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A/FD

GLOSSARY

While this list does not include all aviation terminology, it is the purpose of this glossary to aid the general viewer in better understanding aviation terms as it pertains to content on this website.

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See Airport/Facility Directory.
See automatic direction finder.
See attitude director indicator.
A process of cooling the air through expansion. For example, as air moves up slope it expands with the reduction of atmospheric pressure and cools as it expands.
A process of heating dry air through compression. For example, as air moves down a slope it is compressed, which results in an increase in temperature.
A stabilizer that can be adjusted in flight to trim the airplane, thereby allowing the airplane to fly hands-off at any given airspeed.
A propeller with blades whose pitch can be adjusted on the ground with the engine not running, but which cannot be adjusted in flight. Also referred to as a ground adjustable propeller. Sometimes also used to refer to constant-speed propellers that are adjustable in flight.
See aeronautical decision-making.
See automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast.
Fog resulting from the movement of warm, humid air over a cold surface.
A condition of flight in which the nose of an airplane tends to yaw toward the outside of the turn. This is caused by the higher induced drag on the outside wing, which is also producing more lift. Induced drag is a by-product of the lift associated with the outside wing.
The science of the action of air on an object, and with the motion of air on other gases. Aerodynamics deals with the production of lift by the aircraft, the relative wind, and the atmosphere.