PEC航空英语证书考试-航空词汇解释.doc

PEC航空英语证书考试-航空词汇解释

A.C.
a/c
an adjective referring to the back part of a plane. Rear is also used with the same meaning. It
contrasts with forward. The words before and after are only used to talk about time relationships
Alternating Current: the type of electrical power generated by the engine generators and characterised
by frequency oscillation as opposed to D.C. (Direct Current).
abbreviation for aircraft
abeam the runway indicating that the runway is to the side of the aircraft, at a bearing of approximately 90° or 270°
relative to the aircraft, i.e. to the right or the left
abort (v) to stop doing something or stop a process that you had intended to do or had already started to do,
especially a take-off or landing: take-off must be aborted before V1.
ACAS
A.C. bus
AC Essentialaccess platform
Airborne Collision Avoidance System: an aircraft system using Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR)
transponder signals, which operates independently of ground equipment to alert the flight crew about
conflicting aircraft
an aircraft electrical power distribution point for alternating current to which several power circuits are
connected
feed the main alternating current power supply
a platform mounted on wheels with steps which allows technicians to gain access to the higher parts
of the aircraft
accretion rate the speed at which ice is accumulating; it is also referred to as the accumulation rate or build-up rate
acknowledge (v) to say that you have heard and understood. It is important that the controller listens carefully to
pilot input on the nature of the emergency, requests clarification if in doubt, and gives the crew
reassurance that their problem is understood. Requesting and providing clarification, paraphrasing,
confirming and acknowledging all play a key role in such exchanges: In case of radio failure,
acknowledge by flashing headlights.
acrid used to describe a sharp, bitter (smell), especially of smoke or fumes
acute 1) at a sharp angle, at an angle of less than 90°
2) severe: acute pain
ADF Automatic Direction Finder: airborne radio navaid tuned to non-directional beacons; the intersection of
two bearings provides the aircraft’s position: if the ADF needle points up, the NDB is ahead
advance (v) to move forward the thrust or throttle levers to increase engine power; the contrary of to retard:
advance the thrust levers to TOGA (Take-off / Go-around)
Advanced Visual
Docking Guidance
System
another term for the Nose-in Guidance System or PAPA (Parallel Aircraft Parking Aid). Different
technologies are used, but basically they all use a system of lights to guide the crew to the correct
position for their aircraft type
advise (v) most often used in aviation in the sense of to inform or to tell, rather than to recommend: advise
intentions
advisory information displayed to the crew which does not require immediate action or informational
documents issued by the regulator or the manufacturer
aerodrome
affect (v)
affirm
against
any place from which aircraft flight operations take place
to have an effect or influence on something or someone: It is well known that fatigue affects a pilot’s
alertness and performance
yes: ‘Confirm 8.33.’ – ‘Affirm. 8.33.’
1) in relation to, compared with: the airspeed against angle of attack ratio was a concern
2) in contact with: the aircraft overran the end of the runway and came to a stop against the boundary
fence.

AGNIS Azimuth Guidance for Nose-In Stand: one of the most popular forms of stand guidance, i.e. ways of
guiding a plane to its correct position in the stand
ahead in front of the aircraft: there is traffic ahead at 10 o’clock.

Word Definition and examples
ahead of the a desirable condition meaning that the flight crew can anticipate what the aircraft will do and what
aircraft they should plan for in advance: the crew must stay ahead of the aircraft at all times.

aileron power a hydraulically powered servo-control which moves the ailerons on the outer wings
control unit

air conditioning a large unit comprising an air cycle machine and pre-cooler which regulates bleed air from the engine
pack compressor for use in conditioning the cabin air

Air Data Computer
ADC: a digital computer serving as a central source of information on the surrounding atmosphere
and the aircraft flight through it. It provides the pressure altitude, outside air temperature, airspeed,
Mach number and angle of attack data to the automatic flight control system, the flight instruments
and other systems.

Air Safety report a report written after an operational incident. Transparent, non-blaming reporting of incidents
contributes significantly to improvements in safety and a better understanding of error chains

airborne 1) in the air
2) installed or carried on the aircraft: The ADF is an airborne navaid

airbridge a telescopic walkway for passengers to board and disembark from the aircraft directly from and to the
terminal building; it is also referred to as a jetway or jetty

aircraft AMT: an aircraft mechanic or engineer who inspects and services the aircraft (engine oil levels, tyre
maintenance pressure and wear, signs of fuel or hydraulic leaks, impact damage to the engine air intakes and wing
technician leading edges etc.), performs any small repairs and makes entries in the aircraft technical logbook.

These activities are line maintenance

airframe another word for the aircraft structure or fuselage and wings; hull is also used

AIrProX a situation in which the distance between aircraft and their relative positions and speed is such that
their safety may be threatened. After such an incident a pilot or ATCO can file a report.

airstairs mobile stairs used at outlying stands for passengers to board and disembark

AlAr
Approach and Landing Accident Reduction: more accidents occur during approach and landing than
during any other phase of flight. The Flight Safety Foundation has gathered extensive research on this
issue and published the ALAR Tool Kit.

alternate (n) an airport along or near the scheduled route to which the aircraft can divert and where it can land in
case of an incident during the flight

alternative
something you can choose to do instead of something else. It can be related to any aspect of the
flight: routing, level, heading, timing etc: We have two alternatives: uplift extra fuel or offload the last
passengers.

altimeter setting
standard pressure altitude with reference to sea level (QNH) or local pressure altitude at the airport
elevation (QFE) set by the crew on their altimeter and critical, especially during descent and approach:

The altimeter setting is 1023. Confirm.

altitude restriction an obligation for the crew to not fly above or below a certain altitude at a given point or in a given area

amber transit lights the amber lights neat the landing gear lever which are illuminated when the landing gear is moving
between its extended and retracted positions and vice versa

ambient lighting the general lighting of the cockpit provided by the dome light

amend (v) to modify or change something: We wish to amend our flight plan.

Amt See aircraft maintenance technician

analog(ue) technology based on continuous variables rather than digital binary inputs: Most analog(ue)
instruments have been replaced by digital displays.

angled exit / exits designed to facilitate aircraft vacating the runway at speed, hence the term high-speed turnoff,
turn-off and performing a rolling start for take-off

angle of attack
AOA or á: the angle between the chord line of the wing of an aircraft and the vector representing the
relative motion between the aircraft and the atmosphere. Information from the angle of attack sensor,
or alpha probe, is used to trigger a stall warning.

anomaly an unusual, incorrect or abnormal event: we experienced an oil pressure indication anomaly on Engine
Number 3.

ANSP Air Navigation Service Provider: organisation providing air traffic control within a given region for
example, Aerothai, Airways NZ, DFS, FANA, FAA, NAV Canada, NATS, PANSA, ENAV etc.

anti-ice / anti-icing all the pneumatic systems which prevent the accumulation of ice on the wing leading edges and
engine air intakes: wing anti-ice, engine anti-ice

Word Definition and examples

Antonov Russian aircraft manufacturer. The Antonov 124 and 225 are currently among the world’s largest
cargo aircraft; the Antonov 225 has a maximum take-off weight of approximately 600 tonnes

approach charts
instrument approach charts show holding procedures, instrument approach procedures and missed
approach procedures. In addition to the plan and profile views of various instrument procedures, the
charts provide a wealth of other information: obstacle location and clearance height (OCH); ground
speeds versus rates of descent; VOR-DME, LOC, G/S, IAF identifiers and frequencies; transition
altitudes and levels; airfield elevation in feet and metres; Tower, Approach, Ground and ATIS radio
frequencies; the location of outer, middle and inner markers, fixes and missed approach point; ILS
minima; minimum safe /descent altitudes; final approach course; decision height / altitude; threshold
crossing heights (TCH); missed approach procedure etc.

Approach Control the frequency used by the Approach controllers at a given airport as distinct from the Tower or Ground
frequency frequencies

approach gate
an imaginary point used as a basis for vectoring the aircraft to the final approach course. The gate
will be established along the final approach course 1 mile from the final approach fix on the side away
from the airport and will be no closer than 5 miles from the landing threshold

approach segments the parts of an instrument approach: arrival, initial approach, intermediate approach, final approach
and missed approach segments

apron the paved area around the terminal buildings, hangars and cargo terminals where aircraft park

APU
Auxiliary Power Unit: a small gas turbine engine, usually located in the tail cone, which is used on the
ground when the engines are shut down to generate electricity, to provide air conditioning and high
pressure air to start the engines. The APU can also be used in flight up to 25,000 feet for back-up
electrical power in the event of an engine failure

aquaplaning when an aircraft’s wheels are partially supported by standing water on the runway and not fully in
contact with the runway surface so that braking and steering are inefficient
arc the ground track of an aircraft flying a constant DME distance from a navaid to intercept the ILS
localizer inbound course. The DME arc is often used to transition from en route to intermediate
approach.
Are you visual? ‘Have you got the runway in sight?’
Area Control ACC: ATCOs responsible for planes overflying a large area of airspace en route at altitude
(Centre)

area navigation
RNAV: area navigation allows pilots to fly on a direct course using, but not actually overflying, ground-
based radio aids. RNAV systems can provide distance to waypoints in nautical miles, crosstrack
deviation from the selected course, groundspeed in knots and time-to-waypoints: LORAN-C and GPS
are forms of area navigation.

arm (v)
asap
assess (v)
to place a device in an active mode so that it is ready to operate: arm the Vertical Speed mode on the
FCU / MCP; the cabin attendant armed the escape slide
as soon as possible: immediately, very quickly
to evaluate: After a major failure, the crew must assess the situation
assigned level the flight level to which a flight has been cleared by ATC
asymmetry unequal position or force on the two sides of the aircraft; flap asymmetry, asymmetric thrust
ASU Air Start Unit: ground support vehicle which compresses air and delivers it to the aircraft engine if the
APU is not available
at time mentioned prior to a given time to avoid confusion with any other value: request descent at time 45
AtIS Automatic Terminal Information Service: a continuous broadcast of recorded non-control information
in selected high-activity terminal areas. The report is identified by a sequence of letters (…Kilo,
Lima, Mike, etc.) For example, “Hong Kong Arrival Information Kilo at 17:05Z; Runway 07 closed for
maintenance; Wind 340°, 15 knots; Visibility 8 km …”
Atr a twin-engine turboprop regional transport manufactured by a consortium of Alenia Aeronautica and
EADS. There are two versions: the ATR 42 and larger ATR 72.
attitude the position of the aircraft in relation to the three axes: pitch, roll and yaw. Attitude is conventionally
displayed on the Attitude Director Indicator (ADI) or artificial horizon, now often incorporated into the
Primary Flight Display (PFD).
audio warning a standardised sound (repetitive chime, single stroke chime, clacker, cavalry charge, woofer) which
draws the crew’s attention to an anomaly: the ENG 1 red fire warning light came on accompanied by
the repetitive chime audio warning.

Word Definition and examples
autobrake a computer-assisted system which controls and monitors landing gear brake applications in order to
achieve maximum braking efficiency: the PF selects an autobrake MIN, MED or MAX setting according
to the runway conditions.
auto-flight system AFS: the combination of autopilot, autothrottle / autothrust, flight director, autoland systems etc. used
to control the flight through the Flight Management System (FMS)
autoland an autopilot function which enables the aircraft to be landed automatically. ILS installations now often
support fully automatic “hands-off” autoland approaches to below 50 feet above the runway threshold
in visibility, or Runway Visual Ranges (RVR) as low as 200 metres or less
Automatic ADF: a flight instrument which indicates the direction from which the signal from a non-directional
Direction Finder beacon is coming, i.e. a relative bearing
Autopilot AP: a computerised system which provides the flight controls with orders: The FAA wants new software
installed on Boeing 777s to prevent crews from inadvertently engaging the autopilot before takeoff.
autothrottle ATHR, an automatic engine power control system: When using the autothrottle during autoland, position
command speed to VREF +5 knots
autothrust computerised system which provides the engines with orders: The autothrust was disconnected by the
PF to prevent another overspeed conditon
aviation English Aviation English is broader than ICAO standard phraseology, but it is the language used by pilots and
controllers in an operational context. In the ICAO context, fuel prices, low-cost airlines, aerobatics