A.
"A"
and "C" Engineer --
This training covers routine servicing responsibilities with authority
to declare an aircraft or engine fit for flight; first level training
license.
ACV --
Air-Cushion Vehicle: a hovercraft. (see hovercraft)
Aerodrome --
An early British name for a small airfield, or landing strip; now
commonly called an airport or airfield.
Aerodynamic(s) --
A branch of dynamics that deals with the motion of air and other gaseous
fluids and with the forces acting on bodies in motion relative to such
fluids.
Aeronautical Engineering --
The particular application of science and mathematics to the operation
of aircraft, by which the properties of matter and the sources of energy
in nature are made useful to people.
Afterburner --
A device incorporated into the tail pipe of a turbojet engine for
injecting fuel into the exhaust gases and burning it to provide extra
thrust.
Air Force Plaid/Tartan --
The colours blue, maroon, and white in a tartan pattern officially
became the Royal Canadian Air Force tartan on August 15, 1942. This
tartan pattern is internationally recognized as belonging to the RCAF
and was designed by Hall of Fame inductee Elmer Fullerton.
AOS --
Air Observer School
Apron --
The extensive paved part of an airport immediately adjacent to the
terminal area or hangars.
ATA --
Air Transport Auxiliary
ATC --
Air Transport Command. (see Ferry Command)
Avro Arrow Project --
A project to create an advanced, supersonic, twin engine, all weather
interceptor jet developed by A.V. Roe of Canada from 1949-1959.
Go to Glossary of Terms
B.
"B"
and "D" Engineer --
This training allows sign-out privileges for both airframe and engines
after a major overhaul; senior level license.
Barnstorm --
To pilot one's airplane in sight-seeing flights with passengers or in
exhibition stunts in an unscheduled course, especially in rural areas.
Barren Lands --
A vast, desolate region of the Northwest Territories, which extends into
Canada's Arctic.
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) --
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was established in 1940 between
the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada to develop
training grounds where instruction could be carried out away from the
battleground, particularly Great Britain which was vulnerable to
attack.
Belt Of Orion Award --
Founded by Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame to honour organizations,
groups, societies, or associations which have made outstanding
contributions to the advancement of aviation in Canada.
Boy Airman --
An underage recruit; pilot in training.
Burwash Expedition 1930 --
The object was to check the location of the North Magnetic Pole, take a
series of overlapping photographs of the Canadian Arctic Coastline for
mapping purposes, and to search for further traces of the ill-fated Sir
John Franklin Expedition of 1845. Major Lauchie T. Burwash of the
Northwest Territories and Yukon Branch of the Department of the Interior
headed the expedition. Hall of Fame member, Walter Gilbert, piloted the
expedition.
Go to Glossary of Terms
C.
CAF --
Canadian Air Force 1920-1923
Camp
Borden/Canadian Forces Base Borden --
Named after Sir Frederick Borden, former militia minister (1896-1911).
The camp was created in 1916 as a training ground for fliers and
soldiers in WWl.
Canadarm --
The name given to the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System, Canada's
contribution to the U.S. Space Shuttle. The Canadarm is a complex, 6
degrees of freedom, remotely controlled manipulator used for cargo
deployment and retrieval from and to the shuttle's cargo bay. It
functions much like a human arm with six joints and a snare-type end
effector which acts as a hand. The Canadarm first flew in November, 1981
on the second Space Shuttle flight and was declared operational a year
later, after three successful test flights.
Canadian Expeditionary
Forces --
A special task force dedicated to military service abroad or to unknown
territories.
CANOL Project --
A 10cm, in diameter, oil pipeline built between 1942-1944 from Norman
Wells, NWT, 1000km to Whitehorse, Yukon; a failed joint project
undertaken by the U.S. Armed Forces and the Canadian Government to
secure an oil supply to fuel defense efforts in the Northwest.
Cowl Flap --
The removable front cover of an aircraft forward of the doors which is
attached to the windshield and instrument board and helps to regulate
engine temperature.
CPA --
Canadian Pacific Air Lines
Croix de Guerre --
Established in 1915 to commemorate individual mentions in dispatches.
The cross is awarded to soldiers, sailors and officers of all ranks,
also including men of Allied Forces mentioned in a dispatch from the
general officer commanding an Army, Army Corps, Division, Brigade, C.O.
of a regiment, or the corresponding units of Naval forces.
Cycle Corps --
A military special unit of auxiliary arms and services utilizing
motorcycles as the primary mode of transportation and defense.
Go to Glossary of Terms
D.
D-Day --
A day set for launching an operation: June 6, 1944, on which allied
forces began the invasion of France in WWII.
DEW Line --
Distant Early Warning Line: an early radar detection system established
by NATO forces during the Cold War to identify enemy activity or
aircraft within NATO airspace.
DND --
Department of National Defense
Go to Glossary of Terms
E.
Ellsworth
Expedition 1933-1935 --
Lincoln Ellsworth, an American explorer, launched an expedition of the
South Pole; the crossing of Antarctica. The expedition bridged
Antarctica for the first time. Herbert
Hollick-Kenyon, CAHF member piloted the expedition. The two covered
3500 km and claimed a large piece of land for the United States.
Go to Glossary of Terms
F.
Ferry
Command/Service --
Established in 1941 under the name Royal Air Force Ferry Command to
improve aircraft deliveries from North America to Britain during WWII.
Fixed-Wing Aircraft --
A type of airplane: a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft that has fixed
wings from which it derives most of its lift.
Flying Boat Squadron --
An air force unit higher than a flight and lower than a group which
specifically uses seaplanes equipped with a hull designed for floating.
Franks Flying Suit --
An anti-gravity suit designed by Wilbur Franks to solve the problems
related to pilot blackout due to radial acceleration and deceleration,
in high gravity manoeuvres.
Go to Glossary of Terms
G.
Gemini
and Mercury Programs --
Gemini and Mercury were spacecraft designed by NASA (National
Aeronautics and Space Administration), which required the development of
boosters to enable launching.
Geodetic Survey of Canada --
An organization established to study the earth's surface by use of
applied mathematics and geographical points.
Gravitational Force --
A force manifested by acceleration toward each other of two free
material particles or bodies of radiant energy of great amounts; also
known as: G Force.
Go to Glossary of Terms
H.
High G
Manoeuvre --
An intended and controlled variation from a straight and level flight
path, often at high speed and varying elevations in order to secure an
advantage.
Hovercraft --
A vehicle that is supported above the surface of land or water by a
cushion of air produced by downwardly directed fans.
Hudson Strait
Expedition 1927-1928 --
The Dominion Government of Canada decided to complete the Hudson Bay
Railway and its northern terminal on Hudson Bay via the Hudson Strait.
The RCAF received the major portion of responsibilities in the
organization of the expedition to undertake an exhaustive study on the
requirements necessary for the safety of ship navigation in those waters
as an alternate export route to Europe. Under the command of Hall of
Fame member T.A. Lawrence, the expedition, in addition to collecting
information on ice and meteorological conditions in the Strait, tested
the feasibility of using aircraft as an aid to navigation and the
practicality of establishing air bases in the area.
Hydrofoil --
A motorboat equipped with metal plates or fins attached by struts fore
and aft for lifting the hull clear of the water as speed is increased.
Go to Glossary of Terms
J.
JATO --
Jet-Assisted Take Off.
Go to Glossary of Terms
L.
Levanevsky
Search --
In 1937 a rescue mission was launched in an attempt to locate Sigmund
Levanevsky, a Russian pilot who went missing on a trans-polar flight to
Fairbanks, Alaska from Moscow with five companions on board. The search,
although unsuccessful, was classified a s one of aviation's greatest
aerial searches covering the western Arctic from Siberia through Alaska
and the Yukon Territory.
Go to Glossary of Terms
M.
Manhattan
Project --
An allied venture undertaken 1943-1945 and headquartered in the US to
develop the first atom bombs, utilizing uranium.
MacAlpine Rescue --
In November 1929, Colonel C.D.H. MacAlpine and fellow Dominion Explorers
were rescued during a mineral exploration in the North West Territories.
The party of fliers were grounded due to low fuel supplies and
mechanical problems and they were forced to head out on foot across the
Arctic. Due to failure to arrive at several checkpoints and a breakdown
in communication, the party was deemed lost and a rescue mission by air
was launched. The rescue involved many air miles flown in Arctic
conditions.
MID: Mention in Dispatches --
Prior to 1990 an MID award was given to notify higher authorities of
deserving officers' service in the field or at sea (originally); since
the mid-1840s, the practice has been extended to all ranks. In 1990, the
design of the emblem was changed slightly and given to members of the
Canadian Forces in active service for valiant conduct, dedication to
duty, or other distinguished service as deemed by the recommendation of
the Chief of Defense Staff.
Go to Glossary of Terms
N.
NATO --
North Atlantic Treaty Organization: established in 1949 and was Canada's
first peacetime military arrangement between the U.S., Great Britain and
western Europe due to aggressive military expansion in the Soviet Union.
NORAD --
North American Aerospace Defense Command. NORAD was originally called
North American Air Defense Agreement in 1957, and changed to its current
title in 1981. The agreement joined the US and Canadian Air Forces in
an attempt to secure North America from air attack and then from
nuclear missiles.
Northwest Staging Route --
The Canadian and US Armed Forces between 1941 and 1945 secured a North
American Defense Route in the Canadian North to Alaska and the Soviet
Union by building several manned air bases.
Go to Glossary of Terms
O.
Operation
Muskox --
A joint effort by the Canadian Army and the RCAF undertaken in 1946 to
test the possibilities of moving men and motorized transportation across
the Canadian Arctic.
Go to Glossary of Terms
P.
Pathfinder
Squadron --
405 Maritime Patrol Squadron
The first RCAF bomber squadron overseas during WW2 and the only RCAF
Pathfinder Squadron. Missions involved exploring regions to mark out new
routes, lines of attack and targets.
Peenemunde --
A village in Northeast Germany on an island at the mouth of the Peene
Estuary.
Portable Nose Hangar --
A canvas and wood frame structure approximately 15 sq. feet in size. The
nose of the aircraft, which housed the engine and fuselage, would be
sheltered by the canvas curtain which was fastened around the nose. The
hangar could be heated by a small stove and repairs could be carried out
in relative comfort or the engine could be warmed in cold temperatures
to ease starting.
Go to Glossary of Terms
R.
RAF --
Royal Air Force
RCAAF --
Royal Canadian Auxiliary Air Force
RCAF --
Royal Canadian Air Force
RCAFA --
Royal Canadian Air Force Association
RCFCA --
Royal Canadian Flying Club Association
RFC --
Royal Flying Corps
RNAS --
Royal Naval Air Service
Rotary-Wing Aircraft --
A helicopter.
R-Theta --
A distance and bearing computer, that automatically and continuously
without the usual radio or radar links with a base, tells the pilot how
many straight-line miles he is from his base or his target and what
direction or compass heading he must fly to arrive there.
Go to Glossary of Terms
S.
Sailplane --
A glider of such design that it is able to rise in an upward air
current.
SHORAN --
Short Range Navigation: the project began in 1949 and was completed in
1957. A mapping and navigation system which required that every piece of
equipment needed for navigation be pre-positioned by sea or by aircraft,
particularly in the Arctic where accu rate mapping was necessary.
Silver Dart --
The first powered, heavier than air machine to fly in Canada. Designed
and built by the Aerial Experiment Association, 1907-1909, which
included Alexander Graham Bell, J.A.D. McCurdy, and Glenn H. Curtiss.
STOL --
Short Takeoff and Landing
Go to Glossary of Terms
T.
Tetrahedral
Kite --
A lighter than air machine designed to carry the weight of a person. The
shape was somewhat triangular with a fourth side open underneath. It
consisted of small silk cells stitched together to connect a lightweight
wooden structure. The idea was that of Alexander Graham Bell whose aims
were to first build a kite capable of lifting a man and then to
construct a kite aerodynamically sound, with room in its tetrahedral
corpus for a passenger and an engine.
Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA) --
Trans-Canada Air Lines was Canada's first national air line designed for
passenger service. The company was established by C.D. Howe in 1937. The
name changed to Air Canada in 1965.
Trans-Canada Air Pageant --
The goal was to show Canadians how aviation was progressing in Canada
and to stimulate interest in all branches of Canadian aviation. The
pageant was launched in Hamilton, Ontario on July 1, 1931 and journeyed
all across Canada and parts of the mid-western United States, returning
to Hamilton on September 12, 1931. The pageant presented 26 flying
displays with over 300,000 spectators across Canada, many of whom had
their first glimpse of aviation.
Trans-Canada McKee Trophy --
The oldest and highest aviation award in Canada awarded in recognition
of outstanding achievement in the field of air operations. The award was
established in 1927 by an American John Dalzell McKee, to the people of
Canada, to commemorate the first Trans-Canada seaplane flight. The
plane was piloted by McKee and navigated by Squadron Leader Earl Godfrey who were the first to fly the Douglas seaplane across North
America. The trophy is owned by the Canadian Military and presented by
the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute.
Triangulation --
The measuring of a given area to determine distance, height, or location
by a network of triangles into which any part of the earth's surface is
divided in surveying and mapping.
Tundra Tire --
Balloon tires and wheels for use on aircraft in the far north. The large
tires inflated under low pressure had many benefits: landing on various
types of northern terrain such as ice, snow, rocky plateaus, and soft
muskeg, was made easy and allowed for less tire wear; improved
traction; absorption of landing shocks when aircraft land on rough
terrain.
Go to Glossary of Terms
U.
USAAF --
United States Army Air Forces
USAF --
United States Air Force
Go to Glossary of Terms
V.
Variable
Pitch Propeller --
The first variable pitch propeller was made at Peterboro, England July,
1918. This model had mechanical brakes and operated very smoothly at
1,550 revolutions per minute. Later, in the 1920s, Canadian Vickers
Company and W.R. Turnbull under a grant from the Dominion Government of
Canada, created a second propeller which helped to improve take-off,
climb, increase ceiling and lower fuel consumption at best cruising
speed.
VTOL --
Vertical Take Off and Landing
VX-10 Squadron --
Experimental Squadron Ten was formed on November 5, 1952 at Shearwater,
Nova Scotia and remained there until June 30, 1970. The Royal Canadian
Navy formed the squadron to test new aircraft, new aircraft equipment,
and weapons projects in adverse conditions. One of the most significant
contributions of the squadron was its role in Anti Submarine Warfare.
Go to Glossary of Terms
W.
Worth
Oil Dilution System --
One of the greatest aides to cold weather flying operations in Canada.
It was introduced by T.W. Siers into Canada in 1939. The original
system was developed by Weldon Worth, a mechanical engineer with the
United States Army Air Corps. It provided for the thinning of
circulating oil prior to stopping the aircraft engine. The diluted oil
then allowed the motor to be turned over quite freely, even after
standing idle in sub-zero temperatures. Successful starts were made
without engine heating in temperatures as low as -35 degrees
Fahrenheit.
Go to Glossary of Terms
Z.
Zeppelin --
A rigid airship consisting of a cylindrical trussed and covered frame
supported by internal gas cells.
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A.
AFC --
Air Force Cross -- Instituted in 1918, the AFC was awarded to officers
and warrant officers for courage or devotion of duty while flying,
though not in active operations against the enemy.
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C.
CB --
Companion, Order of The Bath -- Instituted in 1399, the CB was awarded
to senior and junior officers for services in action that had been
Mentioned in Dispatches.
CBE --
Commander, Order of The British Empire -- Instituted in 1917, the OBE
rewarded commanders of the army, navy and air force for services rendered
of a non-combatant nature.
CC --
Companion, Order of Canada -- Instituted in 1967, the CM was awarded to
those who exemplify the highest qualities of citizenship.
CD --
Canadian Forces Decoration -- Instituted in 1950, the CD was awarded to
all ranks of both the Regular and Reserve Forces who complete 12 years'
service in stipulated conditions.
CM --
Member, Order of Canada -- Instituted in 1967, the CM was awarded to
those who exemplify the highest qualities of citizenship.
CMM --
Commander of the Order of Military -- The Order was established to
provide a worthy means of recognizing conspicuous merit and exceptional
service by members of the Canadian Forces both regular and reserve. The
Chief of the Defense Staff is by virtue of that office the, the
Principal Commander of the Order. Appointments are made by the Governor
General of Canada for outstanding meritorious service in duties of great
responsibility. Only officers of Brigadier -General/Commodore and above
are eligible to be appointed a Commander.
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D.
DCM --
Distinguished Conduct Medal -- Instituted in 1894 to reward members of
the Colonial Forces for distinguished, gallant and good conduct in the
field. The Canadian issue is extremely rare, with only one being known.
DFC --
Distinguished Flying Cross -- Instituted in 1918, the DFC was awarded to
officers and warrant officers who displayed courage or devotion to duty
while flying in active operations against the enemy.
DFM --
Distinguished Flying Medal -- Instituted in 1918, the DFM rewarded
Non-Commissioned Officers and men for bravery while flying on operations
against the enemy.
DSC --
Distinguished Service Cross -- Instituted in 1901, the DSC was awarded
for for meritorious or distinguished services before the enemy.
DSO --
Distinguished Service Order -- Instituted in 1886, the DSO rewarded
officers below the rank of major for distinguishing themselves in active
service against the enemy.
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E.
ED --
Efficiency Decoration -- Instituted on October 17, 1930 for twenty years
continuous commissioned service by officers of the territorial and
auxiliary forces of Britain and the Commonwealth. Recipients had to have consistently high standards of conduct and training.
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M.
MBE --
Officer, Order of The British Empire -- Instituted in 1917, the OBE
rewarded those officers of the army, navy and air force for services
rendered of a non-combatant nature.
MC --
Military Cross -- Instituted in 1914, the MC rewarded officers with the
rank of Captain or below, or warrant officers for gallantry.
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O.
OBE --
Officer, Order of the British Empire -- Instituted in 1917, the OBE
rewarded those members of the army, navy and air force for services
rendered of a non-combatant nature.
OC --
Officer, Order of Canada -- Instituted in 1967, the OC was awarded to
those who exemplify the highest qualities of citizenship.
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V.
VC --
Victoria Cross -- Instituted in 1856, the VC was awarded for acts of
outstanding gallantry.
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