Aviation Semantics

Pilot and Words

Pilots have this way of encompassing a very different semantic world that purposely keeps ground people on the ground and loses them in a completely adverse territory.

Regular people talk about plastic wraps, about frozen yogurt or sliced tomatoes. They talk about laptops and the latest Pynchon book. About an article in the Times, Jimmy Fallon, war, gluten-free bread, videos they see on YouTube, electric cars and winter on the West Coast. They use words like drywall, kindergarten or retrospective. They watch the world from the fields and they live their lives accordingly.

Pilots, on the other hand, talk about very distinctive things. Short things. Precise things. They speak in practical sentences and concrete notions with no time to spare.

They talk about ascending and descending, about approach speeds and instrument landings, they repeat checklists and emergency procedures as they’re reminded of mass charts, centers of gravity and drag ratios.

They use a seemingly endless list of acronyms, like VFR, IFR, ILS, IMC, CAVOK, NOTAM, METAR, JAR, DME, VOR, VHF, ACARS, HDG, APU, AGL, FL, ADF, FMC, SATNAV, FMS, GPS, GS, RWY, TCAS, KT, TAF, TTSO, UTC, XPDR, ZULU, CG, CVR, ATC, A/P, EFIS, ALT, ELT, N1, ETOPS, G/S, FADEC, LOC, MDA, MRW, RNAV, VASI, VMC, ATPL, PPL, Va, Vne, Vs, Vx, Vy, Vno, Vfe, TWY, TDZ, UAV, QFE, QNH, QRH, PFD, OCA, IAS –

And each one of these letters refers to a certain flight parameter or standard practice they have to learn, absorb and memorize until the acronyms become trajectories during heavy crosswind IFR go-arounds with obstacles 500ft before the runway threshold, until the letters remind them that 737's CFM56-3 engines are flat rated at ISA+15C, which means they will give less thrust at full throttle position when the OAT is above this temperature because the air is less dense.

Pilots watch the world from above. They adapt to their environment by naturally sorting complex choices and steadily growing wings with the help of simple codes, block capitals and types.

They use words to keep in the air.