Aircraft Vocabulary – Key Terms

• air
• Wing
• Vertical Stabilizer
• Horizontal Stabilizer
• Jet Engine
• Rudder
• Elevator
• Flaps
• Aileron
• Spoiler
• Cockpit
• Fuselage (Body)
• Slats
• Propeller
• Landing Gear
• Slats (listed for emphasis)
• Registration samples and identifiers (as seen in slides):
  • G-JBTR
  • B-FING

Certification Categories – Seven Categories

There are seven categories of aircraft for airman certification:

• Airplane category
  • Single engine land or sea class
  • Multiengine land or sea class
• Rotorcraft category
  • Helicopter class
  • Gyroplane class
• Powered lift category
  • Glider category
• Lighter than air category
  • Airship class
  • Balloon class
• Powered parachute category
  • Weight-shift-control aircraft category
  • Land or Sea class

Certification Categories – Eight Categories

There are eight categories of aircraft for aircraft certification:

1. Normal category: Airplane, rotorcraft, glider, balloon, landplane and seaplane class
2. Utility category: Airplane, rotorcraft, glider, balloon, landplane and seaplane class
3. Acrobatic category: Airplane, rotorcraft, glider, balloon, landplane and seaplane class
4. Transport category: Airplane, rotorcraft, glider, balloon, landplane and seaplane class
5. Limited category: Airplane, rotorcraft, glider, balloon, landplane and seaplane class
6. Restricted category: Airplane, rotorcraft, glider, balloon, landplane and seaplane class
7. Experimental category: Airplane, rotorcraft, glider, balloon, landplane and seaplane class
8. Provisional: Airplane, rotorcraft, glider, balloon, landplane and seaplane class

AVB and Basic Classifications (Miscellaneous slides)

• AVB refers to broad classifications of aircraft terms:
  • Lighter than Air
  • Powered Lift
  • Glider
  • Airplane
  • Multiengine
  • Sea

# Sample Aircraft Terms and Examples (Selected from slides)

• -GHXP (notation/example used on slide)
• Piper PA-28R-200 Cherokee Arrow
• Airplane Single Engine Land

Balloon and Related References (Selected from slides)

• Balloon
• Airplane Multiengine Land
• BRITISH AIR

Weight Shift and Powered Parachute (Selected from slides)

• Weight Shift
• SPRMON
• SUPARN
• Barbour
• Powered Parachute

Special Aircraft Types (Selected from slides)

• Sportcopter
• Gyroplane
• Vortex
• Fairey FB-1 Gyrodyne

Sample Aircraft Identifiers and Travel Aircraft (Selected from slides)

• N560DS
• DA40
• Great for travelin
• ATPE
• N805AT
• Piper Seminole
• S

Airman Certification – Category? (Cross-reference from slides)

• GHXP (example identifier)
• Piper PA-28R-200 Cherokee Arrow
• Airplane Single Engine Land
• Rotorcraft
• Helicopter
• Glider

Aircraft Axes and Control Surfaces

• Pitching, Rolling, Yawing
• Axes:
  • Lateral axis
  • Longitudinal axis
  • Vertical axis
• Control Surfaces and Associated Axes:
  • Rudder — vertical axis control surface
  • Elevator — longitudinal axis control surface
  • Aileron — lateral axis control surface

Relative Wind, Speed Regimes, and Flight Path

• Relative Wind: the airflow relative to the aircraft
• Speed regimes mentioned:
  • Level high speed
  • Level cruise speed
  • Level low speed
• Flight Path: the actual trajectory through space as the aircraft moves
• Relative Wind (reiterated): direction and speed of airflow relative to the aircraft

Horizon, Wing Geometry, and Angle of Attack

• Horizon (orientation reference in flight visuals)
• Wing chord line (chord line of the wing)
• Pitch attitude (pitch orientation relative to horizon)
• Angle of Attack (AOA):
  • The angle between the wing chord line and the relative wind
  • Notation: $AOA = \angle(\text{Chord Line}, \text{Relative Wind})$
• Relative Wind and Flight Path interplay in attitude changes

Forces on an Aircraft (Fundamental Dynamics)

• Four primary aerodynamic forces:
  • Thrust
  • Lift
  • Weight
  • Drag
• In steady, level flight (typical flight condition), the balance of forces is:
  • $L = W$ (Lift equals Weight)
  • $T = D$ (Thrust equals Drag)
• These relationships govern how the aircraft maintains altitude and forward motion during different flight regimes