Plane Anatomy and Abbreviations

ELT

Emergency Locator transmitter (found in tail section)

CFR

The regs, PPL operate under Title 14- Aeronautics and airspace

Fuselage

Wings attach to this, the main body

Airfoil

Shape of the wing, manipulates air to generate lift

Spar

Long bar that holds wing together (2)

Ribs

Spacers that hold shape of Airfoil

Stringer

Cords running lengthwise along wing and empennage, reinforce the skin and prevent it from buckling

Wing flap

Secondary control surface that increases lift and drag, allows plane to descend at steeper angles and fly slower without stalling

Aileron

Primary control surface, affects the roll of the plane

Empennage

Tail section, attached to fuselage

Longerons

Long horizontal bars throughout tail

Struts

Connect Longerons

Bulkhead

Keeps shape for fuselage

Rudder

Primary control surface on tail section, connected to vertical stabilizer, controls Yaw

Elevator

Primary control surface, controls pitch attached to horizontal stabilizer

Trim Tabs

Secondary Control surface, reduces pressure on yoke during sustained ascent / descent

Airspeed Indicator

Attitude Indicator

Climbing/Descending, Rolling

Altimeter

Altitude in FT

Vertical Speed Indicator (VSI)

Speed rising or falling

Heading Indicator

Compass

Turn Coordinator

Shows if plane is flying most efficient path while turning

VOR (VHF Omnidirectional Range)

Used for navigation, being replaced with GPS

Tachometer

Measures RPM

Spoilers

Used on larger aircraft, increase rate of descent without increasing airspeed

crank case

Foundation, what holds everything together and what you see first

Connecting arm

attaches piston to crank shaft

crank shaft

Connects to Propeller

EGT

Exhaust Gas Temperature, measures the heat energy of the burned gases leaving the cylinder a the exhaust manifold. Used to find the optimal leaning of the mixture.

CHT

Cylinder Head Temperature, measures the actual temperature of the metal surrounding the combustion chamber.

MAP

Manifold Pressure Guage, measures intake manifold pressure

Supercharger

Engine driven air compressor, decreases engine horsepower

Turbocharger

Turbine that turns as exhaust is pushed past, more efficient air compressor

Ammeter

Indicates if there is charge going to the battery or coming from the battery. + means battery is being charged, - means the alternator has failed

Loadmeter

Shows the load currently being drawn from source of power. Most aircraft don’t have this.

Lights-Landing

Wing light that illuminates runway

Lights- Beacon

Flashing red on tail

Lights-Strobe

Flashing white on wings and tail

Lights-Navigation

Red on left, Green on right, tail is solid white

1 ATM (Atmosphere) =

14.7 PSI (Pounds per Square inch)

ASI Markings

Stall Speed

the minimum airspeed at which an aircraft can maintain controlled, level flight. If the plane drops below this speed, the wings stop generating enough lift to support the aircraft's weight, leading to an aerodynamic stall

MSL

Mean Sea Level (Above Sea Level-as opposed to above Ground Level)

AGL

Above Ground Level (Specific to obstacle, Constantly changing)

Kollsman Window

Small dial on altimeter to change local barametric pressure, need to adjust so your altimeter reads correct reference point

Indicated Altitude

Altitude shown on Altimeter

True Altitude

Vertical distance of plane above sea level, expressed as feet above MSL

Absolute Altitude

Vertical difference above ground (AGL)

Pressure Altitude

Indicated altitude when set to standard day, AKA Altitude corrected for non-standard pressures

Density Altitude

Pressure Altitude corrected for non standard temperatures. How a plane “feels” performance-wise

Indicated Airspeed (IAS)

Displayed speed on ASI

Calibrated Airspeed (CAS)

IAS corrected for installation speed, found in calibration chart in plane’s manual, every plane is different.

True Airspeed (TAS)

CAS corrected for altitude and non-standard temperature. For a given CAS, as altitude increases so does TAS

Ground Speed

Actual speed over ground. Without wind, it is the same as TAS, with headwind it will decrease, tailwind increase

HSI

Horizontal Situation Indicator, receive magnetic info and don’t need to be reset like a Heading indicator

Turn and Slip Indicator

Old School, indicates only rate of yaw in degrees per second, uses inclinometer

Inclinometer

The small ball on the bottom of a turn coordinator or Turn and Slip indicator. Depicts yaw of plane, must kick the ball to maintain the most efficient flight path

Slip in vs Skid out

Just like drifting in a car, for every turn there is a most efficient path. However, if the rudder is out of place, the yaw will cause the plane to overshoot (Skid out) or undershoot (slip in) the correct trajectory.

EFD

Electronic Flight Display, another acronym encompassing both PFD and MFD

Variation

Compass error showing the difference between True North and Magnetic North measured in degrees. The Further away from Magnetic North = Greater Variation

Deviation

Compass Error- Depends on the magnetic field generated by the aircraft, reported on the compass correction card

Turning Error - North/South Heading

When turning into a north or south heading, the Compass will Lag (North) or lead (South), Remember OSUN

OSUN

Overshoot South, Undershoot North

Acceleration Error- East / West Heading

When Accelerating / Decelerating on E / W heading, compass is affected. Remember ANDS

ANDS

Accelerate North / Decelerate South, when on an E/W heading, changing the speed accordingly will turn the compass to either N/S

CG

Center of Gravity, the point at which if a string were attached the object would be at equilibrium

Relative wind

the direction of airflow created when an object moves through the air. It travels parallel to and in the exact opposite direction of the object's flight path, regardless of which way the object's nose is pointed.

leading edge, trailing edge

front of airfoil, back of airfoil

Mean chamber line

Line through middle of wing (Curved)

Chord Line

Straight line connecting the leading edge to the trailing edge

Angle of Attack

angle between chord line and relative wind, affects amount of lift and drag

Critical angle of attack

Stall angle

resultant force

perpendicular line to chord line

Blade angle

degree between chord line and plane of rotation

Parasite drag

Byproduct of flying through air, will increase with speed. 3 types (Form, Interference, skin)

Form Drag

Drag based on the shape of the object, such as a SUV vs a Ferrari

Interference Drag

Wing and Fuselage generate drag on their own, but combined they will generate more drag than the sum of their parts due to the nature of the connection. This is mitigated using farings

Skin Drag

Interference from air hitting the aircraft surface

Induced Drag

Increases as Airspeed Decreases, or angle of attack increases (naturally follows, since higher angle of attack will reduce speed)

V-glide

Commonly denoted as VG or VBG is the best glide speed. It is the specific airspeed at which an airplane covers the maximum horizontal distance forward for every unit of altitude lost in unpowered flight, providing the greatest gliding range during an engine failure or emergency

Wingtip Vortices

swirling, tornado-like masses of air that trail from the tips of an aircraft's wings. They form as an unavoidable byproduct whenever a wing generates lift, driven by high-pressure air below the wing spilling over the tip into the low-pressure area above.

Ground effect

That Cushion of air resulting from interference of the surface of the earth and airflow patterns about the airplane.