Aviation for Girls is a special annual member publication of Women in Aviation International for Girls in Aviation Day. Articles feature young girls living their aviation dreams, career ideas, and education resources.
Issue link: http://afgdigital.epubxp.com/i/742227
L ike many industries, aviation has many special terms and ab- breviations that are commonly used and understood by pilots, mechan- ics, and other aviation profession- als. If you're new to aviation, they might not make sense the first time you hear them. We tried to take some of the mystery out of it all with this simple glossary of terms you might have seen in this issue of Aviation for Girls. aerospace engineering the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft airframe the body of an aircraft astronautics the science and technology of human space travel and exploration avionics electronic equipment fitted in an aircraft cockpit A compartment for the pilot and sometimes also the crew in an aircraft or spacecraft commercial aviation the part of civil aviation (both general aviation and scheduled airline service) that involves operating aircraft for hire to transport passengers or cargo composite material a material made from two or more con- stituent materials with significantly dif- ferent physical or chemical properties that, when combined, produce a mate- rial with characteristics different from the individual components corporate aviation the use of aircraft by companies for the transport of passengers or goods for business purposes dispatchers communications personnel responsi- ble for receiving and transmitting pure and reliable messages, tracking air- planes and equipment, and recording other important information FAA Federal Aviation Administration, the national aviation authority in the United States FBO fixed-base operator, a business granted the right by an airport to provide services such as fueling, hangar space, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, maintenance, etc. flight deck another word for cockpit fly-in a meeting for pilots who arrive by air general aviation civil aviation operations other than scheduled air services and non- scheduled air transport operations for hire left seat the pilot-in-command's seat in an aircraft load factor the ratio between the lift and weight of an aircraft major airline The U.S. Department of Transportation defines a major airline as a U.S.-based airline that posts more than $1 billion in revenue during a fiscal year. Examples of major airlines include American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines, etc. national airspace system the airspace, navigation facilities, and airports of the United States along with their associated information, services, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, personnel, and equipment NextGen an umbrella term for the ongoing, wide-ranging transformation of the United States' national airspace system powerplant the engine or other apparatus that provides power for an airplane preflight a walkaround inspection of an aircraft prior to takeoff regional airline airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract major airline service riveting to join or fasten (metal or other material) with a rivet solo to fly an aircraft unaccompanied, typically used in reference to the first flight a pilot flies without an instructor during training type rating certification of a pilot to fly a certain aircraft type that requires training beyond the scope of the initial certificate and aircraft class training unmanned aircraft system commonly known as a drone — an aircraft without a human pilot aboard Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) the first women in history trained to fly American military aircraft Aviator Speak