Stranger to the Ground

Accelerometer—An instrument that measures the number of G units to which an aircraft is subjected, in multiples of normal gravity, or one G.

Ailerons—Surfaces near the wingtips which are actuated by the control stick to bank the aircraft left or right or to roll it completely about its longitudinal axis.

Airspeed indicator—An instrument that measures the airplane’s speed through the air in nautical miles per hour (knots).

Altimeter—A three-handed pressure instrument that reads aircraft height above sea level.

ATO—Assisted TakeOff. For short ground rolls during takeoff, up to four jettisonable rocket engines can be attached to the fuselage of the F-84F. Each engine fires for 14 seconds and each contributes 1,000 pounds of thrust

Attitude indicator—Also called “artificial horizon” or “gyro horizon.” An instrument containing a gyro-stabilized face that remains parallel to the true horizon and a miniature aircraft duplicating the motions and attitude of the true aircraft.

Base leg—In a landing or gunnery pattern, the path of flight followed just before turning to the final or firing approach. On base leg the runway or the target is at right angles to the aircraft heading.

Battle damage switches—A row of four fuel shutoff switches in the F-84F. They prevent the transfer of fuel from other tanks into a fuel tank damaged in combat.

BOQ—Bachelor’s Officers’ Quarters; the living area of the squadron pilots.

Circuit breaker—A safety switch that acts as an electrical fuse to cut off the flow of current to an overloaded circuit.

COC—Combat Operations Center. The center of a tactical base’s co-ordination; the control point from which the wing commander directs operations during combat.

Command radio—The ultra high frequency (UHF) radio transmitter and receiver used for air-to-ground voice communication.

Cuban eight—An aerobatic maneuver consisting of interconnected half-loops and rolls.

D-ring lanyard—A metal snap and nylon lanyard that attaches to the parachute ripcord handle to quickly and automatically open the pilot’s parachute in the event of a low-altitude ejection.

Defensive split—In air combat, an extreme maneuver separating wingman from leader in an attempt to force an attacker into an unfavorable position.

Depression—An angle through which the gunsight image is lowered to adjust for the various trajectories of bombs and rockets. No depression angle is required for machinegun fire.

Drag chute—A strong nylon parachute packed and installed at the tail of the F-84F. When he pulls the drag chute handle in the cockpit, the pilot hopes that the parachute will deploy to slow his airplane during its landing roll.

Drop tanks—Fuel tanks fastened beneath the wing to extend the range of an aircraft. They can be jettisoned in flight to lighten the airplane for combat.

Echelon—A formation of aircraft arranged in a line at an angle to their line of flight.

Engine screens—Retractable steel screens inside the engine air intake at the nose of the airplane to prevent foreign objects from entering the engine and damaging it.

External stores—Any load mounted on the under-wing attachment fittings; bombs, rockets, drop tanks or nuclear weapons.

Flak—Originally, bursts of antiaircraft fire from special-design ground weapons. More loosely used by fighter-bomber pilots, flak includes pistol and rifle fire, sticks, stones, rocks and whatever else the enemy throws in front of an airplane in the hope of bringing it down.

Flaps—Aerodynamic panels mounted in the wing that can be extended for low-speed flight.

Flight level—A form of altitude designation in which, for instance, 33,000 feet becomes “flight level 330.”

Fuselage—The “body” of an airplane, to which are attached the wings and tail.

Go-No-Go Speed—A computed speed that is used to determine that an aircraft is accelerating properly during its takeoff roll. If the go-no-go speed is not reached by a selected distance along the runway, takeoff is discontinued.

G-suit—Properly, “anti-G suit.” A set of tightly laced inflatable nylon/rubber “chaps” that fill with air during high-G turns and pullouts to keep the pilot’s blood from pooling in his legs and consequent blackout or momentary loss of vision.

Gun heater—A unit that keeps the machine guns warm and in firing condition when flying through the cold of high altitudes.

Holding pattern—In instrument flying, a racetrack-shaped pattern around which an airplane flies while waiting for clearance to descend.

IFF—Identification Friend or Foe. An electronic beacon installed in the aircraft that presents a distinctive pattern on a ground radar screen. IFF gives air traffic controllers positive identification of friendly aircraft.

Inverter—An electrical device that converts DC power into AC power for instrument operation. The F-84F has a main and an alternate inverter.

LABS—Low Altitude Bombing System. One method of delivering nuclear weapons.

Loadmeter—An instrument that measures the percentage of electrical generator output being used by all aircraft systems combined.

Machmeter—An indicator that compares the speed of the airplane to the speed of sound. Mach 1 is the speed of sound; maximum speed of the F-84F is about Mach 1.18.

Ordnance—Any form of firepower that can be delivered from an aircraft to a target.

Penetration—A pattern of instrument descent which brings an aircraft from high altitude to a position over the runway ready for landing.

Pipper—The center dot of light in an optical gunsight that shows the converging point of bullets, and the impact points of bombs and rockets.

Pitot system—The aircraft sensing system that measures static and dynamic air pressures for use in the altimeter, airspeed, and vertical speed indicators.

Pneumatic compressor—A compressor installed in the fuselage that recharges the cylinder of high-pressure air used for engine starting.

Radiocompass—A radio connected to an indicator which very often points to selected low-frequency broadcast and navigation stations on the ground.

Radome—The fiberglass housing that covers radar antennas on the nose of multiengine and all-weather air defense airplanes.

Ramp—An area on which airplanes are parked.

Rpm—Revolutions per minute, measured from zero to 100 percent of possible engine speed on a tachometer installed in the cockpit.

Scissors—In air combat, a series of hard turn reversals.

Servomotor—An electric motor, controlled from the cockpit, assisting in the job of aircraft control.

Shoulderboards—Insignia distinguishing cadets from officers and enlisted men in the Air Force.

Sight caging lever—A handle beneath the gunsight that locks the delicate working parts of the sight against the shocks of taxiing, takeoff and landing.

Slipstream—The flow of air along the structure of an aircraft in flight.

Spar—The primary component of a wing or tail assembly, upon which most of the structure’s loads are taken.

Speed brakes—A pair of large perforated steel slabs on the fuselage aft of the wing. They are hydraulically forced into the slipstream to slow the aircraft quickly from high speeds.

Stabilator—A contraction of “stabilizer” and “elevator”; the one-piece horizontal tail of an F-84F. It is connected to the pilot’s control stick and establishes the nose-up/nose-down attitude of the airplane.

TACAN—Tactical Air Navigation. Like the radiocompass, a navigation radio connected to a needle that points to a selected station on the ground. Unlike the radiocompass, it is connected also to Distance Measuring Equipment (DME) that shows the distance in nautical miles from the aircraft to the station.

Thermocouples—A set of temperature sensing probes installed in the exhaust of a jet engine.

Throttle—A lever on the left side of the cockpit through which the pilot controls fuel flow and engine power.

Trim button—A five-position thumb button set at the top of the control stick grip. With the trim button the pilot can adjust the flight control system to allow the lightest “stick forces” during flight.

Turbine blade—Also “turbine bucket.” A curved, high-strength steel blade attached to the turbine wheel and mounted in such a way as to catch the fire of the combustion chambers and rotate the wheel.

UHF—In radio communications, ultra high frequency.

Vertical speed indicator—An instrument that measures rates of climb and descent in feet per minute; from zero during level flight to 6,000 fpm when climbing or diving.

Vertigo—Confusion of a pilot’s instinctive sense of direction when flying with reference to instruments alone.

Yaw—Motion of an aircraft to the left and right about its vertical axis.

Yo-yo—In air combat, a steep climb and dive exchanging airspeed for altitude in an attempt to gain a more favorable attacking position.

A glossary of technical terms has been included in this eBook.

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