Glossary

This glossary contains information on terms, phrases and abbreviations used by the Aviation industry. 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. A full list of aviation terminology can be found here.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Attitude management

The ability to recognize hazardous attitudes in oneself and the willingness to modify them as necessary through the application of an appropriate antidote thought.

Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS)

Weather reporting system which provides surface observations every minute via digitized voice broadcasts and printed reports.

Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS)

Automated weather reporting system consisting of various sensors, a processor, a computer-generated voice subsystem, and a transmitter to broadcast weather data.

Automatic dependent surveillance—broadcast (ADS-B)

A device used in aircraft that repeatedly broadcasts a message that includes position (such as latitude, longitude, and altitude), velocity, and possibly other information.

Automatic direction finder (ADF)

Electronic navigation equipment that operates in the low- and medium-frequency bands. Used in conjunction with the ground-based nondirectional beacon (NDB), the instrument displays the number of degrees clockwise from the nose of the aircraft to the station being received.

Automatic terminal information service (ATIS)

The continuous broadcast of recorded non-control information in selected terminal areas. Its purpose is to improve controller effectiveness and relieve frequency congestion by automating repetitive transmission of essential but routine information.

Autopilot

An automatic flight control system which keeps an aircraft in level flight or on a set course. Automatic pilots can be directed by the pilot, or they may be coupled to a radio navigation signal.

Aviation medical examiner (AME)

A physician with training in aviation medicine designated by the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI).

Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR)

Observation of current surface weather reported in a standard international format.

AWOS

See Automated Weather Observing System.

Axes of an aircraft

Three imaginary lines that pass through an aircraft’s center of gravity. The axes can be considered as imaginary axles around which the aircraft rotates. The three axes pass through the center of gravity at 90° angles to each other. The axis from nose to tail is the longitudinal axis (pitch), the axis that passes from wingtip to wingtip is the lateral axis (roll), and the axis that passes vertically through the center of gravity is the vertical axis (yaw).

Azimuth card

A card that may be set, gyroscopically controlled, or driven by a remote compass.