Initialism of Italian Air Force.

(dated) Initialism of Iranian Air Force.

Any of several air forces
Initialism of Iranian Air Force.


preighter

(aviation) A freighter converted from a passenger aircraft.


gust lock

(aviation) A device used to lock the control surfaces of a parked aircraft in order to reduce the probability of flight-control damage resulting from strong or gusty winds.


blucket

Blend of blade + bucket; the use of bucket here refers to the inner, turbine portion of the blade.

mechanical engineering
mechanical engineering

(aviation, mechanical engineering) A type of turbine blade where the inner portion of the blade is driven by expanding exhaust gases from the engine core, while the outer portion extends into the bypass duct and serves as a fan blade; used on a few turbofans with rear-mounted fans.


thrust vectoring

(aviation, astronautics) The deflection of the exhaust nozzle(s) of a jet engine or rocket so as to alter the direction in which the engine produces thrust and help control the attitude and/or direction of flight of the vehicle using the engine.


Vxse

Vxse (usually uncountable, plural Vxses)

(aviation) The indicated airspeed at which a multiengine aircraft's maximum sustained angle of climb with only one engine running is the steepest.


VMO

(aviation) Maximum operating speed; the airspeed which an aircraft should not exceed in the course of routine operation.


ADIRU

(aviation) Acronym of air data inertial reference unit.


body gear

body gear (usually uncountable, plural body gears)

(aviation) Landing gear mounted in the lower part of an aircraft's fuselage, generally between or slightly behind the wings.


main gear

main gear (countable and uncountable, plural main gears)

(aviation) The primary landing gear of an aircraft, generally located slightly behind the aircraft's center of mass (or slightly ahead of it on a taildragger aircraft) and carrying the majority of the aircraft's weight.


wing gear

wing gear (usually uncountable, plural wing gears)

(aviation) Landing gear mounted in the roots of an aircraft's wings.


somatogravic illusion

somatogravic illusion (plural somatogravic illusions)

(aviation) An illusory perception of one's pitch angle, due to the effects of linear acceleration on the vestibular system of the inner ear.


flight nurse

flight attendant
flight attendant#English

registered nurse
registered nurse#English

(historical, aviation, occupations) The predecessor to flight attendants, who were registered nurses.

(aviation, medicine, occupations) A medical nurse specialized in working aboard air ambulances, medevac aircraft.


on instruments

We were on instruments for the descent through the clouds.

(aviation) (Flying) by reference to one's flight instruments, rather than by visual contact with the ground.


ECAM

electronic centralized aircraft monitor#English

(aviation) Acronym of electronic centralized aircraft monitor.


EICAS

engine-indicating and crew-alerting system#English

(aviation) Acronym of engine-indicating and crew-alerting system.


EFIS

electronic flight instrument system#English

(aviation) Acronym of electronic flight instrument system.


AAIB

AAIB (usually uncountable, plural AAIBs)

(aviation) An initialism of various aviation accident investigation organizations.

Air Accident Investigation Bureau (Malaysia)

Air Accident Investigation Bureau (Mongolia)

Air Accident Investigation Bureau of Singapore

Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (Iceland)

Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (India)

Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (Switzerland) (defunct)


crab angle

(aviation) The angle by which an aircraft's nose is pointed upwind of its groundtrack to compensate for crosswinds during an approach and landing.


decrab

en-verb

decrab (third-person singular simple present decrabs, present participle decrabbing, simple past and past participle decrabbed)

decrabs (present singular third-person)
decrabbing (participle present)
decrabbed (participle past)
decrabbed (past)

(aviation, transitive, intransitive) To align (an aircraft) with the runway, usually by means of rudder or rudderon input, immediately before, simultaneously with, or immediately after touchdown during a landing from a crabbed approach.


decrab

en-noun

decrab (usually uncountable, plural decrabs)

(aviation) The process of aligning an aircraft with the runway, usually by means of rudder or rudderon input, immediately before, simultaneously with, or immediately after touchdown during a landing from a crabbed approach.


edge control

Trailing edge control surface configurations may be composed of a full span, inboard partial-span, outboard tip partial-span, or up to six individual control surfaces, including side-by-side common edge control surfaces, and nested controls.

1975, Prediction of Unsteady Aerodynamic Loadings Caused by Leading Edge and Trailing Edge Control Surface Motions in Subsonic Compressible Flow, page 63:

(aviation) The management and manipulation of the edges of an aircraft's wings or control surfaces to enhance performance and stability.


jet blast

(aviation) The extremely powerful (often hurricane-force) winds behind a running jet engine.


joyhop

He was ready to demonstrate it last month when his test pilot, Marshall S. ("Maury") Boggs, who had made innumerable blind landings, crashed to death in broad daylight on a joyhop in California.

1933, Briton Hadden, Time, volume 21, page 29:

Compared to making both ends of the country meet back in those days, flying the “Hump” was just a joyhop.

1952, American Aviation, volume 16, page 67:


joyhop

en-verb

joyhop (third-person singular simple present joyhops, present participle joyhopping, simple past and past participle joyhopped)

joyhops (present singular third-person)
joyhopping (participle present)
joyhopped (participle past)
joyhopped (past)


transition level

en-noun

transition level (usually uncountable, plural transition levels)

(aviation) The lowest flight level above the transition altitude; depends on the transition altitude and the measured or calculated sea-level atmospheric pressure. The flight level at which a descending aircraft's barometric altimeters are reset from a constant setting of 1013.25 hectopascals to the setting corresponding to the actual measured or calculated atmospheric pressure at mean sea level.


transition layer

transition layer (usually uncountable, plural transition layers)

(aviation) The airspace above the transition altitude but below the transition level.


transition altitude

transition altitude (usually uncountable, plural transition altitudes)

(aviation) The altitude (which varies by country) above which an aircraft's barometric altimeters are set as if the sea-level atmospheric pressure were equal to 1013.25 hectopascals (regardless of the actual atmospheric conditions) and altitudes are reported as flight levels.


very light

(aviation) A size classification below that of sublight and above that of ultralight

very light aircraft
very light aircraft#English

A type of microlight, an aircraft type similar to ultralight or sailplane.

(aviation) An aircraft fitting the size classification


very light

(aviation) Peratining to the verylight classification


waterdrome

Blend of water + aerodrome. May be analyzed as water + -drome.

(nautical, aviation) A facility for landing and launching aircraft, where the runway is the surface of a body of water.


tandem landing gear

tandem landing gear (countable and uncountable, plural tandem landing gears)

bicycle landing gear
bicycle landing gear#English

(aviation) Synonym of bicycle landing gear


bicycle landing gear

bicycle landing gear (countable and uncountable, plural bicycle landing gears)

(aviation) A form of landing gear having the main gear and nosegear located fore and aft of the center of gravity under the fuselage with outriggers on the wings.


boom corridor

(aviation) A restricted portion of airspace for supersonic aircraft, intended to reduce the potential coverage of their boom paths.


boom path

(aviation) The narrow region under a supersonic aircraft's flight path, where the sonic boom is liable to be heard as it flies overhead.


flat scissors

flat scissors (countable and uncountable, plural flat scissors)

(uncountable, aviation, military, with the) A form of the scissors defensive maneuver in dogfighting, involving turning one's aircraft towards that of the attacker and slowing in order to force the opponent to overshoot, without moving out of the initial plane of the attack; often continues, with the roles of attacker and defender alternating between the two aircraft, until one is either shot down or manages to escape.

(countable, aviation, military) An instance of the above dogfighting maneuver.


defensive spiral

defensive spiral (plural defensive spirals)

(aviation, military) A last-resort defensive maneuver in dogfighting used by an aircraft with critically-low kinetic energy, consisting of a rolling scissors performed straight down, using gravity to supply the kinetic energy needed to continue maneuvering, while attempting to either slow down enough to get behind the attacker or else trick the attacker into crashing into the ground.

basic fighter maneuvers#Defensive spiral


rolling scissors

rolling scissors (countable and uncountable, plural rolling scissors)

Remember: maintain your aircraft's energy, keep his tail on your line of sight, and relentlessly pursue the insufferable oaf that insulted your driving skills. If he gets behind you, break out the rolling scissors and force an overshoot.

2021 March 19, Bosnian Ape Society, 4:36 from the start, in Is Your Car Safe From Supermaneuverable Air-Defense Fighter Aircraft?, archived from the original on 2022-08-07:

(uncountable, aviation, military, with the) A form of the scissors defensive maneuver in dogfighting, involving pulling up, rolling one's aircraft towards that of the attacker, and pulling the nose of one's aircraft towards the attacker to force an overshoot, resulting in the two aircraft barrel-rolling around each other as each attempts to gain the advantage.


flat spin

(aviation) An especially dangerous type of spin (abnormal stalled flight mode) with a very high angle of attack (typically between 65° and 90°), such that the aircraft's nose is pointed near the horizon despite an extreme negative flightpath angle (gamma); typically unresponsive to flight control inputs and unrecoverable in most aircraft.


finger-four

(aviation) A flight formation used by fighter aircraft. It consists of four aircraft, and four such formations can be combined into a squadron.


SSME

Space Shuttle Main Engine
w:Space Shuttle Main Engine

(US, space science, aviation) Initialism of Space Shuttle Main Engine.


zoom climb

(aviation) A climb at a rate of climb greater than the maximum climb rate using only the thrust of the aircraft's engines; a climb that sacrifices airspeed to gain altitude.


missing man formation

missing man formation (plural missing man formations)

(aviation) An aerial salute to commemorate a deceased person, consisting of a formation of flying aircraft with a space where one plane should be flying.


box man

[…] there have been an uncomfortably large number of incidents where a leader has flown his whole team into the ground. […] It had happened in the Luftwaffe with an F104 team, and many years later I saw it happen to the box man in the French Fouga Magister team at the Paris Air Show.

(aviation) The pilot flying behind the leader in a box formation.


narrow-cut

(aviation, petrochemistry, of jet fuel) Composed of moderately-heavy hydrocarbons with boiling points in the kerosene range, without a significant proportion of lighter, gasoline-type hydrocarbons; Jet A is an example of a fuel of this type.


wide-cut

(aviation, petrochemistry, of jet fuel) Composed of a mixture of hydrocarbons with a wide range of boiling points, including both moderately-heavy, higher-boiling kerosene-type molecules and lighter, lower-boiling, more-volatile gasoline-type molecules; Jet B or JP-4 is a fuel of this type.


anti-air

(military, aviation) Synonym of anti-aircraft


leaderman

From leader + man, a literal translation of the Russian лидировщик (lidirovščik).

(aviation) a foreign (usually Russian) navigator who helps guide an aircraft during its descent


Lufbery circle

Named after fighter ace Raoul Lufbery (1885–1918), though he was not the inventor.

(military, aviation) A defensive combat tactic in which multiple aircraft form a horizontal circle in the air when attacked, so that the armament of each aircraft offers a measure of protection to the others.


over the fence

Look up the recommended speed for the landing pattern. You'll find tables for varying loads. Okay so far. Now, note that a speed is established for the approach phase and another slower one for over the fence.

1955, Flying Safety, volume 11, page 23:

You can usually wait until you are "over the fence" before you chop the power.

1966, FAA Aviation News, volumes 5-7, page 11:

(aviation) Entering, or having entered, the airfield in preparation for landing.


ASB

(aviation) Initialism of anti-shock body.


anti-shock body

anti-shock body (plural anti-shock bodies)

(aviation) A pod, protuberance, or swelling used to adjust the variation in an aircraft's cross-sectional area along its length so as to better conform to the area rule, reducing wave drag at transonic speeds.


penguin trainer

penguin trainer (plural penguin trainers)

What the penguin trainers lacked in aerodynamic ability was more than made up in weight and strength, for it was their purpose to take all of the heavy shocks and general road work while the pilot was getting the feel of the controls.

1930, Flying Magazine, volume 1, number 1, page 36:

On its return to Hamble in 1930 the machine was equipped with twin metal floats and Mongoose engine as a penguin trainer for Air Service Training Ltd.

1965, Aubrey Joseph Jackson, Avro Aircraft Since 1908, page 184:

(UK, aviation, historical) A machine resembling an aeroplane but unable to fly, used for training pilots.


fuse plug

ACI's Hong Kong station manager was at a loss as to how best to proceed. Flight 103's brakes had been cooled with blowers, and the plane towed to its gate. It had three blown tires, one had burst on the runway when the aircraft's anti‑skid system failed and two had deflated when their red-hot brakes had overheated the tires and the fuse plugs had blown. The tire that had blown on the runway had disintegrated and punched two holes in the aircraft's undersurface. The holes were small, but they had to be fixed.

2018 February 8, Terry Liittschwager, chapter 30, in Wrongful Act, archived from the original on 2022-01-31:

(aviation) A component of an aircraft wheel held in place by a metal alloy with a low melting point, such that, if the wheel is severely overheated (for instance, by heavy braking), pressure is released from the wheel and tire/tyre in a controlled manner rather than risking an explosion of the wheel assembly.


resolution advisory

resolution advisory (plural resolution advisories)

(aviation) A TCAS warning directing the pilot of an aircraft to take immediate evasive action of a specified type (for instance: "INCREASE CLIMB, INCREASE CLIMB") to avoid a possible impending mid-air collision.


traffic advisory

traffic advisory (plural traffic advisories)

(aviation) A TCAS caution message alerting the pilot of an aircraft to the presence of nearby traffic which does not yet pose an imminent collision hazard.


EAD

emergency airworthiness directive
w:emergency airworthiness directive

(aviation) Initialism of emergency airworthiness directive.


dump and burn

(aviation) A maneuver involving dumping and burning.


dump and burn

en-verb

dump and burn (third-person singular simple present dumps and burns, present participle dumping and burning, simple past and past participle dumped and burned or dumped and burnt)

dumps and burns (present singular third-person)
dumping and burning (participle present)
dumped and burned (participle past)
dumped and burned (past)
dumped and burnt (participle past)
dumped and burnt (past)

(aviation, of an aircraft) To jettison fuel and then immediately ignite the cloud of jettisoned fuel using one's afterburners to create a large fireball behind the aircraft, typically as an airshow maneuver.


airworthiness directive

en-noun

airworthiness directive (plural airworthiness directives)

(aviation, law) A regulation issued by the civil aviation authority of a country or region, generally in response to the discovery of an unsafe condition affecting particular aircraft, requiring that certain actions (such as specified modifications or enhanced maintenance or inspection requirements) be performed on these aircraft in order for them to remain legally airworthy.


AVGP

(military, aviation) Abbreviation of aviation group.


hydroflight

(nautical, aviation) A method of tethered flight using an umbilicus to provide power and reaction mass via a hydrojet supplied from a surface pump on a body of water.


balked landing

(aviation) A go-around initiated after the aircraft has already touched down on the runway.


NMA

(aviation) Initialism of new midsize aircraft.

(aviation) Initialism of new mid-market aircraft.


crash axe

They further state the crash axe is a dangerous weapon, especially if it is put in the cabin. That point should be considered. There were two comments from ALPA: One comment was that they agreed with the proposal, thinking the crash axe has lost its effectiveness and that they would prefer a combination crash axe and pry bar. Gates Learjet commented that today's aircraft does not allow for a crash axe, and that the proposal is way too broad. They may support, or it would be okay if it was included in the aircraft operator 121 operations.

1976, First Biennial Operations Review, 1975-1976: Conference Summary, page 26:

Meanwhile, one of the loadmasters was trying to remove the filler cap from the utility system reservoir, but the cap was so hot it burned his hand. A second loadmaster used a crash axe to loosen the cap, then began passing back cans of spare hydraulic fluid to replenish the system.

Jack's mind raced as he tried to come up with a reason why this man would have a cockpit crash axe. He knew there was only one on board, and that it was stored in the cockpit. It wasn't unusual for pilots to be trapped in the cockpit after an accident. Even a minor “fender bender” could bend the airframe door enough to make the door inoperable.

2017 March 20, John Etzil, Airliner Down: An Aviation Thriller, Pier West llc, →ISBN:

(aviation) A lightweight fire axe carried in the cockpit of medium and large passenger aircraft and used to cut an escape route through aircraft wreckage after a crash, or to gain access to a hidden fire during flight.


FRUIT

(aviation) Acronym of false replies unsynchronized/uncorrelated in time.


ARTCC

air route traffic control center
w:air route traffic control center

(aviation) Initialism of air route traffic control center.


Gillham interface

Gillham interface (plural Gillham interfaces)

(aviation) The device used to transmit Gillham code.


Gillham code

Named after Ronald Lionel Gillham, a signals officer.

(aviation) A zero-padded 12-bit binary code, a modified Gray code, used to transmit uncorrected barometric altitude between an encoding altimeter or analog air data computer and a digital transponder.


forced induction

(mechanical engineering, automotive, aviation) The process of blowing compressed air into the cylinders of an internal combustion piston engine to increase the compression ratio and power of the engine, typically by using a turbocharger or supercharger.


throwaway ticketing

(aviation) The purchase of a ticket with the intent to use only a portion of the included travel, in order to save on airfare.


skiplagging

Airlines do not like skiplagging because it costs them money.

2023 November 24, “Skiplagging: Why some flyers love it and why airlines hate it”, in CNN:

(aviation) The practice of disembarking at a "hidden city" rather than continuing to one's ticketed destination, in order to save money on the airfare.


Bitching Betty

Referring to the female voice used in such recordings.

(aviation, slang) A voice warning system in an aircraft.


ghost flight

The ghost flights, defined as those with no passengers or less than 10% of passenger capacity, operated from all 32 airports listed in the data.

2022 February 22, Damian Carrington, “Almost 15,000 ‘ghost flights’ have left UK since pandemic began”, in The Guardian:

Airlines may be denying that they run ghost flights, but they're certainly able to operate them during travel bans: they don't have to cancel flights even if pandemic restrictions mean their passengers can no longer travel.

2022 May, Sarah Barrell, “Ghost Flights: Are Empty Planes Haunting Our Skies?”, in National Geographic Traveler, →ISSN, page 143:

(aviation) An empty or near-empty flight run by an airline to fulfill contractual obligations.

(aviation) A flight in which the aircraft continues to fly after incapacitation of the pilots or crew.


air marker

(aviation, historical) A large sign painted on a roof indicating directions and distances to assist pilots in navigating.


flight instrument

flight instrument (plural flight instruments)

(aviation, usually in the plural) A device that measures and displays data concerning one or more aspects of the situation of an aircraft, such as its altitude, attitude, airspeed, etc.


instrument approach

instrument approach (plural instrument approaches)

(aviation) An approach (pre-landing procedure) using flight instruments for some or all navigation to the landing airport and runway, as opposed to one flown solely by visual reference to the ground.


precision approach

precision approach (plural precision approaches)

(aviation) An instrument approach using a guidance system that provides guidance in the vertical as well as the horizontal plane, such as ILS, PAR, or GLS.


non-precision approach

non-precision approach (plural non-precision approaches)

(aviation) An instrument approach using a guidance system that provides only horizontal, and not vertical, guidance (such as VOR, NDB, or localizer navigation), requiring the pilot to manually maintain terrain clearance by flying at a predefined safe altitude for each segment of the approach by reference to their altimeter.


hammerhead turn

hammerhead turn (plural hammerhead turns)

(aviation) A turnaround maneuver in aerobatics.


(aviation) Stall speed in landing configuration, with all high-lift devices (flaps and/or slats) extended.


stall angle

(aviation) The critical angle; the angle of attack beyond which an airfoil stalls (loses lift and gains drag).


high-lift device

high-lift device (plural high-lift devices)

(aviation) A mechanical device or control surface which, when deployed or activated, increases the lift generated by an aircraft, allowing it to fly at lower airspeeds.


stall speed

From how attempting to slow below this speed by pulling back on the nose will cause the aircraft to stall.

The aircraft configuration was such that there was little or no warning of the stall onset. The inboard slats were extended, and therefore, the flow separation from the stall would be limited to the outboard segment of the left wing and would not be felt by the left horizontal stabilizer. There would be little or no buffet. The DFDR also indicated that there was some turbulence, which could have masked any aerodynamic buffeting. Since the roll to the left began at V₂ + 6 and since the pilots were aware that V₂ was well above the aircraft's stall speed, they probably did not suspect that the roll to the left indicated a stall. In fact, the roll probably confused them, especially since the stickshaker had not activated.

1979 December 21, National Transportation Safety Board, “Aircraft and Flightcrew Performance”, in Aircraft Accident Report: American Airlines, Inc., DC-10-10, N110AA, Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, May 25, 1979, archived from the original on 2022-08-17, page 54:

(aviation) The airspeed at which the lift generated by an aircraft flying with an angle of attack equal to the stall angle (the point of maximum lift for a given airspeed) is exactly equal to the aircraft's weight; the minimum airspeed at which it is possible to maintain level unaccelerated flight.


scavenge pump

The scavenge pump is designed to remove the last amounts of usable fuel from the CWT and pump it into the left inboard (No. 2) fuel tank. The intake opening for this pump is located very close to the bottom of the tank between the mid spar and SWB2. Although the scavenge pump removes fuel that is unobtainable by the jettison/override pumps, a small amount of residual fuel will remain in the fuel tank that the scavenge pump is not able to remove (unusable fuel). In the 747 CWT, the jettison/override and scavenge pumps are mounted on the rear spar such that the pump motor is external to the tank but contains fuel-cooled windings.

2000 August 23, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.6.2.2 747-100 Fuel Pump System Description”, in Aircraft Accident Report: In-flight Breakup Over the Atlantic Ocean, Trans World Airlines Flight 800, Boeing 747-131, N93119, Near East Moriches, New York, July 17, 1996, archived from the original on 2022-07-11, page 40:

(chiefly aviation) A fuel pump used to remove the last dregs of usable fuel from a fuel tank once the fuel level in the tank has fallen too low for the primary fuel pumps to be able to draw fuel from the tank.


dry bay

The compartment between SWB3 and the front spar was originally equipped with a bladder cell for water and plumbing to inject that water into the engines to increase engine thrust on takeoff. When the original engines were replaced with higher thrust engines, water for water injection was not needed, and the compartment between SWB3 and the front spar was converted to a dry bay. The accident airplane's water system had been deactivated, and the bladder cell and plumbing had been removed. In some later models of the 747 and in the military (E-4B) version, this dry bay has been modified to carry fuel.

2000 August 23, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.6.1.1 747-100 Wing Center Section and Center Wing Fuel Tank Description”, in Aircraft Accident Report: In-flight Breakup Over the Atlantic Ocean, Trans World Airlines Flight 800, Boeing 747-131, N93119, Near East Moriches, New York, July 17, 1996, archived from the original on 2022-05-04, page 16:

(aviation) An enclosed compartment immediately adjacent to a fuel tank but not itself used for fuel.


yaw damper

(aviation) A component of the flight control system of most swept-wing aircraft which suppresses the aircraft's natural Dutch roll tendency using carefully-timed automatic rudder inputs.


adverse yaw

(aviation) The phenomenon whereby rolling an aircraft to start a turn in one direction increases the drag on the upgoing wing on the outside of the turn, creating a tendency (especially at low airspeed and high angle of attack) for the aircraft to yaw out of the turn, and, instead, begin to turn in the direction opposite that desired.


high-time

en-adj

high-time (comparative higher-time, superlative highest-time)

higher-time (comparative)
highest-time (superlative)

Boeing and the FAA conducted additional tests and research to further investigate why the rivets failed and what the possible repercussions of such a failure would be, including metallurgical examination of high-time bellcranks, material properties testing on old and new bellcranks, review of bellcrank failure rate data obtained from 767 operators, and examination of maintenance procedures to determine whether changes in procedures and/or intervals were warranted. The Safety Board monitored the FAA's and Boeing's tests and research into the bellcrank shear rivet failures.

2002 March 13, National Transportation Safety Board, “767 Bellcrank Anomalies”, in Aircraft Accident Brief: EgyptAir Flight 990, Boeing 767-366ER, SU-GAP, 60 Miles South of Nantucket, Massachusetts, October 31, 1999, archived from the original on 2022-05-11, page 18:

(mechanical engineering, especially aviation, of a vehicle or mechanical component) Having been in use for a (relatively) long time or a large number of operating cycles; nearing retirement or replacement age.