Aircraft Glossary

Definitions of aviation industry terms frequently used by aircraft owners and pilots.

Want to add or update a definition? Contact us.

A B C E G H I J L M N P R S T U V W Y

A

AGL (Above Ground Level)
Aircraft
Airplane
Airship
Airspeed
Altitude
Attitude
Autopilot
Avionics

B

Balloon
Business Jet

C

Cabin
Cockpit
Control Surfaces
Crosswind

E

Electric Propulsion
Elevation

G

Glide
Glider
GPS (Global Positioning System)
Groundspeed

H

Helicopter

I

IFR (Instrument Flight Rules)
ILS (Instrument Landing System)

J

Jet Engine

L

Landing Gear

M

MEL (Minimum Equipment List)

N

NOTAM (Notice to Airmen)

P

Piston Engine

R

Ramjet Engine
Runway

S

Scramjet Engine
Seaplane
STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) Aircraft

T

Tailwind
TAS (True Airspeed)
Taxiing
TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System)
Turbofan Engine
Turboprop Engine
Turboshaft Engine

U

UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)

V

VFR (Visual Flight Rules)
VOR (VHF Omnidirectional Range)
VOR/DME (VHF Omnidirectional Range/Distance Measuring Equipment)
VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) Aircraft

W

Wingtip

Y

Yaw