How long before I understand everything??

Calrugerfan

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calrugerfan
I don't mean understand everything about flying. I am talking about understanding everything on the forum. I get some of the basics but their are a lot of acronyms that I have no clue about as well as things that I understand the words but don't know the aviation meaning.

When I start flight school, how long will it take before I start to understand stuff here?
 
Welcome aboard! The folks on this board range from teenagers to crusty old vets. The range of experience here is all over the place.

Never, ever, be too embarrassed to ask someone what they mean. A simply reply with the acronym will give you an answer in a very short time.

For example, if someone posts "...and the MEA was 14K ..." just reply with "MEA?" Help is right around the corner. One thing people on this board love to do is reveal their wisdom!
 
I don't mean understand everything about flying. I am talking about understanding everything on the forum. I get some of the basics but their are a lot of acronyms that I have no clue about as well as things that I understand the words but don't know the aviation meaning.

When I start flight school, how long will it take before I start to understand stuff here?

immerse yourself and learn, you will. -eman1200yoda :D
 
Thanks. I will definitely ask questions. But right now, I don't want to overload my brain. For now, I'll ask about the stuff that deals with the stuff I'm working on.

I started an online journal thread on the Pilot Training sub forum to keep people informed of my progress and share stories, frustrations, and even ask questions.
 
You can also try acronymfinder.com. I just test searched for a few aviation acronyms and they were all there.

There can be A LOT of uses for an acronym but aviation terms are under the "military & government" tab so by clicking on that tab you will significantly narrows the results.
 
Welcome , you will pick most of it up easyly
 
There is a whole nuther collection of acronyms used on the POA site that I still don't have a great handle on. For instance;

FTFY fixed that for you
IIRC if I remember correctly

I am sure these are not POA specific and probably rooted in the world of texting, but most are still foreign to me.

Just showing my age I guess.
 
FNG. :rolleyes:


:rofl:


Caldude, welcome to POA. If you understand what POA means you are on your way. ;)

Please don't ask what FNG means, you'll be POed at me. :rofl:
 
I don't mean understand everything about flying. I am talking about understanding everything on the forum. I get some of the basics but their are a lot of acronyms that I have no clue about as well as things that I understand the words but don't know the aviation meaning.

When I start flight school, how long will it take before I start to understand stuff here?

Welcome, and don't be dissuaded by all the acronyms, they are just the kind of conversational shortcuts you will find in any technical field. When in doubt just ask.


P.S. If you want the correct answer ask me. If you just want any old answer ask Geico. :lol:
 
Welcome aboard! The folks on this board range from teenagers to crusty old vets. The range of experience here is all over the place.

Never, ever, be too embarrassed to ask someone what they mean. A simply reply with the acronym will give you an answer in a very short time.

For example, if someone posts "...and the MEA was 14K ..." just reply with "MEA?" Help is right around the corner. One thing people on this board love to do is reveal their wisdom!


EXACTLY what Ken said! ASK away!
 
IIRC if I remember correctly
Common on USENET long before "texting" was popular.

But - the OP (original poster) shouldn't feel bad about axing...

This is the blue board. The red board is AOPA, the purple board is the purple board.

BFR is used for "Flight Review" (Geezers - gotta hate them - always living in the past.)

NSFW is Not Safe For Work as in "something that some may find inappropriate at the other end of the link."
 
When you get your copy of the AIM, look in the back for the Pilot/Controller Glossary...you will find a lot of answers there.

Following up on your original post, the thing that frosts me is the liberal use of airport identifiers "I am planning a flight from RGI to PDQ via MNO...what would be a safe route?" I ignore those posts because I am not going to take the time to look up RGI, PDQ, and MNO. Airports have names, and posters should use them.

Bob Gardner
 
When you get your copy of the AIM, look in the back for the Pilot/Controller Glossary...you will find a lot of answers there.

Following up on your original post, the thing that frosts me is the liberal use of airport identifiers "I am planning a flight from RGI to PDQ via MNO...what would be a safe route?" I ignore those posts because I am not going to take the time to look up RGI, PDQ, and MNO. Airports have names, and posters should use them.

Bob Gardner

:yes:

You mean you don't have all 25,000 identifiers memorized?
 
...the thing that frosts me is the liberal use of airport identifiers "I am planning a flight from RGI to PDQ via MNO...what would be a safe route?" I ignore those posts because I am not going to take the time to look up RGI, PDQ, and MNO. Airports have names, and posters should use them.

Bob Gardner

for the most part, I disagree, but I'm just a new guy, what do I know. I ignore those posts for other reasons, like I'm not the person to be telling anyone a 'safe' route (yet) and I really don't feel like flight planning for someone else. but 'most' of the time, you can look at the users location under their screenname, combine that with the airport identifiers they give and then you can figure out if you'll have any productive input to their question.
not that using either one is right or wrong, and I don't wanna hijack the thread, just my devils advocate position on Bob's thought.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I am not new to forums, just this on. I have over 12K posts on gunbroker so I know FNG. ;)

One of these days, I'll add a link to my signature for the thread that I started to track my progress on the path to PPL. Right now, I've submitted my info to medxpress. That's it.
 
To the OP, I've been flying since 1999, and ATC since 2002. I've just started to nip away at a small piece of the iceberg that is aviation knowledge.

When I first started ATC, an older controller (ex-PATCO guy) told me, "you learn something new every day. That's the attitude until you're done with the job. If you think you figured it all out, you're dangerous. If you think your s**t don't stink, now you're dangerous and stupid."
 
I don't mean understand everything about flying. I am talking about understanding everything on the forum. I get some of the basics but their are a lot of acronyms that I have no clue about as well as things that I understand the words but don't know the aviation meaning.

When I start flight school, how long will it take before I start to understand stuff here?

You'll understand 75% of it by the time you solo, you'll understand 95% of it by the time you finish your instrument rating, you'll understand 99% of it after 10 years as a working pilot after having worked a wide variety of flying jobs including airliners and getting your A&P IA (advanced mechanic's cert with inspection authorization) along the way. I don't think anyone understands everything.
 
Thanks. I will definitely ask questions. But right now, I don't want to overload my brain. For now, I'll ask about the stuff that deals with the stuff I'm working on.

I started an online journal thread on the Pilot Training sub forum to keep people informed of my progress and share stories, frustrations, and even ask questions.

Be ready for and embrace mental overload, the learning curve for aviation is extremely steep.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I am not new to forums, just this on. I have over 12K posts on gunbroker so I know FNG. ;)

One of these days, I'll add a link to my signature for the thread that I started to track my progress on the path to PPL. Right now, I've submitted my info to medxpress. That's it.

Most of the posters on this forum respect other posters who give a signature .
 
1. Welcome to POA. We generally are a friendly bunch.

2. Ask. As others will agree, there is no such thing as a stupid question. That said, some of us are quite capable of giving stupid answers. :D

3. Gunbroker? I may have to check that out. There are a number of us on this board who also enjoy punching holes in various targets, as well.

4. See #1. Welcome to POA. :yes:

Oh, and I know I don't know it all. Too many things change all the time to that to ever happen.
 
1. Welcome to POA. We generally are a friendly bunch.

2. Ask. As others will agree, there is no such thing as a stupid question. That said, some of us are quite capable of giving stupid answers. :D

3. Gunbroker? I may have to check that out. There are a number of us on this board who also enjoy punching holes in various targets, as well.

4. See #1. Welcome to POA. :yes:

Oh, and I know I don't know it all. Too many things change all the time to that to ever happen.

Yep. Gunbroker. Check out the general discussions forum. They were getting so much spam that you have to register on the auction side first. I use the same screen name there.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I am not new to forums, just this on. I have over 12K posts on gunbroker so I know FNG. ;)

Gunbroker huh? I didn't know they had a forum. I thought that was just where a bunch of retired opportunists try to sell ammo at double what they paid for it at Walmart. ;) ;) ;)

Rugers are nice, BTW. :) :) :)
 
.

Following up on your original post, the thing that frosts me is the liberal use of airport identifiers "I am planning a flight from RGI to PDQ via MNO...what would be a safe route?" I ignore those posts because I am not going to take the time to look up RGI, PDQ, and MNO. Airports have names, and posters should use them.

Bob Gardner


^ this.

I am not sure what efficiency is created by eliminating effectiveness in communication. The effort to use the Capslock key to type 4 letters is likely greater than just typing the name.

I am sure I skip threads that may be somewhat interesting because I don't know if the OP is talking about a 1000 mile flight across 5 states or just is flying 20 miles for a hamburger in Kansas.
 
^ this.

I am not sure what efficiency is created by eliminating effectiveness in communication. The effort to use the Capslock key to type 4 letters is likely greater than just typing the name.

I am sure I skip threads that may be somewhat interesting because I don't know if the OP is talking about a 1000 mile flight across 5 states or just is flying 20 miles for a hamburger in Kansas.

Depends on the airport.

Reid-Hillview is a bit of a mouthful. Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport is a "no FN way."

And that big airport in Los Angeles is called LAX by everyone. There is even a BIG sign on Century Blvd. that says so.

And the airport identifiers are what you type into Skyvector or various apps anyway.
 
Depends on the airport.
I would agree.

Mackinac Island is more likely to mean somthing to someone than MCD. Same as Put-in-Bay vs. 3W2.

But, Grosse Ile Muni. vs ONZ or Custer vs. TTF - if you aren't local you probably won't recognize either but the identifier is easier to look up.

On the other hand, I think it is safe to assume that most people recognize Buzzwick from either the name or W87...
 
Depends on the airport.

Reid-Hillview is a bit of a mouthful. Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport is a "no FN way."

And that big airport in Los Angeles is called LAX by everyone. There is even a BIG sign on Century Blvd. that says so.

And the airport identifiers are what you type into Skyvector or various apps anyway.

Yeah, don't think anybody is too lost when you talk about LAX (or JFK), but, you aren't being correct in those. You should be using KLAX, as regular LAX is a nightclub in Vegas.

"Hey everybody, I am going to fly from San Jose, CA down to LA. What is the safest way and which airports should I use to get to DisneyLand?"

That communicates it real clearly.

Look at the thread about the guy wanting to fly into NYC and go to Broadway. There are a dozen identifiers being tossed about in 3 different states. Without looking them up, I don't know if people are suggesting he take a train in from Long Island, a train down from Connecticut, or a bus from Jersey. It ain't effective communication if you are asking the reader to go get a translator page to figure out what you said.

About like reading text messages from a 14 year old...

images
 
I have been fling, lessee, since 1970. And I understand less about flying than I ever did before.
 
Yeah, don't think anybody is too lost when you talk about LAX (or JFK), but, you aren't being correct in those. You should be using KLAX, as regular LAX is a nightclub in Vegas.

LAX is the IATA code, and also the popular name of the airport. In the US, ICAO and IATA codes are similar, but the ICAO codes are cryptic elsewhere. You just need to know where EGLL is, but LHR may be a bit easier to guess.

Get in a cab and ask to go to LAX, and the driver will know exactly what you mean. Say "KLAX" and they will want to know the address of that radio station.
 
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LAX is the IATA code, and also the popular name of the airport. In the US, ICAO and IATA codes are similar, but the ICAO codes are cryptic elsewhere. You just need to know where EGLL is, but LHR may be a bit easier to guess.

Get in a cab and ask to go to LAX, and the driver will know exactly what you mean. Say "KLAX" and they will want to know the address of that radio station.


So, you should be precise, except when it is not needed? Are you really advocating that we use what ever form of communication will get a cab driver to understand you? And who takes cabs in LA??


Get in a cab in Vegas and say you want to go to LAX and here is what you get...

Lax-at-Luxor-Las-Vegas.jpg



LAX Nightclub at Luxor
LAX is easily one of the hottest clubs in Vegas. Filled primarily with a young, well-dressed crowd between 21-30, the energy is high and the party is huge. Boasting 26,000 feet of high tech nightlife, the club is packed on the weekends and projects an atmosphere of one giant group party, even across its two stories.

The LAX entryway is made up of a huge Gothic gate that provides plenty of reason to gawk. In fact, the whole club has a unique mix of tech and Gothic influences which make its overall presentation something worth seeing. Inside, dramatically blue-lit staircases lead upstairs, while another arcs gracefully down again for the grand entrances of celebrities (or enthusiastic guests). Dancing, alcohol, and VIP seating is plentiful on both floors, and the two floors feel remarkably connected so you won’t have to pick from two distinct parties.

Another secret to LAX is the semi-private Savile Row situated just inside. Shortly after entering LAX, you’ll be greeted with this low-key, elegant indulgence in plush leathers and Swarovski crystals, including a giant crystal chandelier. Full table service is provided, so you won’t have to jostle your way to and from the bar every time someone’s glass runs dry.

LAX is an amazing club. If you’re older than 30 you may not enjoy it, but if you just turned 21 this place is your new heaven. Tons of beautiful women and an amazing atmosphere make LAX at Luxor a must see.

LAX Nightclub's Top Features
Unique Gothic and tech decor
Young, beautiful crowd
Upscale Savile Row nestled just inside LAX
Amazing Sound System
LAX Nightclub Details
Location: Luxor
Hours & Days Open: Wed-Sat, 10:30pm to late
Size: 26,000 square feet spanning two stories
Music Style: Varies by night
Resident DJs: Sharam and DJ Cassanova
Clientele: Age 21+, generally under 30
Attire / Dress Code: Fashionable nightlife
 
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