P Papa

Papa - Designator for the letter "P" in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

parallel runways - Runways that are the same distance apart from each other at all points.

particulate - Dust and very small particles of matter.

passenger - A person travelling in a vehicle who is not also operating the flight.

Passive FAST (pFAST) - Produced by NASA and the FAA, this new software tool is designed to help air traffic controllers manage aircraft more efficiently and reduce delays by up to 20 percent. The main function of FAST is to provide advisories to help controllers manage arriving aircraft and achieve an accurately spaced flow of traffic on final approach. FAST can accurately predicts arrival times based on specific knowledge of the type of aircraft, weather conditions and airport landing procedure. FAST also advises the air traffic controllers how to accurately meet the schedule and assure the required aircraft separations for safety purposes. Passive FAST includes the runway assignment and sequence number in the data block.

PATWAS (Pilots Automatic Telephone Weather Answering Service) - A recording that summarizes weather data within 50 nautical miles of the flight facility.

payload - Anything that a flight vehicle carries beyond what is required for its operation during flight.

PDR (Preferential Departure Route) - A predetermined airway that leads from an airport's airspace out to jetways that are used to expedite an aircraft's toward its en route phase.

pilot - (1) To operate, control, or guide a flight vehicle from within the vehicle; to fly an aircraft. (2) Person or persons performing this function, especially someone who is legally qualified and licensed to do so.

pilotage - A method of navigation in which the pilot, flying at low altitudes, uses visual references and compares symbols on aeronautical charts with surface features on the ground in order to navigate.

pilot heads-up display - A cockpit visual display that shows the pilot the directed procedure of roll-out, turn-off, and taxiing.

pilot weather briefers - Employees of Flight Service Stations who provide pilots with weather briefings.

PIREPs (PIlot REPorts) - A report of in-flight weather by an aircraft pilot or a crew member. Often referred to as a PIREP.

pitch - A rotational motion in which an airplane turns about its lateral axis. Pushing forward on the control stick will lower the elevators, which forces the tail upward. The pilot will then see the nose of the aircraft fall or pitch.

POH (Pilot's Operating Handbook) - An aircraft's "owner's manual".

point-to-point flights - Flights using smaller commercial aircraft, flying from one small city to another.

precipitation - Any or all forms of water particles, whether liquid or solid, that fall from the atmosphere and reach the surface.

preflight - The check and preparation of the aircraft before takeoff.

preflight briefings - Updated weather and flight information that a pilot must receive prior to filing a flight plan and taking off.

pressure - A force being exerted on part of a surface. When you stand, your feet put pressure on the ground. Air pressure refers to air molecules pressing against a surface like the bottom of a wing.

pressure altimeter - An aneroid barometer calibrated to indicate altitude in feet instead of units of pressure. It is read accurately only in a standard atmosphere and when the correct altimeter setting is used.

pressure altitude - The altitude in standard atmosphere at which a given pressure will be observed. It is the indicated altitude of a pressure altimeter at an altitude setting of 29.92 inches of mercury, and is therefore the indicated altitude above the 29.92 constant pressure surface.

pressure gradient - The amount of pressure change that occurs over a fixed distance at a fixed altitude.

pressure jump - A sudden increase in the observed atmospheric pressure or station pressure.

prevailing winds - Direction from which the wind blows most frequently during a given period in a specific area or region.

private pilot - A pilot who has completed the Federal Aviation Administration's requirements for the private certificate, including a minimum of 40 hours of flight time and passing a knowledge exam and flight test.

projected flight path - the predetermined line of movement that a flight vehicle makes or follows in the air or in space.

propeller - A device on an aircraft, consisting typically of two or more blades twisted to describe a helical path as they rotate with the hub in which they are mounted, and serving to propel the aircraft by the backward thrust of air. The amount of thrust can be controlled by changing the speed of the propellers.

propulsion system - A mechanism on an aircraft used to propel the aircraft through the air by providing thrust. It consists of a type of propeller or jet engine.

pull - To use force to bring something closer. The force of gravity pulls objects closer to the Earth.

push - To use force to move something ahead or to the side. During takeoff the thrust force, created by the engines, pushes an airplane along the runway.

pushback - The act of an aircraft leaving the gate area before taxiing.

push times - A span of time during an airport's operations that many flights are arriving and departing within the same time frame.