Appendix:Glossary of aviation, aerospace, and aeronautics Articles on aviation - General
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Appendix:Glossary of aviation, aerospace, and aeronautics

By Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia,,_aerospace,_and_aeronautical_terms





Term Definition
aerodyne A heavier-than-air craft, deriving its lift from motion.
aeronaut Pilot or crew of lighter-than-gas craft.
aeroplane A power driven heavier than air aircraft that derives support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air on its surfaces that remain fixed under given conditions of flight.(Also airplane)
aerostat A lighter-than-air craft, such as a balloon or airship. Its lift is caused by buoyancy relative to surrounding air.
ailerons On an aircraft, the ailerons are a control surface usually on the trailing edge of the wings. The ailerons are used to control roll. The ailerons are on the outside of the wings and operate oppositely (If one goes up, the other goes down).
aircraft A vehicle that can travel through the air.
attitude The orientation of an aircraft with respect to the horizon.
autogyro A rotor-craft with unpowered blades - it requires a separate engine to provide forward motion before lift is developed.
aviator Pilot or crew member of an aircraft.
aviatrix Female aviator (Obsolete, potentially offensive in modern use.)
available ton miles (ATMs) Tons multiplied by miles flown. It is an international measure of the capacity available for a carrier. It is also used to measure capacity available for freight carriers.


Term Definition
balloon An unpowered lighter-than-air craft.
blimp Non-rigid airship. Its shape is maintained by internal pressure.


Term Definition
camber The curved upper surface of the wing.
control surface Any moveable surface on an aircraft which controls its motion about one of the three principal axes. Ailerons, elevators, and the rudder are examples of control surfaces. In addition, other type of roll control surfaces are roll spoilers that dump lift on one wing or another (as opposed to ailerons), spoilerons (combined spoiler and aileron), and flaperon (combined flap and aileron). Another combined controls is the ruddalator (combined elevator and rudder as on the "V" tailed Beech Model 35). Other subsidiary controls are pitch, roll, and rudder trim tabs and the stabalator (the whole horizontal stabilizer moves to trim the pitch axis).
center of gravity (CG) The point at which the mass of the aircraft is balanced. This changes depending on the loading of the aircraft: fuel, passengers, luggage, etc. Different aircraft have CG limits specified by their manufacturer. If the CG of the aircraft in its current configuration is outside of the specified limits, the aircraft may be unsafe to fly. For example, if the CG is behind the aft (rear) CG limit, the aircraft will tend to stall.
crab A crab is a maneuver used to eliminate the drift of an aircraft caused by wind. The pilot will offset the heading of the aircraft from the desired track by a calculated amount, and the aircraft's velocity combined with the wind through vector addition will give a net movement in the desired direction.


Term Definition
dihedral angle The angle that an aeroplane's wings make with a horizontal plane. A larger dihedral angle gives greater roll(lateral) stability at the cost of efficiency. If the wings angle upwards, it is called the dihedral angle. Downward angled wings are said to have an anhedral angle.
dry lease A lease in which just the aircraft is provided with no crew and maintenance guarantees.


Term Definition
elevons On an aeroplane, elevons are a single control surface which combines the function of the elevators and ailerons in one. They are usually seen on delta-wing aircraft.
elevator On an aeroplane, the elevators are a control surface usually on the trailing edge of the horizontal stabilizer. The elevators are used to control pitch.


Term Definition
feather To rotate the pitch of the propeller blades until they are oriented directily into the airflow, providing the least air resistance and no thrust. The propeller is usually feathered when an engine fails.


Term Definition
glider An unpowered fixed-wing heavier-than-air craft. (Also sailplane)
glideslope An instrument on the ground to allow an instrumental landing.


Term Definition
heading The direction in which an aircraft is pointing measure clockwise in degrees from North. Note that this is not necessarily the same as the aircraft's track because of wind.
helicopter A rotor craft with one or more sets of powered blades.


Term Definition
instrument flight rules (IFR) A regulatory term describing a flight which may be conducted in atmospheric conditions where the pilot cannot fly the aircraft solely by reference to the natural horizon (e.g. in cloud and fog) and must fly only by reference to the aircraft instruments. Compare to Visual flight rules.




Term Definition


Term Definition
monoplane An aeroplane with one wing (or pairs of wings).





Term Definition
pressure altitude The indicated altitude when an altimeter is set to 1013 hPa (29.92 inHg US and Canada).



Term Definition
rotorcraft An aircraft that derives its lift from rotating lifting surfaces (usually called blades)
ruddervators On an aeroplane, ruddervators are a single control surface which combine the function of the rudder and elevators in one. They are usually seen on v-tail aircraft.


Term Definition
sailplane An unpowered fixed-wing heavier-than-air craft. (Also glider)
specific impulse The specific impulse of a propulsion system is the impulse (change in momentum) per unit of propellant.
SPS Standard Positioning Services.


Term Definition
tailplane Usually synonymous with Stabilator (q.v.).
thickness The vertical dimension of a wing. (Compare with span and chord.)
threshold The beginning of the part of the runway usable for landing
touchdown zone (TDZ) The first 3000 feet of the runway or the first third of the runway, whichever is less, measured from the threshold


Term Definition
ultralight A small, powered aircraft which is extremely light and seats only one or two occupants. Ultralights are popular among hobbyists for being cost-effective and having lenient regulation.


Term Definition
visual flight rules (VFR) A regulatory term describing flights that are conducted only in conditions where the pilot can see the ground, or in some instances is flying in the free space above a cloud. Compare to Instrument flight rules.
V speeds Speeds that define certain performance and limiting characteristics of an aircraft.
VSI Vertical Speed Indicator, shows the rate of climb or decent.


Term Definition
wind shear a quick change in wind speed or direction.
wing A lifting surface of an airplane/aeroplane or sailplane.



Term Definition


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Published - July 2009

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