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Page 36 A Glossary of Common Aviation Terms (An Elemental glossary of the terms the reader is most likely to run across) J.K. Tennant Section 4. Maneuvers Flight.- An airplane is in flight when it has left the support of the ground, and is supported in the air by virtue of its displacement of air, sufficient to give the pilot control. This is natural flight. To climb.- An airplane climbs when its nose is pointed at a normal climbing angle. (See "Zoom") To glide.- To descend at the proper angle necessary to maintain flying speed, normal or slightly above normal, but not under engine power. To bank.- To turn an airplane about its longitudinal axis when turning. In other words, to tilt sideways when making a turn. It is the same as the banking of a race track at the turns. Tail-slide.- To lose speed, and fall tail first. This often occurs before the nose drops in a tail-spin Stall.- Lose flying speed, and fall. Flying speed.- The speed at which an airplane may maintain flight. To side-slip.- To fall with one wing down, due to excessive "Bank" or "roll." This is a maneuver which may be performed in perfect safety by an experienced pilot, and is used to get into small fields over some obstruction. Fish-tail.-To kick the plane around so that the side helps reduce speed. This maneuver is used in landing in a small field to cut down the speed of the plane. It must then be kicked around straight so that the wheels are set straight in the direction of motion when the ground is touched, or they will be wiped-off. (See wipe-off) To skid.- As an automobile skids around a corner. When not sufficient bank is applied in turning to sufficiently compensate for the centrifical force. To drift.- To be carried by a current of air. Must be compensated for to keep on course. To dive.- To descend too steeply. At a speed greater than the normal flying speed, head on. A vertical nose-dive. (so-called) is carrying this to extremes. To pancake.- To lose flying speed; to stall. Particularly when making a landing; to fall through for several feet. To roll.- To turn about the longitudinal axis. A barrel-roll is, in effect, a side-loop. To Stall.- To lose the relative speed necessary for support and control of the airplane. Having stalled, the airplane is no longer supported; and falls. Zoom.- A maneuver cause by pulling back on the joy-stick, causing the plane to rise rapidly at a greater angle than the normal climbing angle. (See "To Climb") Verticle bank.- A bank in which the plane is upon its side, and at forty-five degree angle to the earth. To mush through.- To lose altitude, though a slight lack of support of the plane in the air. Loop the loop.- To turn the plane about its vertical axis. To loop, one dives (but not too steeply) to increase speed, and then brings the plane's nose gradually up and over. At the top of the loop, the plane is on its back. When the ground can again be seen, the motor is throttled down, and the plane is brought out of its dive. In a loop, the pilot is always on the inside of the circle. Only one man has ever performed an "outside loop," Lieutenant James Doolittle. Tail spin.- A tail spin is, in effect, a spinning nose dive. The nose is pointed toward the earth, and the tail is turning as the plane dives. In stalling, the nose of the plane drops, the plane falls off on one side, and often goes into a spin on that side. A spinning nose dive and a tail spin are one and the same. To get out of a tail spin, kick opposite rudder, and when the plane stops spinning, ease it out of the dive. Flat spin.- A flat spin is a tail spin in the proper sense of the expression. The nose is low, flying speed has been lost, and the tail performs a circle as the plane falls. It is the most dangerous position for a flier to get into, and is likely to result in death. [[image]]