T Tango

TAF (Terminal Airport Forecast) - A weather report generated at a particular airport and issued 4 times a day that predicts the weather conditions at that airport. It usually includes the following: wind direction and speed, visibility, sky conditions, cloud cover and cloud type, wind shear indications and altitude location, and precipitation.

tail numbers - The registration number of an aircraft, often painted on its tail.

tailplane - Another word for a horizontal stabilizer.

takeoff - The process of using the thrust of the engines to accelerate an airplane down a runway until enough lift is generated so that the aircraft breaks contact with the ground.

takeoff roll - The portion of takeoff during which the aircraft's landing gear is still in contact with the ground.

Tango - Designator for the letter "T" in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

target - An aircraft appearing on an air traffic controllers radar scope.

taxi - (1) The movement of an airplane under its own power on the surface of an airport. (2) Also describes the surface movement of helicopters with wheels.

taxiway - The paved airport surfaces which allow aircraft to travel between runways and other airport locations such as the hangars or terminals.

technology - The science or study of the practical or industrial arts, applied sciences, etc.

temperature - The degree of hotness or coldness on a definite scale by means of a thermometer.

temperature-dew point spread - The difference between air temperature and dew point temperature. As the spread becomes less, relative humidity increases, and it is 100% when the temperature and the dew point are the same. Surface temperature and dew point spread are important in anticipating the formation of fog.

terminal - A building or buildings designed to accommodate the enplaning and deplaning activities of air carrier passengers.

terrain - A tract of ground regarding its topographical features or fitness for some use.

terrestrial radiation - The total infrared radiation emitted by the earth and its atmosphere.

test pilot - A pilot that is specially trained to test aircraft. Test pilots must be exceptional pilots, have a complete understanding of aeronautics and aerodynamics, and be able to accurately write and speak about what they see, feel and hear during the testing of an aircraft.

throughput - The amount of aircraft flying through the National Airspace System in a given period.

thrust - The force generated when air is pushed rearward by jet engines or propellers, thus pushing an aircraft forward.

tiltrotor - A rotor that is tilted from a horizontal alignment (as a helicopter) for takeoff and landing, to a vertical alignment (as an airplane) for level flight. Tiltrotor aircraft typically have the tiltrotors mounted on the tips of airplane-like wings and achieve the flight characteristics of both airplanes and helicopters.

TMS (Traffic Management System) - A data management system and method that enables acquisition, integration and management of real-time data generated at different rates, by multiple, heterogeneous incompatible data sources. The system achieves this functionality by using an expert system to fuse data from a variety of airline, airport operations, ramp control, and air traffic control tower sources, to establish and update reference data values for every aircraft surface operation. The system may be configured as a real-time airport surface traffic management system (TMS) that electronically interconnects air traffic control, airline data and airport operations data to facilitate information sharing and improve taxi queuing.

tool - A device or process that is used to do some kind of work. A handheld calculator is a tool for doing mathematics accurately and quickly. The Tools of Aeronautics (CFD, Wind Tunnel Testing, Flight Simulation and Flight Test) are processes that use special devices to perform research in aeronautics.

topographical - Maps and charts accurately representing surface features of a region.

touchdown zone - (1) For fixed wing aircraft, the first 3000 feet of runway, beginning at the threshold. (2) For rotary wings and vectored thrust aircraft, the portion of the helicopter landing area or runway used for landing.

tower - A terminal facility that uses air/ground communications, visual signaling, and other devices to provide ATC services to aircraft operating in the vicinity of an airport or on the movement area. Authorizes aircraft to land or takeoff at the airport controlled by the tower or to transit the class D airspace area regardless of flight plan or weather conditions (IFR or VFR).

tower controller - the personnel responsible for issuing takeoff and landing clearances and for monitoring all traffic within a five-mile radius and up to an altitude of 2500 feet.

towering cumulus - Rapidly growing cumulus in which height exceeds width.

track - The actual flight path of an aircraft over the surface of the Earth.

TRACON (Terminal Radar Approach CONtrol) - An air traffic control facility that monitors and directs air traffic through the departure and descent phases of flight.

traffic pattern - The traffic flow that is prescribed for aircraft landing at, taxiing on, or taking off from an airport. The components of a typical traffic pattern are upwind leg, crosswind leg, downwind leg, base leg, and final approach.

trailing edge - The rear edge of an airfoil. The trailing edge is normally thin and sharp. The ailerons are normally located on the trailing edge of the wing.

trajectory synthesis - Software that gives the controller a four dimensional view of how the many lines of incoming aircraft can be positioned into one line of arrival aircraft.

translational motion - Motion along a straight line, such as an axis. The translational motions of an aircraft are forward and back along the longitudinal axis, side to side along the lateral axis, and up and down along the vertical axis.

transonic - Velocity between nine tenths (.9) and one and four tenths (1.4) times the speed of sound.

transponder - An electronic device aboard the airplane that enhances an aircraft's identity on an ATC radar screen.

triangulation - The process of determining the distance between points on the earth's surface, or the relative positions of points, by dividing up a large area into a series of connected triangles measuring a base line between two points, and then locating a third point by computing both the size of the angles made by lines from this point to each end of the base line and the lengths of these lines.

TRK (TRacK) - The projection on the earth's surface of the path of an aircraft, the direction of which path at any point is usually expressed in degrees from North (True, Magnetic, or Grid).

tropopause - The boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere (about 8 km in polar regions and about 15 km in tropical regions), usually characterized by an abrupt change of lapse rate. The regions above the troposphere have increased atmospheric stability than those below. The tropopause marks the vertical limit of most clouds and storms.

troposphere - The lower atmosphere, to a height of 8-15 km above Earth, where temperature generally decreases with altitude, clouds form, precipitation occurs, and convection currents are active.

true altitude - The exact distance above mean sea level.

TSD (Traffic Situation Display) - A tool used by Traffic Management Specialists to monitor the position of air traffic and to determine the traffic demand on airports and sectors.

turbulence - The irregular and instantaneous motions of air which is made up of a number of small of eddies that travel in the general air current. Atmospheric turbulence is caused by random fluctuations in the wind flow. It can be caused by thermal or convective currents, differences in terrain and wind speed, along a frontal zone, or variation in temperature and pressure.