Planewords

Took the synopses provided by Wikipedia in a convenient, tidy list, good for printing as a quick reference guide.

Aileron: An aileron is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll, which normally results in a change in flight path due to the tilting of the lift vector. Movement around this axis is called 'rolling' or 'banking'.
Aileron Roll: The aileron roll is an aerobatic maneuver in which an aircraft does a full 360° revolution about its longitudinal axis. When executed properly, there is no appreciable change in altitude and the aircraft exits the maneuver on the same heading as it entered.
Aircraft: An aircraft is a machine that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. Common examples of aircraft include airplanes, helicopters, airships, gliders, and hot air balloons.
Airdrome: An airdrome is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither. Airdromes include small general aviation airfields, large commercial airports, and military airbases.
Airfoil: An airfoil is the shape of a wing or blade (of a propeller, rotor, or turbine). An airfoil-shaped body moved through a fluid produces an aerodynamic force. The component of this force perpendicular to the direction of motion is called lift. The component parallel to the direction of motion is called drag. Subsonic flight airfoils have a characteristic shape with a rounded leading edge, followed by a sharp trailing edge, often with a symmetric curvature of upper and lower surfaces.
Airplane: plane; An airplane is a powered, fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine or propeller.
Airport: An airport is an airdrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports often have facilities to store and maintain aircraft, and a control tower. An airport consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface, such as a runway for a plane to take off or a helipad, and often includes adjacent utility buildings such as control towers, hangars and terminals.
Airspace: Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere.
Air Traffic Control: Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airspace. The primary purpose of ATC worldwide is to prevent collisions, organize and expedite the flow of air traffic, and provide information and other support for pilots.
Barrel Roll: A barrel roll is an aerial maneuver in which an airplane makes a complete rotation on both its longitudinal and lateral axes, causing it to follow a helical path, approximately maintaining its original direction.
Buoyancy: upthrust; In physics, buoyancy is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of an immersed object.
Climb: ascent; A climb is the operation of increasing the altitude of an aircraft. It is also the logical phase of a typical flight following takeoff and preceding the cruise. During the climb phase there is an increase in altitude to a predetermined level.
Cruise: Cruise is a flight phase that occurs when the aircraft levels after a climb to a set altitude and before it begins to descend.
Descent: A descent during air travel is any portion where an aircraft decreases altitude, and is the opposite of a climb.
Drag: air resistance; Drag is a force acting opposite to the relative motion of any object moving with respect to a surrounding fluid.
Dutch Roll: Dutch roll is a type of aircraft motion, consisting of an out-of-phase combination of "tail-wagging" and rocking from side to side. This yaw-roll coupling is one of the basic flight dynamic modes (others include phugoid, short period, and spiral divergence). This motion is normally well damped in most light aircraft, though some aircraft with well-damped Dutch roll modes can experience a degradation in damping as airspeed decreases and altitude increases.
Elevator: Elevators are flight control surfaces, usually at the rear of an aircraft, which control the aircraft's pitch, and therefore the angle of attack and the lift of the wing. The elevators are usually hinged to the tailplane.
Fin: A fin is a thin component attached to a larger structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in air.
Fixed-wing Aircraft: A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate lift caused by the vehicle's forward airspeed and the shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft, in which the wings form a rotor mounted on a spinning shaft, and ornithopters, in which the wings flap in similar manner to a bird.
Fuselage: The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, and cargo. In single-engine aircraft it usually contains an engine, as well. The fuselage also serves to position control and stabilization surfaces in specific relationships to lifting surfaces, which is required for aircraft stability and maneuverability.
Ground Proximity Warning System: A Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) is a system designed to alert pilots if their aircraft is in immediate danger of flying into the ground or an obstacle.
Hangar: A hangar is a closed building structure to hold aircraft in protective storage.
Immelmann Turn: Immelmann, roll-off-the-top; An Immelmann turn is an aerobatic maneuver comprising an ascending half-loop followed by a half-roll, resulting in level flight in the exact opposite direction at a higher altitude. It is the exact opposite of a Split S, which involves a half-roll followed by a half-loop, resulting in level flight in the exact opposite direction at a lower altitude.
Instrument Landing System: Instrument Landing System (ILS) is a radionavigation system which provides aircraft with horizontal and vertical guidance just before and during landing and, at certain fixed points, indicates the distance to the reference point of landing.
Jet Engine: A jet engine is a reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet that generates thrust by jet propulsion. In general, jet engines are combustion engines.
Landing: Landing is the last part of a flight, where an aircraft returns to the ground. A normal aircraft flight would include several parts of flight including taxi, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent and landing.
Lift: A fluid flowing past the surface of a body exerts a force on it. Lift is the component of this force that is perpendicular to the oncoming flow direction. It contrasts with the drag force, which is the component of the force parallel to the flow direction. Lift conventionally acts in an upward direction in order to counter the force of gravity, but it can act in any direction at right angles to the flow.
Nose: The nose is the forwardmost section of an aircraft. The nose is shaped to offer minimum aerodynamic drag.
Overspeed: Overspeed is a condition in which an engine is allowed or forced to turn beyond its design limit. The consequences of running an engine too fast vary by engine type and model and depend upon several factors, chief amongst them the duration of the overspeed and by the speed attained. With some engines even a momentary overspeed can result in greatly reduced engine life or even catastrophic failure.
P-Factor: asymmetric blade effect, asymmetric disc effect; P-factor is an aerodynamic phenomenon experienced by a moving propeller, that is responsible for the asymmetrical relocation of the propeller's center of thrust when an aircraft is at a high angle of attack. This shift in the location of the center of thrust exerts a yawing moment on the aircraft, causing it to yaw slightly to one side. A rudder input is required to counteract the yawing tendency.
Phugoid: fugoid; A phugoid is an aircraft motion in which the vehicle pitches up and climbs, and then pitches down and descends, accompanied by speeding up and slowing down as it goes "downhill" and "uphill". This is one of the basic flight dynamics modes of an aircraft (others include short period, dutch roll, and spiral divergence), and a classic example of a negative feedback system.
Pitch: The pitch axis has its origin at the center of gravity and is directed to the right, parallel to a line drawn from wingtip to wingtip. Motion about this axis is called pitch. A positive pitching motion raises the nose of the aircraft and lowers the tail. The elevators are the primary control of pitch.
Precision Approach Path Indicator: A precision approach path indicator (PAPI) is a visual aid that provides guidance information to help a pilot acquire and maintain the correct approach to an airdrome. It is generally located beside the runway approximately 300 meters beyond the landing threshold of the runway. To use the guidance information provided by the aid to follow the correct glideslope, a pilot would manoeuvre the aircraft to obtain an equal number of red and white lights.
Propeller: airscrew; An aircraft propeller converts rotary motion from an engine or other mechanical power source to provide propulsive force. It comprises a rotating power-driven hub, to which are attached several radial airfoil-section blades such that the whole assembly rotates about a longitudinal axis.
Roll: The roll axis has its origin at the center of gravity and is directed forward, parallel to the fuselage reference line. Motion about this axis is called roll. An angular displacement about this axis is called bank. A positive rolling motion lifts the left wing and lowers the right wing. The pilot rolls by increasing the lift on one wing and decreasing it on the other. This changes the bank angle. The ailerons are the primary control of bank. The rudder also has a secondary effect on bank.
Rudder: A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer an aircraft through air. The rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane. A rudder operates by redirecting the air past the fuselage, thus imparting a turning or yawing motion to the aircraft. In basic form, a rudder is a flat plane or sheet of material attached with hinges to the aircraft's tail.
Runway: A runway is a defined rectangular area on a land airdrome prepared for the takeoff and landing of aircraft. Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (grass, dirt, gravel, ice, or salt).
Split S: The Split S is an air combat maneuver mostly used to disengage from combat. To execute a Split S, the pilot half-rolls their aircraft inverted and executes a descending half-loop, resulting in level flight in the exact opposite direction at a lower altitude.
Tail: empennage, tail assembly; The tail is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow. Most aircraft feature a tail incorporating vertical and horizontal stabilizing surfaces which stabilize the flight dynamics of yaw and pitch, as well as housing control surfaces.
Tailplane: horizontal stabilizer; A tailplane is a small lifting surface located on the tail behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters and gyroplanes. Not all fixed-wing aircraft have tailplanes. The function of the tailplane is to provide stability and control. In particular, the tailplane helps adjust for changes in position of the center of pressure or center of gravity caused by changes in speed and attitude, fuel consumption, or dropping cargo or payload.
Takeoff: Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aircraft goes from the ground to flying in the air. For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a transition from moving along the ground on a runway.
Taxiing: Taxiing is the movement of an aircraft on the ground, under its own power, in contrast to towing or push-back where the aircraft is moved by a tug.
Traffic Collision Avoidance System: traffic alert and collision avoidance system; A traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) is an aircraft collision avoidance system designed to reduce the incidence of midair collisions between aircraft. It monitors the airspace around an aircraft for other aircraft equipped with a corresponding active transponder, independent of air traffic control, and warns pilots of the presence of other transponder-equipped aircraft which may present a threat of midair collision (MAC).
Terminal: A terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from aircraft.
VHF omnidirectional range: VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) is a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft with a receiving unit to determine their position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted by a network of fixed ground radio beacons.
Wing: A wing is a type of fin that produces lift, while moving through air.
Winglet: Winglets are a near-vertical extension of the wingtips. The wingtip vortex, which rotates around from below the wing, strikes the cambered surface of the winglet, generating a force that angles inward and slightly forward. The winglet converts some of the otherwise-wasted energy in the wingtip vortex to an apparent thrust.
Wingtip: A wingtip is the part of the wing that is most distant from the fuselage of a fixed-wing aircraft.
Wingtip Vortex: Wingtip vortices are circular patterns of rotating air left behind a wing as it generates lift. One wingtip vortex trails from the tip of each wing.
Yaw: The yaw axis has its origin at the center of gravity and is directed towards the bottom of the aircraft, perpendicular to the wings and to the fuselage reference line. Motion about this axis is called yaw. A positive yawing motion moves the nose of the aircraft to the right. The rudder is the primary control of yaw.