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Glossary of Terms
.acf file – an aircraft file for use with X-Plane.
Aileron – control surfaces mounted on an airplane’s wings which move in opposite directions to
roll the craft.
Airfoil – the cross-sectional shape of a wing. Different airfoils have different lift and drag properties
at different speeds and angles of attack.
Aspect ratio – the ratio of a wing’s length to its chord width. A low aspect ratio results in short,
stubby wings, while a high aspect ratio results in long, narrow wings.
Blade pitch (propellers) – a propeller’s angle of attack, the angle at which it meets the air. Variable
pitch propellers are able to rotate the propeller’s blades along their long axis, thus changing
their pitch.
Chord – the line connecting the leading edge of an airfoil to the trailing edge.
Chord length – the distance between the leading and trailing edges of an aircraft’s airfoil.
Figure 1: A diagram indicating the chord length on a wing’s cross-section (the airfoil)
Dihedral (wings) – the upward or downward angle of the wings when viewing the aircraft from
head-on, as seen in Figure 2.
Elevator – control surfaces mounted on an airplane’s horizontal stabilizer (a part of the tail) which
move together to change the pitch of the airplane.
Flap – a control surface mounted on the trailing edge of a wing (the edge facing toward the tail of
the aircraft) which is extended in order to lower the airplane’s stalling speed and increase the drag
acting on it.
Incidence (wings) – the upward or downward angle of the wings, when viewed from the side of
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