Aviation Glossary

Airfoil:

Reynolds Wrap for manufacturing aircraft wings.

Airspeed:

Speed of an airplane. Deduct 25% when listening to a Navy pilot.

Angle of Attack:

Pick-up lines that pilots use.

Arresting Gear:

A Policeman's equipment.

Bank:

The folks who hold the lien on most pilots' cars.

Barrel Roll:

Sport enjoyed at squadron picnics, usually after the barrels are empty.

Carburetor Icing:

A phenomenon happening to Aero club pilots at exactly the same time they run out of gas.

Cone of Confusion:

An area about the size of New Jersey located near the final approach beacon at an airport.

Crab:

The squadron Operations Officer.

Dead Reckoning:

You reckon correctly, or you are.

Engine Failure:

A condition which occurs when all fuel tanks become filled with air.

Firewall:

Section of the aircraft specially designed to let heat and smoke enter the cockpit.

Glide Distance:

Half the distance from an airplane to the nearest emergency landing field.

Hydroplane:

An airplane designed to land on a wet runway, 20,000 feet long.

IFR:

A method of flying by needle and ripcord.

Lean Mixture:

Non-alcoholic beer.

Motor:

Word used by student pilots and Yankees when referring to the engine.

Nanosecond:

Time delay built into the stall warning system.

Parasitic Drag:

A pilot who bums a ride back and complains about the service.

Range:

Usually about 30 miles beyond the point where all fuel tanks fill with air.

Rich Mixture:

What you order at the other guy's promotion party.

Roger:

Used when you're not sure what else to say.

Roll:

The first design priority for a fully loaded KC-135A.

Service Ceiling:

Altitude at which cabin crews can serve drinks.

Spoilers:

The Federal Aviation Administration.

Stall:

Technique used to explain to the bank why your car payment is late.

Steep Bank:

Banks that charge pilots more than 10% interest.

Tactics:

What a clock sounds like when it needs fixing.

Tail Wind:

Results from eating beans, often causing Oxygen deficiency in the immediate vicinity.

Turn & Bank Indicator:

An instrument highly ignored by pilots.

Useful Load:

Volumetric capacity of the aircraft, disregarding weight of cargo.

Up:

A chant used by pilots taking off from Colorado Springs, who want to discover the meaning of life.

VOR:

Radio navigation aid, named after the VORtex effect of pilots trying to home in on it.

Windsocks:

Socks that need darning.

Yankee:

Any pilot that asks Houston tower to "Say again".

Zero:

Style and artistry points earned for a gear-up landing.