GLOSSARY
AlC: Aircraft Commander, the pilot in charge.
ACM: Additional Crew Member, a term frequently applied to riders who have no actual function in the operation of an aircraft.
ADF: Automatic Direction Finder, a radio-navigation device that, in essence, has a needle that points directly toward the station to which it is tuned.
Advancing line search: One of several techniques for systematically searching a given area from the air.
A-frame: A simple, portable device, usually equipped with a block and tackle, which can be used for moderately heavy lifting jobs at field locations.
Aileron: A relatively small, movable control surface normally located at or near the wingtips of an aircraft. They are used to keep the wings level or to bank them while turning.
Airframe: The main structure of an aircraft, excluding the engine(s).
Airlifier: An aircraft specifically designed to carry freight. The term is sometimes applied to other aircraft that have been modified for cargo use.
Airscrew: Another, more technical, name for propeller.
Airway: A specific, frequently used flight path that is equipped with navigational aids. An air highway.
Alclad: A type of sheet metal used in aircraft construction. It consists of a strong aluminum alloy covered with a layer of pure aluminum to resist corrosion.
Altimeter: An instrument that shows the height of an aircraft above sea level. Most altimeters work by atmospheric pressure and need to be frequently reset. Radar altimeters read the distance above the ground or water directly underneath the aircraft.
Analyzer: A piece of electronic equipment which displays on a tube face a continuous report on the condition and functioning of an aircraft engine.
Angle of attack: The angle at which the wing of an aircraft meets the relative wind. Under normal flight conditions, increasing the angle of attack increases the amount of lift generated, up to a specific point.
AOK: A familiar military expression meaning “as good as possible.”
APU: Auxiliary Power Unit. On large aircraft, the APU supplies power to operate various systems while the main engines are shut down.
Archie: The Thule designation for Arctic foxes.
ARRS: Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service, a part of the Military Airlift Command.
Artificial horizon: An aircraft instrument that, by means of a gyroscope, can display on its face a miniature aircraft and a horizon line, which correspond to the relative positions of the actual aircraft and the true horizon.
ASAP: As Soon As Possible.
Atmospheric pressure: The almost constantly changing pressure of the atmosphere as it would be measured at sea level. The world standard for average conditions is 29.92 inches of mercury in a vacuum.
Autopilot (sometimes Automatic pilot): A piece of equipment normally capable of maintaining an aircraft’s flight path at a preset direction, altitude, and attitude. Highly sophisticated units are coupled to radar altimeters and can thereby avoid terrain obstructions when flying at low altitude.
Avionics: Electronic equipment normally used for navigational purposes.
B-17: One of the bulwarks of the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, the B-17 (B for “bomber”) was a four-engined heavy bomber, piston-powered and principally used for daylight bombing of the Axis strongholds. Thousands were built. The B-17 enjoyed a phenomenal reputation for durability; many of them flew home despite severe battle damage. The B-17 was designed and built by Boeing; when additional planes of the same type were needed, production lines were also set up at Douglas Aircraft Corporation at Vega.
Ballistic Missle Early Warning System (BMEWS): A very large, highly complicated, and extremely powerful radar installation kept in continuous operation to give warning in case of an attack launched against the United States or Canada by means of ballistic missiles.
Barrel rolclass="underline" An aerobatic maneuver during which an aircraft is rolled completely around its longitudinal axis. (The longitudinal axis is an imaginary line drawn from the tip of the nose back to the end of the tail.)
Battery cart: A standard piece of ground-support equipment that carries a number of well-charged batteries (under most circumstances). It can be plugged into an aircraft and used to start engines, thereby sparing excess drain on the aircraft’s own internal batteries.
Beeper: A small device that transmits a continuous electronic signal so that it can be easily located.
Belly in: To land an aircraft, usually deliberately, without putting the landing gear down. This is the accepted technique when making forced landings in rough terrain or on water.
Bendix Mixmaster: A very good, but quite complex, octant used during World War II for celestial navigation purposes.
Blind broadcast: A message put out with no assurance that it is being heard by the intended recipient.
Bluie West 8: The World War II code designation for the landing strip located at Söndre Strömfjord, Greenland. It is on the west coast of the island, slightly north of the Arctic Circle.
BMEWS: See Ballistic Missile Early Warning System.
Buddy system: A military regulation that, when in effect, prohibits anyone from venturing out without at least one companion, for mutual protection.
BX: Base Exchange, a military store operated for the benefit of the personnel stationed at a military facility; it normally sells civilian goods at reduced prices.
C-47: The Douglas DC-3 in all of its military variations. It is one of the most memorable aircraft ever built, and one of the best.
C-130: A Lockheed-built, four-engined, turboprop airlifter widely used by the Military Airlift Command, and by the Canadian Armed Forces. It is noted for its short takeoff and landing capability, and for its rugged reliability; its official name is “Hercules.”
C-141: A Lockheed four-engine, jet, heavy airlifter with strategic (long-range) capability. This aircraft is the current backbone of the MAC fleet.
Carburetor beat: A system for deicing carburetor intakes in piston engines that do not have fuel injection. Carburetor ice is a frequent problem, even during good weather conditions, and almost all conventional piston-powered aircraft are equipped with this device.
Checklist: A schedule of items that must be checked and verified before each phase of aircraft operation. Usually there are several checklists, including pre-engine-start, pretaxi, before-takeoff, before-landing, after-landing, and sbutdown. Sometimes long and complicated, checklists are used to insure that no significant items are forgotten or overlooked. Checklists are religiously used during all properly conducted aircraft operations.
Chill factor: An equivalent temperature arrived at by taking into consideration both the actual temperature and the wind velocity. The wind has a major effect in determining the danger of exposure in the Arctic.
Chord: The width of an aircraft wing, measured from the leading (front) to the training (rear) edge. It is almost always greatest at the root, i.e., next to the fuselage or the main body of the aircraft.