L Lima

land breeze - A coastal breeze blowing from land to sea, usually at night when the sea surface is warmer than the adjacent land.

landing - To carry out the process of bringing a flight vehicle down to the earth or another surface.

landing gear - Another word for undercarriage. The collection of devices including wheels, skis, and floats that enable a flight vehicle to land and move about on land, water or other surfaces. The landing gear is often retractable - it can be pulled into the fuselage of the aircraft to reduce drag during flight.

landing roll - the distance from the point of touchdown to the point where the aircraft can be brought to a stop or exit the runway.

landing sequence - The order in which aircraft are positioned for landing.

landmark - An object on land which is easily seen and recognizable by the pilot during flight.

lateral axis - The axis extending through the center of gravity of an aircraft, and parallel to a line connecting the tips of the wings. The lateral axis is sometimes called the "y" axis. Pitch is a motion around the lateral axis.

laterally - Sideways

latitude - Linear or angular distance that is measured north or south of the equator in degrees, minutes and seconds.

layover - A temporary cessation of a flight that will resume flight later.

leading edge - The front edge of an airfoil. The leading edge is normally rounded and thicker than the trailing edge.

lidar - A meteorological instrument using transmitted and reflected laser light for detecting atmospheric particles, as pollutants, and determining their elevation, concentration, etc.

lift - The upward force generated by air passing over and under an aircraft's wings, resulting in air pressure above the wing decreasing in relation to the air pressure below the wing. In normal, forward flight, the lift force " lifts" the aircraft into the air. Engineers design airplanes so that the lift created by the wings opposes the weight force.

Lima - Designator for the letter "L" in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

local control - The control tower at each airport.

local controller - The controller stationed at the ATCT who gives pilots taxiing and runway directions as well as clearance for takeoffs and landings. (also known as the "Tower Controller").

local winds - The movement of air across the land that are particular for that region and occur regularly.

localizer beam - An ILS navigation facility located near an airport's runway that provides horizontal guidance to the runway centerline for aircraft during approach and landing. It does this by radiating a directional pattern of VHF radio waves modulated by two signals that, when received with equal intensity, are displayed in the cockpit as an "on-course" indication. When the two signals are received with unequal intensity, they are displayed in the cockpit as an "off-course" indication.

logbook - A register book that lists a pilot's flight time, instructor endorsements, and completed training topics.

longitude - Linear or angular distance that is measured west or east of the Prime Meridian in degrees, minutes and seconds.

longitudinal axis - The axis extending through the center of the fuselage from the nose to the tail. The longitudinal axis is sometimes called the "x" axis. Roll is a motion around the longitudinal axis.

LOP (Line Of Position) - A line drawn on a chart indicating an aircraft's flight path and that the aircraft's position is located somewhere along that line. This line is determined by comparing 2 navigational signals from different positions.

LORAN-C (LOng RAnge Navigation) - The third of four versions developed since WWII, a radio navigation system utilizing master and slave stations transmitting timed pulses. The time difference in reception of pulses from several stations establishes a hyperbolic line of position which may be identified on a LORAN chart. By utilizing signals from two pairs of stations, a fix in position is obtained. Loran-C operates in the 100-110 kHz frequency band.

low and middle frequency (L/MF) band - A radio frequency between 30 - 300 KHz.

low level significant weather prognostic chart (prog chart) - A chart used in aviation that forecasts significant weather of a given area up to 24,000 feet. It is issued 4 times a day and provides a 12 - and 24 - hour weather forecast.

LVLASO (Low Visibility Landing And Surface Operations) - A NASA research program using simulation, flight test activities, better visual and communication aids, in order to provide controllers and pilots with new technology to reduce uncertainties in poor weather conditions.