Glossary of Terms Used in This Syllabus

CHAPTER 1

AIR FORCE T-38 TRACK INTERMEDIATES

Formal Release: You and your classmates will spend all day at the flightline (about 10-12

hours per day); you will all brief in a mass brief in the morning and you will all release at the end

of the day together; the end of the day is called "formal release."

FTU: Flying Training Unit - this is where you will transition to your weapon system after pilot

training, e.g. Dyess AFB (B-1)/Luke AFB (F-16)/Tyndall AFB (F-15).

Heading Crossing Angle (HCA): Same as AO.

High Six: A position above and behind Lead.

High Yo-Yo: An out-of-plane maneuver to control overtake, decrease AA, or prevent an

overshoot by increasing vertical turning room on the lead aircraft using a lag maneuver.

"Joker" Fuel: Prebriefed fuel state at which an event is terminated and the transition to the next

phase of flight begins, e.g. stop area work and proceed to landing pattern.

Lag Pursuit: Lag pursuit (nose behind the Lead) can build turning room and control overtake.

Although there can still be some closure, Angle-Off will increase and Aspect Angle will

decrease up to the Lead's flight path. Lag pursuit will appear like you are going to pass behind

Lead.

Lead Pursuit: Lead pursuit (nose in front of Lead) decreased range towards Lead. Aspect

Angle and closure increase, Angle-Off decreases. Lead pursuit will appear like you are going to

pass in front of Lead.

Lift Vector: A line through the center of the fuselage perpendicular to the wings.

Line of Sight (LOS) Rate: Speed of apparent movement of another aircraft in relation to your

aircraft.

Low Yo-Yo:

An out-of-plane maneuver to create closure using lead and acceleration

techniques.

No Joy: No visual contact with unfriendly aircraft (aircraft not in our formation); opposite of

term "tally."

Pure Pursuit: Pure pursuit (nose on the Lead) increases closure (but a more moderate rate than

lead pursuit). Aspect and Angle-Off remain the same. Pure pursuit will cause you to be on a

collision course with Lead.

Plane of Motion: An imaginary plane defined by the aircraft's flight path.

Radial G: The vector sum of the aircraft's lift vector and gravity.

1-2 INTRODUCTION TO USAF T-38 TRACK INTERMEDIATES