Glossary of Terms and Acronyms

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1-9        back to top

100 hr- 100 hours of operation inspection required by FAA/CAP

101 CAPF 101- Mission Qualification Specialty Card

101CN- Counterdrug Specialty Qualification Card

101T CAPF 101T- Mission Qualification Specialty Training Card

1st Lt or 1LT- 1LT First Lieutenant (1LT is Army style - USAF uses 1st Lt)

201- Personnel File

2d Lt or 2LT- Second Lieutenant (2LT is Army style - USAF uses 2d Lt)

A - Alpha   back to top

A& P - Airframe and Powerplant - the basic FAA aircraft maintenance rating

AE- An Acronym for Aerospace Education

AFRCC- Air Force Resource Command & Coordination center

AGL- Above Ground Level - distance above the ground you're over right now

AIM - Airman's Information Manual

ATC- Air Traffic Control

ATIS- Automatic Terminal Information Service - pre-recorded airport weather

ATP- Airline Transport Pilot (the "highest" grade of pilot certificate)

Avgas- Aviation gasoline (two primary grades, 80 and 100 octane)

A gallon of propwash- A spurious errand for new recruits

A/C or AC- Aircraft or Aircrew

AAFES- Army and Air Force Exchange Service

Abenaki- New Hampshire Wing Tactical Call Sign

Above my paygrade- Another way of saying "Don't ask me."

Accouterments- Items authorized for wear on or with any uniform

Ace- A mission aircrew member with five or move finds

ACSC- Air Command and Staff College

ACUT- Advanced Communications User Training

ADA- Airborne Damage Assessment

ADF- Automatic Direction Finder

AE- Aerospace Education

AEO- Aerospace Education Officer

AEPSM- Aerospace Education Program for Senior Members

AETCFC- Air Education & Training Command Familiarization Course

AEWs- Aerospace Education Workshops

AFCB- Air Force Chaplains' Board

AFI- Air Force Instruction

AFMAN- Air Force Manual

AFNSEP- Air Force National Security Emergency Preparedness Office

AFPD- Air Force Policy Directive

AFR- Air Force Regulation

AFRCC or RCC- Air Force Rescue Coordination Center

AFRES- Air Force Reserve

AFSCFC- Air Force Space Command Familiarization Course

AFUB- Air Force Uniform Board

ALCOM- Alaska Command - Alaska Search Area

ALNOT- Alert Notice

ALT- Altitude

AME- Amplitude Modulation Equivalent

ANG- Air National Guard

Annual- Yearly inspection of aircraft required by FAA/CAP

AOPA- Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

APCO- Association of Public Safety Communications Officers

APJOC- Advance Pararescue Orientation Course

Apron Area- used for parking aircraft

ARM- Aerial Radiological Monitoring

ARRS- Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service

ASNP- Aircrew Style Name Patch

Aspen Gold- Rocky Mountain Region Tactical Call Sign

At zero- Something or someone on your trail

ATA- Actual Time of Arrival

ATC- Air Traffic Control

ATD- Actual Time of Departure

ATE- Actual Time Enroute

ATIS- Automated Terminal Information System

ATP- Airline Transport Pilot

Auger in- Euphemism for crashing an airplane

Avenging Spirit- National Headquarters Special Use Tactical Call Sign

AWC- Air War College

AWOL- Absent Without Leave

AWOS- Automated Weather Observation System

B - Bravo    back to top

Barracks - Buildings used for housing of military personnel on a military base.

BFR - Biennial Flight Review - an instructional review session required of all U.S. pilots once every two years

Bi-plane - An early type of airplane with double wings, one above the other.

Bag(s)- Flight Suit

Bandit- An unauthorized aircraft in your search grid

Basic- A new cadet to the program

BBP- Bloodborne Pathogens

BBS- Bulletin Board Service

BCUT- Basic Communications User Training

BDU(s)- Battle Dress Uniform

Beaver- Fox Oregon Wing Tactical Call Sign

BG or Brig Gen- Brigadier General (BG is Army style - USAF uses Brig Gen)

Billet Room(s)- where you stay the night on a military base

Black Granite- Montana Wing Tactical Call Sign

Blouse- Blue Service Coat or BDU jacket

Blue Beret- National Blue Beret Encampment - Oshkosh, WI

Blue Lakes- Great Lakes Region Tactical Call Sign

Blue Mesa- Colorado Wing Tactical Call Sign

Blue Mound- Wisconsin Wing Tactical Call Sign

Blues- Blue Service Dress Uniform

Bluesuiter- Air Force or CAP member

Bogey- An Unidentified aircraft

Bookstore- At National HQ where you can order uniform items, ribbons, etc.

Bottlecaps- Silver Oak Leaves

Brat- Child of a military member

Bravo- Phonetic Alphabet for "B"

Brewer or Brewer awards- Yearly recognition of contributions to the advancement of youth in AE Activities

Brushing the bushes- Flying an aircraft low

Buck slip- Routing slip attached to memos that requires signatures. Comes from "passing the buck."

Bucket hat- Female Service Hat (Slang)

Butter bar- 2nd Lieutenant

Buy the farm- Killed in action

BX- Base Exchange

C - Charlie    back to top

CAP- An acronym for Civil Air Patrol

CFI- Certificated Flight Instructor

Chocks - blocks used to place under the front wheels of an airplane, after parking, to keep it in place.

C.O.- Commanding Officer

D - Delta    back to top

DC- Director of Cadet Programs

DEM- Department of Emergency Services

DOT- Department of Transportation (U.S); Department of Transport (Canada)

DUATS- Direct User Access Terminal System (on-line weather briefings)

E - Echo    back to top

EAA - Experimental Aircraft Association, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903 Phone 1-414-426-4800; FAX 1-414-426-4828; Membership 1-800-843-3612 or http://www.eaa.org

Elevators - Hinged surfaces on the portion of the aircraft tail assembly extending left and right from the fuselage or body of the plane. These are activated by moving the control stick to change the flight path from horizontal to climb or descend.

ELT- Emergency Locator Transmitter

Encampment-

F - Foxtrot    back to top

FAA- Federal Aviation Administration (U.S.)

FAR- Federal Aviation Regulations (U.S.)

FBO- Fixed-Base Operator - a firm on an airport which maintains, rents, sells, and/or fuels aircraft, and may also provide flight training

Flight Line- Designated area where the planes are dispatched.

FSDO- Flight Standards District Office - an FAA field office

FSS - Flight Service Station - an FAA facility which provides weather information to pilots and allows them to file flight plans

G - Golf   back to top

GES- An acronym for General Emergency Service that refers to a test that everyone must take before they can participate in Emergency Services / Operations activities.

GPS- Global Positioning System - a satellite-based navigation system

H - Hotel   back to top

HQ- Headquarters

I -India   back to top

IFR- Instrument Flight Rules

ILS- Instrument Landing System - a system which allows appropriately equipped aircraft to find a runway and land, when the clouds may be as low as 200 feet (or lower for special circumstances)

J - Juliet   back to top

K - Kilo   back to top

Latrine- Military name for a bathroom, usually without a bathtub. Could contain more than one shower and commode.

L -Lima    back to top

Mess Hall- A designated building/room on a military base where meals are available to the personnel (like a military cafeteria).

M - Mike   back to top

NCO- An acronym for Non Commissioned Officer

N - November   back to top

NASA- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (U.S.)

NOAA- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (U.S.)

MSL- Mean Sea Level - altitude above the ocean.

NOC- Civil Air Patrol National Operations Center

NOS- National Ocean Service, part of NOAA [they print aviation charts]

NTSB- National Transportation Safety Board (U.S.)

NWS - National Weather Service (U.S.)

O - Oscar   back to top

O₂- Oxygen

O-Ride- Orientation Flight (Ride)

P - Papa   back to top

PIC- Pilot In Command

POH- Pilot's Operating Handbook (the manufacturer's guide to the airplane)

Prop Wash - A wind caused by the spinning propeller of a plane, sometimes strong enough to be hazardous to aircraft taxiing or landing behind.

PX- Post exchange--a store on an Army or Air Force base with a little bit of everything to purchase.

Q - Qubec   back to top

R - Romeo   back to top

Rudder- Movable hinged portion of the tail, connected by cables to the foot pedals moved by the pilots' feet. This alters the flight path of the aircraft to the left or right.

S - Sierra   back to top

SOC- State Operations Center

Squawk- A 4-digit (actually 4-octal-digit -> 12-bit) number which is set into a transponder by the pilot to identify the aircraft to air traffic controllers

T - Tango   back to top

Taxi- Movement of the aircraft from its parked position to another location--example: position for take-off. This movement consists of zig-zag maneuvers to observe the area directly in front of the aircraft

Transponder- an airborne transmitter which responds to a ground-based interrogation signal to provide air traffic controllers with more accurate and reliable position information than would be possible with "passive" radar; a transponder may also provide air traffic control with an aircraft's altitude

U - Uniform   back to top

UHF- Ultra high frequency.

V - Victor   back to top

VFR- Visual Flight Rules

VHF-Very High Frequency

VOR- VHF Omnidirectional Range - a common type of electronic navigation aid. The acronym refers both to the ground station and the airborne receiver.

W - Whiskey    back to top

X - XRay    back to top

Y - Yankee    back to top

Z - Zulu   back to top

ZULU- Coordinated Universal Time/time Zone for GMT

Zulu- Phonetic Alphabet for "Z"