Aeronautical Terms beginning with T
T-Tail
An aircraft with the horizontal stabilizer mounted on the top of the vertical stabilizer, forming a T.
Tailwheel Aircraft
See Conventional landing Gear.
Takeoff Weight
The weight of an aircraft just before beginning the takeoff roll. It is the ramp weight less the weight of the fuel burned during start and taxi.
Tandem wing configuration
A configuration having two wings of similar span, mounted in tandem.
Tare Weight
The weight of any chocks or devices that are used to hold an aircraft on the scales when it is weighed. The tare weight must be subtracted from the scale reading to get the net weight of the aircraft.
TEMAC
Trailing Edge of the Mean Aerodynamic Chord.
Temporary Ballast
Weights that can be carried in a cargo compartment of an aircraft to move the location of CG for a specific flight condition. Temporary ballast must be removed when the aircraft is weighed.
Throttle
The valve in a carburetor or fuel control unit that determines the amount of fuel-air mixture that is fed to the engine.
Thrust
The force which imparts a change in the velocity of a mass. This force is measured in pounds but has no element of time or rate. The term, thrust required, is generally associated with jet engines. A forward force which propels the airplane through the air.
Thrust Line
An imaginary line passing through the center of the propeller hub, perpendicular to the plane of the propeller rotation.
Tire Cord
Woven metal wire laminated into the tire to provide extra strength. A tire showing any cord must be replaced prior to any further flight.
Torching
The burning of fuel at the end of an exhaust pipe or stack of a reciprocating aircraft engine, the result of an excessive richness in the fuel air mixture.
Torque
(1) A resistance to turning or twisting.
(2) Forces that produce a twisting or rotating motion.
(3) In an airplane, the tendency of the aircraft to turn (roll) in the opposite direction of rotation of the engine and propeller.
(4) In helicopters with a single, main rotor system, the tendency of the helicopter to turn in the opposite direction of the main rotor rotation.
Torque Meter
An indicator used on some large reciprocating engines or on turboprop engines to indicate the amount of torque the engine is producing.
Torque Sensor
See Torque Meter.
Total drag
The sum of the parasite drag and induced drag.
Trailing Edge
The portion of the airfoil where the airflow over the upper surface rejoins the lower surface airflow.
Transponder
The airborne portion of the secondary surveillance radar system. The transponder emits a reply when queried by a radar facility.
Tricycle Gear
Landing gear employing a third wheel located on the nose of the aircraft.
Trim Tab
A small auxiliary hinged portion of a movable control surface that can be adjusted during flight to a position resulting in a balance of control forces.
True Airspeed (TAS)
Calibrated airspeed corrected for altitude and nonstandard temperature. Because air density decreases with an increase in altitude, an airplane has to be flown faster at higher altitudes to cause the same pressure difference between pitot impact pressure and static pressure. Therefore, for a given calibrated airspeed, true airspeed increases as altitude increases; or for a given true airspeed, calibrated airspeed decreases as altitude increases.
Truss
A fuselage design made up of supporting structural members that resist deformation by applied loads. The truss-type fuselage is constructed of steel or aluminum tubing. Strength and rigidity is achieved by welding the tubing together into a series of triangular shapes, called trusses.
TSO
Technical Standard Order
Turbocharger
An air compressor driven by exhaust gases, which increases the pressure of the air going into the engine through the carburetor or fuel injection system.
Turbulence
An occurrence in which a flow of fluid is unsteady.
Type Certificate Data Sheets (TCDS)
The official specifications issued by the FAA for an aircraft, engine, or propeller.
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