Aviation Glossary

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List of aviation, aerospace and

aeronautical terms

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A glossary of terms used in relation to aircraft, in alphabetical order.

For specific makes and models, see List of aircraft manufacturers and List of aircraft.

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aerodyne
A heavier-than-air craft, deriving its lift from motion.
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aeronaut
Pilot or crew of lighter-than-gas craft.
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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)
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aerostat
A lighter-than-air craft, such as a balloon or airship. Its lift is caused by buoyancy
relative to surrounding air.
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ailerons
On an aeroplane, 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).
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aircraft
A vehicle that can travel through the air.
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airplane
A powered aircraft that derives its lift from the movement of air over fixed lifting
surfaces. (Also aeroplane)
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airship
A lighter-than-air craft that can be steered and propelled through the air. (Also
dirigible)
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attitude
The orientation of an aircraft with respect to the horizon.
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autogyro
A rotor-craft with unpowered blades - it requires a separate engine to provide
forward motion before lift is developed.
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aviator
Pilot or crew member of an aircraft.
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Available seat miles

 (ASM)is a measure of an airline flight's carrying capacity. It is equal to the
number of seats available multiplied by the number of miles flown. This measures
an airlines capacity capability. For example, a transport configured to fly 100
seats flying 100 miles would give the carrier 10,000 ASMs for that particular
flight.
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aviatrix
Female aviator (Obsolete, potentially offensive in modern use.)
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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.
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balloon
An unpowered lighter-than-air craft.
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biplane
An aeroplane with two similar-sized wings (or pairs of wings), exactly or
approximately in vertical alignment.
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blimp
Non-rigid airship. Its shape is maintained by internal pressure.
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Breakeven load factor

The load factor necessary for an airline to break even. It is a function of the
percent of seats filled at a particular yield versus the airlines operating costs.
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Camber
 The curved upper surface of the wing.
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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 subsidary controls are pitch, roll, and rudder trim tabs
and the stabalator (the whole horizontal stabilizer moves to trim the pitch axis).
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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.
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course
The direction in which the aircraft is moving, not to be confused with the heading
which is the direction the aircraft is pointing. The course and heading will usually
differ because of crosswinds (see crab). The course is also different from the track
which is properly the path over the ground that the aircraft has already flown
(although course and track are sometimes used synonymously).
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cost per avialable seat mile

(CASM) – The unit operating cost of a carrier, also known as unit cost. The cost,
expressed in cents to operate each seat mile offered. Determined by dividing
operating costs by ASM (available seat miles).
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crab
 A crab is a manoever 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.
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chord
The dimension of a wing parallel to the direction of motion.(Compare with span
and thickness.)
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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.
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dirigible
A lighter-than-air craft that can be steered and propelled through the air. From the
French word dirigeable meaning steerable. (This term is generally considered
out-of-date. The modern term is airship.)
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dry lease
A lease in which just the aircraft is provided with no maintenance guarantees.
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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.
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elevators
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.
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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.

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Flight level
Flight level is the nominal altitude of an aircraft referenced to a standard pressure datum,
as opposed to the real altitude above mean sea level.

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glider
An unpowered fixed-wing heavier-than-air craft. (Also sailplane)
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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.
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helicopter
A rotor craft with one or more sets of powered blades.
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Instrument flight rules (IFR)

A regulatory term describing a flight which may be conducted in conditions
where the pilot cannot see outside the aircraft (e.g. in cloud and fog) and must fly
only by his instruments. Compare to Visual flight rules.
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landing gear
Structure that supports the aircraft's weight when it is not airborne, often
including a shock absorbing mechanism. Wheels can be used for hard surfaces,
 skis or skids for ice or snow, and floats or pontoons if landing on the water. Some
aircraft like flying boats do not require landing gear, since their hull can support
them on water.
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Load factor
(LF) – The percentage of seats filled. Determined by dividing Revenue Passenger Miles
by Available Seat Miles.

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moment
A measurement of weight at a specific distance (moment arm) from a reference
point. This measurement is used to verify the aircraft is within the Center of
Gravity (CG) limits. Reference points vary between aircraft.
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monocoque
An object (as in a wing or fuselage) whose skin supports the load as opposed to an
internal frame.
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monoplane
An aeroplane with one wing (or pairs of wings).
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pitch
A measure of the degree to which an aircraft's nose tilts up or down. Also a
measure of the angle of attack of a propeller.
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Pitot tube
A Pitot tube is a measuring instrument used to measure fluid flow, and more
specifically, used to determine airspeed on aircraft. The Pitot tube is named after
its inventor, Henri Pitot, and was modified to its modern form by Henry Darcy.
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powerplant
A powered aircrafts source of power, usually either a jet engine or a conventional
engine and propeller.
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Pressure altitude
The indicated altitude when an altimeter is set to 1013 hPa (29.92 inHg US and Canada).

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roll
Rotation about an axis aligned with the direction in which the aircraft is flying.
This axis is also known as the longitudinal axis.
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rotorcraft
An aircraft that derives its lift from rotating lifting surfaces (usually called blades)
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rudder
On an aeroplane, the rudder is a control surface usually on the trailing edge of the
vertical stabilizer or fin. The rudder is used to control yaw.
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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.
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sailplane
An unpowered fixed-wing heavier-than-air craft. (Also glider)
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sesquiplane
 An aeroplane with two wings (or pairs of wings), where one (often the lower) is
significantly smaller than the other in span and/or chord.
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slip
A manoevre where an aeroplane pilot rolls the aircraft in one direction with the
ailerons and yaws it in the opposite direction with the rudder. This results in the
aircraft continuing to move forward but presenting a larger cross-section to the
oncoming air - thereby creating drag and causing the aeroplane to lose altitude
rapidly in a controlled manner.
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span
The dimension of a wing perpendicular to the direction of motion. (Compare with
chord and thickness.)
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specific impulse
The specific impulse of a propulsion system is the impulse (change in
momentum) per unit of propellant.
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stabilator
On an aeroplane, a stabilator is a surface which combines the function of the
horizontal stabilizer and elevators in one by allowing the entire horizontal
stabilizer to move and control the pitch of the aircraft.
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stall
a condition of an airplane or an airfoil in which lift decreases and drag increases
due to the separation of airflow.
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track
The path on the ground over which an aircraft has flown. Also used
synonymously with course, the direction in which an aircraft is moving relative to
the ground. Note that this is not necessarily the same as the aircraft's heading.
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thickness
The vertical dimension of a wing. (Compare with span and chord.)
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threshold
The beginning of the part of the runway usable for landing
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Thrust
Thrust is the force upon a system (such as a rocket or jet engine) generated when that
system expels or accelerates mass. The resultant thrust force is equal to and in the
opposite direction of the expelled mass.

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touchdown zone (TDZ)

The first 3000 feet of the runway or the first third of the runway, whichever is
less, measured from the threshold
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triplane
An aeroplane with three similar-sized wings (or pairs of wings), exactly or
approximately in vertical alignment.
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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.
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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.
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V Speeds
Speeds that define certain performance and limiting characteristics of an aircraft.
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wing
A lifting surface of an airplane/aeroplane or sailplane.
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yaw
Rotation in a horizontal plane about the normally vertical axis - turning to left or
right.

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