THE AVIATION GLOSSARY
 
 
 Airfoil - Reynolds Wrap for manufacturing aircraft wings.
 
 Airspeed - Speed of an airplane. Deduct 25%  when 
            listening to a Navy pilot.
 
 Angle of Attack - Pick-up lines that pilots use.
 
 Arresting Gear - A Policeman's equipment.
 
 Bank - The folks who hold the lien on most pilots' cars.
 
 Barrel Roll - Sport enjoyed at squadron picnics, usually after
               the barrels are empty.
 
 Carburetor Icing - A phenomenon happening to Aero club pilots
                    at exactly the same time they run out of gas.
 
 Cone of Confusion - An area about the size of New Jersey located  
                     near the final approach beacon at an airport.
 
 Crab - The squadron Ops. Officer.
 
 Dead Reckoning - You reckon correctly, or you are.
 
 Engine Failure - A condition which occurs when all fuel tanks 
                  become filled with air.
 
 Firewall - Section of the aircraft specially designed to let
            heat and smoke enter the cockpit.
 
 Glide Distance - Half the distance from an airplane to the        
                  nearest emergency landing field.
 
 Hydroplane - An airplane designed to land on a wet runway,
              20,000 feet long.
 
 IFR - A method of flying by needle and ripcord.
 
 Lean Mixture - Non-alcoholic beer.
 
 Motor - Word used by student pilots and Yankees when 
         referring to the engine.
 
 Nanosecond - Time delay built into the stall warning system.
 
 Parasitic Drag - A pilot who bums a ride back and complains
                  about the service.
 
 Range - Usually about 30 miles beyond the point where all
         fuel tanks fill with air.
 
 
 Rich Mixture - What you order at the other guy's promotion
                party.
 
 Roger - Used when you're not sure what else to say.
 
 Roll - The first design priority for a fully loaded KC-135A.
 
 Service Ceiling - Altitude at which cabin crews can serve drinks.
 
 Spoilers - The Federal Aviation Administration.
 
 Stall - Technique used to explain to the bank why your car        
         payment is late.
 
 Steep Bank - Banks that charge pilots more than 10% interest.
 
 Tactics - What a clock sounds like when it needs fixing.
 
 Tail Wind - Results from eating beans, often causing Oxygen
             deficiency in the immediate vicinity.
 
 Turn & Bank Indicator - An instrument highly ignored by pilots.
 
 Useful Load - Volumetric capacity of the aircraft, 
                disregarding weight of cargo.
 
 Up - A chant used by pilots taking off from Colorado Springs,
      who want to discover the meaning of life.
 
 VOR - Radio navigation aid, named after the VORtex effect
       of pilots trying to home in on it.
 
 Windsocks - Socks that need darning.
 
 Yankee - Any pilot that asks Houston tower to "Say again".
 
 Zero - Style and artistry points earned for a gear-up landing.
 
 
 From: Ray

Wil Stark, wstark04 (at) pobox _dot_com

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