Now, an index isn’t a chapter to study; it’s a map — Page 663, Lesson 798

We’ve just landed on the index of the book — the T section, to be precise. Now, an index isn’t a chapter to study; it’s a map. But it’s a valuable map, because it tells you exactly which terms matter enough to have their own entries, and it shows you how the book groups related ideas. So let me walk you through what’s here, because each of these entries is a concept you’ll meet properly in the pages ahead. Start with the air data group. Total Air Temperature — that’s the temperature of the air as it’s brought to rest, including the heating effect of the aircraft’s speed. You’ll see it on pages 30 and 31. The Total Air Temperature Probe is the physical sensor that measures it, on page 28. And the abbreviation TAT — Total Air Temperature — appears on page 31. Closely tied to this is Total Ram Rise, page 30 — that’s the temperature increase caused by the air being compressed and slowed down as it hits the aircraft. And Total Pressure, page 13 — that’s the sum of static pressure plus the dynamic pressure from the airflow. These all belong to the pitot-static system, the foundation of airspeed and altitude measurement. Now the navigation and flight control entries. Touch Control Steering (TCS) on page 373 — that’s a control-wheel steering mode on the autopilot; you press it to disengage the autopilot’s hold and hand-fly the aircraft, and when you release it, the autopilot re-engages and captures the new attitude. Track Angle Error and Track Keeping Error, both on page 243 — these are navigation terms. Track angle error is the angular difference between your actual track and your desired track; track keeping error is the perpendicular distance you are off the desired track. Two different ways of measuring how far you’ve drifted. Then the collision avoidance family. Traffic Advisories on page 483 — those are the TCAS alerts that tell you where nearby traffic is, without commanding a manoeuvre. Traffic Alert Collision Avoidance System — TCAS — on pages 311 and 479 — that’s the system that monitors transponder-equipped traffic around you and issues advisories, and if needed, resolution advisories that tell you to climb or descend. And the Transponder itself, pages 97 and 480 — that’s the equipment on board that replies to ground and TCAS interrogations with your identity and altitude. Now the gyroscopic and inertial entries. Transducer, pages 17 and 354 — that’s a device that converts one form of energy into another, for example converting pressure into an electrical signal. Trihedron, page 258 — that’s a set of three mutually perpendicular axes, used to define the aircraft’s orientation in space. Transport Compensation on page 257 and Transport Rate Compensation on page 235 — these are corrections applied to gyroscopic instruments to account for the aircraft’s motion over the Earth’s surface. And Transport Wander, pages 142, 144, 156, 163, and 240 — that’s the apparent drift of a gyroscope caused by the Earth’s rotation and the aircraft’s movement over the curved surface. These are the errors you must understand to read gyro instruments correctly. The turn instruments: Turn and Slip Displays on page 189 — that’s the general family of instruments showing rate of turn and slip. The Turn Co-ordinator on page 195 — that’s the instrument that shows rate of turn and roll rate. The Turn Indicator on page 185 — that’s the simpler instrument showing rate of turn only. And Turning Errors, pages 127, 130, 132, and 176 — those are the errors that affect compasses and gyros during turns. Then the altitude and speed entries. True Airspeed (TAS) on page 43 — that’s your actual speed through the air, corrected for density altitude. True Altitude on page 54 — that’s your actual height above mean sea level, as opposed to indicated altitude. Tuned Rotor on page 145 — that’s a rotor in a vibrating gyroscope, tuned to a specific frequency. Turbulence on page 397 — that’s the irregular air motion that affects the aircraft. And TURBULENCE MODE on page 292 — that’s an autopilot mode that reduces control activity in turbulent air to avoid over-stressing the aircraft. Finally, Trim on page 361 — that’s the control surfaces or mechanisms that balance the aircraft so it maintains a given attitude without continuous control input. And the entry cuts off at Two Levelling Switch — that’s a switch that levels the aircraft, likely in an autopilot or attitude reference context. Now, here’s the key insight from this index page. Notice how the book groups these: air data terms together, navigation errors together, collision avoidance together, gyro errors together. When you study each chapter, you’ll see these terms in their full context. But the index tells you the vocabulary you’re expected to master. Every one of these — TAT, TCAS, TAS, transport wander, turning errors — is a term you’ll use in the cockpit and in your exams. So treat this page as your checklist of what’s coming.