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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.

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