| Landing: |
To carry out the process of bringing a flight vehicle down to the earth or another surface. |
| Landing gear: |
Another word for undercarriage. The collection of devices including wheels, skis, and floats that enable a flight vehicle to land and move about on land, water or other surfaces. The landing gear is often retractable - it can be pulled into the fuselage o |
| Landmark: |
An object on land which is easily seen and recognizable by the pilot during flight. |
| Landscape mode: |
Holding the camera in its normal orientation to hake a horizontally oriented photograph. |
| Large format camera: |
General term for any camera having a picture format of 4 x 5 inches or larger. |
| lateral axis: |
The axis extending through the center of gravity of an aircraft, and parallel to a line connecting the tips of the wings. The lateral axis is sometimes called the "y" axis. Pitch is a motion around the lateral axis. |
| Latitude: |
Linear or angular distance that is measured north or south of the equator in degrees, minutes and seconds. |
| LCD: |
Liquid crystal diode. LCD is an electronic solid state display system commonly used for the face of wrist watches, computer screens and also used to display exposure information in the viewfinder of most modern day cameras. A surface can be temporarily ch |
| Leading edge: |
The front or entering edge of a wing, tail or rotor. |
| LED: |
Light emitting diode. LED is an indicator light used to convey exposure information. |
| Leeward: |
Situated away from the wind; downwind - opposite of windward |
| Lens: |
An optical device used to control and focus light. |
| Lens hood: |
Opaque tube, either cylindrical, square of funnel shaped, use to shield a lens from stray light outside the field of view. |
| Lens speed: |
Refers to the maximum aperture of a lens. A lens with a wide aperture is called "fast". e.g. a f/1.4 lens, accepting more light than a "slow" lens, e.g. a f/5.6 lens. |
| Lift: |
The component of the aerodynamic force acting on an aircraft, perpendicular to the relative wind, which causes an aircraft to rise in altitude |
| Lift-drag ratio: |
The relation of total lift to total drag of an aerofoil, expressed as a mathematical proportion; 6 to 1;15 to 1 and so on. |
| Light: |
Visable light is radiated energy which forms that portion of the spectrum detectable by the human eye, extending from 400 nanometers in ultraviolet light to 700 in infra-red. |
| Lightning: |
Any form of visible electrical discharge produced by thunderstorms. |
| Lima: |
Stands for the letter L in the phonetic alphabet. |
| Locator: |
A medium-frequency non-directional radio beacon used as an aid to establishing yourself on final approach during an instrument landing procedure. Also LOM, locator outer marker. |
| Logbook: |
A register book that lists a pilot's flight time, instructor endorsements, and completed training topics. |
| longitude: |
Linear or angular distance that is measured west or east of the Prime Meridian in degrees, minutes and seconds. |
| Longitudinal axis: |
The axis extending through the center of the fuselage from the nose to the tail. The longitudinal axis is sometimes called the "x" axis. Roll is a motion around the longitudinal axis.
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| Low level oblique: |
This term describes a type of aerial photography. These photographs are taken from 1500 ft or less and view the subject at an obligue angle (not vertical). Other types of aerial photography include, high altitude vertical and satelite imagery. |
| Luminosity: |
Brightness or intensity of either a light source or a reflective surface. |
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