Aeronautical Terms beginning with F
False Start
Hung Start. In gas turbine engines, a condition of normal light off but with r.p.m. remaining at some low value rather than increasing to the normal idle r.p.m. This is often the result of insufficient power to the engine from the starter. In the event of a hung start, the engine should be shut down.
FD
Flight Director System
FDI
Flight Director Indicator.
FEA/FCA
Flow Evaluation Area (FEA) / Flow Constrained Area (FCA) - FEA/FCAs provide reroutes using the Create Reroute capability and are published through a reroute advisory with an optional flight list attached. Stakeholders can monitor FEA/FCAs through reroute monitor in traffic situation display (TSD), web situation display (WSD) or collaborative constraint situation display (CCSD).
Feathered Propeller
A propeller whose blades have been rotated so that the leading and trailing edges are nearly parallel with the aircraft flight path to stop or minimize drag and engine rotation. Normally used to indicate shutdown of a reciprocating or turboprop engine due to malfunction.
Final Approach Runway Occupancy Signal (FAROS)
The Final Approach Runway Occupancy Signal (FAROS) is an automated safety system designed to notify pilots on approach to land that the runway is occupied or otherwise unsafe for landing. This pilot notification system is an FAA sponsored research and development effort that addresses the high priority safety hazards of runway incursions.
Final takeoff speed
The speed of the airplane that exists at the end of the takeoff path in the en route configuration with one engine inoperative.
FISDL
Flight Information Services Data Link
Fixed Shaft Turboprop Engine
A turboprop engine where the gas producer spool is directly connected to the output shaft.
Fixed slot
A fixed, nozzle shaped opening near the leading edge of a wing that ducts air onto the top surface of the wing. Its purpose is to increase lift at higher angles of attack.
Flameout
A condition in the operation of a gas turbine engine in which the fire in the engine goes out due to either too much or too little fuel sprayed into the combustors.
Fleet Weight
An average weight accepted by the FAA for aircraft of identical make and model that have the same equipment installed. When a fleet weight control program is in effect, the fleet weight of the aircraft can be used rather than every individual aircraft having to be weighed.
Flight Director
An automatic flight control system in which the commands needed to fly the airplane are electronically computed and displayed on a flight instrument. The commands are followed by the human pilot with manual control inputs or, in the case of an autopilot system, sent to servos that move the flight controls.
Flight director indicator(FDI)
One of the major components of a flight director system, it provides steering commands that the pilot (or the autopilot, if coupled) follows.
Flight Information Service-Broadcast (FIS-B)
A ground broadcast service provided through the ADS-B Broadcast Services network over the UAT data link that operates on 978 MHz. The FIS-B system provides pilots and flight crews of properly equipped aircraft with a cockpit display of certain aviation weather and aeronautical information.
Flight management system (FMS)
Provides pilot and crew with highly accurate and automatic long-range navigation capability, blending available inputs from long- and short- range sensors.
Flight Management System Procedure
An arrival, departure, or approach procedure developed for use by aircraft with a slant (/) E or slant (/) F equipment suffix.
Flight Management Systems
A computer system that uses a large data base to allow routes to be preprogrammed and fed into the system by means of a data loader. The system is constantly updated with respect to position accuracy by reference to conventional navigation aids. The sophisticated program and its associated data base insures that the most appropriate aids are automatically selected during the information update cycle.
Flightcrew member
A pilot, flight engineer, or flight navigator assigned to duty in an aircraft during flight time.
Floor load limit
The maximum weight the floor can sustain per square inch/foot as provided by the manufacturer.
FMS
Flight Management System
Foreign air carrier
Any person other than a citizen of the United States, who undertakes directly, by lease or other arrangement, to engage in air transportation.
Foreign air commerce
The carriage by aircraft of persons or property for compensation or hire, or the carriage of mail by aircraft, or the operation or navigation of aircraft in the conduct or furtherance of a business or vocation, in commerce between a place in the United States and any place outside thereof; whether such commerce moves wholly by aircraft or partly by aircraft and partly by other forms of transportation.
Foreign air transportation
The carriage by aircraft of persons or property as a common carrier for compensation or hire, or the carriage of mail by aircraft, in commerce between a place in the United States and any place outside of the United States, whether that commerce moves wholly by aircraft or partly by aircraft and partly by other forms of transportation.
Foreign object damage (FOD)
Damage to a gas turbine engine caused by some object being sucked into the engine while it is running. Debris from runways or taxiways can cause foreign object damage during ground operations, and the ingestion of ice and birds can cause FOD in flight.
Free Power Turbine Engine
A turboprop engine where the gas producer spool is on a separate shaft from the output shaft. The free power turbine spins independently of the gas producer and drives the output shaft.
FSM
Flight Schedule Monitor. A tool used by Air Traffic Management Specialists to monitor air traffic demand at airports.
Fuel Dumping
Airborne release of usable fuel. This does not include the dropping of fuel tanks.
Fuel Jettison System
A fuel subsystem that allows the flight crew to dump fuel in an emergency to lower the weight of an aircraft to the maximum landing weight if a return to landing is required before sufficient fuel is burned off. This system must allow enough fuel to be jettisoned that the aircraft can still meet the climb requirements specified in 14 CFR part 25.
Full flight simulator (FFS)
A replica of a specific type; or make, model, and series aircraft cockpit. It includes the assemblage of equipment and computer programs necessary to represent aircraft operations in ground and flight conditions, a visual system providing an out-of-the-cockpit view, a system that provides cues at least equivalent to those of a three-degree-of-freedom motion system, and has the full range of capabilities of the systems installed in the device as described in part 60 of this chapter and the qualification performance standards (QPS) for a specific FFS qualification level.
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