Definitions

Airport or Autopilot.

Air to Ground Missile

Area of Intense Aerial Activity, usually military

Air Intercept Missile

Air attack against the enemy's Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence nodes, key production facilities, and transportation infrastructure - in other words, against his homeland, national interests, resources and war-making capacity. The objectives of an Air Strike campaign can range from sustained attacks to destroy the war potential of an enemy nation, to a single strike as an expression of political will.

Aircraft operating in the air or on an airport surface.

Part of the a/c surface which is extended during flight to create extra drag and therefore reduce airspeed.

The Aircraft Captain is to be responsible for the safety of the aircraft and occupants over land and water. In any aircraft in which instruction is being, the flying instructor is the aircraft captain. Responsibilities of Aircraft Captains: Before flight the a/c captain is to file a flight plan for the a/c and to sign for responsibility for the a/c frame and components. After flight the a/c captain is to record any defect or unserviceability he has noticed in flight and report this to the officer in charge. (From Australian Army Flight manual)

TAS = True Air Speed, IAS = Indicated Air Speed

Angle of Attack or AOA

Abbreviation for Altitude in feet.The device which displays altitude to the pilot is called the Altimeter.

Aerodrome specified on a flight plan to which an aircraft chooses to divert if a landing at its intended destination is not possible (for reasons of poor weather for example).

Barometric Altimeter | It displays your attitude above sea level (ASL).That is why is is particularly important to make a note of the runway altitude before takeoff. Radar Altimeter / AGL (Above ground Level) lndicator.

Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile. A fire-and-forget weapon. Once the missile has been released you are free to manoeuvre.

Electronic system in which quantities are represented by variations in electrical signals (i.e by electrical analogues)

Altitude expressed as 1,000's of feet. e.g. Angels 3 = 3,000 ft

Also known as alpha.The angular difference between the wing and the direction of the airflow.Represented on the HUD by the difference between the FDI and the FPI. Most important to monitor during landing and any low speed flight.

Downward angle of wing or tailplane. e.g. Look at the tailerons on the F-4G Phantom.

Armoured Personnel Carrier. e.g. M-113 Often seen in base security detachments at US Air Force and Marine bases.

AirSpeed Indicator, a flight instrument which measures the speed of an aircraft through the air.

Above Sea Level

Air to Surface Missile

Ratio of the wingspan to the wing area, expressed as span squared divided by wing area.

Air-Sea Rescue. (see SAR) This role is usually fulfilled by helicopters, e.g. SH-60

Advanced Short Range Air to Air Missile, replacement for the AIM-9 series, underdevelopment.

Air Traffic Control. These guys will give you clearance to take-off and land.

Every flight is to be authorised by the commanding officer of the unit concerned.

System which takes control of an aircraft, relieving pilot workload. There are many different types of a/p. The Most basic will hold altitude and heading. If linked to an INS, the a/p can fly the a/c via preprogrammed altitude, air'speeds and headings to a predetermined point in space.

Refers to unpowered flight in a helicopter, usually in a downward direction!

All Up Weight.The total loaded weight of an aircraft. Note that the LOAD ORDNANCE screen will not let tou take off if your AUW exceeds the allowed figure.

the rotor (on the tail boom ) of a helicopter which counteracts the tendency of the main (lifting ) rotor to yaw the a/c.

Airborne Warning and Control System. Also see HVAA and LDHD.

Flying Badges and Military Symbols

Bearing or direction in the horizontal plane.

This device controls the alt readouts on your HUD.It shows altitude above sea level.

A very tight 180 degree turn (as executed by the Batmobile or F-16).

Battle of Britain. A 6 week period of intense British versus German air activity during World War 2, at the conclusion of which Hitler's plans for invasion of Britain were deferred.

Close Air Support - Suppress, delay or interrupt the activities of enemy ground forces.

Fuel State at which Return To Base (RTB) must be initiated..

Collision with a feathered friend..

Built in Test, self testing systems fitted to most modem avionics..

Enemy a/c.

Bearing, range, altitude of enemy a/c.

Touch and go carrier deck landing, usually executed because of a bad approach or missing the arrestor wires.

Thin layer of slower moving air which tends to cling to the skin of an aircraft.

Bull Shxt, opposite of Sierra Hotel.

Bearing, the horizontal direction to or from any point expressed in degrees of the compass..

Depart the area.

Beyond Visual Range.Weapons such as AMRAAM and PHOENIX are BVR missiles..

Ratio of total volume of air passing through the engine to that passing through the core section.

Command, Control and Communications. Disrupting the enemy's C3 network degrades his capacity to wage war. Typical targets include Command bunkers, radar and communication installations.

Nitrogen narcosis - "the bends".

A smaller, forward wing. As seen on the Eurofighter, Rafale, Saab JAS-39

The clear acrylic cockpit covering through which the pilot views the world.For the pilot driving a Per-sonal Computer, this translates to your monitor screen.Keep it clean and keep those greasy fingertips off! Make sure to use a soft cloth dampened with a suitable glass cleaning product. A clean canopy can be a life or death matter to any pilot, especially in combat. A MiG-21 coming head-on at 3 miles will be the size of a raindrop on your canopy. A missile is even smaller. Moral of the story, don't dogfight in the rain and keer) the canopy clean!.

Combat Air Patrol. Subspecies are: TARCAP, BARCAP, RESCAP.

North, South, East and West. see Compass Headings.

Carrier Qualifications.

Close Air Support.

Calibrated Airspeed -- indicated air-speed corrected for air density and compressibility..

Catapult launching system as found on the Eisenhower and Clemencau class carriers..

Cluster Bomb Unit, Dispenses hundreds of submunitions. Effective against soft-skinned targets such as trucks, personnel. Largely ineffective against armour..

Carrier Control Approach.

Compass Heading.

Expected time over ramp.

Visual check of the a/c rear quadrant, specifically for enemy a/c.

Pattern around which aircraft fly when arriving at an airfield, usual rectangular and left handed.

Authorization from air traffic control to proceed as requested or instructed.Used for ground and air manoeuvring, thus "cleared for take-off", "cleared flight-planned route", "cleared to descend" etc.

An analog with a sweep second hand is preferred. The INS provides a countdown function to the next waypoint on the HUD..

Communication - Navigation - Identification.

Commanding Officer

Communication(s).

North = 360 or 000, South = 180, East = 090, West = 270

Cathode Ray Tube cathode ray (television) tube. Used in flight deck displays of new-generation airliners, business aircraft and military jets instead of conventional instruments..

Aircraft Carrier.

Dissimilar Air Combat Training.

The minimum height at which an overshoot must be initiated if a landing is not assured..

Oil refineries, supply depots, command and communication entres, munition factories, military bases. These missions usually follow a high-low-high profile: 1. High altitude - to conserve fuel, possible air- refuelling. 2. Low attitude - to avoid detection and interception. 3. High altitude - egress.

The point at which an a/c goes out of control (Departure from controlled flight).

This readout shows your altitude above sea level in feet. see HUD..

Distance Measuring Equipment.

Radar mode using Doppler Shift to determine range information.

Doppler effect (or shift) is the change in frequency of light, radio or sound waves when source and receiver are in relative motion..

Dead (deduced) Reckoning.Plotting position by calculating the effect of speed, cour'se, time and wind against last known position..

The captain of an a/c is to arrange before takeoff a clear and easily understood drill for handing over control of the a/c.."

Estimated Approach Time, see Charlie Time.

Electronic Counter-Counter-Measuses.

Electronic Counter-Measures.

Engine Failure After Take-Off refer to FLAME OUT checklist.

F-15 pilots.

F16 Falcon aka "lawn dart"

Emission Control Refers to a flight during which the a/c emits no radiation. e.g. VHF or UHF transmissions, Radar, ECM.

Estimated Time of Arrival.

Forward Air Control.

Familiarisation (as in FAM Flight).

Going all-out for aerial victory.

Fly-By-Wire (Computer flight control system).

Forward Edge of the Battle Area.

Final approach.That part of the Landing procedure in which the aircraft has made its final turn and is inbound to the active runway.system..

Control surface doubling as flap and aileron.

Before flight the a/c captain is to file a flight plan for the a/c and to sign for responsibility for the a/c frame and components. After flight the a/c captain is to record any defect or unserviceability he has noticed in flight and report this to the officer in charge..

Forward Looking lnfra Red.

Frequency Modulated.

Foreign Object Damage to turbine blades through iingestion of runway debris etc..

Pilot call on launching a Radar Guided AIM.

Pilot call on launching a Phoenix AIM.

Pilot call on launching an lnfra Red Guided AIM.

Feet per minute, a measure of an aircraft's ROC rate of climb or ROD rate of descent.

A multi a/c engagement.

Gravity - the acceleration force due togravity.Use as a measure of the accelerative vectors a pilot can experience during manoeuvering an a/c. We may define three main areas of g-force :. 0 - 3 G | G experienced by pilots during standard turns in most combat jets. NEGATIVE 3G will induce a "red-out" due to bursting capillaries in the eyeballs. 4 G | Experienced during break turns, e.g. on a fast jet circuit pattern. An average pilot will lose consciousness (Black-out) after 10 seconds at 4 g. The onset of blackout can be delayed by 'hunching', bracing the stomach muscles and grunting.This is known as the L-1 Manoeuver. 5 - 9 G | For emergency use only, e.g. during ACM. More than a few seconds will induce g-locG loadings of 5 - 9 g should be reserved for emergency manoeuvers such as break turns.

g-induced loss of consciousness. Pilot blackout caused by excessive g or by too-rapid onset of g-forces.

Maximum Power.

Ground Controlled Approach.

Ground Controlled Intercept.

Apparent movement of the radar Centre of a target.

A lucky hit in air to air gunnery.

Rolling the a/c to check for attacks from the belly side.

High-Speed-Anti-Radiation-Missile.

Mock dogfight.

The pilot's brain.

A racetrack-shaped manoeuvre which keeps aircraft within a specified airspace while awaiting further clearance from air traffic control..

Hands On Throttle and Stick. A concept of allowing the pilot to control most of the a/c systems without having to take his hands off the throttle and stick.First saw major development in the F-15 Eagle.

Head-Up-Display. Information relevant to the pilot which is projected onto a glass lens in the pilot's field of view.

Control for adjusting the brightness of the HUD.This is particularly useful when flying at night or in bad weather.

A text abbreviation on the HUD displaying status of a particular aircraft system.Examples are WEAPON DISCRETES, TARGETING DISCRETES..

Hurricane, classic World War 2 British fighter plane.

"High Value Airborne Assets or "High Value Assets" refers to any important bird that must be protected. AWACS is the the number one guy there because without it, a lot of the airwar is blinded. But HVAA can refer to a lot of birds such as tankers. Also see - LDHD - (MiGMan thanks Spike Morley, USAF.)

Oxygen-deprivation, usually occurs at over 10,000 ft altitude.

Indicated Air Speed.

Identification Friend or Foe.

Instrument Flight Rules, flying purely by reference to instruments..

Instrument Landing System.

Inertial Navigation System. An onboard system which uses gyroscopes, (either mechanical or laser) to sense acceleration and deceleration and compute current position.The system needs a known starting point to be entered prior to flight.

Initial Point. The location chosen to set up an attack run on a ground target.

lnfra Red.

Jet Petroleum.

"Have radar contact and am taking over intercept".

An intense aerial engagement.

One nautical mile per hour hour, the standard unit of aviation speed measurement.One knot equals 1. 1 515 mph; one nautical mile equals 6,080 feet..

Knots (Nautical mile).

Tensing the body and grunting to counter G- force.

" While HVAA is not not an out of date term, it's been largely replaced by the term Low Density High Demand (LDHD). This refers to the fact that there aren't a lot of them to go around, but they are in great demand for whatever situations develop. It's a good reminder to those putting the battle together to plan wisely. When it was first developed during the Cold War, the E-3 was not very advanced, and was thusly sent out to warn and control fighters in on Soviets coming over the North Pole. As the jet evolved, it has now taken on the role of managing the air battlefield, where Command would actually be a better term. Nevertheless, the Control part of the word will remain with the title." MiGMan thanks Spike Morley, USAF.

Imaginary cone-shaped area centered on the a/c exhaust, from which most IR missile and gun attacks are launched.

Leading Edge Extension of the wing root.

Laser Guided Bomb.

Radar concentrating on target in the attack mode..

Landing Signals Officer

Speed of sound, or abbreviation of Mach Number.

Speed stated as a function of the local speed of sound.

International radio distress call (from the French, m'aidez -- help me).

Mirror Landing system as seen from glidesiope.

Multiple Ejection Rack.

The point where two radar blips merge.

Meteorology, weather.

Multi Function Display.

Full military power.

Meals Ready to Eat (or Meals Rejected by Everybody).

Mean Time Between Failures.

Air-to-surface attack specialists.

Naval Air Station.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Navigation Mode. A setting which displays navigation information to the pilot..

nautical mile.

Nap of earth. Low flying, usually by the military, using contour-flying techniques and terrain-masking to avoid being seen.

Notices To Airmen. These are notices issued by the authorities. Pilots should check the NOTAM board before EACH flight. The NOTAMs will cover: Information relative to maps and charts. Information on restricted and prohibited areas. Information of general value to aircrew and ATC officer's. Format of NOTAMS: A) Location, NOTAM number, subject area (AD= aerodromes, PRD= prohibited, restricted, danger areas, DOC= documents). B) Commencent date/ time. C) Completion date/ time. D) Hour's of Activation. E) Message. F) Lower limit. G) Upper Limit.

Ejection.

NATO designation for a type of Soviet IFF aerial system.

Sequence of pilot's observational processes: Observation - Orientation - Decision - Action.

The pilot of an a/c is to declare it u/s as soon as possible after any incident involving overspeed.

Closing speed irrespective of relative headings.

Non- emitting sensors.

An all-weather laser designating weapons delivery system.

PERIOD OF OPERATION OF AN AIRCRAFT: 1. Stationary 2. Taxi / Hover 3. Take-off 4. In Flight 5. Landing

Rupture of capillaries during high-G manoeuver-s, also known as "Fighter Pilot Measles".

The 4 main forces acting on an a/c in flight are. 1: LIFT | Lift (Bernoulli's Principle) As an aircraft wing moves through the air, the air must flow around the wing. Due to the different shape of the upper and lower surface of the wing, the air above the wing has to travel a further distance than the air below the wing. This results in lower air pressure above the wing. Nature moves quickly to equalise the pressures, with the result being an upward vector of force. If the total lift generated by the aircraft wings is greater than the total a/c weight, then the a/c will climb. 2: DRAG - 2 types - Parasitic and Induced. 3: THRUST - Action = Reaction. 4: WEIGHT - All mass exerts an attractive force to all other mass. Since the earth has a great mass, it draws smaller masses, such as aircraft, towards it. We call this attraction of Gravity. The measure of that we call Weight. From the pilot's perspective it means Gravity is pulling his aircraft in downwards direction.If the Lift is Greater than the Weight, the aircraft will stay aloft.

Pilot-induced Oscillation. An undulating flight pathbrought about by over-controlling.

Navigation system failure.

Vertical movement or angle of a/c longitudinal a)Cis.

20 miles and 5,000 ft alt from Landing on carrier.

Pulse Repetition Frequency.

Part Task Trainer.

Anxiety increase.

Eject.

Qualified Flying Instructor.

Quick Reaction Alert.

Royal Australian Air Force.

Radar Detection and Ranging.

Royal Air Force.

A turn of 3 degrees per second. The a/c will therefore turn 1 80 degrees in 60 seconds and 90 degrees in 30 seconds.This is the standard rate of turn. Standard Turn 3 degrees per second = 180 deg in 60 secs. 90 deg in 30 secs. 360 deg in 120 sees. Use a stopwatch or the sweep hand on a wrist watch to time your turns.

Radio.

Tactical exercises held at Nellis AFB, near Las Vegas.

Rescue Air Patrol.

Radio Frequency.

Radar Intercept Officer.

Remark(s).

Area navigation. A system of radio navigation which permits direct point-to-point off- airways navigation by means of an on-boar'd computer creating phantom VOR/DME transmitter's termed waypoints.

Remotely Piloted Vehicle.

Read the Fxxxxxg Manual

A strike mission with the objective of reducing enemy air activities. A/c are usually dispersed in hardened shelters, neccesitating multiple attacks to destroy.Even the most severe runway cratering can usually be fixed within hours.Add to this the fact that anti-air defenses are at their most dense around airbases. As British Tornado pilots found during the Gulf War, airfield attacks are at best a risky business!

Radar Warning Receiver.

Runway.

Receiver.

Strategic Air Command.

Surface to Air Missile.

Search and Rescue.

Semi-Active Radar Homing.

SAR satellite.

Standard Instrument Departure. A standard IFR departure route enabling air traffic controllers to issue abbreviated clearances and thus speed the flow of traffic.

Shxt Hot, a laudatory apellation.

An airport closed to air traffic by bad weather..

Standard Operating Procedure.

All- moving one piece tailplane.

10 degree climb. Technique : Momentarily pull the stick about 1/3 to indicate 2 1/2 degrees AOA and then relax pressure on the stick until the FDI and the FPI settle on the 1 0 degrees PITCH BAR.

Short Take-Off and Landing. Also VTOL, vertical take-off and landing; V/STOL, verbcal/short take-off and landing.

Short Take-Off, Vertical Landing.

Single Target Track (air combat radar mode).

The capability of sustaining supersonic flight without the use of afterburner.

Modem mechanised armies are very dependent on POL Petroleum, Oil, Lubricants) supplies. Most common supply routes are Railways, Roads, Shipping and Air transport. "Choke Points" should be targeted.

Tactical Air Navigation.

Tailplanes with differential movement to provide roll control.

True Air Speed.

Air Combat is not an end in itself. The role of Air Power is to support surface forces in their military objectives and prevent the enemy from disrupting friendly operations. This sometimes requires engaging enemy air forces but these encounter's should be seen in context and not regarded as an end in themself.

Temporary Duty.

Triple Ejection Rack.

Tactical Fighter Squadron.

Tactical Fighter Wing.

Take-off.

Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided. An anti-tank missile used by helicopter and ground forces..

Arrested Landing.

Unserviceable ( not working).

Up- Front Controller.

Ultra High Frequency.

United States Air Force.

Decision speed, at which it must be decided whether or not to continue the takeoff.

Visual Display Unit.

Loss of balance.

Visual Flight Rules. Defined as five miles visibility or more and 1,000 feet vertical and one nautical mile horizontal clearance from cloud.

Very High Frequency.

Visual Identification, also called a VIZ.

Visual Identification.

Vertical Take-Off and Landing.

Disturbed air left behind a moving a/c.

The LSO wants you to abort the landing attempt due to a bad approach or fouled deck.

Navigation point - A predefined navigation point entered into the a/c nav computer

A derogatory appellation, opposite of "Shxt Hot"

WayPoint

Weapons System Operator

Transmit

Movement of the fuselage in the horizontal plane

Formerly Greenwich Mean Time, now Coordinated Universal Time