Glossary of aviation
Terms
and abreviations.
NACELLE - A streamlined enclosure or housing to protect something
such as the crew, engine, or landing gear. French: nacelle,from
Latin, navicella,little ship.
NATIONAL AIRSPACE SYSTEM (NAS) - The common network of US
airspace; air navigation facilities, equipment and services,
airports or landing areas; aeronautical charts, information
and services; rules, regulations and procedures, technical
information, and human resources and material. Included are
system components shared jointly with the military.
NDB - Non-Directional Beacon. An LF, MF, or UHF radio beacon
transmitting non-directional signals whereby the pilot of
an aircraft equipped with direction finding equipment can
determine his bearing to or from the radio beacon and "home"
on or track to or from the station. When the radio beacon
is installed in conjuncion with the Instrument Landing System
(ILS) marker, it is normally called a Compass Locator.
OVERSHOOT - To land well beyond a runwway or planned spot.
Opposite of UNDERSHOOT.
PANTS - A popular word for streamlined, non-load bearing
fairings to cover landing wheels. Also sometimes called Spats
or, when fully enclosing the wheel struts, Skirts.
PAR - Precision Approach Radar, a ground-radar-based instrument
approach providing both horizontal and vertical guidance
PATTERN - The path of aircraft traffic around an airfield,
at an established height and direction. At tower-controlled
fields the pattern is supervised by radio (or, in non-radio
or emergency conditions by red and green light signals) by
air traffic controllers.
PAYLOAD - Anything that an aircraft carries beyond what is
required for its operation during flight, theoretically that
from which revenue is derived, such as cargo and passengers.
PCA SEE CONTROLLED AIRSPACE
PHONETICS SEE ALPHABET
PILOT IN COMMAND (PiC) - The pilot responsible for the operation
and safety of an aircraft during flight time.
PITCH - (1) Of the three axes in flight, this specifies the
vertical action, the up-and-down movement. Compare ROLL and
YAW. (2) The angle of a propeller or rotor blade in relation
to its arc; also the distance advanced by a blade in one full
rotation.
PITOT TUBE - More accurately but less popularly used, Pitot-Static
Tube, a small tube most often mounted on the outward leading
edge of an airplane wing (out of the propeller stream) that
measures the impact pressure of the air it meets in flight,
working in conjuction with a closed, perforated, coaxial tube
that measures the static pressure. The difference in pressures
is calibrated as air speed by a panel instrument. Named after
French scientist Henri Pitot (1695-1771).
POSITIVE CONTROL - The separation of all air traffic within
designated airspace by air traffic control.
POWER LOADING - The GROSS WEIGHT of an airplane divided by
the rated horsepower, computed for Standard Air density.
PUSHER - A propeller mounted in back of its engine, pushing
an aircraft through the air, as opposed to a TRACTOR configuration.
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