Let's go through them in order — Page 537, Lesson 654

This is the index of the book — the map of the whole syllabus. I want to walk you through the entries that appear here, because each one is a concept you'll meet properly later in the course. Let's go through them in order. First, we have the mass limits. Maximum Structural Landing Mass — that's the heaviest the aeroplane is certified to be when it touches down, and Maximum Structural Take-off Mass is the heaviest it's certified to be at the start of the take-off roll. These are structural limits — they come from the strength of the airframe, not from performance. Then there's Maximum Take-off Mass, which appears later in the book at page 274 — that's the operational limit, the heaviest you may actually take off at, which can be lower than the structural one because of runway, obstacles, or weather. Now the speeds and acronyms. MCRIT is the critical Mach number — the Mach speed at which airflow over the wing first reaches the speed of sound locally. MCT is Maximum Continuous Thrust — the highest thrust the engines can produce continuously without damage. MLRC is Maximum Level Rate of Climb — the climb that gives the greatest gain of altitude per unit of time. MMO is the Maximum Operating Mach number — the fastest Mach speed you're allowed to fly at in normal operations. MMR is Maximum Mach number — the absolute certified limit. MRC is Maximum Range Cruise — the speed that gives the greatest distance for the fuel burned. MTOW is Maximum Take-off Weight, and MZFW is Maximum Zero Fuel Weight — the heaviest the aeroplane can be with no usable fuel in the tanks, which protects the wing structure from bending loads. Then we have the control and performance speeds. Minimum Control Speed — the slowest speed at which the aeroplane can still be controlled in the air with one engine failed. Minimum Unstick Speed — the slowest speed at which the aeroplane can safely leave the ground and continue the take-off. Minimum Angle of Descent — the shallowest descent angle the aeroplane can maintain. And Missed Approach — the procedure flown when a landing is aborted and the aeroplane goes around for another attempt. Next, the performance definitions. Measured Performance — performance that's actually demonstrated by flight test, as opposed to calculated. Net Performance — the guaranteed performance after subtracting the safety margins, and Net Height — the height the aeroplane is guaranteed to reach above the ground during a climb, again after margins. Then we have the take-off distances: Net Take-off Run Required, Net Take-off Distance Required, and Net Accelerate-stop Distance Required — these are the runway distances needed, with margins applied, for the take-off, for the take-off plus climb over obstacles, and for stopping after an engine failure respectively. Finally, the operational items. NADP 1 and NADP 2 are the two Noise Abatement Departure Procedures — standard climb profiles designed to reduce noise around the airport. Noise Abatement Procedures themselves are covered at page 306. Normal Descent is the standard descent profile. Obstacle Clearance and Obstacle Clearance Requirements — the rules for keeping the aeroplane a safe height above terrain and obstacles. Operational Requirements — the regulatory conditions you must meet in day-to-day flying. Optimum Altitude — the altitude that gives the best fuel economy for the weight. And Outside Air Temperature — the actual temperature of the air outside the aeroplane, which affects engine performance and density altitude. That's the full sweep of this index page. Every one of these terms is a building block you'll master as we go through the book.