Glossary of Aviation Terms:

 

Air Traffic Controllers:

Air Traffic Controllers are ground based personnel responsible for coordinating, directing, and guiding airplanes through their landing and takeoff procedures. They also monitor weather systems that can affect planes and ensure safe travel once planes are airborne.

Avionics:

Avionics refers to the electronic control systems airplanes use for flight such as communications, autopilots, and navigation.

FAA:

The Federal Aviation Administration is an agency of the United States government that oversees and regulates all civilian aviation in the country. One of its primary duties is coordinate air traffic control for the thousands of flights that crisscross the country each day.

Flight Plan:

A flight plan is filed with the FAA before a flight and generally includes basic information such as departure and arrival points and times, alternate airports, pilots name, and number of passengers.

General Aviation:

General aviation is a term used to describe all non-military and non-airline aviation.

Global Positioning System:

Global Positioning System, or GPS, is a satellite naviation system that used to determine location. Pilots use this feature to know where their plane's location is relative to its destination, weather patterns, and even other planes.

Hub and Spoke Airline:

A hub and spoke airline is a type or airline that operates several routes (spokes) out of a central location (hub). An airline can have many "hubs" throughout the country, as this allows more flexibility in the routes and locations covered.

Instrument Rating:

An instrument rating means that a person is a pilot qualified to operate a specific type of airplane under adverse conditions such as darkness, bad weather, and poor visibility.

NTSB:

The National Transportation and Safety Board is an agency of the United States government that investigates aviation, highways and marine accidents in the country. The Congress of the United States charged the agency to oversee any aviation accidents.

Pilot Certificate:

This is term for the approval of a person to operate an aircraft in the United States. There are many levels of certificates, but all require hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars of training.

Private Aviation:

Private aviation is a term used to cover all civilian aviation. Private, airline, cargo, and support flights fall into this category.

Taxiing:

Taxiing is the process by which an airplane moves on the ground, typically for takeoff or parking positions. Not every aircraft can steer its wheels, and powerful jet engines can damage nearby structures, so taxiing is often performed by powerful ground cars.

Turbine:

A turbine is a type of engine found on many large planes that uses compressed air to generate thrust to spin a metal shaft inside the motor. Turbines are vital components in jet engines.

 

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