flight status

(aviation, travel) An updated notice of a flight's departure and arrival times compared to its scheduled times.


hidden city

(aviation) A connecting city between the origin and destination of a passenger flight, where a passenger can save money on the airfare by disembarking rather than continuing to the destination.


autothrottle

/ˈɔ.toʊˌθɹɔ.təl/

[ˈɔ.ɾoʊˌθɹɔ.ɾəl]

(aviation) An automatic throttle, allowing a pilot to control the power setting of an aircraft's engines by specifying a desired flight characteristic, rather than manually controlling fuel flow.


autolanding

en-noun

autolanding (countable and uncountable, plural autolandings)

(aviation, countable) A landing made automatically by a system on the aircraft, with the flight crew only supervising the process.

(aviation, uncountable) The process and procedure of autolanding, the action of to autoland.


autoland

Autolands are useful in bad weather conditions.


autoland

en-verb

autoland (third-person singular simple present autolands, present participle autolanding, simple past and past participle autolanded)

autolands (present singular third-person)
autolanding (participle present)
autolanded (participle past)
autolanded (past)


isoecho

(meteorology, aviation) A line on a map joining points of equal radar reflectivity.


VSV

en-noun

VSV (countable and uncountable, plural VSVs)

mechanical engineering
mechanical engineering

(aviation, mechanical engineering) Initialism of variable stator vane.


Vs

(specifically) Stall speed in the clean configuration, with all flaps, slats, and droops retracted.


STCA

STCA (usually uncountable, plural STCAs)

air traffic controller
air traffic controller

(aviation) Initialism of short-term conflict alert, a system for automatically warning air traffic controllers if radar data indicates that two or more aircraft will pass dangerously-close to one another or potentially collide in flight.


AIP

(aviation) Abbreviation of aeronautical information publication. (a jurisdictional airspace air navigation manual of the jurisdictional authority)


minimum descent altitude

minimum descent altitude (plural minimum descent altitudes)

minimum descent altitudes (plural)
MDA (abbreviation)

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the descent below Minimum Descent Altitude during a nonprecision approach under adverse operating conditions, without visual contact with the runway environment. The Board has been unable to determine the reason for this descent, although the two most likely explanations are (a) improper use of cockpit instrumentation data, or (b) an altimetry system error.

1972 April 14, National Transportation Safety Board, “2.2b Probable Cause”, in Aircraft Accident Report: Southern Airways, Inc. DC-9, N97S, Tri-State Airport, Huntington, West Virginia, November 14, 1970, archived from the original on 2022-05-08, page 36:

non-precision approach
non-precision approach

(aviation) The lowest altitude at which an aircraft is permitted to fly during a non-precision approach without the runway being in clear sight.


missed approach point

(aviation) The point during descent at which a pilot must initiate a go-around maneuver if the runway is not in clear sight.


controlled flight into terrain

controlled flight into terrain (countable and uncountable, plural controlled flights into terrain)

controlled flights into terrain (plural)
CFIT (abbreviation)

(aviation) A usually-unintentional crash of an aircraft in which the aircraft flies into the ground while under full control by its pilots or autopilot.


speed bag

speed bags (plural)
speedbag (alternative)
speed-bag (alternative)

(military, aviation) An improvised airdropped resupply pack, composed of food and water, ammunition, and other supplies, stuffed into a duffle bag or bodybag.


Lear

First-generation Lears are beasts to fly.


SID

(aviation) Initialism of standard instrument departure.


hydrobiplane

(aviation, dated) A hydroaeroplane having two supporting planes.


test pilot

Written by Josh Singer, who shaped a triumph of investigative journalism into the award-winning Spotlight, First Man recounts a significant decade of [Neil] Armstrong's life, from pushing boundaries as a test pilot to taking that one small step for mankind.

2018 October 9, A. A. Dowd, “The Star and Director of La La Land Reunite for First Man’s Spectacular Trip to the Moon”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2020-06-16:

(aviation) An aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers.


sidestick

sidesticks (plural)
side-stick (alternative)

The FDR showed that the captain immediately applied back pressure on his sidestick to arrest the pitch-down movement. The aircraft’s flight control system did not initially respond to the captain’s sidestick input, but after about 2 seconds the aircraft responded normally and the captain commenced recovery to the assigned altitude. During this 2-second period the aircraft descended about 150 ft. Overall, the aircraft descended 690 ft over 23 seconds before returning to FL370.

2011 December 19, Australian Transport Safety Bureau, “1.1.3 First in-flight upset (0442:27)”, in In-flight upset - 154 km west of Learmonth, WA, 7 October 2008, VH-QPA, Airbus A330-303, archived from the original on 2022-05-05, page 3:

(aviation) A control joystick located beside the seat of the pilot.


delta hinge

This could be varied to produce a delta hinge effect for equalizing lateral moments.

1954, Eugene K. Liberatore, Rotary Wing Aircraft Handbooks and History: Convertible aircraft, page 39:

Overtorque of the delta hinge bolt is reported to cause binding in the pitch change mechanism and failure of the tail rotor pitch change bearing.

1969, Federal Aviation Administration, General aviation inspection aids, page 22:

The Kiowa has a two-bladed semi-rigid seesaw all metal main rotor and a two-bladed rigid delta hinge all metal tail rotor.

2003, Harold Skaarup, Ohio Warbird Survivors 2003: A Handbook on where to find them, →ISBN:

You can get the same effect by offsetting the pitch change horn at the root of the blade (notice that the tip of the horn is in line with the extended delta hinge line in the picture).

2007, Phil Croucher, Professional Helicopter Pilot Studies, →ISBN:

(aeronautics) On rotorcraft, a hinge with its axis parallel to the rotor plane of rotation, which permits the rotor blades to flap.


alpha hinge

Similarly, as a blade with an alpha hinge lags through an angle §, ...

1953, Daniel Otto Dommasch, Elements of Propeller and Helicopter Aerodynamics, page 129:

When rotor goes to autorotation, an inclined alpha hinge provides automatic change of blade pitch to three degrees as the shaft stops rotating.

1958, Aviation Week and Space Technology - Volume 69, page 226:

When flap and lag hinge inclination was introduced on the autogyro rotors, the inboard (flap) hinge was designated the “delta hinge,” and the outboard (lag) hinge designated the “alpha hinge.”

2013, Wayne Johnson, Rotorcraft Aeromechanics, →ISBN, page 218:

(aeronautics) On rotorcraft, a hinge perpendicular to the plane of rotor rotation about which the blades trail or lag.


MRW

(aviation) Initialism of maximum ramp weight.


green-on-green

(aviation) Pertaining to the pairing of a new or green captain or pilot with a new or green first officer or co-pilot as the cockpit crew of a flight.


fly-by-wire

(aviation) A system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface, especially on airliners.


box tail

(aviation) An aircraft's tail or rudder, usually fixed, resembling a box kite.


aerocurve

(aviation, historical) A kind of early aeroplane with curved surfaces.


compound control

(aviation) A system of control in which a separate manipulation, as of a rudder, may be effected by either of two movements, in different directions, of a single lever, etc.


test flight

(aviation) a proving flight; usually of a prototype of a new aircraft design before it goes into production.


O&D

(aviation, abbreviation) origin and destination


RBD

reservation booking designator
reservation booking designator#English

(aviation, travel) Initialism of reservation booking designator.


CFI

(US, aviation) certificated flight instructor


iron bomb

(military aviation) A dumb bomb, a type of gravity bomb, an unguided bomb dropped from an aircraft.


avigation

The “highs” and “lows” familiar to the meteorologists—the areas of high and low barometric pressure—are forever playing tag with each other, the air from one area flowing in upon the other much as water seeks its own level, creating fair weather and foul, and offering interesting problems to the students of avigation, not to mention variegated experiences to the flyer himself.

1928, Amelia Earhart, 20 hrs. 40 mins. Our Flight in the Friendship, page 227:

The purpose of this book is to give the pilot a clear understanding of avigation by dead reckoning, the system used by Colonel Lindbergh in his memorable flight.

1929, Ienar Ewald Elm, Avigation by Dead Reckoning, page 10:

Another reason for the neglected status of avigation is the fact that in the past there has been only slight and spasmodic need for the new science.

There are four more or less distinct methods of avigating, all of which are somewhat interrelated. These comprise: Piloting, Radio Avigation, Dead Reckoning, and Celestial Avigation.

1940, Hilton Frank Lusk, General Aeronautics, page 361:


helidrome

The lack of hospital beds in the town is even more stark at the helidrome, where helicopters drop off patients for first aid and assessment.

2005 October 16, Carlotta Gall, “Pakistan Toll, at 38,000,Is Expected to Rise”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-06-26:

The parade ground is now buried under a helidrome that will welcome the highest-profile visitors.

2010 March 22, Oliver Bullough, “Circassians' Anger at Sochi Games”, in ISN ETH Zurich, retrieved 2015-06-26:

A helidrome with landing space for three helicopters is also going to be constructed in the stadium.

2014 October 12, Vineet Upadhyay, “First international stadium in state is close to becoming reality”, in Times of India, retrieved 2015-06-26:

(aviation) An airfield or airbase for helicopters.


G-LOC

(aviation) G-force-induced loss of consciousness.


TACAN

ultra high frequency
ultra high frequency

(military, aviation) Acronym of tactical air navigation beacon, an ultra high frequency electronic radionavigation system able to provide aircraft with continuous bearing and slant range information to a selected station.


DAS

DAS (countable and uncountable, plural DASs)

defensive aids system
w:defensive aids system

(military, aviation) Acronym of defensive aids system.


mad dog

mad dogs (plural)
maddog (alternative)
mad-dog (alternative)

(aviation) A McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series aircraft.


fare ladder

(aviation, travel, dated) a breakdown of destinations, airfare, taxes, and surcharges, shown on a paper ticket in a vertical multi-column format.


MLG

(aviation) Initialism of main landing gear.


revenue management

(aviation) The section of an airline that deals with passenger loads and fare availability on flights.


Jet Age

Science Evolving Jet-Age Materials [title]

1947 September 3, “Science Evolving Jet-Age Materials”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

American commercial aviation stands at the threshold of the jet age. That it will make the transition is now a settled issue, and the one remaining question is when.

1953 October 11, Bliss K. Thorne, “Faster Air Travel”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

The Nazis had launched the jet age in 1939 with a fighter plane, the avant-garde Heinkel He 178, but were hardly in shape after the war to exploit this technological advantage.

2010 November 10, Richard B. Woodward, “Book Review: Jet Age — The Comet, the 707, and the Race to Shrink the World”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(historical, aviation) A period in history defined by the advent of aircraft powered by turbine engines, and by the social change this brought about.


short tag

en-verb

short tag (third-person singular simple present short tags, present participle short tagging, simple past and past participle short tagged)

short tags (present singular third-person)
short tagging (participle present)
short tagged (participle past)
short tagged (past)

(travel, aviation) to check a bag through to an intermediate point on an itinerary rather than the destination.


blast pen

(aviation, military) A specially constructed E-shaped double bay to protect aircraft against bomb blasts and splinters during enemy attacks.


drag parachute

drag parachutes (plural)
drag chute (alternative)

The jet dragster has been clocked at 232.24 miles per hour. . . . The car is stopped by a drag parachute.

1962 July 27, “Jet-Powered Dragster”, in Spokane Daily Chronicle, retrieved 2015-11-13, page 12:

As planned, within seconds of touching down, the space craft released a 40-foot-wide drag parachute to help slow it down.

1992 May 17, “Shuttle Uses Parachute to Chalk Up Another First”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-11-13:

The aircraft is designed to use a drag parachute as a brake, but Mr Prothero didn't have time to deploy it.

2009 September 8, “Retired RAF pilot saves bomber from air show disaster”, in Telegraph, UK, retrieved 2015-11-13:

(aeronautics, motor racing) A parachute deployed behind an aircraft, space shuttle, or motor vehicle as a braking device.


flaptrack

(aviation) The track on which the flaps of an aircraft are mounted.


Babyflot

(aviation, informal, historical) Any of the airlines in the former Soviet Union created from the dissolution of the Soviet airline monopoly Aeroflot in the early 1990s.


EPR

(aviation) Initialism of engine pressure ratio (the ratio of pressure between exhaust and inlet of a jet engine).


take aloft

take aloft (third-person singular simple present takes aloft, present participle taking aloft, simple past took aloft, past participle taken aloft)

takes aloft (present singular third-person)
taking aloft (participle present)
took aloft (past)
taken aloft (participle past)

On September 21, 1919, I took aloft for a spin over Washington and the surrounding territory, 17 distinguished passengers, including the Secretary of War, Newton D. Baker, and several United States Senators.

1937, Alfred William Lawson, Lawson: Aircraft Industry Builder:

Here the fiery angel once more took aloft

2002, Agop Jack Hacikyan, Gabriel Basmajian, Edward S. Franchuk, Nourhan Ouzounian, The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the sixth to the eighteenth century, Wayne State University Press, →ISBN, page 992:

From Buin Lieutenant (jg) Kawamata took aloft at 0850 fifteen Zero 32s from the 6th Air Group, reported inbound at 1017 by Kennedy.

2013, John Lundstrom, First Team and the Guadalcanal Campaign: Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942, Naval Institute Press, →ISBN:

(ambitransitive, aviation, of a pilot) To successfully fly (an aircraft) into the air.


omnirange

(aviation, chiefly attributive) A short-range radio navigation system for aircraft, based on a network of fixed radio beacons on the ground.


NGP

(aviation, US) Initialism of Naval air station Corpus Christi.


AUA

(aviation) Initialism of Austrian Airlines. (ICAO code of the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group)


deceleron

(aviation) A two-part aileron that can be deflected as a unit to provide roll control, or split open to act as an air brake.


reval

(travel, aviation, informal) A revalidated ticket.


groundspeed

groundspeeds (plural)
ground speed (alternative)

(aviation) The horizontal speed of an aircraft relative to the ground.


MTW

(aviation) Initialism of maximum taxi weight.

(aviation, rare) Abbreviation of maximum takeoff weight.


barrel bomb

(military aviation) A barrel filled with explosives, used as an improvised unguided bomb and dropped from a helicopter or airplane.


silk elevator

(aviation, military, slang) A parachute.


XAP

(aviation) ICAO code for Midway Connection, operated by Fischer Brothers Aviation of the United States


LHA

Abbreviation
* (data compression): Short for Lempel-Ziv Huffman archiver, after the mathematicians on whose work it was based.

Coordinate term: LHD

amphibious assault ship
amphibious assault ship#English

(nautical, military, aviation) Initialism of landing, helicopter, assault.: A type of amphibious assault ship, a warship.


navigation light

en-noun

navigation light (plural navigation lights)

(nautical, aviation) one of two or more lights fitted to a ship or aircraft, which indicate position and direction taken, especially important at night. Internationally recognised colours are red on the port side, and green on the starboard side.


pressure altitude

pressure altitude (plural pressure altitudes)

(aviation) A measure of altitude inferred by the measurement of ambient pressure in differential with a reference pressure at a known altitude.


pressure altimeter

pressure altimeter (plural pressure altimeters)

(aviation) A device which measures the altitude by performing measurement of the ambient pressure and comparing it against a reference pressure at a known altitude, to give a pressure altitude.


property irregularity report

property irregularity report (plural property irregularity reports)

(aviation, travel) An official form to be filled out if checked baggage is lost or damaged by an airline.


TGS

(aeronautics) Initialism of taxiing guidance system.


TGS

(aeronautics, Turkey) Initialism of Turkish Ground Services (service company working at airports in Turkey)


TOD

TOD (countable and uncountable, plural TODs)

TODs (plural)
ToD (alternative)
T.O.D. (alternative)
T.o.D. (alternative)
T. O. D. (alternative)
T. o. D. (alternative)

(aviation) Initialism of top of descent.


corncob engine

From the pistons resembling a cob of corn.

(aviation, informal) An air-cooled multi-row radial piston aircraft engine


service item

There are 5,000 in-flight service items on a 747, ranging from aspirins to toothbrushes.

1995, Francis McInerney, Sean White, The Total Quality Corporation, page 88:

Before landing, the flight attendants pick up any remaining food and beverage service items […]

2016, John G. Wensveen, Air Transportation: A Management Perspective, page 262:

(aviation) Any of the consumer products (food, cosmetics, etc.) handed out or sold on board a passenger aircraft.


tuggie

(aviation, slang) The pilot who tows a glider.


VORTAC

(aviation) A radiobeacon consisting of a colocated VOR and TACAN installation.


OLS

optical landing system
optical landing system#English

(aviation) Abbreviation of optical landing system.


jet propellant 1
jet propellant 1#English

(aviation) Initialism of jet propellant 1 (a highly refined kerosene; a type of jet fuel).

avgas

aviation gasoline; similar to leaded automotive petrol gasoline; not a jet fuel

Jet A

a type of jet fuel, similar to automotive diesel fuel


reaccommodate

en-verb

reaccommodate (third-person singular simple present reaccommodates, present participle reaccommodating, simple past and past participle reaccommodated)

reaccommodates (present singular third-person)
reaccommodating (participle present)
reaccommodated (participle past)
reaccommodated (past)

(aviation, travel) to rebook a passenger on a flight when the original flight is cancelled.


talkdown

talkdowns (plural)
talk-down (alternative)

(aviation) Verbal assistance given by ground control to a person attempting to land an aircraft.


hard launch

Coordinate term: soft launch

A hard launch is technically simpler than a soft launch, but produces a large backblast.

(aeronautics) The launch of a guided missile in such a way that the missile's rocket engine is ignited while still inside the launch assembly or tube.


flying wing

(aviation) A tailless fixed-wing aircraft that has no definite fuselage


AIRMET

(meteorology, aviation) Abbreviation of airman's meteorological advisory.


Gosport tube

It was invented by flying instructor Robert Raymond Smith-Barry at the School of Special Flying he opened at Gosport in 1917.

(aviation, historical) A speaking tube used for communication between the seats of early open-air aircraft.


groundprox

ground proximity warning system
ground proximity warning system

(aviation, rare) A ground proximity warning system.


air traffic

(aviation) the movement of aircraft through the air, and into and out of airports.


TFR

Coordinate term: NOTAM

(US, aviation) Initialism of temporary flight restriction.


Cooper vane

After Dan Cooper, the false name used by an unidentified hijacker who used the rear stairway to exit a Boeing 727 in flight and escape using a parachute.

(aviation) A mechanical aerodynamic wedge that prevents the ventral airstair of an aircraft from being lowered during flight.


Victor airway

From Victor (“the letter V in the ICAO spelling alphabet”), short for VOR (“VHF omnidirectional range”).

(US, Canada, aviation) Any of a set of low-altitude airways defined as line segments, each based on a straight line between either two VOR (VHF omnidirectional range) stations, or a VOR and a VOR intersection.


MMEL

Coordinate term: MEL

Master minimum equipment list
w:Master minimum equipment list

(aviation) Initialism of Master minimum equipment list.


CASS

(aviation) Initialism of cockpit access security system.


jumpseating

(aviation, colloquial) The situation where off-duty airline staff are permitted to travel for free, occupying unbooked seats in an aircraft.


aeradio

en-noun

aeradio (countable and uncountable, plural aeradios)

In addition, limited air traffic services are provided by aeradio operators at seven minor aerodromes.

1957, Report of the Department of Transport and of the National Transport Commission, South Africa. Department of Transport:

Almost anywhere in the outback you can find adequate landing strips well maintained. The service provided by aeradio could hardly be improved.

(aviation) A system allowing airplane pilots to communicate with flight control staff on the ground.


hypergol

A backformation derived from hypergolic (q.v.), after earlier German Hypergol.

(chemistry, aeronautics) Any hypergolic propellant.


jet fuel

jet fuel (countable and uncountable, plural jet fuels)

Coordinate term: avgas

(aviation) The fuel that powers a jet aircraft.

Near-synonym: (often synonymous) lamp oil

(sometimes humorous, hyperbolic) Kerosene.

The fuel that powers a jet aircraft.
Kerosene.


ground crew

(aviation) alternative form of groundcrew


ground staff

(aviation) staff employed by an airline, or an airport, that work on the ground, as opposed to aircrews.


UAL

(aviation) Initialism of United Airlines.


TUC

(aviation) Initialism of time of useful consciousness.: The time one may remain functional after a rapid decompression event without supplemental oxygen, at altitudes higher than that which one may remain functional at in ambient pressures.


avtur

avtur (usually uncountable, plural avturs)

avturs (plural)
AVTUR (alternative)
AvTur (alternative)

(aviation) Jet fuel (fuel used by aircraft turbine engines).


ground stop

(aviation) The halting of air traffic for a particular airport, with no arrivals allowed and all departures held on the ground.

(aviation) The cessation of all take-offs for flights meeting particular criteria, such as geographic region, aircraft type, airline, etc, keeping these grounded.


SPECI

(aviation, meteorology) The aviation special weather report; a specially encoded weather observation report.


Mcrit

Many high performance aircraft are equipped with a Machmeter for monitoring Mcrit. The Machmeter is essentially an airspeed instrument that is calibrated in relation to Mach on the dial.

2012, Aviation Maintenance Technician Handbook-Airframe Volume 2, FAA:

(aviation) The minimum Mach number at which the airflow over some part of an aircraft reaches the speed of sound.


sharklet

From shark + -let; aviation sense from the similarity to the dorsal fin of a shark.

(aviation) An Airbus-branded blended winglet design.


flight number

(aviation, travel) A callsign assigned to a commercial flight for the purposes of reservation and ticketing, typically consisting of a 2 character airline code and a 1 to 4 digit number to indicate a particular service.


strapdown

(aviation) An inertial navigation system that eliminates the gimbal in favour of a lightweight digital computer having sensors that are simply strapped to the vehicle.


FIS

flight information service
flight information service#English

(aviation) Abbreviation of flight information service.


triple seven

(aviation) A Boeing 777, a wide body twinjet used for commercial airlines.


RAPCON

Approach control service (APP) was provided by two RAPCONs, one at Spangdahlem for the Büchel, Hahn, Spangdahlem and Bitburg bases in the Eifel area (Spangdahlem Control) and another at Sembach for the Ramstein, Sembach and Pferdsgfeld bases in the Palatinate area (Sembach Control).

2015, Frank W. Fischer, International Advisory Group Air Navigation Services, German Air Traffic Control During The Cold War: The Story of Rhein Control, p. 28

(aviation) Abbreviation of radar approach control.


TRACON

Since 16 location identifiers are used for a combination of airports and TRACONs, resulting in combined data, we worked with FAA to determine how to identify the number of departures and departure delays to attribute to each individual airport and TRACON in our universe.

2010, Susan Fleming, National Airspace System: Setting On-Time Performance Targets at Congested Airports Could Help Focus FAA's Actions, page 42:

(aviation) Acronym of terminal radar approach control.


constant-speed propeller

constant-speed propeller (plural constant-speed propellers)

From constant + speed + propeller from being a propeller that is run at a speed that does not change.

(aviation) A type of propeller that rotates at a set rotational velocity, but whose power is set by varying the pitch of the blades.


IAS

indicated airspeed
indicated airspeed#English

(aviation) Initialism of indicated airspeed.


IAS

(aviation, travel) Initialism of insert after segment; GDS code, and used on older types of airline keyboards.


OID

(aviation, travel) Initialism of office ID.


spacedive

spacedives (plural)
space dive (alternative)

(aeronautics, slang) A skydive that starts above the Karman line.

(aviation, slang) A skydive that starts above the Armstrong line.


auxiliary power unit

auxiliary power unit (plural auxiliary power units)

(aviation) A generator in aircraft or other vehicles for providing electric power to various systems, such as lighting, especially when the main engines are not running.

допомі́жна́ силова́ устано́вка

generator for providing electric power especially when the main engines are not running


MEDA

(aviation, travel, initialism) Medical Fitness for Air Travel


minimum sector altitude

minimum sector altitude (plural minimum sector altitudes)

(aviation) The lowest altitude which will provide a minimum clearance of 1000 ft (300 m) above all objects located in an area within a circular sector having a radius of 25 nautical miles (46 km) around a radio navigational aid.


RAT

RAT (countable and uncountable, plural RATs)

(aviation, countable) Initialism of ram air turbine.


piece system

(aviation, travel) Airline baggage allowance that restricts passengers to a specific number of bags, rather than a specific weight.


Beech

The company had five Beeches for flying its top executives around.

Replacing side windows on a Beech or Cessna or Piper airplane is an awful job

2020, Mike Busch, Airplane Ownership vol 2, Savvy Aviator Inc, page 75:

(aviation) An aircraft made by Beechcraft.


Zepp

Only after the first explosions did the people of Folkestone notice the sound of engines beating the air. They hardly understood what they heard. They screamed “Zepps! Zepps!” for until then Zeppelin dirigibles had been the only mechanism of air attack they knew.

1986, Richard Rhodes, The Making of the Atomic Bomb, New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 98:

(aviation, informal) A Zeppelin airship.


anti-G straining maneuver

anti-G straining maneuver (plural anti-G straining maneuvers)

(aviation, space flight) Any of various techniques to increase G-tolerance and reduce G-LOC incidences that involve emptying the lungs while straining the muscles to force oxygenated blood to the brain. Most common techniques include visualizing a walnut held between one's buttcheeks, and trying to crush it, or tensing the abdominal and chest muscles, possibly while bent over at the hips.


hook maneuver

From hook + maneuver. From the anglicized onomatopoeia of the sound produced when practising the maneuver, with the inhalation "HOO" and exhalation "KEH" sounds.

(aviation, space flight) An anti-G technique to increase G-tolerance and reduce G-LOC incidences, which involves powerful inhalation, and rapid exhalation, resulting in breathing noises that sound like "HOO" for inhalation, and "KEH" for exhalation, (HOO-KEH... hook)


RTK

(navigation, aviation) Initialism of real-time kinematic.


KAR

(navigation, aviation) Initialism of kinematic ambiguity resolution.


Jesus nut

Possibly from the Vietnam War. From the notion that, given its critical function, if the nut were to fail, the only thing left to do would be to "pray to Jesus".

(aviation, slang) The nut that holds the main rotor to the mast of some helicopters.


Jesus pin

(aviation, slang) The lock pin used to help secure the Jesus nut of some helicopters.


IARTK

(navigation, aviation) Initialism of inertially-aided real-time kinematic (RTK).


listening watch

listening watch (plural listening watches)

1950, Neville Shute, The Legacy (UK title: A Town Like Alice), New York: William Morrow & Co., Chapter 10, p. 278,
“ […] It’s okay here if you want to close down your listening watch for tonight, Jackie. I’d like to have a listening watch in daylight hours tomorrow, from seven o’clock on. Is this Roger? Over.”

(military, aviation) Continuous monitoring for incoming communications.


waverider

waveriders (plural)
wave rider (alternative)
wave-rider (alternative)

(aviation) A hypersonic aircraft that improves its supersonic lift-to-drag ratio by using the shock waves generated by its own flight as a lifting surface.


loiter time

(aviation) The length of time a military aircraft can remain over a target, taking fuel endurance into account.


CoC

Alternative form: COC

certificate of conformance
certificate of conformance#English

(aviation) Initialism of certificate of conformance.


booking class

(aviation, travel) (in a reservation system) The letter used to signify a particular fare level.


reservation booking designator

reservation booking designator (plural reservation booking designators)

reservation booking designators (plural)


IOE

(aviation) Initialism of initial operating experience.


FIR

FIR (countable and uncountable, plural FIRs)

flight information region
w:flight information region

(aviation) Initialism of flight information region; a specified region of airspace in which a flight information service (FIS) and an alerting service (ALRS) are provided


featherable

(aeronautics) Of a propeller: capable of having its blades streamlined by rotating them perpendicular to the axis of the propeller when the engine is shut down, so that the propeller does not windmill as the aircraft flies.


ACMI

(aviation) Initialism of aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance.

(aviation, military) Initialism of air combat maneuvering instrumentation.


tail rotor

(aviation) A small rotor mounted vertically at the end of the tail of a single-rotor helicopter so as to develop thrust in the same direction as the main rotor's rotation, to counter the torque effect created by the main rotor.


LOH

(US military aviation) Acronym of light observation helicopter.


drop tank

(aviation) An expendable external fuel tank on an aircraft.


ownship

(aviation) One's own aircraft, as represented in a flight training simulation or traffic collision avoidance system.


cone of confusion

cone of confusion (plural cones of confusion)

From cone + confusion. From being a cone-shaped region where confusion about the direction to a source occurs.

(aviation) A zone of indeterminism over a navigation beacon (such as a VOR), where the direction-finding ability of the receiver outputs a random direction as flying over the beacon results in no direction to the beacon, giving a spinning direction indicator display. Also refers to flying over a magnetic pole, and its effects on a magnetic compass.


SLAM

SLAM (countable and uncountable, plural SLAMs)

supersonic low altitude missile
supersonic low altitude missile#English

(military, aviation, weaponry) Acronym of supersonic low altitude missile.

stand-off land attack missile
stand-off land attack missile#English

(military, aviation, weaponry) Acronym of stand-off land attack missile.


Dirty Dozen

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

(aviation) The twelve most common aircraft problems, resulting from human error, that may lead to accidents etc.


blue ice

Cadamore believes the mess came from an airplane. In the airline industry, it's euphemistically known as blue ice. Most people have far less judicious names for it. Such waste apparently is caused by leaks in airplane lavatories.

2002 November 21, Mark Belko, The sky is falling? Uh, not exactly, post-gazette.com

A chunk of blue ice, apparently from the holding tank of an aircraft toilet, ripped a hole in an elderly couple's roof and destroyed a bed.

2006 October 20, “Toilet Ice Rips Hole in Couple's Roof”, in Fox News:

Simey had just returned home from taking her 6-month-old son to a doctor when a block of "blue ice" landed in the master bedroom, right on her bed.

2008 April 14, “Frozen jetliner waste smashes into home”, in UPI:

They are often called "blue ice", because of the chemicals added to the toilets in planes to reduce odour and break down the waste.

2018 January 22, Airline poo' falls on India village causing confusion, BBC

(aviation) Human waste that has leaked from an aircraft, frozen at high altitude, and fallen to earth.


F/L

flight lieutenant
flight lieutenant#English

(military, aviation) Abbreviation of flight lieutenant.


jeep carrier

(military, nautical, aviation) A general purpose aircraft carrier, used in a variety of ways (hence 'general purpose', "GP" or jeep), such as aircraft transport ship, invasion support airstrip, ocean patrol airstrip, fleet/convoy defense airstrip. They were used to alleviate demands made on fleet carriers which have higher levels of defensive capabilities and underway speeds able to keep up with the battle fleet.


HX

en-verb

HX (third-person singular simple present HXs, present participle HXing, simple past and past participle HXed)

HXs (present singular third-person)
HXing (participle present)
HXed (participle past)
HXed (past)

From the GDS code that shows on the booking against the affected segment.

Hurry and issue the ticket or the airline will HX the reservation.

The airline oversold and they have HXed the passenger's booking.

(aviation, travel, informal, abbreviation) (of an airline) to have an airline booking cancelled by the airline.


AAI

Airports Authority of India
w:Airports Authority of India

(aviation) Initialism of Airports Authority of India.


RSAF

Republic of Singapore Air Force
w:Republic of Singapore Air Force

(Singapore, military, aviation) Initialism of Republic of Singapore Air Force.

Royal Saudi Air Force
w:Royal Saudi Air Force

(military, aviation) Initialism of Royal Saudi Air Force.


grab some air

grab some air (third-person singular simple present grabs some air, present participle grabbing some air, simple past and past participle grabbed some air)

grabs some air (present singular third-person)
grabbing some air (participle present)
grabbed some air (participle past)
grabbed some air (past)

Instantly I applied full throttle, and eased back on the wheel, hoping that our friend, the T-craft would grab some air and put a few feet between us and all that snow and ice.

1957 May, Robert Sundberg, “I learned about flying from that!”, in Flying Magazine, volume 60, number 5, page 52:

I hate first flights in anything, no matter how ideal the circumstances, but my discomfort was eased considerably upon firewalling the beast, lifting the tail, and grabbing some air. The responsive feel was unmistakable.

1985, Jim Richard Campbell, Flyer's guide to ultralights, page 12:

Then, just as suddenly, the F-86 grabbed some air, leveled out, and turned slightly upward.

2003, War, Literature, and the Arts - Volume 15, page 6:

I started grabbing some air—3,600 . . . 3,700 . . . 3,800 . . . 3,900 feet—and the jet came under us ...

2014, Gary Farmer, The Streets Are Blue, →ISBN:


stick the landing

stick the landing (third-person singular simple present sticks the landing, present participle sticking the landing, simple past and past participle stuck the landing)

sticks the landing (present singular third-person)
sticking the landing (participle present)
stuck the landing (participle past)
stuck the landing (past)

Evidently by metaphor with sticking (placing quickly, thrusting) something quite accurately into a specific place. The term is not specific to aviation: see stick. Thus, this term evidently does not come from a reference to an aircraft's stick (“control stick”). It also does not involve the same metaphor as deadstick landing, whose stick is, originally, a wooden propeller that has lost its engine power.

When the Philae lander, released by the comet-chasing Rosetta spacecraft, first tried to touch down on Nov. 12 in an area later named Agilkia, it could not stick the landing. The anchoring harpoons and retro-rockets did not work and the lander bounced off the comet.

2015 July 31, Amina Khan, “After a bounce, Rosetta's Philae lander serves up cometary surprises”, in Los Angeles Times, retrieved 2018-05-01:

Still, SpaceX stuck the landing the last time under similar conditions. And now in its quest to launch and recover rockets so that they may be used again, SpaceX is acquiring quite a collection of previously used booster stages.

2016 May 26, Christian Davenport, “Elon Musk’s quest to make rocket landings routine continues today”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2018-05-01:

(aviation, astronautics) To execute a flawless landing (of an aircraft, rocket, or space capsule).


LNAV

(aviation) Abbreviation of lateral navigation.


PPBM

(aviation, travel) Positive Passenger Bag Match. An airline system used to ensure that baggage is not loaded on an aircraft if the passenger does not board.


push over

push over (third-person singular simple present pushes over, present participle pushing over, simple past and past participle pushed over)

pushes over (present singular third-person)
pushing over (participle present)
pushed over (participle past)
pushed over (past)

The pilot pushed over into a dive to try to outrun the enemy fighters.

(intransitive, aviation) To abruptly lower the nose of an aircraft by a large angle.


KNKT

From Indonesian KNKT (“Komite Nasional Keselamatan Transportasi”).

bor

(aviation) Synonym of NTSC (“National Transportation Safety Committee”) (Indonesia); Initialism of Komite Nasional Keselamatan Transportasi.


zero-life

en-verb

zero-life (third-person singular simple present zero-lifes, present participle zero-lifing, simple past and past participle zero-lifed)

zero-lifes (present singular third-person)
zero-lifing (participle present)
zero-lifed (participle past)
zero-lifed (past)

[…] the installation of four 14,900 lb st (66.3 kN) BMW Rolls-Royce BR710 turbofans in place of the Speys, the fitting of a new two-man cockpit and a modern tactical operations area, and 'zero lifing' all existing structure and equipment.

1998, Air Pictorial, volume 60, page 207:

The first element involves 'zero lifing' the airframe by replacement of some structural elements, including the main landing gear. This "extends the operational life before the first major overhaul and extends the time between repair", Filip said.

2000, Jane's International Defense Review: IDR, volume 33, page 61:

(aviation, transitive) To restore (equipment) to a state comparable to brand new.


happy landings

en-noun

happy landings pl (normally plural, singular happy landing)

We want our airplane pilots to anticipate failed engines as well as happy landings.

2009, Barbara Ehrenreich, Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America, →ISBN, page 198:

Happy landings: every minute of every hour of every day, an average of 38 people touch down at Orlando airport, gateway to the centre of the Sunshine State.

2017 January 20, Simon Calder, “Discover the other side of Florida – Kissimmee”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 2018-06-05:

(travel, especially aviation) Successful arrivals on land (by air or water), without any untoward incidents.


overgrossed

en-adj

overgrossed (comparative more overgrossed, superlative most overgrossed)

more overgrossed (comparative)
most overgrossed (superlative)

Our overgrossed C-130B slowly began to climb when I heard "Full power" come over the interphone

1994, United States. Dept. of the Air Force. Office of the Inspector General, United States. Dept. of the Air Force, Air Force Safety Center (U.S.), Flying safety - Volume 50, page 6:

(aviation) Carrying too much weight to fly properly.


RNAS

Royal Navy Air Service
w:en:Royal Navy Air Service

(UK, World War I, aviation) Initialism of Royal Navy Air Service. (British)


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.


tail cone

tail cones (plural)
tailcone (alternative)

(aeronautics) A cone-shaped piece on the tail of a jet or aeroplane where exhaust escapes.


middeck

(aeronautics, space flight) In the middle of a deck


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)

ultra low cost carriers (plural)
ultra-low-cost carrier (alternative)
ultra-low cost carrier (alternative)
ultra low-cost carrier (alternative)
ultralow-cost carrier (alternative)
ultralow cost carrier (alternative)
ULCC (alternative)

(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

near-space (alternative)
nearspace (alternative)

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.

(aeronautics) The region of the exosphere between the lower bound of space and the lower bound of orbit; the region of space near the Earth.


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).


CLV

CLV (countable and uncountable, plural CLVs)

(aeronautics) Abbreviation of commercial launch vehicle.


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

flare paths (plural)
flarepath (alternative)

(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.


alpha max

en-noun

alpha max (countable and uncountable, plural alpha maxes)

alpha maxes (plural)
a max (alternative)
α max (alternative)
Vα max (alternative)
Va max (alternative)
V alpha max (alternative)

(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.


AoA

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

(aviation) Initialism of angle of attack.


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

shock stalls (plural)
shockstall (alternative)
shock-stall (alternative)

/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)
shock-stall (alternative)

/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.


DRA

debris response area
debris response area#English

(transport, aviation, space flight) Initialism of debris response area.


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

howgoesits (plural)
howgoezit (alternative)
howgozit (alternative)

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)
shock stalled (alternative)

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

V/STOLs (plural)
S/VTOL (alternative)
SVTOL (alternative)
VSTOL (alternative)

(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.


paradrogue

(aeronautics) Synonym of drogue (“conical device for aerial refuelling”)


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.


double bubble

en-noun

double bubble (countable and uncountable, plural double bubbles)

(aviation) A fuselage formed from two conjoined hulls.


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.


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 (domdom).

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:

A city in West Bengal; suburb of Kolkata, India

(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.


fleet leader

Obviously the best engines to use for comparison would be those of greatest total (flight plus test) operating time -- the so-called "fleet leaders."

1986 June 6, Richard Feynman, “Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle”, in Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, Report to the President:

This Falcon 7X is now the fleet leader having flown over 800,000 nautical miles (148,148 km).

2009 October 19, Dassault Aviation press releasehttps://web.archive.org/web/20200711052328/https://www.dassaultfalcon.com/en/MediaCenter/Newsd/Pages/PR%202009/Falcon-7X-Fleet-Leader-Passes-2,000-Flight-Hours.aspx

(aeronautics) The airframe or component with the longest time in service, compared to others of the same design.


mainspar

(aeronautics) The main spar of an aircraft


preburner

(aeronautics) A combustion chamber of a bipropellant rocket engine.


LACC

Area Control Centre
area control centre#English

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


area control center

en-noun

area control center (plural area control centers)

area control centers (plural)
area control centre (alternative)

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


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

pitchmeters (plural)
pitch meter (alternative)

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)
de-hub (alternative)

(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)
de-host (alternative)

(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.


backtaxi

en-verb

backtaxi (third-person singular simple present backtaxis, present participle backtaxiing, simple past and past participle backtaxied)

backtaxis (present singular third-person)
backtaxiing (participle present)
backtaxied (participle past)
backtaxied (past)


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

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.


soft landing

en-noun

soft landing (countable and uncountable, plural soft landings)

(countable, aeronautics) A landing that does not result in the destruction of the payload or the vehicle.

aterratge suau

landing that does not result in the destruction of the payload and/or the vehicle


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 28, 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

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.


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.


roll off

en-verb

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).


split S

split Ses (plural)
split-S (alternative)

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

en-noun

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


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.


KCAS

calibrated airspeed
calibrated airspeed#English

(aviation) Initialism of knots calibrated airspeed.


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.


KTAS

(aviation) Initialism of knots true 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.


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.


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).