the Aviation Dictionary

minimum rece~tion altitude . miscible
minimum reception altitude - The lowest altitude at
which an intersection can be determined.
minimum safe altitude (MSA) - I. The minimum
altitude specified in FAR 91 for various aircraft
operations. 2. Altitudes depicted on approach charts
that provide at least 1,000 feet of obstacle clearance for
emergency use within a specified distance from the
navigation facility upon which a procedure is
predicated. These altitudes will be identified as
Minimum Sector Altitudes or Emergency - . Safe
Altitudes and are established as follows:
minimum sector altitudes - Altitudes depicted on
approach charts that provide at least 1,000 feet of
obstacle clearance within a 25-mile radius of the
navigation facility upon which the procedure is
predicated. Sectors depicted on approach charts must
be at least 90 degrees in scope. These altitudes are for
emergency use only and do not necessarily assure
acceptable navigational signal coverage.
Emergency Safe Altitudes - Altitudes depicted on
approach charts that provide at least 1,000 feet of
obstacle clearance in nonmountainous areas and 2,000
feet of obstacle clearance in designated mountainous
areas within a 100-mile radius of the navigation facility
upon which the procedure is predicated and normally
used only in military procedures. These altitudes are
identified on published procedures as "Emergency Safe
Altitudes."
minimum safe altitude warning - A function of the
ARTS I11 computer that aids the controller by alerting
him when a tracked Mode C equipped aircraft is below
or is predicted by the computer to go below a
predetermined minimum safe altitude.
minimum sector altitude [ICAO] - The lowest altitude
that can be used under emergency conditions to
provide a minimum clearance of 300 m (1,000 feet)
above all obstacles located in an area contained within
a sector of a circle of 46 km (25 NM) radius centered
on a radio aid to navigation.
minimum sink airspeed - In gliders, the airspeed, as
determined by the performance polar, at which the
glider will achieve the lowest sink rate. That is, the
glider will lose the least amount of altitude per unit of
time at minimum sink airspeed.
minimum vectoring altitude (MVA) - The lowest
MSL altitude at which an IFR aircraft will be vectored
by a radar controller, except as otherwise authorized
for radar approaches, departures, and missed
approaches. The altitude meets IFR obstacle clearance
criteria. It may be lower than the published MEA along
an airway or J-route segment. It may be utilized for
radar vectoring only upon the controller's
determination that an adequate radar return is being
received from the aircraft being controlled. Charts
depicting minimum vectoring altitudes are normally
available only to the controllers and not to pilots.
minimum-flow stop - Refers to a he1 control design
that prevents the power lever from shutting off fuel. A
separate shutoff is provided in this case.
minimums - Weather condition requirements
established for a particular operation or type of
operation; e.g., IFR takeoff or landing, alternate airport
for IFR flight plans, VFR flight, etc.
minor alteration - Any alteration not considered to be a
major alteration.
minor axis of an ellipse - A straight line that passes
through the center of the ellipse and is perpendicular to
the major axis.
minor fastener diameter - The diameter of a threaded
fastener measured at the thread root.
minor repair - Any . repair not considered a major repair
or
maintenance. FAR 43, ~~iendix A
provides guidance on what constitutes a major repair or
alteration and preventive maintenance..
minority carriers - A term used in reference to
semiconductor electronic devices. Both electrons and
holes are present in a semiconductor. The more
abundant charge carriers are called majority carriers;
the less abundant are called minority carriers. In N-
type semiconductor material, electrons are the majority
carriers and holes are the minority carriers. In P-type
semiconductor material, the reverse is true. Current
leakage in a reverse-bias direction is flow of the
minority carriers.
minuend - The number from which the subtrahend is
subtracted.
minus -A negative value. Minus values are indicated by
using a short dash in front of the value (-4). A minus
sign is used in electricity to indicate a negative
condition.
minute - 1. Measurement: An angular measurement
equal to of a degree in a 360" circle (21,600
minutes of angle in a circle.) 2. Time: A unit of time
that is equal to of an hour or 60 seconds.
minutes-in-trail - A specified interval between aircraft
expressed in time. This method would more likely be
utilized regardless of altitude.
mirror image - An object that is an exact duplicate of
the original but reversed as if the object were viewed
through a mirror.
misalignment - A condition that exists when two
mating surfaces do not meet or match as they should.
miscible - The ability of a material to combine or mix
with another material.
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