Lift, Drag, & Everything in Between
This force acts perpendicular to the relative wind and opposes weight.
Lift
This instrument uses a vacuum system or electric motor to display the aircraft’s attitude.
Attitude Indicator
This type of cloud, often described as “puffy” or “cotton‑like,” is typically associated with fair weather.
Cumulus Clouds
This simple instrument is the primary reference for aircraft heading.
Magnetic compass
This term describes the total weight of the aircraft, including fuel, passengers, and baggage.
Gross Weight
This part of the wing is responsible for most of the lift generated in normal flight.
The wing's Airfoil
This system provides the spark that ignites the fuel‑air mixture in a piston engine.
Magneto system
This boundary between two air masses of different temperatures is responsible for much of the weather pilots encounter.
A front
This line on a chart connects points of equal magnetic variation.
Isogonic Line
This point, expressed as a distance from a reference datum, is where the aircraft would balance if suspended.
Center of Gravity
This aerodynamic principle explains how faster airflow over the wing creates lower pressure.
Bernoulli’s Principle
This device meters fuel to the engine based on airflow in older carbureted aircraft.
Carburetor
This lapse rate, approximately 2°C per 1,000 feet, describes how temperature decreases as altitude increases
Adiabatic lapse rate
This navigation method uses time, airspeed, distance, and direction to determine position without external references.
Dead Reckoning
This performance chart helps determine the runway distance required for takeoff under specific conditions.
Takeoff Distance Chart
This term describes the angle between the chord line and the relative wind.
Angle of Attack
This type of propeller automatically adjusts its blade angle to maintain a selected RPM.
Constant-Speed Propeller
This type of fog forms when warm, moist air moves over a cooler surface and cools to its dew point.
Advection fog
This radio navigation aid transmits a Morse‑coded identifier and provides a bearing to the station.
VOR
High density altitude has this effect on aircraft performance, increasing takeoff distance and reducing climb rate.
Decreases Performance
When this critical value is exceeded, the wing can no longer produce enough lift, regardless of airspeed.
The critical angle of attack
These primary flight‑control surfaces move in opposite directions to roll the aircraft left or right.
Ailerons
This powerful vertical current, found beneath growing cumulonimbus clouds, can exceed 3,000 feet per minute and poses a major hazard during takeoff and landing.
Microburst
This term describes the angle between the aircraft’s heading and its actual track over the ground, caused by wind.
Drift Angle
When the center of gravity moves too far aft, this specific characteristic is reduced, making the aircraft harder to recover from stalls.
Longitudinal Stability