Pilot Lingo you never knew about
Traveling quite a bit you might hear some unusual phrases while in an aircraft. Is it code words or a secret language? What is this pilot lingo? Well, it’s not a secret language if you know what it means, but instead it might be aviation jargon. People who work in this industry have developed aviation terminology. Ever hear the captain say “The ETA for this flight…”,” On the flight deck for today’s flight we have…” or “We will be experiencing some air pockets.” If you are curious to learn what these phrases, and some other ones mean, here are some common phrases that we’ve interpreted for you:
Alley “We’re waiting for another aircraft to move out of the alley.”
Meaning: A taxiway or passage between terminals or ramps
Air Pockets: Jolts of turbulence
Bird men: Pilots
Bird Dog: Automatic Direction Finder (ADF) or radio compass
Chopper: A helicopter
ETA: Estimated time of arrival. This indicates when the flight is estimated to arrive at its destinations.
Flight deck: The cockpit
First Officer: The second in command, which is also known as the copilot
MayDay: Telling air control there is a life-threatening situation
Pan-Pan: The international radio-telephone urgency signal
Ramp: An airfield parking lot
Redline: The airspeed which is unsafe to fly and it can damage elements of the plane
Roger: The pilot is usually saying ‘yes’ or ‘ok’ and they understand the message being sent
Touchdown: It doesn’t mean a football has touch the ground. Instead it is the moment of contact between the plane and ground during landing.
Tower: This facility is used for communication between the ground and air control.
These phrases were gathered from Flight Aviation Zone, Charter Flight Group and Ask the Pilot.
Impress your traveling buddies or pilot friends with all the aviation jargon you have learned! Baymac stays up to date on all aviation business! Leave us a comment and share with us your favorite phrase or anything we have missed.
Sources:
http://www.flightsimaviation.com/_glossaries.html?s=aviation_terms
http://www.charterflightgroup.com/aviation-jargon-45-terms-aviation-enthusiasts-should-know/