Aviation Glossary
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g or G
Definition of: g or G
SEE LOAD FACTOR
GAP
Definition of: GAP
The distance between two adjacent wings of a biplane or multiplane.
GCA
Definition of: GCA
Ground-Controlled Approach; part of ILS.
GENERAL AVIATION
Definition of: GENERAL AVIATION
That portion of civil aviation which encompasses all facets of aviation except air carriers holding a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Civil Aeronautics Board and large aircraft commercial operators.
GEOGRAPHIC NORTH
Definition of: GEOGRAPHIC NORTH
The northern axis around which the Earth revolves; aka "Map North." Also see MAGNETIC NORTH, TRUE NORTH.
GLASS COCKPIT
Definition of: GLASS COCKPIT
Said of an aircraft's control cabin which has all-electronic, digital and computer-based, instrumentation.
GLIDE SLOPE
Definition of: GLIDE SLOPE
(1) The angle between horizontal and the glide path of an aircraft. (2) A tightly-focused radio beam transmitted from the approach end of a runway indicating the minimum approach angle that will clear all obstacles; one component of an instrument landing system (ILS).
GLIDER
Definition of: GLIDER
An unpowered aircraft capable of maintaining altitude only briefly after release from tow, then gliding to earth. Compare SAILPLANE.
GPS
Definition of: GPS
Global Positioning System; satellite-based navigation.
GREEN LIGHT
Definition of: GREEN LIGHT
Approval for landing. A carryover expression from days when aircraft for the most part had no radios, and communication from a control tower was by means of a light-gun that beamed various green, red, and yellow signals to pilots in the air and on the ground.
GROSS WEIGHT
Definition of: GROSS WEIGHT
The total weight of an aircraft when fully loaded; aka Takeoff Weight.
GROUND CONTROL
Definition of: GROUND CONTROL
Tower control, by radioed instructions from air traffic control, of aircraft ground movements at an airport.
GROUND EFFECT
Definition of: GROUND EFFECT
Increased lift generated by the interaction between a lift system and the ground when an aircraft is within a wingspan distance above the ground. It affects a low-winged aircraft more than a mid- or high-winged aircraft because its wings are closer to the ground; aka GROUND CUSHION.
GROUND SPEED
Definition of: GROUND SPEED
The actual speed that an aircraft travels over the ground — its "shadow speed"; it combines the craft's airspeed and the wind speed relative to the aircraft's direction of flight.
GULL-WING
Definition of: GULL-WING
Descriptive of wing in frontal view bent as the wing of a seagull; a distinctive shallow, inverted "V" shape — see Stinson SR-7 or inverted gull-wing Vought F4U.
GYROPLANE
Definition of: GYROPLANE
A rotorcraft whose rotors are not engine-driven, except for initial starting, but are made to rotate by action of the air when the rotorcraft is moving and whose means of propulsion, usually a conventional propeller, is independent of the rotor system. Similar to AUTOGYRO.
