Aviation terminology Flashcards
What is adverse yaw?
When the airplane yaws towards the raised wing during a turn due to the downward deflected aileron on the raised wing. Corrected by applying the rudder.
What are the 4 forces acting on an airplane in flight?
Thrust, weight, lift, and drag.
What is transverse flow effect?
The difference in lift between the front and rear portions of the rotor disk. There is a larger AOA and more lift produced in the front portion, and a smaller AOA and less lift produced in the rear portion. Usually occurs between 10 and 20 knots.
Angle of attack
The angle measured between the resultant relative airflow and the chord line of the airfoil.
What are the six types of special use airspace?
Prohibited areas, restricted areas, warning areas, military operation areas (MOAs), alert areas, and controlled firing areas (CFAs).
Dihedral
Refers to the angle formed when the wings are attached to the fuselage with an angle of 1 to 3 degrees above a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, thereby forming a shallow V.
Translating Tendency
At a hover, a helicopter with a single counterclockwise rotating rotor has a tendency to drift laterally to the right.
Fuselage
The central component of an aircraft and contains the crew, passengers, and cargo and provides a structural connection for the wings and tail assembly.
What was the date that the Wright brothers conducted their first powered flight?
December 17, 1903
What does the number of a runway mean?
The runway number refers to the direction in which the plane will be traveling at take off for that runway. They’re numbered 1 to 36, where 18 is magnetic north, 27 is east, 36 is south, and 9 is west.
Magnus Effect
Lifting force produced when a rotating cylinder placed in an airstream produces a lift differential due to the different local velocities at the top and bottom of the cylinder.
Vne
This is the speed that should never be exceeded by the aircraft. If flight is attempted above this speed, structural damage or failure may occur.
Attitude Indicator
A gyroscopic instrument that pictorially depicts the pitch and roll attitude of the aircraft by use of a symbolic aircraft against a horizon disk showing a background of sky and ground.
Spirit of St. Louis
The Spirit of St. Louis was a single-seat monoplane, loosely based on the Ryan M-2 mailplane, and custom built for Charles Lindbergh’s first solo nonstop transatlantic flight, which occurred on May 20 – 21, 1927.
The Federal Aviation Act of 1958
In response to a series of high-profile midair collisions, the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 consolidated and expanded the roles of the previous Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) and Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) into the new Federal Aviation Agency.
Class C Airspace
Airspace from the surface to 4,000 feet above the airport elevation (charted in mean sea level [MSL]) surrounding those airports that have an operational control tower, are serviced by a radar approach control, and have a certain number of instrument flight rules (IFR), operations, or passenger enplanements.
Juan de la Cierva
Juan de la Cierva was a Spanish engineer who began building and flying autogyros in the early 1920s. Some of his developments, such as the flapping hinge to compensate for dissymmetry of lift and leg-lag hinges to relieve in-plane Coriolis forces, are still used in modern helicopters.
Camber
The camber is the curvature of the airfoil. The mean camber line is drawn halfway between the upper and lower surfaces of an airfoil. The shape of this line and the point of maximum camber—maximum displacement of the mean camber line from the chord line—are characteristics that define the performance of an airfoil.
Landing Gear
Supports the aircraft when it is parked, taxiing, and during takeoff and landing.
Empennage
The entire tail group, including fixed surfaces, such as the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, and moveable surfaces, such as the rudder, elevator, and trim tabs.
Chord line
An imaginary straight line drawn through an airfoil from the leading edge to the trailing edge.
What are the two categories of airspace or airspace areas?
Regulatory: Class A, B, C, D, and E airspace areas, restricted and prohibited areas; nonregulatory: military operations areas (MOAs), warning areas, and controlled firing areas.
What is the difference between induced drag and parasite drag?
Induced drag is a direct result of an airfoil producing lift. Parasite drag is drag not associated with the production of lift, such as displacement of the air by the aircraft, turbulence, or interference with the air moving over the surface of the aircraft and airfoil.
Wings
Wings are airfoils attached to either side of the fuselage, and they provide the main lifting force that supports the airplane in flight.
If two aircraft of the same category are converging, which has the right-of-way?
When aircraft of the same category are converging at approximately the same altitude (except head-on, or nearly so), the aircraft to the other’s right has the right-of-way.
If one aircraft is overtaking another, which has the right-of-way?
The aircraft being overtaken has the right-of-way, and the pilot of an overtaking aircraft should alter course to the right to pass well clear.
Vertical Speed Indicator
Measures the rate of climb or descent.
What items are included in the empty weight of an aircraft?
The items are the weight of the airframe, engines, all permanently installed equipment, and unusable fuel. Either the undrainable oil or a full reservoir of oil is included, depending on the federal regulations under which the aircraft was certified.
Pressure altitude
The height above the standard datum plane defined by the International Standard Atmosphere (ISA).
Ailerons
Primary flight control surfaces mounted on the trailing edge of the wing from about the midpoint outward to the tip of the wing.
Altimeter
Measures height above a given atmospheric pressure level.
Flight visibility
The average forward horizontal distance from the cockpit of an aircraft in flight at which prominent unlighted objects may be seen and identified by day and prominent lighted objects may be seen and identified by night.
Powerplant
Provides the thrust that moves the wings through the air and thereby produces lift.
Which gases compose the atmosphere?
The atmosphere is composed of approximately 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, and 1 percent other gases such as argon and helium.
What are the three basic classifications of main rotor systems?
Semi-rigid, rigid, and fully articulated.
Monocoque construction
Uses a shell-like stressed skin to support almost all loads.
Absolute Altitude
The vertical distance of the aircraft above ground level (AGL).
Semi-monocoque
Semi-monocoque construction uses a substructure of bulkheads, stringers, and formers to reinforce the stressed skin of the aircraft.
Cantilever wing
Designed to carry loads without external struts.
What are the three axes of an aircraft?
Lateral: this axis passes from wingtip to wingtip. The motion on this axis is called pitch. Longitudinal: this axis passes from nose to tail. The motion on this axis is called roll. Vertical: this axis passes vertically through the center of gravity of the aircraft. The motion on this axis is called yaw.
Density altitude
Pressure altitude corrected for nonstandard temperature.
Visual approach slope indicator (VASI)
The VASI is a system of red and white lights arranged to provide visual descent guidance information during the approach to a runway.
Flaps
A high-lift device that are most frequently used during takeoff and landing. Located from the fuselage to about the midpoint of the wing.
Elevators
Moveable flight surfaces attached to the trailing edge of the horizontal stabilizers; pulling the control stick back moves the elevator up, resulting in a pitch-up of the nose; pushing the control stick forward moves the elevator down, raising the tail and pitching down the nose.
Turn and slip indicator
The turn and slip indicator combines two indicators into one instrument to enable the pilot to perform coordinated turns. The turn needle is moved by a gyro that reacts to the yawing motion of the aircraft as it turns. The rate of turn is indicated by the amount of needle deflection with a standard rate (3° per second) turn marked by alignment with a doghouse. The ball is an inclinometer that displays the balance between gravity and centripetal acceleration. The ball is centered during coordinated flight and is displaced from center during a potentially dangerous skid or slip.
What advantages are provided by flap extension during landings?
Producing greater lift and permitting lower landing speed; producing greater drag, permitting a steeper descent angle without airspeed increase; reducing the length of the landing roll.
What color are airport taxiway edge lights?
Taxiway edge lights are blue and are used to outline the edges of taxiways during periods of darkness or restricted visibility conditions.
What effect does the collective control have on the rotor system?
The collective pitch control alters the pitch of the main rotor blades equally and simultaneously by lifting or lowering the swashplate.
Rudder
A moveable primary flight surface mounted on the trailing edge of an airplane’s vertical fin.
Bernoulli Principle
Within a horizontal flow of fluid, points of faster fluid speed will experience less pressure than points of slower fluid speed.
MEW
Manufacturer’s Empty Weight - the total weight of the aircraft as it was built. Does not include the weight of baggage, passengers, or either usable or unusable fuel or fluids.
OEW
Operating Empty Weight - is the MEW plus the weight of the crew, fluids, unusable fuel, and the equipment required for flight. Does not include baggage, passengers, or usable fuel.
AUW or AGW
All-Up Weight or Aircraft Gross Weight - the total aircraft weight at any given moment during flight. The AUW decreases as fuel and fluids are consumed during the operation of the flight.
MLW
Maximum Landing Weight - an aircraft’s weight limit for landing. Exceeding this weight increases stress on the landing gear and may affect the distance required for a safe landing.
MZFW
Maximum Zero Fuel Weight - the permissible weight of an aircraft with its contents and included unusable fuel. The total MZFW excludes the weight of usable fuel on board and any consumable fluids.
MTOW
Maximum Takeoff Weight - an aircraft’s weight limit for takeoff. Exceeding this limit increases the power required for takeoff, lengthens the runway distance needed for a successful lift off, and places excess stress on the aircraft structure.
MRW
Maximum Ramp Weight - the weight limit for an aircraft to taxi or be towed on the ground.
Flight Envelope
Encompasses the limits of speed, altitude, and angle of attack required by any aircraft to maintain a stable flight.
Downwash
A downward deflection of air as it passed over the end of the wing, or over the end of a helicopter rotor blade. This helps produce lift.
