Aviation terminology Flashcards
Aft
Rear area of the aircraft.
Air carrier
Airline authorized by the government to engage in transportation of customers and cargo.
Air traffic control
Dedicated control center that is responsible for the safe guidance of the aircraft in both the air and on airport taxiways and runways.
Airborne
State of an aircraft when it is wholly free from contact with the ground.
City code
3 character alpha code identifying an airport.
Airspeed
Speed at which the aircraft is moving through the air that surrounds it. In knots, 1 knot = 1.150 miles per hour.
Altimeter
Instrument used to indicate height above and relative to sea level.
Altitude
The height that the aircraft is flying at.
Anti-icing
Precautionary procedure that provides protection against the formation or frost or ice and accumulation of snow on surfaces of the aircraft.
Auxiliary-power unit
External power source to provide power to the aircraft while it is on the ground.
Base
Station where all your trips begin and end.
Boarding
When guest enplane an aircraft.
Boarding pass
Card issued to passenger when checking in for a flight. Can be in paper form or electronic form. Each passenger boarding must have one.
Boarding ramp
Available at certain airport that facilitates the boarding of passengers in a wheelchair.
Bridge
Moveable extension of the terminal that projects the boarding area and connects the aircraft to the terminal, so the passengers don’t need to walk outside.
Crew briefing
Short meeting of all flight crew member prior to each duty period and whenever there is an aircraft or a crew changer. Includes an introduction, emergency and service review..
Bulkhead
Wall on board the aircraft that divides classes.
Cabin
Passenger compartment of the aircraft
Cabin baggage
Baggage restricted in size and weight and that must fit under a seat or in a closed overhead bin.
Cabin crew
Flight attendant on board the aircraft
Captain
Pilot in command of the aircraft, occupies left seat in the flight deck.
Cargo
Items accepted for carriage on a flight, including bagage, airfreight, small package shipment,mail..
Cargo compartment
Sections of the aircraft used to store baggage and other cargo . Passenger are not permitted to these compartment.
Carrier
Airline that provides scheduled air transportation to the public.
Carry-on baggage
Items carried by the guest onto the aircraft. Excessive carry-on bagage must be stored in one of the cargo compartments. The weight of the carry on item is included with the passenger’s weight.
Charter
Non-Scheduled, revenue flight contracted to specific groups who enter into a mutual agreement regarding cost and services with the airline, not operating on a regular published schedule.
Checked baggage
Baggage surrendered by the customer at their original boarding city that is carried to the passenger’s final destination in the baggage compartment of the aircraft. The baggage is returned to the passenger at the baggage claim area.
Checklist
Written list of items designated to assist a Crew Member in performing their job responsibilities in a specific order.
Chocks
Wooden or plastic devices that are placed under the wheels of the aircraft when at the gate to prevent it from moving.
COMAT
Company mail
Provisioning agents
All items boarded for inflight service by Provisioning agent.
Configuration
Arrangement of an aircraft’s seats and other cabin features.
Crew member
Persons designated to perform specialized duties onboard an aircraft.
Crew ressource management
Effective use of all resources including personnel, training procedures and equipment to achieve the highest possible level of safety.
Dangerous goods
Items identified by the department of transport when shipped via an aircraft that have been deemed as hazardous. Also known as Hazmat.
Deadheading
Crew member being positioned for a trip.
Decompression
The aircraft’s inability to maintain a designated cabin altitude.
De-icing
Procedure by which frost, ice or snow is removed from critical surfaces of an aircraft; by mechanical means or by the use of de-icing fluids.
De-icing boots
Black rubber on the leading edges of the wings, vertical and horizontal stabilizer, engine intakes and propeller blades. That black rubber de-icing boot is controlled by the pilots in icing conditions to keep the aircraft free from ice accumulation as it flies. They are air bladders that fill with pulsing bleed air from the engines. As they expend and contract, it makes it impossible for the ice to adhere to the surface.
Safety demonstration
Pre-departure briefing designated to identify how to use specified emergency equipment, prior to each flight segment, FA demonstrate the use of seat belts and oxygen masks, and identify emergency exits.
Deplane
Act of leaving an aircraft at the termination of a flight descent. Term use to to denote passengers leaving the aircraft.
Direct
Same flight number, same aircraft, can have a stop or not.
Dispatch
Employees who are jointly responsible with the captain for the safe launch of each flight.
Ditching
Emergency landing and evacuation of an aircraft in water.
Domestic
Flight within canada
Don
To put on (Don your life jacket)
Emergency exit
Special exits used to evacuate an aircraft in an emergency.
Enplane
Term used to denote passengers boarding aircraft.
Enroute
Portion of the flight after takeoff and prior to landing.
ETA
Estimated time of arrival
ETD
Estimated time of departure
Evacuation
Process of immediately leaving an aircraft under emergency conditions.
Extra section
Additional flights operating a route in addition to regularly schedules flights, usually to accommodate a surplus load.
Ferry
Flight to transfer an aircraft from one station to another, for operational purposes. No passengers are carried, only crew.
Ferry flights
Flight that positions an aircraft from one city to another city, for operational purposes. No revenue passengers are permitted to travel on ferry flights.
First aid
Immediate and temporary administration of medical care until professionals are available.
First officer
Second in command of the aircraft, occupies the right seat in the flight deck.
Flight
A flight is an expression to define an aircraft’s movement from it’s point of origin to it’s final destination.
Flight alternate
Alternate airport in event that weather at destination is unfavorable.
Flight attendant
A person trained in the policies and procedures governing the emergency evacuation of an aircraft.
Flight crew
Pilots working on board the aircraft
Flight deck
Compartment form which the pilots control the aircraft: located in the most forward section of the aircraft.
Flight deck observer seat
An additional seat located in the flight deck of an aircraft. A third authorized party such as transport canada or a pilot in training uses the jump seat for viewing pilot procedures.
Flight segment (Leg)
Period of time from the point of boarding to the point of deplaning on any flight.
Forward
Front area of the aircraft
Fuselage
Main body of an aircraft minus the wings and tail. The cockpit, passenger cabin, galley, cargo bins and most of the communications equipment are contained in the fuselage.
Galley
Area of the aircraft where food and beverages are stored and prepared.
Gate
Parking area at the terminal for aircraft used for passengers boarding and deplaning.
Gate Event Tracker (GET)
Application which allows the Airports to enter timestamps for certain points or milestones within an aircraft turn.
Ground power unit
Portable unit attached to the aircraft while on the ground which provides electrical power when the engines are not operating.
Ground speed
Speed at which an aircraft inflight travels as measured relative to the ground. It is the sum of the airspeed plus or minus the air mass movement or wind speed.
Hangar
Large building for housing aircraft during maintenance or for use as covered parking area when the aircraft is not required for use.
Hazardous materials
HAZMAT, Chemicals, compounds and other materials that may pose health hazard to workers.
Headwind
High or low level wind blowing in the opposing direction to the forward movement of the aircraft. Effect of the headwind is that the aircraft ground speed is reduced. Variations of this same effect are present in ‘crosswinds’ and ‘tailwinds’, flight time is affected.
IROP
Irregular operations. Term used to describe a flight that is delayed or cancelled. IROP’S can occur for many reasons, such as aircraft de-icing or weather systems.
Landing gear
The wheels, struts and their supporting assemblies which are attached to the aircraft to support it’s weight on the ground. Also known as ‘undercarriage’, ‘nose wheel’, ‘left-right main’, ‘main gear’. When parked the wheels are blocked with blocks holding the aircraft in place as a backup to the parking break. When the aircraft is parked or towed for an extended period, the landing gears has pins or gear pins to prevent unintentional retraction of the landing gear while on the ground.
Layover
Time spent by the crew when between flights at city other than home base: does not require overnight.
Leading edge
Front part of the wing, the part of the wing that first meets the airflow.
Lean
Philosophy and methodology of process improvement.
Left
Side of the aircraft as you face towards the flight deck, which is your left hand side, also known as ‘Port side’.
Load
Total number of guest on board a flight.
Maintenance base
A base where we operate and where maintenance is available for our aircraft.
Mechanical
Aircraft malfunction
Milestones
Milestones are used to mark the time a certain task is complete within a turn.
Non-revenue passengers
Non-rev, Airline employees and-or eligible family members who are travelling on stand-by status and have paid service fees for their tickets.
Non-stop
A flight that goes from one destination to another without intermediate stop.
Nose
Front of the aircraft
No-Show
A crew member or guest who does not show up for a scheduled flight.
Originating flight
Flight that is just beginning and has its own flight number.
Per Diem
Meal expense allowance determined by the total number of hours you are away from your home base.
Placards
Instructional signs posted in the aircraft (emergency equipment location signs, door operation instructions for exit row windows…)
Port
Left hand side of the aircraft. On the port wingtip there is a red navigation light.
Powerback
Irregular procedure whereby the pilots are able to use the reverse pitch setting of the propeller blades to maneuver the aircraft backwards, away from the gate area. Cabin crew should be seated for this maneuver as the breaking may not be as smooth as when the aircraft is moving forward.
Pre flight check
Check performed by flight attendants to ensure emergency equipment and specific aircraft systems are in proper working order.
Proactive cabin management
Process in which flight attendants proactively assist guests to settle quickly and efficiently.
Protecting Breathing Equipment
BPE, A breathing apparatus that provides an environment safe from toxic smoke and fumes while fighting a fire.
Pushback
Any time that the aircraft is moved rearward by means of a tow bar and tug, usually away from the gate area.
Ramp
Area where aircraft park outside of the terminal.
Registration
Series of letters painted on the sides of the aft fuselage or on the upper and lower wing surfaces that used to identify aircraft similar to a license plate.
Reserve flight attendant
A flight attendant whose month consists of predetermined periods of availability for flight duty with intervening schedules days off.
Revenue
Tickets that have been paid for ; paying customers.
Revision
Updated or revised information which must be read and inserted into the flight attendant manual on the first layover after receipt, or prior to the next scheduled trip.
Right
Side of the aircraft as you face toward the flight deck, on your right hand side. Also referred as the Starboard side.
RON
Remain overnight, to stay overnight at a city other than your home base.
Runway
Lengthy surface marked by green and red colored lights and a series of painted lines on each end and white colored lights down each length. The aircraft lands and takeoff on the runway.
Safety Features Card
SFC- Card located in each seat pocket which illustrate and explain what to do during an emergency. One is required in every passenger carrying seat.
Scheduled
SKED- Any flight operating in accordance with a published schedule.
Scheduled time
Planned time between departure and arrival.
Secure
To lock up, latch or stow.
Security
Passengers are required to pass through security screening prior to boarding the aircraft. The security screening process (carry-on baggage x rayed, passenger pass through a metal detector) ensures that no threats to security are being carried by passengers (guns, unacceptable knifes, bombs..) Once you have passed security screening, you are said to be in a ‘secured area’ of the airport.
Stacking
Term describing the ‘holding’ procedure when aircraft are waiting their turn to land at an airport during periods of high volume of flight arrivals. The aircrafts are separated by ATC at differing altitudes in a ‘hold’ or ‘holding pattern’, a circuit that maintains a location and altitude. This may cause late flight arrivals and late flight departures.
Staging
The scanning and positioning of pre-board guests, Gold Tier rewards members and guests seated in Plus as close to the entrance to the bridge prior to the first guest on D-20.
Starboard
Right hand side of the aircraft, on the starboard tip, there is a green navigation light.
Sterile flight deck
Aircraft movement up to 10 000 feet when ascending and down to 10 000 feet when descending until parked at gate. Sterile flight deck is the most critical phase of flight; 80% of accidents happen during takeoff and landing. FA should not attempt to communicate with flight deck during sterile flight deck for other than safety related or emergency matters.
Tail
Complete aft structure of the aircraft including the aft of the fuselage, vertical and horizontal stabilizers, rudder and elevator.
Tailwind
High or low level wind flowing in the same direction as the forward movement of the aircraft. The net result of a tailwind is that is increases the speed at which the aircraft travels over the ground and reduces flight time.
Takeoff
When an aircraft leaves the ground
Target time
This is the time that FA can expect the first guest to step on the aircraft.
Taxi
When an aircraft moves under its own power while on the ground.
Taxi-way
Dedicated area of an airport that provides specific corridor for the aircraft to taxi from one area to another, marked by blue colored lights.
Three axes of aircraft movement: Roll
Aircraft movement around the centre point whereby one wing goes up while the other goes down and vice versa.
Three axes of aircraft movement: Pitch
Aircraft movement around the centre point whereby the nose goes up and down relative to the tail.
Three axes of aircraft movement: Yaw
Aircraft movement around the centre point whereby the nose goes left and right relative to the tail.
Thrust
Thrust is provided by the turbine engine via the propellers. The resulting force is called ‘Forward thrust’. A form of ‘ reverse thrust’ is produced when propeller blade angle is changed, increasing drag forces on the aircraft to slow it down on descent. ‘Full fine pitch’ of the propeller blades thrust effect also aids the braking of the aircraft upon landing. An increase in sound from the propellers at touch-down indicates that full line pitch-reverse thrust effect is being applied. This same setting of the propellers can be used in the ‘powerback’ procedure.
Turbulance
Rough air which the aircraft passes through
Turnaround
The time an aircraft spends on the ground at an en route, originating or terminating stop.
Unaccompanied Minor
Any person 8-11 years old travelling alone.
Zone Boarding
Guests will board the aircraft by their row number.
1st guest on
First guest to physically step on board the aircraft.
