Airport Vocabulary

ABOVE GROUND LEVEL: The height of an aircraft above the surface of the earth.

AIRBORNE: Supported by only aerodynamic forces.

AIRBUS: An airplane designed for mass transportation of passengers. Usually an extremely large, short range airplane.

AIRCOACH: A commercial airplane with first-class and coach accommodations.

AIRLINE: A system or company for moving passengers and freight by aircraft.

AIRPLANE: A mechanically driven, fixed-wing aircraft, heavier than air that is kept in the air by the aerodynamic forces of air as it is driven forward by a propeller or jet propulsion.

AIRPOCKET: An atmospheric condition that causes an aircraft to make a sudden, short drop while in flight.

AIRPORT: A tract of land or water for the landing and takeoff of aircraft. Facilities for shelter, supply, and repair are usually found there.

AIRSCREW: An airplane propeller.

AIRSHIP: Any self-propelled aircraft that is lighter than air and can be steered. (blimp)

AIRSICK: Sick or nauseated from travelling in an aircraft.

AIRSPACE: The space extending upward above an area of the earth's surface.

AIRSPEED: The speed of an aircraft compared to the air through which it moves rather than to the ground speed.

AIRSTREAM: The relative stream of air existing around an aircraft in flight around an aircraft in flight or passing through its jets.

AIRSTRIP: A hard surface area, adapted for use as a temporary airstrip.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC): A coordinated system designed to manage air traffic around airports safely, along flight routes, etc.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER (ATCT): The air traffic control facility located on an airport and responsible for traffic separation within the immediate vicinity of an airport as well as on the surface of an airport.

ALTITUDE: The vertical distance from a given level(sea level) to an aircraft in flight.

ATTITUDE: Position of an airplane compared to the horizon.

AMBIENT NOISE: The totality of noise in a given place and time; usually a composite of sounds from varying sources at varying distances.

CEILING: Height above ground of cloud base.

CHART: An aeronautical map showing information of use to the pilot in going from one place to another.

COMPASS: An instrument indicating direction.

DAY-NIGHT AVERAGE SOUND LEVEL (DNL): A noise measure used to describe average aircraft noise levels over a 24-hour period, typically an average day over the course of a year. DNL penalized aircraft operations that occur between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. by 10 decibels to account for the increased annoyance when ambient noise levels are lower and people are trying to sleep. DNL may be determined for individual locations or expressed in noise contours. DNL is currently the accepted measure for aircraft noise analysis.

DECIBEL (dB): Sound is measured by its pressure or energy in terms of decibels. The decibel scale is logarithmic; when the scale goes up by ten, the perceived sound is two times as loud.

DELAY: The difference, in minutes, between the scheduled time and actual time of an aircraft arrival or departure. For airport planning purposes, it is often expressed as an annual average delay per aircraft operation (in minutes).

DRAG: The component of the total air force on a body parallel to relative wind and opposite to thrust.

ELEVATION: The height above sea level of a given land prominence, such as airports, mountains, etc.

ELEVATORS: Control surfaces hinged to the horizontal stabilizer which control the pitch of the airplane, or the position of the nose of the airplane relative to the horizon.

ENGINE: The part of the airplane that provides power, or propulsion, to pull the airplane through the air.

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA): The Federal Agency responsible for insuring the safe and efficient use of the Nation's airspace, for fostering civil aeronautics and air commerce, and for supporting the requirements of national defense. The activities required to carry out these responsibilities include: safety regulations, airspace management and the establishment, operation, and maintenance of a system of air traffic control and navigation facilities; research and development in support of the fostering of a national system of airports, promulgation of standards and specifications for civil airports, and administration of Federal grants-in-aid for developing public airports; various joint and cooperative activities with the Department of Defense; and technical assistance (under U.S. State Department auspices) to other countries.

FIN: A vertical attachment to the tail of an aircraft that provides directional stability. Same as vertical stabilizer.

FLAPS: Hinged or pivoted airfoils forming part of the trailing edge of the wing and used to increase lift at reduced air speeds.

FLEET MIX: The mix of different types of aircraft operating at a specific airport.

FLIGHT CREW: The crew of an airplane while in flight.

FORCE: A push or pull exerted on an object.

FUSELAGE: The streamlined body of an airplane to which are fastened the wings and tall.

GRAVITY: Force toward the center of the earth.

HANGAR: Building on the airport in which airplanes are stored or sheltered.

INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (IMC): Weather conditions expressed in terms of visibility, distance from clouds, and cloud ceilings during which all aircraft are required to operate using instrument flight rules (IFR).

INTEGRATED NOISE MODEL (IMN): A computer model developed, updated and maintained by the FAA to predict the noise impacts generated by aircraft operations.

KNOT: A measure of speed, one knot being one nautical mile per hour.

LAND: The acts of making the airplane descend, lose flying speed, and make contact with the ground or water, thus ending the flight.

LANDING GEAR: The understructure of an airplane which supports the airplane on land or water: wheels, skis, or pontoons. Retractable gear folds up into the airplane in flight. Gear that does not retract is called "fixed".

LIFT: An upward force caused by the rush of air over the wings, supporting the airplane in flight.

NOISE CONTOUR MAP: A map representing average annual noise levels summarized by lines connecting points of equal noise exposure.

OPERATION: A takeoff or a landing. Every flight requires two operations, a takeoff and a landing.

PILOT: Person who controls the airplane.

PRECIPITATION: Rain, snow, sleet, etc.

PROPELLER: An airfoil that an engine turns to provide the thrust, pulling the airplane through the air.

RADAR: Beamed radio waves for detecting and locating objects. The objects are "seen" on the radar screen or scope.

RUDDER: Control surface hinged to the back of the vertical fin.

RUNWAY: A surface or area on the airport designated for airplanes to take off and land.

SINGLE EVENT: An occurrence of audible noise, usually above a specified minimum noise level, caused by an intrusive source such as an aircraft overflight, passing train or ship's horn.

SOUND: Sound is the result of a sound source vibration in the air. The vibration produces alternating bands of relatively dense and sparse particles of air, spreading outward from the source in the same way as ripples do on water after a stone is thrown into it. The result of the movement is fluctuation in the normal atmospheric pressure or sound waves.

SOUND EXPOSURE LEVEL (SEL): A measure of the physical energy of the noise event that takes into account both intensity and duration. Expressed in decibels (dB).

STALL: The reduction of speed to the point where the wing stops producing lift.

STREAMLINE: An object shaped to make air flow smoothly around it.

TAIL: The part of the airplane to which the rudder and elevators are attached. The tail has vertical and horizontal stabilizers to keep the airplane from turning about its lateral axis.

TAKEOFF: The part of the flight during which the airplane gains flying speed and becomes airborne.

TAXI: To operate an airplane under its own power, other than in actual take off or landing.

THRUST: Forward force.

TURN: Maneuver which the airplane makes changing its direction of flight.

VELOCITY: Speed

VISIBILITY: Distance toward the horizon that objects can be seen and recognized. Smoke, haze, fog, and precipitation hinder visibility.

WIND: Air in motion, important to aviation because it influences flight to a certain degree.

WING: Part of the airplane shaped like an airfoil and designed in such a way to provide lift when air flows over it.