Air Traffic Monitoring > Listener Forum

ATC lingo

(1/2) > >>

JoelAVguy:
I am some what new to ATC.... and I was wondering where I could look for ATC lingo..  Lots of stuff I hear, I have know idea what they are talking about.  I.e. XYZ jet "heavy"...  flight 1234 join the "localizer".  Any info would be great. :?:

Metty!:
'Heavy' refers to the wake turbulence category of an aircraft e.g. a Boeing 747 is a 'heavy' and ATC require a greater separation in miles of another aircraft behind a heavy than say a 'medium' or 'light' category of aircraft.  

'Localiser' is the the beam of the Instrument Landing System which goes out in a straight line from the runway such that if you follow the localiser beam you get to the runway.  It represents the left and right of the extended runway centerline whereas the glideslope is the beam angled at say 3 degrees from the touchdown point on the runway.  So if you intercept the localiser at 2000feet and say 10 miles you fly straight and level until you intercept the glideslope at say 6miles.  Then you descend following the glideslope and hey presto, you find the runway!

Sorry if terminology isn't correct for US consumption - I'm a Brit!

JoelAVguy:
Thank you for the info!…yes it does seem to apply to the US.  
Your superb mastery of the English language puts me to shame. :D  
Thanks again.

AmericaWestCMH:
Metty is right on.  Nice job.


I believe an aircraft is "heavy" if it's 250,000lbs or more.  757s are not technically a "heavy" by definition, but it's wing design requires extra separation.

IndyTower:
757-300s are considered "heavy" most of the time, depending on the gross weight for a given flight.  A 757-200 can be, but is not often, considered heavy.  One flight on a 757-200 may be "heavy" and the next flight on the same 200 may not be...depends on the payload and weight.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page