Labyrinth seal. A type of air and/or seal used around the main –shaft bearings in a gas turbine engine. The seal consists of a series of rotating blades that almost contact the seal land. A small amount of air flows between the seal and the land to prevent oil flowing past the seal.
L/D ratio. A measure of efficiency of an airfoil. It is the ratio of the lift to the total drag at a specified angle of attack.
Lacquer. A finishing material made of a film base, solvents, plasticizers, and thinners. The film base forms a tough film over the surface when it dries. The solvents dissolve the film base so it can be applied as a liquid. The plasticizers give the film base the needed resilience, and the thinners dilute the lacquer so it can be applied with a spray gun. Lacquer is sprayed on the surface as a liquid, and when the solvents and thinners evaporate, the film base remains as a tough decorative and protective coating.
Laminar flow. Airflow in which the air passes over the surface in smooth layers with a minimum of turbulence.
Laminated wood. A type of wood made by gluing several pieces of thin wood together. The grain of all pieces runs in the same direction.
Land (piston). The portion of a piston between the ring grooves.
Land (splined shaft). The portion of a splined shaft between the grooves.
Landing gear warning system. A system of lights used to indicate the condition of the landing gear. A red light illuminates when any of the gears are in an unsafe condition; a green light shows when all of the gears are down and locked, and no light is lit when the gears are all up and locked. An aural warning system is installed that sounds a horn if any of the landing gears are not down and locked when the throttles are retarded for landing.
L/D ratio. A measure of efficiency of an airfoil. It is the ratio of the lift to the total drag at a specified angle of attack.
Lacquer. A finishing material made of a film base, solvents, plasticizers, and thinners. The film base forms a tough film over the surface when it dries. The solvents dissolve the film base so it can be applied as a liquid. The plasticizers give the film base the needed resilience, and the thinners dilute the lacquer so it can be applied with a spray gun. Lacquer is sprayed on the surface as a liquid, and when the solvents and thinners evaporate, the film base remains as a tough decorative and protective coating.
Laminar flow. Airflow in which the air passes over the surface in smooth layers with a minimum of turbulence.
Laminated wood. A type of wood made by gluing several pieces of thin wood together. The grain of all pieces runs in the same direction.
Land (piston). The portion of a piston between the ring grooves.
Land (splined shaft). The portion of a splined shaft between the grooves.
Landing gear warning system. A system of lights used to indicate the condition of the landing gear. A red light illuminates when any of the gears are in an unsafe condition; a green light shows when all of the gears are down and locked, and no light is lit when the gears are all up and locked. An aural warning system is installed that sounds a horn if any of the landing gears are not down and locked when the throttles are retarded for landing.
Laser tachometer. A highly accurate tachometer that shines a laser beam on a rotating element that has reflective tape or a contrasting mark. The reflected laser beam is converted into electrical pulses which are counted and displayed on a monitoring instrument.
Last-chance oil filter. A small filter installed in the oil line to the bearing jet in a gas turbine engine. This filter traps any contaminants that have passed the main filter and holds them until the engine is disassembled for overhaul.
Latent heat. Heat that is added to a material that causes a change in its state without changing its temperature.
Lateral axis. An imaginary line, passing through the center of gravity of an airplane, and extending across it from wing tip to wing tip.
Lay-up. The placement of the various layers of resin-impregnated fabric in the mold for a piece of laminated composite material.
LCD. Liquid crystal display. A digital display that consists of two sheets of glass separated by a sealed-in, normally transparent liquid crystal material. The outer surface of each glass sheet has a transparent conductive coating with the viewing side etched into character-forming segments with leads going to the edges of the display. A voltage applied between the front and back coatings disrupts the orderly arrangement of molecules and causes the liquid to darken so that light cannot pass through it. The segment to which the voltage is applied appears as black against a reflected background.
Leading edge. The thick edge at the front of a propeller blade.
Lean die-out. A condition in which the fire in a gas turbine engine goes out because the fuel-air mixture ratio is too lean to sustain combustion.
Lean mixture. A fuel-air mixture that contains more than 15 parts of air to 1 part of fuel, by weight.
Left-right indicator. The course-deviation indicator used with a VOR navigation system.
Last-chance oil filter. A small filter installed in the oil line to the bearing jet in a gas turbine engine. This filter traps any contaminants that have passed the main filter and holds them until the engine is disassembled for overhaul.
Latent heat. Heat that is added to a material that causes a change in its state without changing its temperature.
Lateral axis. An imaginary line, passing through the center of gravity of an airplane, and extending across it from wing tip to wing tip.
Lay-up. The placement of the various layers of resin-impregnated fabric in the mold for a piece of laminated composite material.
LCD. Liquid crystal display. A digital display that consists of two sheets of glass separated by a sealed-in, normally transparent liquid crystal material. The outer surface of each glass sheet has a transparent conductive coating with the viewing side etched into character-forming segments with leads going to the edges of the display. A voltage applied between the front and back coatings disrupts the orderly arrangement of molecules and causes the liquid to darken so that light cannot pass through it. The segment to which the voltage is applied appears as black against a reflected background.
Leading edge. The thick edge at the front of a propeller blade.
Lean die-out. A condition in which the fire in a gas turbine engine goes out because the fuel-air mixture ratio is too lean to sustain combustion.
Lean mixture. A fuel-air mixture that contains more than 15 parts of air to 1 part of fuel, by weight.
Left-right indicator. The course-deviation indicator used with a VOR navigation system.
Lightning hole. A hole cut in a piece of structural material to get rid of weight without losing any strength. A hole several inches in diameter may be cut in a piece of metal at a point where the metal is not needed for strength, and the edges of the hole are flanged to give it rigidity. A piece of metal with properly flanged lightning holes is more rigid than the metal before the holes were cut.
Line boring. A method of assuring concentricity of bored holes. A boring bar extends through all of the holes and cuts the inside diameters so they all have the same center.
Linear actuator. A fluid power actuator that uses a piston moving inside a cylinder to change pressure into linear, or straight-line, motion.
Linear change. A change in which the output is directly proportional to the input.
Link rod. The rod in a radial engine that connects one of the piston wrist pins to a knuckle pin on the master rod. Also called articulating rods.
Liquid cooling. The removal of unwanted heat from an aircraft engine by transferring the heat into a liquid and then passing the heated liquid through a liquid-to-air heat exchanger (radiator) to transfer the heat into the ambient air.
Loadmeter. A current meter used in some aircraft electrical systems to show the amount of current the generator or alternator is producing. Loadmeters are calibrated in percent of the generator rated output.
Localizer. The portion of an ILS (Instrument Landing System) that directs the pilot along the center line of the instrument runway.
Lodestone. A magnetized piece of natural iron oxide.
Logic flow chart. A type of graphic chart that can be made up for a specific process or procedure to help follow the process through all of its logical steps.
Longitudinal axis. An imaginary line, passing through the center of gravity of an airplane, and extending lengthwise through it from nose to tail.
Longitudinal magnetism. A method of magnetizing through a solenoid, or coil, that encircles the part so the lines of magnetic flux pass lengthwise through the part. Longitudinal magnetism makes it possible to detect faults that extend across the part.
Longitudinal stability. Stability of an aircraft along its longitudinal axis and about its lateral axis. Longitudinal stability is also called pitch stability.
Line boring. A method of assuring concentricity of bored holes. A boring bar extends through all of the holes and cuts the inside diameters so they all have the same center.
Linear actuator. A fluid power actuator that uses a piston moving inside a cylinder to change pressure into linear, or straight-line, motion.
Linear change. A change in which the output is directly proportional to the input.
Link rod. The rod in a radial engine that connects one of the piston wrist pins to a knuckle pin on the master rod. Also called articulating rods.
Liquid cooling. The removal of unwanted heat from an aircraft engine by transferring the heat into a liquid and then passing the heated liquid through a liquid-to-air heat exchanger (radiator) to transfer the heat into the ambient air.
Loadmeter. A current meter used in some aircraft electrical systems to show the amount of current the generator or alternator is producing. Loadmeters are calibrated in percent of the generator rated output.
Localizer. The portion of an ILS (Instrument Landing System) that directs the pilot along the center line of the instrument runway.
Lodestone. A magnetized piece of natural iron oxide.
Logic flow chart. A type of graphic chart that can be made up for a specific process or procedure to help follow the process through all of its logical steps.
Longitudinal axis. An imaginary line, passing through the center of gravity of an airplane, and extending lengthwise through it from nose to tail.
Longitudinal magnetism. A method of magnetizing through a solenoid, or coil, that encircles the part so the lines of magnetic flux pass lengthwise through the part. Longitudinal magnetism makes it possible to detect faults that extend across the part.
Longitudinal stability. Stability of an aircraft along its longitudinal axis and about its lateral axis. Longitudinal stability is also called pitch stability.
LORAN A. Long Range Aid to Navigation. A hyperbolic navigation system that operates with frequencies of 1,950 kHz, 1,850 kHz, and 1,900 kHz.
LORAN C. The LORAN system used in aircraft. It operates on a frequency of 100 kHz.
Low bypass ratio engine. A turbofan engine whose bypass ratio is less than 2:1.
Low unmetered fuel pressure. Pressure in a Teledyne- Continental fuel injector pump that is adjusted by the relief valve.
Low-pressure compressor. The first-stage compressor in a dual-spool gas turbine engine. The low-pressure compressor is called the N1 compressor and its speed is not governed. It seeks its own best speed as the atmospheric conditions change so it can furnish a relatively constant mass of air to the inlet of the second-stage compressor.
LRU. Line replaceable unit. Aircraft components designed to be replaced as a unit while the aircraft is on the flight line.
Lubber line. A reference on a magnetic compass and directional gyro that represents the nose of the aircraft. The heading of the aircraft is shown on the compass card opposite the lubber line.
LORAN C. The LORAN system used in aircraft. It operates on a frequency of 100 kHz.
Low bypass ratio engine. A turbofan engine whose bypass ratio is less than 2:1.
Low unmetered fuel pressure. Pressure in a Teledyne- Continental fuel injector pump that is adjusted by the relief valve.
Low-pressure compressor. The first-stage compressor in a dual-spool gas turbine engine. The low-pressure compressor is called the N1 compressor and its speed is not governed. It seeks its own best speed as the atmospheric conditions change so it can furnish a relatively constant mass of air to the inlet of the second-stage compressor.
LRU. Line replaceable unit. Aircraft components designed to be replaced as a unit while the aircraft is on the flight line.
Lubber line. A reference on a magnetic compass and directional gyro that represents the nose of the aircraft. The heading of the aircraft is shown on the compass card opposite the lubber line.