The words that turn up in spot captions — aviation and ATC jargon, photography vocabulary, and spotter slang. Terms found in a caption link straight here.
All Aviation Photography Slang 71 terms
A ADS-B A system in which an aircraft continually broadcasts its own position, derived from satellite navigation. airside The part of an airport beyond security, where aircraft operate. apron The paved area where aircraft park, load, refuel and are serviced. APU A small turbine engine, usually in the tail, that supplies electrical power and bleed air on the ground. ATIS A looped broadcast of an airport's current weather, runway in use and other essential information. C callsign The name a flight uses on the radio, usually an airline telephony name plus a flight number. crosswind A wind blowing across the runway rather than along it. D de-icing Spraying an aircraft with heated fluid to remove frost, ice or snow before departure, and to delay its return. deadhead A crew member travelling as a passenger to get into position for a duty. displaced threshold A runway threshold moved down the paved surface, so the pavement before it may be taxied on but not landed on. diversion A flight that lands somewhere other than its planned destination. DME A radio system that tells an aircraft its slant distance from a ground beacon. E ETOPS The approval that allows a twin-engined airliner to fly a route far from any suitable diversion airport. F ferry flight A flight with no revenue payload, flown to reposition an aircraft. final approach The last leg of an approach, flown aligned with the runway and descending towards it. flaps Hinged panels at the trailing edge of the wing that extend to increase lift and drag for takeoff and landing. flare The nose-up check just before touchdown that arrests the descent and sets the aircraft onto its main wheels. flight level An altitude expressed in hundreds of feet on the standard altimeter setting, used above the transition altitude. freighter An aircraft configured to carry cargo rather than passengers. G gate The terminal door a flight boards from, and by extension the parking stand it is attached to. glideslope The ILS component that defines the descent angle to the runway, usually three degrees. go-around An approach abandoned before landing, with the aircraft climbing away to try again. H hangar A building for storing and maintaining aircraft. headwind A wind blowing along the runway towards the aircraft, which shortens the takeoff and landing distance needed. heavy An ATC wake-turbulence category for aircraft with a maximum takeoff mass above 136 tonnes, appended to the callsign on first contact. hold short An instruction to stop before a runway or other boundary and wait. holding pattern A published racetrack circuit an aircraft flies to wait, usually for its turn to approach. I IATA The airline trade body whose three-letter codes appear on tickets and baggage tags. ICAO The United Nations agency that sets international aviation standards, and the source of the four-letter airport codes. ILS A ground-based radio system that guides an aircraft down to the runway on both centreline and descent path. L landside The part of an airport before security, open to anyone. line up and wait A clearance to enter the runway and hold in the takeoff position without a takeoff clearance. livery The paint scheme and markings an aircraft wears. localizer The ILS component that defines the extended centreline of the runway. M METAR The routine coded weather observation issued for an aerodrome, normally every half hour or hour. missed approach The published procedure flown when an approach cannot be continued to a landing. Mode S A transponder mode in which each aircraft has a unique 24-bit address, allowing it to be interrogated individually. MTOW The heaviest an aircraft is certified to be at the start of its takeoff roll. N narrowbody An airliner with a single-aisle cabin, typically three to four metres across. NOTAM A notice telling crews about a temporary hazard or change — a closed runway, unserviceable lighting, an airspace restriction. P pushback Moving an aircraft backwards off its stand with a tug, because airliners cannot reverse under their own power. Q QNH The altimeter setting that makes an altimeter read height above mean sea level. R registration The unique alphanumeric identity painted on an airframe, allocated by its country of registry. retro livery A historic paint scheme reapplied to a current aircraft, usually for an anniversary. rotate Raising the nose at VR to lift the aircraft off the runway. runway The prepared strip an aircraft takes off from and lands on, numbered by its magnetic heading rounded to the nearest ten degrees. S short final The last part of final approach, close in to the runway threshold. slats Movable surfaces at the leading edge of the wing that extend to let the wing fly at a higher angle of attack. special livery A one-off or limited paint scheme applied to a single aircraft rather than the whole fleet. spoilers Panels on the upper wing that rise to destroy lift and add drag, in flight for descent and on touchdown to plant the aircraft. squawk The four-digit transponder code a controller assigns an aircraft so its radar return can be identified. stall The loss of lift that occurs when a wing exceeds its critical angle of attack. T TAF A coded forecast of the weather expected at an aerodrome, typically covering the next 24 to 30 hours. tailwind A wind blowing along the runway from behind, which lengthens the distance needed on the ground. taxi An aircraft moving under its own power on the ground. taxiway A paved route connecting runways, aprons and stands, on which aircraft move under their own power. TCAS An onboard system that watches nearby transponder-equipped traffic and tells the crew how to avoid a collision. thrust reverser A mechanism that redirects engine thrust forward to help slow an aircraft after landing. touch-and-go A landing immediately followed by a takeoff, without stopping. traffic pattern The standard rectangular path aircraft fly around a runway when operating visually. transponder An onboard radio that replies to radar interrogation with the aircraft's code and, usually, its altitude. turboprop An aircraft whose propeller is driven by a gas turbine through a reduction gearbox. V V1 The takeoff decision speed: past it, the takeoff is continued even if an engine fails. V2 The takeoff safety speed — the minimum speed to be held on the initial climb after an engine failure. visual approach An approach flown by reference to the runway and terrain rather than by following an instrument procedure. VOR A ground beacon that lets an aircraft determine its bearing to or from the station. VR The speed at which the pilot begins to raise the nose for takeoff. W wake turbulence The pair of counter-rotating vortices trailing from an aircraft's wingtips, strong enough to upset a following aircraft. wet lease A lease in which one airline provides another with an aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance. widebody An airliner with a fuselage wide enough for two aisles, typically five metres across or more. winglet An upturned surface at the wingtip that recovers some of the energy otherwise lost to the tip vortex. 
