Easier said than done – that’s for sure. I won’t try to convince you otherwise. 

Technical terms definitely help explain aviation concepts precisely, and help make the communication more efficient – one term can save writing out a whole sentence. Things can be explained using short and to the point phrasing. Absolutely! 

All of this is very true when the reader is someone familiar with the terminology. A fellow aeronautical engineer or an established pilot, for example. They might even expect you to use the technical terms and would consider it strange if you started to use ‘plain English’ to describe the terms they know and use themsleves.

The Reader that is not Familiar

It is not quite the case when your text will be read by someone who is less familiar with the aviation language – aspiring pilots, for example. They don’t instantly know (yet) what the terms mean, so those short and precise expressions all of a sudden become confusing and overwhelming.

As a result the reader can’t follow your trail of thought and the technical terms become a stumnling block to their understanding of your message. The more terms you use, the harder it will be for them to follow, which means they will disconnect, they will stop listening and they will consider the materials to not be useful (even when it actualy is).

For this reader, using plain English and introducing terms slowly help with comprehension and understanding. This is exactly why the suggestion to use ‘plain English’ is so popular. Particularly when it comes to training materials, brochures or presentations, for example.

So, in the spirit of using fewer technical terms (for situations when the reader requires it), here is a list of 20 aviation terms and their ‘plain English’ alternatives. (I appreciate these are simplified a fair bit).

Aviation term vs. plain English

Aileron – wingtip flap (rolling control)

Bank – tilted turn

Cowlings – removable engine covers

Elevator – tail flap (up/down control)

Empennage – tail assembly

Flare – nose up landing maneuver

Fuselage – body of an aircraft

Hangar Rash – minor parking damage

Nacelle – pod or engine casing

Pitch – tilting up/down

Pylon – engine mount

Roll – tipping left or right

Rotation – raising the nose at takeoff

Squawk code – 4-digit code assigned to aircraft by ATC

Takeoff Roll – accelerating from standstill to takeoff speed

Throttle – engine power control

Thrust reversers – ‘air brakes’ 

Transponder – Electronic licence plate

Yaw – turning left or right

Yoke – ‘steering wheel’

There is a lot more terms that can go on this list. If you have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments below.

The tricky part of writing about aviation in plain English

In mu opinion, the hardest part of putting together a presentation, a course material, a brochure or any other text that is likely to be read by a non-technical audience is the fact that we (the creators of the text) are very familiar and very comfortable with the ‘aviation speak’.

This creates a challenge because we no longer consider these terms to be tricky. In a way, they are obvious and it is hard for us to imagine how we can explain an aviation concept without these terms. It’s hard. In fact, it’s not uncommon for me to receive a request to help make things simpler.

You are not alone

If you are currently working on a material that you worry the intended reader might struggle to follow, but at the same time you are not sure how to simplify your text and how to make things easier to understand – I can help!

You have a couple of options:

1. Send me and email with your text. Just click the ‘get in touch’ link on the top of the page.
2. Check out my other article on how to make technical writing simpler. Just follow the link below.

Five Tips To Simplify Your Technical writing

Here is to blue skies ahead.