TRAINING TALK - A GLOSSARY

Aerobatics: Flight that commonly involves barrel rolls, spins, and other high-performance maneuvers.

Aileron: A movable surface on the back of the wings that changes the roll of the airplane.

Airfoil: A curved body, such as a wing, that causes lift when air moves over it.

Airline Transport Pilot: A pilot who has completed Transport Canada's requirements for the Airline Transport Licence, including a minimum of 1,500 hours of flight time and passing two knowledge exams. Allows a pilot to act as pilot-in-command of an aircraft that carries more than 18 people.

Airworthy: The state of being capable of flight, usually referring to an airplane's mechanical condition.

Avionics: The radios and navigation instruments.

Check Ride: The "driver's test" a pilot takes in the airplane to earn a certificate or rating. Also known as the Practical Test or Flight Test.

Commercial Pilot: A pilot who has completed Transport Canada's requirements for the commercial licence, including a minimum of 200 hours of flight time and passing a knowledge exam and flight test.

Currency: Meeting the legal requirements to exercise the pilot licence. Usually, it requires a certain number of hours of flight time over a given period of time.

Dead ("Ded") Reckoning: Also known as Deductive Reckoning, a method of navigation that requires a pilot to fly a certain direction for a certain time at a certain speed to reach a destination a known distance away.

Elevators: Moveable sections of the tail that pitch the nose up or down.

Flaps: The movable section of the wing that increases lift and drag and allows for slower, steeper descents during landing.

Flight computer: A manual slide rule or electronic calculator used to determine wind correction, fuel consumption, airspeed, and other performance calculations during flight planning.

Flight Test: A review of flying skills and aviation knowledge conducted by a flight instructor at the issue of a rating or license.

Global Positioning System (GPS): An array of stationary satellites that allows users to locate their exact position on the earth.

Horizontal stabilizers: The horizontal sections of the tail that include the elevators.

Instrument flight rules (IFR): A flight solely by reference to the cockpit instruments during low visibility or bad weather.

Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC): Weather that includes reduced visibility and cloud ceilings that require a pilot to fly by reference to his or her cockpit instruments.

Logbook: A register book that lists a pilot's flight time, instructor endorsements, and completed training topics.

Main Gear: The landing gear underneath the fuselage of the aircraft; usually under the cockpit.

Medical Certificate: A legal document issued by an aviation doctor stating a pilot is physically fit to fly. A valid medical certificate is required to be in the possession of the pilot during all flights.

Multi-engine Aircraft: An aircraft with two or more engines.

Nose Gear: The landing gear nearest the nose of the aircraft in a tricycle-gear airplane.

Pilotage: Navigating by reference to a map and visible landmarks.

Pitch: The up and down movement of the aircraft's nose about the center of gravity.

Practical Exam: The "driver's test" a new pilot takes in the airplane to earn a pilot certificate. Also known as a "check ride" or "flight test".

Private Pilot: A pilot who has completed Transport Canada's requirements for the private license, including a minimum of 45 hours of flight time and passing a knowledge exam and flight test.

Recurrent Training: Annual or semi-annual training used to refresh a pilot's knowledge and skills in a variety of flight situations, including in-flight emergencies.

Regional Airline: A commuter airline.

Roll: The rotation of the airplane around its nose-to-tail axis.

Rudder: Section of the tail that moves the nose to the left or right. Rudder pedals: Foot pedals in the cockpit that control the rudder, brakes, and steering of the aircraft.

Stability: The ability of an aircraft to return to level flight on its own after the controls are moved.

Tailwheel Airplane: An airplane with a small wheel underneath the tail of the aircraft, and two larger wheels under the wings. Also called "conventional gear" aircraft.

Type Rating: A rating to a pilot's certificate that states he or she is able to fly a particular type of sophisticated or large aircraft, such as a Piper Navajo or a Learjet.

Uncontrolled Airport: An airport without air traffic control; pilots fly into and out of these airport using standard operating procedures to avoid one another.

Unimproved Airport: An airport with runways made of grass, dirt, or gravel, instead of concrete or asphalt.

Vertical Stabilizers: The upright portion of the aircraft's "tail."

Visual Flight: A flight made by referencing the horizon and other outside landmarks.