Acronyms -
 

In all the discussions on aircraft accidents with the "newer" airplanes mention is always made of the various indicating systems in the cockpit. Back in "my day" it was fairly simple. We had an Airspeed Indicator, Artificial Horizon, Altimeter, Rate of Climb, Slaved Compass, an RMI, and maybe a VOR gauge or two. It all seemed so simple.

But I see references to such things as:

ECAM = Electronic Centralized Aircraft Monitor
EFIS = Electronic Flight Instrument System
EHSI = Electronic Horizontal Situation Indicator
EICAS = Engine Indicating and Crew Alerting System
FAC = Flight Augmentation Computer
FADEC = Full Authority Digital Engine Control
FBW = Fly By Wire
FMS = Flight Management System
LNAV = Lateral Navigation
MFD = Mult-Function Display
PFD = Primary Flight Display
VLS = Lowest Selectable Speed
VNAV = Vertical Navigation

Would those of you who fly all this new stuff please add/correct to my list if there are yet more so that I might have a complete list.

Thank you.

Acronyms
 

DC-ATE,
I am an old fella too, so just Googled 'Airbus Acroynms' and got this link.

Airbus Acronyms

I go back to the days of the (RAF) Comet mk 2 and would just like to say how much I enjoy reading your posts.

My first of many trips to the Far East was (SLF) in a KLM 8-(32?)

Keep 'em coming.

Exmek

A good download (PDF/save!!) is this
Abbreviations

Doesn't include OF, though, for us.....:)

OK.....thanks for that link. That shouldn't take more than a week or so to wade through!:bored: Has a little more than I was looking for but an interesting site for sure.

Retirement project, like me!:)

Does it include TRW?

TRW?...Ha, ha. NOPE! Must be a 'new' list!:bored:

....or TLA?

It shows "TLA" as "Title Line Area", whatever that is.

Thrust Lever Angle on Embraers but they have their own take on Three Letter Abbreviations.

Thrust lever angle??? What do I care what the angle is?

PFM is the one I use most during conversion courses...

Pre-Flight Messages is what that list shows for "PFM".

Thought that was AA in the Hudson:) Did you see business class got rafts and the hoy palloi had to use the wings in ankle deep cold water. Hrrmmph!

Diesel8

I'll give you a clue: Pure ******* Magic.

Nothing to do with pre-flite, I'm afraid.

fantom -

Ha! Kinda figured the list was wrong.

Got it!:}

DC-ATE
 

It's a major input to the logic of many systems. Aircraft have moved on a long way and I get the feeling your a little behind the technology curve mate.

Even the engine FADEC uses TLA as a thrust request. By that I mean that the quadrant is divided with certain flat spots that request a specific thrust rating rather than an N1 figure.

So 72-80 degrees will command TO thrust but the actual N1 will depend on how TO thrust was defined on the take off data set page. 68-72 degrees will give Climb thrust. The actual N1 will depend on Air Data at the time. The idle de-tent ( around 24 degrees) will request idle thrust. That could be ground idle, flight idle, approach idle or final approach idle. All different but all commanded by the same TLA.

Speed brake will retract if the thrust levers are above 70 degrees

Ground spoiler will deploy if among other things the TLA is below a certain angle, and retract if the TLA angle goes above a certain threshold.

Other systems use TLA in the TO range to activate appropriate logic for the take off phase of flight for example anti-ice and ECS (air-conditioning and pressurisation).

You can neither start or stop an engine if the TLA is not in the idle range.

We know you are anti automation but take it from me. The world has moved on and the automation you dislike actually saves lives every day.

You'd better believe it, MATE, and glad of it. We didn't need all that stuff to get where we wanted to go.

I'm glad you know your systems. Enjoy, but just remember:

IT ISN'T AN EXACT SCIENCE!

If I tell you the first aeroplane I operated as an FE was a derivative of the Comet you will know that I'm pretty familiar with steam driven systems.

It's not a case of needing automation. It's about benefiting from it. Does your car have anti lock brakes? If so you will know that stamping on the peddle and letting the ABS modulate the brake pressure is a lot easier and accurate than trying to do cadence braking manually.

FE Hoppy -

I'm kinda familiar with 'steam driven' systems as well!

And, my SUV has anti-lock brakes. But, it came that way; I didn't have a choice. I know how to operate them, but I don't like them.

You may not like them but you know there is no way you could stop in as short a distance without them.

Well there's the common misconception...

Anti lock brakes more often than not extend stopping distances, over an identical car without ABS. What ABS does do for you is allow you to continue to steer the car. A car without ABS that locks all four wheels up will stop far short of a car with ABS, it will however continue in a straight line, irrespective of what the driver does with the steering wheel.

Personally I think ABS in cars should be disabled unless the front wheels are trying to steer.

.Foot in well shot?:)

I take it we are talking ALB here? TLAR. Excuse the FLA.:confused:

I was going to try and point that out, but didn't feel like arguing. some people you just can't convince of some things.

-----

BOAC -

I take it we are talking ALB here? TLAR. Excuse the FLA.

The 'ALB' and 'FLA; I got, but the 'TLAR' isn't on that list you gave me!

That looks about right - also known as OFNC - 'old farts navigation computer'

What, after a bout of severe turbulence, is FFS?

or Norwich.....

Tech Log The very best in practical technical discussion on the web - oh yes - what fun we are having in the old folks home, eh (sorry, OFH)

OK it was an over simplification.

I should have said a loaded vehicle at moderate or high speed. Or in wet or icy conditions. Which where I live is most of the time.

DC-ATE,
Nitpicking, as is my wont, but most of your examples are not acronyms, just abbreviations (another old far. ... eh, fella, butting in).

"Acronym - An abbreviation formed by (usually initial) letters taken from a word or series of words, and which is itself pronounced as a word, such as RAM" was the neatest definition I found.

The criterium is that it has to be "pronounceable", and is used as such.
So 'EICAS' and 'FADEC' qualify, 'PFD' doesn't.
'ADI' (attitude director indicator) doesn't qualify either, because it's never pronounced "aadie" but always "aa-die-eye".

I always like it when people come up with good catchy acronyms.

Exmek,
Thanks for the link to the Airbus batch.
Amusing to see they left out the infamous IFE (after the A380 debacle, no doubt).

CJ

Human - machine interface Hoppy.

Capt: 74% Eng.

Capt: 75%

Capt: 80%

Capt: Slow cut to idle

Or

Capt: 72 degrees Eng????

WTF

ChristiaanJ -

Hey.....pick away. No problem, but THAT is exactly where I started this thread.....I think! Looking for av acronyms in these 'new fangled' flying machines: EFIS and the like.

RSS,
Aren't you missing a point?

TLA is only where you put the throttle lever.
Barely different from a Piper Cub, except that there are now a few "presets", such as "IDLE" and "TOGA" and a few in between.
That's "demanded" thrust, with a computer helping you out, rather than having to fiddle and tweak to get the setting exactly right.

Doesn't absolve you from monitoring what the engines do in response to your throttle lever setting, be it in terms of N1 or EPR.

CJ

PS Yes, I'm scratching my head about some of the automation too. But I think you oversimplified....

I thought that TLA meant "three letter abbreviation " no ?

111boy,
LOL (another three-letter abbreviation).
You'll probably find most of the three-letter ones are already used up, if not necessarily in aviation.

Even four- and five-letter ones that make a good acronym are getting rarer.

CJ

TLA has always meant Three Letter Abbreviation - and there are too f@@@king many of them for FOF's like me! VOR, ILS and ADF are all I can manage.

Christ! I never realised that flying an aeroplane without the aid of a sophisticated autopilot was THAT dangerous....

Tee Emm
 

Pop into your nearest ITU and have a look at the amount of automation used in delivery of drugs to the patients in there.

Just one of many examples where routine tasks have been automated.

ABS and traction control. How many previously fatal accidents have been avoided? Airbags and seat belt tensioners!!

The list is endless.

Automation is everywhere, not just in the cockpit.

Nothing can go wrong --- go wrong--go wrong--g---

TLAR is the Thrust Lever Angle Resolver. Thats the component that actually sends the thrust lever angle to the EEC.

That looks about right Jetdoc.