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Suite 400Washington, DC 20036-2527

(202) 783-9000

By Cassandra J. Bosco & Robert A. SearlesIllustrated by Mike Perry

Contributing Photography by David W. Almy and Robb WilliamsonDesigned by Marketing Ahead

This book is dedicated to our AvKids:Matthew • Christina • Alexander • Ryan

Peter • Clare • LaurenChase • Caden • Alex • Cole • Jack

Table of ContentsTable of Contents

What Is an FBO?........................page 4 - 7

What Is Business Aviation?........................page 3

Aircraft Helping People........................page 8 - 11

Getting It There Fast........................page 12 - 15

The Flying Office Around the World........................page 16 - 19

Your Ride to Work.................page 20 - 22

AvKids Aviation Careers.................page 23

The Four Forces of Flight........................page 24

Ten Main Parts of a Plane........................page 25

AvKids Aviation Terms........................page 26 - 31

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What IsBusiness Aviation?

What IsBusiness Aviation?

Maybe you have flown on a large jet airplane to Disney World or to visitrelatives who live far from your home. Or maybe your mom or dad has a jobwhere they buy a ticket on a commercial airline flight so they can get tofar away cities to do their work.

While hundreds of airliners fly thousands of people between about 500airports in the United States every day, thousands of smaller aircraftcarry business people to more than 5,000 airports across the country eachday. These airplanes and helicopters are called “business aircraft.”

As you will see in the chapters of this book, business aircraft are used todo many important things — from flying very sick children to hospitalswhere they can receive special treatment, to making sure that factorieshave all the parts they need to make enough toys and games for the holi-days. We hope these stories will help you learn how business aviation is animportant, essential and quick way for people to travel.

* The information in this book about business aviation is factual, but the stories are all fiction.

aircraft, either airplanes or helicopters,when they are not flying. The second partof an FBO is the ramp. The ramp is a park-ing lot for aircraft. The last part of an

FBO is the terminal. The terminal is abuilding for both passengers and crewmembers to wait. There are magazines andnewspapers to read, TVs to watch and

When business aircraft arrive at airports,they have special terminals to take care ofthem. These special terminals are calledfixed base operations, or FBOs for short.

FBOs are made up of three differentprimary parts. The first part of an FBOis the hangar. A hangar is like a garagefor a car. It is large enough to hold several

4 5

What Is an FBO?What Is an FBO?

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did you know?did you know?The lights on the airport runway are white, and the lights on

a taxi way are blue to help direct pilots.

......

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

did you

know?

did you

know?

More than 10,000

American companies

fly over 15,000 business

aircraft.

There are more than

22,000 business air-

craft flying world-

wide.

The first business

jet, the French-made

Paris Jet, was

introduced in the

United States in

1955.

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Internet Web sites to look at, amongother things. Also in the terminals,FBOs provide Internet weathersystems. Weather is an important partof flying so pilots always want to knowwhat is going on. FBOs also provide akey part of flying a plane – the flightplanning room. The flight planning roomallows pilots to look at maps and settheir plans for the next flight.

Besides helping pilots with their flightplanning, FBOs also help pilots takecare of their aircraft. FBOs providefuel and other aircraft services neces-sary for flight. These other servicesinclude providing ground power units,or GPU. A ground power unit is a bat-tery for aircraft. This allows the pilotto turn on the air conditioner andother features in the aircraft toprepare for its passengers. Anotheraircraft service is cleaning lavatories,aircraft bathrooms. Sometimes air-craft need maintenance to keep themrunning. FBOs can also provide amechanic to look at the aircraftengines. Without FBOs, pilots and air-craft would have a difficult time trav-eling.

Aircraft Helping PeopleAircraft Helping People

8

did you know?did you know?

Your classroom could fit inside a Boeing 747.

did you know?

9

Billy Watson was sad the day he learnedthat his best friend Sam Johnson was very sick

andwould

have totravel

to a far awayhospital for special

treatments once amonth for a whole year. At the dinnertable that evening, Billy’s parents tried tocheer him up, but the nine-year-old justhung his head and stared at his plate.

But then Billy’s dad came up with a greatidea: “My company, Excellent ElectricalEngineering, uses an airplane to fly me andother people on business trips to Milwaukee,the city where Sam will be going for histreatments. Maybe my company could makeSam’s trips simpler, shorter and more com-fortable by flying him and his parents tothe hospital and back on the companyairplane.”

Billy’s eyes brightened. “Do you really thinkthey would do that?” he asked hopefully.“Sure,” said Mr. Watson. “Already this yearExcellent Electrical Engineering has flown

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......

physically challenged athletes to the SpecialOlympics and doctors and emergency bloodsupplies to help the victims of the bigCalifornia earthquake. I will call the chiefpilot tomorrow and see what he can do tohelp Sam and his family.”

The next morning, Mr. Watson called Mr.Finley, the chief pilot for ExcellentElectrical Engineering.

“We would be glad to help,” said Mr. Finley.“I will ask our dispatcher Ms. Alexander tosee when the next flight to Milwaukee isscheduled. Then we will contact Sam’s familyand invite them to travel with us if we havespace available.”

did you know?

Some airplanes get 5 gallons to the mile; the average car

gets 25 miles to the gallon.

........

Sam needed to start his medical treat-ments as soon as possible, so it would havebeen very expensive for his family to buyairline tickets to fly to Milwaukee on shortnotice. Fortunately, they did not have tobecause Excellent Electrical Engineering had a Milwaukee trip scheduled the verynext day!

After confirming the availability of threeempty seats on the planned flight and noti-fying the business people who were goingto Milwaukee that there would be guestsaboard, Ms. Alexander called the Johnsonsto give them the good news.

Sam, who was understandably discouragedby the prospect of having to stay in anunfamiliar place far away from his friends,was excited to learn what Billy’s fatherhad arranged. He had flown on an airlinerbefore, but never in a business jet!

The next morning, rather than drive twohours to the airline terminal, the Johnsonsonly had to travel a few miles to the localairport where the Excellent ElectricalEngineering airplane was based. When thefamily arrived at the hangar, they were

greeted warmly by the entire flightdepartment, including Mr. Finley,Ms. Alexander, pilots Ms. Chase andMr. Ryan, as well as Ms. Peters, the air-craft mechanic, who showed Sam aroundwhile the pilots prepared for takeoff.

Within minutes, the Johnsons were on theirway to Milwaukee, seated comfortably inthe back of the airplane, while the businesspeople worked together at a table towardthe front.

Impressed by the speed and power of thebusiness jet, Sam excitedly peered out thewindow as the aircraft lifted off the run-way and began climbing skyward. Sam’smom, noticing how her boy’s spirits hadbeen raised by traveling on the companyairplane, turned to Sam’s dad and said,“I think he is going to be alright.”

10 11

The Wright Brothers owned a bike shop in Dayton, Ohio.

did you know?did you know?

Orville and Wilbur Wright

flew the first powered flight

on December 17, 1903, in Kill

Devil Hills (Kitty Hawk),

North Carolina. It lasted 12

seconds and flew 37 meters.

...................

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Wilbur and Orville Wright

did you know?did you know? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Getting It There Fastdid you

know?

did you

know?

In 1949, a Douglas

DC-4 became the first

business aircraft to fly

around the world.

The first airplane

designed specifically

for business aviation

was the Gulfstream

I, which first flew

in 1958.

For John Mako, the factory manager atGargantuan Games, it was the best of timesand the worst of times. Toy and electronicsstores had ordered more of the company’slatest video-game controller than anyonehad expected. The Gargantuan Gamesfactory near Phoenix, Arizona, was workingaround the clock, six days a week, to buildenough of the advanced joysticks so thatall of the children who expected to receivethem as presents during the holidays wouldbe happy.

But then, one Saturday afternoon, Mr.Mako discovered he had a big problem.Freddie Wilson, the man in charge oftesting the controllersbefore they were sentto the stores, told Mr.Mako that the whole batch of joysticksproduced

that week did not work properly because ofa bad computer chip.

Mr. Wilson immediately called the companythat made the chips, Cielo Computer, andasked how fast replacements could be sentto Gargantuan Games. But the chip maker,which already had been building the partsas fast as possible, did not have any chipsin stock, and the Cielo Computer plant wasnot going to be able to build any more untilMonday.

Mr. Mako told Mr. Wilson, “We need tofind another supplier of computer chipsfast! If we don’t, we will soon run out ofchips to install in both the old controllersand the new ones that we have already

started making.Then we willhave to close the factory andsend all the

workers homeuntil wecan getsome newchips.”

Getting It There Fast

Mr. Wilson rushed back to his desk,sat down at his computer andbegan to search the Internetfor a computer parts maker thatcould build the kind of chip neededfor Gargantuan’s controller. Hefound one — Singapore SuperSemiconductors. But the companywas in Asia, halfway around theworld, and Freddie was not surethat a supplier located so farfrom Arizona could send the partsquickly enough to prevent the Gargantuan Games factory fromshutting down.

Still hopeful that Singapore SuperSemiconductors could help, Mr.Wilson quickly sent Mr. Chen, the

manager of the Asianchip making plant, ane-mail explainingGargantuan’s problem.Then both Mr. Wilson andMr. Mako anxiously waitedfor a reply.

It took several hours forMr. Chen of Singapore SuperSemiconductors to answerMr. Wilson’s e-mail, but thenews was good. His companynot only had the exact chipthat Gargantuan needed; a largebatch of them was stored in awarehouse near Little Rock,Arkansas.

12 13

14

did you know?did you know?

Business aircraft have access to approximately 5,400 airports

in the United States, compared to the nearly 580 served by the

airlines.

did you know?did you know?Airplanes are called “fixed wing” and helicopters are

called “rotary wing” because the rotary wings move.15

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......

company airplane was not being used,Mr. Smith called Gargantuan’s two pilots,Ms. McAllister and Mr. Brown, and toldthem to prepare to fly to Arkansas. By theend of the day, the chips were delivered toArizona.

On Monday morning, John Mako lookedout at the factory floor and was relievedto see the Gargantuan plant once againbuilding controllers at full speed. He toldMr. Wilson, “Our company airplane reallysaved the day.”

Freddie Wilson immediately told Mr. Chenthat he wanted to buy that entire batch ofchips. But he realized it was too late in theday on Saturday for the people at thewarehouse in Arkansas to ship the chipsusing an overnight delivery service.Gargantuan Games would have to wait forthe chips to be sent on Monday, whichmeant that they would not arrive inArizona until Tuesday, which would cost

Gargantuan Games time and money.After thinking a moment, Mr. Mako said,“Wait, I have a better idea. Let’s call DonSmith, our flight department manager, andsee if he could send the company airplaneto pick up the chips. It would only take theplane several hours to fly there and back,and we could have the chips here in time torestart our production line on Monday.” It was Saturday afternoon and since the

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The Flying Office Around the WorldThe Flying Office Around the World

16 17

The jungle cat T-shirts made by the Wildlife Clothing Company of California were so popularthat the managers of the company decided to build a second factory so they could producemore of their new T-shirts. The Wildlife Clothing people used their business jet to visitdifferent cities where they thought they might build the factory.

Finally, the Wildlife Clothing Company people hired the Red Clay Construction Company to builda new factory in Texas. The clothing people wanted to make sure that the factory was beingbuilt quickly so they could start making T-shirts as soon as possible. So they decided to checkon the progress of the construction by visiting the building site twice a week.

did you

know?

did you

know?

October 7, 1963 – the

First flight of the most

well-know business

jet, the Lear Jet

(Model 23).

The Wildlife Clothing Company’s business jet would takeoff from California every Tuesday and Friday at eighto’clock in the morning and fly two hours, arriving in Texasby 10 o’clock and returning to California after lunch. These“corporate shuttle” flights were almost like flying on anairline, because they would leave and return at the sametime each day.

did you know?did you know?December 17, 1949 – The first round-the-world flight by a business aircraft.

The passengers on each of these regularly scheduled corporate shuttle flights betweenCalifornia and Texas were the Wildlife Clothing Company of California president and vicepresident, the manager of the new plant and a team of engineers from the Red Clay

Construction Company. They would spend an hour walking around the construction sitewatching bulldozers moving earth, trucks carting large loads of dirt away and cement

mixers pouring concrete. Then they would talk to the people who were buildingthe new plant to make sure that everything was going according to plan.

After eating lunch, the Wildlife Clothing Company people and theengineers would board the business jet and fly back to California in

enough time to stop bytheir offices and

then drivehome in timefor dinner withtheir families.

A few monthslater, when

construction ofthe new factorywas almostfinished, otherpassengers

would fly on the Tuesdayand Friday shuttle flights.

Wildlife Clothing Company people who were in charge of set-ting up the T-shirt making machines and hiring workers for the

new plant would fly to Texas to get the factory ready to producethe jungle cat T-shirts.

Even after the factory began producing the jungle cat T-shirts, theshuttle flights continued. Twice a month, the president and vice presi-

dent of the Wildlife Clothing Company would fly to the factory to visitthe plant manager and talk to the workers. Sometimes the shuttle flights

would bring new fabric samples or replacement parts for the T-shirt-makingmachines. The Red Clay Construction engineers also flew on the shuttle from time

to time so they could show their other customers how well-built the Texas plant was.

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Zachary Paulson had loved roller coastersever since he first visited an amuse-

ment park when he was sevenyears old, and he dreamed that

when he grew up he would beable to design his own

thrill ride.

After working a fewyears as an engineerfor a builder ofsteel railroadbridges, Mr.Paulson decidedto follow hisdream and starthis own companycalled WildRides, whichquickly becamefamous forbuilding some ofthe biggest and

best roller coast-ers anywhere. So

when some peoplein Japan decided to

create a new amuse-ment park there, they

asked Zachary Paulson’scompany to construct the

largest roller coaster in theworld for them.

The first time that Mr. Paulson and histeam of engineers and construction expertstraveled to Japan from their hometownof Salem, Oregon, they flew on an airlinerfrom Salem to Los Angeles, California andthen had to change planes in Los Angelesfor the long flight over the Pacific Oceanto Japan. It took more than a day to getthere, and by the time the people fromWild Rides arrived, they had to restovernight before going to work.

Zachary Paulson knew that he and hispeople would have to make many tripsbetween Oregon and Japan during the two

years it would take toplan and build the giantroller coaster, so hepromised that he wouldfind an easier way tomake the long interna-tional trip. Mr. Paulsondecided that charteringa long-range businessaircraft was the bestanswer.

Every time that thepeople from Wild Ridesneeded to travel toJapan to meet with theamusement park people

and check on the progress of the rollercoaster project, Mr. Paulson made arrange-ments to have a private aircraft pick themup right in Salem at exactly the time thepassengers wanted to go. Because thelong-range business jet could fly 14 hourswithout stopping, the Wild Rides peopledid not have to change planes, so the tripwas several hours shorter than if they hadtraveled by airline. Also, when the WildRides people were ready to go home, thebusiness jet was standing by ready to flyback to Oregon.

Your Ride to WorkYour Ride to Work

20 21

did you know?did you know? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Some jets can fly at 51,000 feet above sea level; that’s

over 6 miles high.

AvKids Aviation Careers

did you know?did you know?

May 21, 1927 – Charles Lindbergh flew nonstop from New York to Paris.

The trip was about 1,000 miles and took him 33 and one half hours to complete.

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More importantly, because the engineersand construction people had the businessaircraft all to themselves, they could usethe time in the air to work on their ownor talk with the other passengers aboutthe Japanese roller coaster project with-out being interrupted. If the Wild Ridespeople needed to ask the Japaneseamusement park people a question whilethey were flying, the passengers couldcommunicate directly with them becausethe airplane had a fax machine, phone andcomputer with Internet and e-mail con-nections right in the aircraft cabin.

The Wild Rides people also were able toeat what they wanted, when they wanted

because the airplane had been stockedwith their favorite foods, and a flightattendant was on board to prepare mealsand snacks for them. Because the largebusiness jet had a separate sleeping area,some of the passengers could sleep whileothers worked in the main cabin. Thatmeant they were rested and ready towork once they arrived in Japan.

After taking just one trip on the businessjet between Oregon and Japan, Mr.Paulson realized how efficient businessaviation could be and how it helped hispeople be most productive.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Flight DepartmentManager — The leaderof the group of people whofly, maintain, schedule andservice the company aircraft.This person is someone whohas a college or advanceddegree and a lot of experienceworking in the flight depart-ment as either a pilot or main-tenance technician or hasmanaged another group ofpeople within the company.

Business Pilot — Theperson who actually flies theaircraft. After being taughthow to handle a small airplane,they receive a license andthen must spend many morehours learning to fly largerand larger airplanes until theyare qualified to fly the kindof airplane operated by thecompany. After they get a

job flying for a company,pilots must continue to taketraining one or more times ayear to keep their skills sharp.

Mechanic/MaintenanceTechnician —The personwho makes sure that all partsof the airplane are workingcorrectly and fixes the air-craft when something on itis broken. These people usuallygo to a college or other schoolthat specializes in aviation

training. After they finishschool, they receive a

license showing that theyare qualified to care for

aircraft. Even after theyget a job maintaining a

company aircraft, mechan-ics must continue to taketraining one or more timesa year to keep their skills

sharp and learn new andimproved ways of caring foraircraft.

Scheduler/Dispatcher —The person who makessure that the airplane isavailable for passengerswhen they need to travel.A scheduler/dispatcher mustcheck with the mechanicsto see that all parts of the

airplane are working, tell thepilots when they need to cometo the airport to fly theairplane, then notify thepassengers that their flightis confirmed. Dispatchersmust earn a license, whileschedulers do not have to.

Flight Attendant —The person who flies on theairplane along with thepassengers and is in chargeof preparing their meals andkeeping them safe in caseof emergencies.

Line Service —Thesepeople put gas in the airplane,wash it and perform othertasks to help the mechanicsmake sure the aircraft isready to fly.

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An aircraft in straight and level flightis acted upon by four forces: drag,gravity, lift, and thrust. The opposingforces balance each other; lift equalsgravity and thrust equals drag.

Any inequality between thrust anddrag, while maintaining straight andlevel flight, will result in accelerationor deceleration until the two forces again become balanced.

DRAG:The air resistance that tends to slow the forward movement of an airplane.

GRAVITY:The force that pulls all objects towards the earth.

LIFT:The upward force that is created by the movement of air above and below a wing. Air flows faster above the wingand slower below the wing, creating adifference in pressure that tends tokeep an airplane flying.

THRUST:The force that moves a plane forwardthrough the air. Thrust is created by a propeller or a jet engine.

The 4 Forces of Flight 10 Main Parts of a PlaneThe 4 Forces of Flight 10 Main Parts of a Plane

24 25● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

LIFTDRAG

THRUST

GRAVITY

Ailerons: Movable outside edges of the wing

that turn the plane

Cockpit: Where thecontrols are and where

the pilot sits

Fuselage: Body of theplane, for passengers,

plane, cargo

Rudder: Moves leftor right and helpskeep the planesteady

Stabilizer:Balances the

plane

Flaps: They can onlymove down. They actas brakes when land-ing and create lift on

takeoff

Wings: Give liftand support theweight of the

plane

Propeller:Turning bladethat pulls theplane through

the air Landing Gear:The wheels

Elevator:Moves tomake the

plane pitchup or down

AvKids Aviation TermsAvKids Aviation Terms

26 27

aerobatics — spectacular stunts,such as rolls and loops, performedin general aviation aircraft speciallydesigned to withstand the stressesof such maneuvers.

aerodynamics — forces,such as resistance, pressure andvelocity, that affect the movementof air around moving objects, suchas aircraft.

aeronautical charts — mapsof the airspace designed to helppilots navigate.

ailerons — moveable aircraftcontrol surfaces located near theend of the wing which are used tomake an aircraft bank or roll.

aircraft — any man-made objectthat flies, including airplanes,blimps and helicopters.

airfoil — any surface designed toprovide lift from the air throughwhich it moves, including wings, con-trol surfaces and propeller blades.

airframe — the structure ofthe aircraft, not including thepowerplant or engine.

airline — a company that is in thebusiness of providing scheduledtransportation.

airport — afield from whichaircraft land andtake off.

airspace — the part of theatmosphere above a particular landarea.

airspeed—the speed of anaircraft relative to the air.

air taxi — a company that pro-vides on-demand (instead of sched-uled) commercial air transportation.

air traffic control (ATC) —the system of ground-based facili-ties that coordinates the movementof aircraft by tracking theirprogress using radar and communi-cating with pilots via radio.

air traffic controller — aperson who communicates with apilot, usually by radio, directing themovement of aircraft, especiallyclose to an airport.

airways — highways in the sky.

altimeter—a device that meas-ures changes in air pressure to cal-culate how high an aircraft is flying.

altitude — the height that anaircraft is flying above the ground,usually expressed in the numberof feet above sea level.

anti-icing — a substance appliedto the exterior of an aircraftbefore flight to prevent the forma-tion of ice, which can impair theability of an aircraft to fly. Also, asystem that is used on board an air-craft to prevent the formation ofice on the wings, propellers, engineinlets and control surfaces.

approach — the phase of flightin which an aircraft has startedits descent toward its destinationairport.

attitude — the position of anaircraft in relation to the earth’shorizon.

autopilot — short for “automaticpilot,” this is a control system thatkeeps an aircraft on a set course orspeed so that the pilot does nothave to steer or add power to theaircraft. Autopilots are most oftenused during the level, cruising por-tion of a flight.

aviator — a person trained andqualified to fly an aircraft; a pilot.

avionics — short for “aviationelectronics,” any electronic systemused on an aircraft, primarily fornavigation and communication.

bank — to tilt an aircraft laterallyand inwardly during forward flight.

business aircraft — a generalaviation aircraft used to support abusiness.

business aviation — the use ofgeneral aviation aircraft to supporta business. These activities canrange from individuals who fly rent-ed, single-engine, piston-poweredairplanes to companies that haveflight departments that operatefleets of jet airplanes andhelicopters.

business jet — a jet-poweredgeneral aviation aircraft that isused to support a company’sbusiness.

captain — the pilot in commandor aviator in charge of the flight,who usually sits in the left seat ofthe cockpit.

ceiling — The highest altitudefrom which the ground is stillvisible in a particular weathercondition.

checklist — a written list ofprocedures used by pilots to ensurethat all the items that need to beaccomplished during a flight areactually performed.

clearance — permission grantedby an air traffic controller thatallows a pilot to taxi, land or takeoff an aircraft.

certification — officialapproval granted by a governmentagency qualifying a pilot or aircraftto fly.

cockpit —the forwardcompartmentof an aircraft

where the pilots sit.

cockpit voice recorder —an audio system that records allthe sounds made in the cockpit.Enclosed in a crash-proof container,this “black box” is used by accidentinvestigators to help determine whyan aircraft crashed.

collision avoidance system— a device that can detect whenone aircraft might be flying tooclose to another and tells a pilotwhich direction to turn in order toavoid a collision.

compass — a magnetic devicethat helps determine the directionan aircraft is flying.

control surfaces — moveableparts of the aircraft’s wing and tail(or empennage) that are used tomake an aircraft climb, descend

or turn.

control tower —the building fromwhich air trafficcontrollers direct the

movement of air-craft on and around

an airport.

copilot — a second pilot, whousually sits in the right seat of thecockpit assisting the captain (orpilot in command), who usually sitsin the left seat of the cockpit.

corporate aircraft — a gener-al aviation aircraft used to supporta corporation’s business activities.

corporate aviation — oftenused interchangeably with the term“business aviation,” this refers tothe use of general aviation aircraftto support corporate business. Mostcorporations have flight depart-ments that operate just one air-plane, but some large corporationsfly and maintain fleets of airplanesand helicopters.

cowling — a removable cover orhousing placed around a section ofthe aircraft, usually an engine.

crosswind — any wind that blowsacross the intended course of anaircraft, causing it to drift offcourse.

cruising speed — a steady,moderate speed consideredoptimum for long-range flight.

deicing — a system or substancethat removes ice that has formedon an airborne aircraft.

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downwind — moving in the samedirection as the wind is blowing.

drag — the air resistance encoun-tered as an aircraft tries to moveforward.

elevator — the control surfacelocated on the horizontal tail of anaircraft that, when moved by thepilot, makes the airplane climb ordescend.

empennage — the rear portionor tail of the aircraft.

empty weight — the weight ofthe aircraft alone, not includingfuel, passengers or baggage.

enroute — on or along the way.

Federal AviationAdministration (FAA) —The U.S. government agency thatestablishes and enforces rules foraviation.

fixed base operator (FBO) —an airport-based fueling and servicecenter for aircraft, similar to a gasstation for cars.

flaps — devices located on thetrailing or rearward portion of thewing that can be extended toincrease lift and drag, especiallyduring takeoff or landing.

flightattendant —a person whosejob is to helpensure the

safety and comfortof aircraft passengersby providing meals,beverages and instruc-

tions on what to do incase of an emergency.

flight data recorder — asystem that records the airspeed,altitude, heading and other operat-ing characteristics of an aircraft inflight. Enclosed in a crash-proofcontainer, this “black box” is usedby accident investigators to helpdetermine why an aircraft crashed.

flight department — theorganization within a company thatis responsible for flying and main-taining aircraft. People who workin a flight department can includepilots, maintenance technicians,schedulers/dispatchers and flightattendants.

flight manual — a guide issuedby an aircraft manufacturer thatcontains official informationregarding the speed, operatinglimits and other essential guidelinesfor safely operating an aircraft.

flight plan — a formal documentthat describes the intended courseof a planned flight.

flight service station (FSS)— an official aviation informationcenter that pilots use to obtain up-to-date information on weather andairport conditions before beginninga flight.

fuselage — the body of anairplane to which the wing, tailand landing gear are attached.

general aviation — all flyingactivities other than commercial(airline) and military aviation.General aviation aircraft, whichinclude everything from two-seattraining airplanes to intercontinen-tal business jets, can fly to about10 times the number of airportsthat airliners can.

General AviationManufacturers Association(GAMA) — a Washington, D.C.-based national trade associationthat represents U.S. manufacturersof general aviation aircraft andparts.

glide slope — the part of aninstrument landing system thatprovides a radio beam so that thepilot can follow a standard descentpath to land at an airport.

gross weight — the maximumweight than an aircraft is designedto carry when taking off.

hangar — an airport building spe-cially designed to house an aircraft.

heading — the course or directionin which an aircraft is moving,generally expressed in degrees ofa circle (from zero to 360).

headwind — a wind blowingdirectly against the course of anaircraft.

helicopter — a type of aircraftthat uses arotor orpropellermounted ontop of thefuselage totake offand landvertically,which allowsit to operate without using a runwayor airport.

helipad or heliport — a smallstructure or paved area that isused by helicopters to take off andland vertically.

holding pattern — to fly in acircle until an air traffic controllerclears a pilot to proceed toward hisdestination.

instrument flight rules (IFR)— the regulations for flying anaircraft when clouds, fog or otherweather conditions make it difficultor impossible to fly by sight alone.

instrument landingsystem (ILS) —electronic navigation equipment thatuses a radio beam to guide pilotsof descending aircraft along astandard path so they can land on arunway.

instrument panel —the section of the cockpit locatedin front of the pilot that houses allthe instruments, gauges and indica-tors that tell the pilot importantinformation, such as airspeed, alti-tude and heading. The instrumentpanel is similar to an automobiledashboard.

jet — a type of aircraft powerplantthat uses a turbine, which increasesthe flow of air through an engine,for power.

knot — a unit of aviation speedthat equals one nautical mile perhour, which is equivalent to 1.151miles per hour.

landing gear — a system ofwheels, floats or skis that are usedto support an aircraft when it is onthe ground or in the water. Landinggears either are “fixed” (perma-nently extended) or “retractable”(which means that they are pulledback inside the fuselage or wings ofthe aircraft once it becomes air-borne).

lift — the aerodynamic force thattends to keep an aircraft in the air.

logbook — a book that contains arecord of flights made by a pilot ormaintenance procedures performedon an aircraft during its lifetime.

maintenance technician — aperson who is trained and certifiedto maintain or repair an aircraft.

multiengine — an aircraft thathas more than one engine.

nacelle — the streamlined housingthat encloses the engine.

N number or tail number —the “license plate” of an aircraftthat contains a series of numbersand/or letters that are painted onthe fuselage near the tail of anaircraft. All aircraft registered inthe United States have registrationnumbers that begin with theletter “N.”

National Business AviationAssociation (NBAA) — aWashington, D.C.-based nationaltrade association that is dedicatedto enhancing the safety, efficiencyand acceptance of business aviation.NBAA’s membership includes morethan 7,500 companies that areinvolved in flying general aviationaircraft for business purposes.

National TransportationSafety Board (NTSB) — theagency of the U.S. governmentthat is responsible for investigatingaircraft accidents.

nautical mile — the standardunit of distance used in aviation. Itequals 6,080 feet or 1.151 miles.

navaids — a shortened form ofthe words “navigational aids.” Itrefers to any system or device usedto help guide a pilot while flying anaircraft.

navcom — a shortened form ofthe words “navigation-communica-tion.” It refers to any piece of air-craft equipment used by the pilotfor navigation or communicationpurposes.

nose — the front portion ofthe aircraft.

notice to airmen (NOTAM) —special announcement used to alertpilots of unusual conditions aroundan airport.

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oxygen mask — a small facemask that is connected to a canis-ter of oxygen. This system is usedby each person on board an aircraftin case there is a malfunction in theaircraft’s pressurization system,which normally supplies air tobreathe at high altitudes.

payload — the total weight ofpassengers and cargo that anaircraft carries or can carry.

pilot — a persontrained and certi-

fied to fly an air-craft; an aviator.

pilot incommand —

the captain or aviator in charge ofthe flight, who usually sits in theleft seat of the cockpit.

pitch, roll and yaw — termsused to describe the three-dimen-sional movement of an aircraft.Pitch is the rotation of an airplanearound its lateral axis. Roll is themotion of an aircraft around itslongitudinal axis. Yaw is themovement of an airplane aroundits vertical axis.

powerplant — an engine used topower an aircraft. There are fourbasic types of powerplants: a pistonengine, which is similar to theengine used in a car, turns a pro-peller, which propels an aircraft bypulling the air over the wings. A jetengine uses a turbine to acceleratethe flow of air without using a pro-peller. A turboprop uses a jetengine combined with a propeller. Aturboshaft engine uses a jet engineand a rotor (or horizontally mount-ed propeller) to lift a helicopterand allow it to take off and landvertically.

preflight — the testing procedurea pilot uses before flying to ensurethat an aircraft’s equipment andsystems are working properly.

propeller — a rotating airfoilwith two, three or flour blades thatis used to move an airplane forward.

pressurization — a systemdesigned to maintain normal airpressure in an aircraft at higheraltitudes, where the air is too thinto allow proper breathing.

radar — a shortened form of thewords “radio detection and ranging.”Radar is a system that uses elec-tronic pulses to measure how faraway an object is. The distance ismeasured by timing how long ittakes for the pulses to be transmit-ted from an airplane or groundfacility and reflect or bounce offan object and return to theirsource. Airborne radar is used bypilots to detect thunderstorms andother severe weather, while ground-based radar is used by air trafficcontrollers to track the directionand speed of aircraft.

ramp — the paved area, usuallylocated next to a hangar, whereaircraft can be loaded, unloadedor parked.

range — the maximum distancean aircraft can fly without beingrefueled.

rivet — a small metal pin that isused to attach the various sheetmetal parts of an aircraft.

rotorcraft — an aircraft thatuses rotors; a helicopter.

rudder — the movable verticalportion of the tail (or empennage)that is used to control the yawingmovement of an aircraft.

run-up — the process of increas-ing the power of an aircraft enginebefore takeoff to check and seethat the powerplant and propellerare operating properly.

runway — a strip of level, usuallypaved ground on which aircraft takeoff and land.

scheduler/dispatcher — amember of the flight departmentwho is responsible for making allthe non-mechanical arrangements —such as obtaining permits — to pre-pare an aircraft for a flight. Theyalso make and maintain lists of thetimes that an aircraft is supposedto depart, arrive and be serviced.

simulator — a mechanical devicethat resembles a cockpit and isused by pilots to learn and practiceflight maneuvers while on theground.

skin — the outer covering of anaircraft, usually made of sheetmetal, but also can be fabric orwood, especially on older airplanes.

spin — a maneuver in which theaircraft, after experiencing anaerodynamic stall, descends withits nose pointing toward the groundwhile turning rapidly around itsvertical axis.

stabilizer — a fixed (non-mov-able) horizontal or vertical part ofthe tail that keeps the aircraftstable as it flies.

stall — an aerodynamic conditionin which the smooth flow of air overa wing or other airfoil is disrupted,thus decreasing the amount of liftproduced and causing the aircraftto cease flying.

stick — the control and steeringwheel of an airplane, sometimescalled the “yoke.”

tail — the rear-most part of anaircraft fuselage.

tailwind — a wind that is blowingfrom behind an aircraft, helping itfly faster.

takeoff — thepoint in a flight when the aircraftleaves the ground or runway andbecomes airborne.

taxi — to move an aircraft slowlyon the ground or on the surface ofthe water before takeoff or afterlanding.

taxiway — a paved strip on theairport that leads from the rampto the runway.

throttle — the cockpit lever thatincreases engine power, allowing anaircraft to take off or accelerateif it is already airborne.

thrust — the forward forcedeveloped in a jet engine as areaction to the high-velocity rear-ward ejection of exhaust gases.

touchdown — the moment whenthe wheels of a landing aircrafttouch the surface of a runway.

traffic pattern — a low-altitudecourse, usually an oval, around anairport that airplanes must follow inorder to ensure the safe flow ofaircraft to the runway.

transponder — a transmitter-receiver that sends a unique, codedsignal to ground radars, thus allow-ing air traffic controllers to identi-fy and track individual aircraft.

trim — a device that allows thepilot to adjust the attitude of theaircraft without having to constant-ly move the elevators.

turbulence — a disturbance oruneven flow of air that causes anaircraft to bounce in flight.

upwind — flying an aircraft inthe opposite direction the wind isblowing.

vector — a heading given to apilot by an air traffic controller viaa radio communication.

visibility — the distance that onecan see clearly in the air.

visual flight rules — theregulations for flying an aircraft inclear weather by sight alone.

waypoint — a reference point inthe airspace used for navigationalpurposes.

weather briefing — the officialforecast information that a pilotgets from a flight service stationbefore departing on a flight.

weight and balance — themathematical calculations done todetermine if the cargo and/orpassengers aboard an aircraft areloaded properly.

wing — the large airfoils thatextend out from either side of themiddle of an airplane’s fuselage toprovide the lift needed to fly.

yoke — the control and steeringwheel of an airplane, sometimescalled the “stick.”