We're in the index of the book now, the M and N entries — Page 567, Lesson 768

We're in the index of the book now, the M and N entries. This is a map of where everything lives, so I'll walk you through these terms and tell you what each one is, because a lot of them are going to be the backbone of your air law knowledge. Starting with the M section. We have the Mach meter, on page 58. That's the instrument that displays your speed as a ratio to the speed of sound — Mach 0.8 means you're travelling at 80% of the local speed of sound. Then there's the Mach Number Technique, on page 300. That's a separation method used in air traffic control, where aircraft are separated by their Mach number rather than by distance — it's used on long-haul routes where aircraft are cruising at high altitude. Next, we have two very important aerodrome markings. Mandatory Information Marking, page 403, and Mandatory Instruction Signs, page 404. The marking is painted on the pavement, the sign is a physical board — both tell you that you must not proceed without clearance from air traffic control. They mark the entrance to a runway or a critical zone. Manifests, page 455 — that's the official list of passengers or cargo carried on a flight. Then Manoeuvring Area, page 370 — that's the part of an aerodrome, excluding aprons, used for take-off, landing, and taxiing of aircraft. It's distinct from the Movement Area, also on page 370, which is the manoeuvring area plus the aprons. So the movement area is the bigger one — it includes where you park and load, the manoeuvring area is where you actually move the aircraft under your own power. Markers, page 410 — those are the visual aids, like the painted markings on the runway or taxiway. Marking of Droppable Supplies, page 467 — that's the labelling required on packages that are to be dropped from an aircraft, so that people on the ground know what's in them. Marshalling Signals, page 132 — those are the hand signals a marshaller uses to guide a pilot when taxiing, especially when the pilot can't see the ground clearly. Now the medical entries. Medical Report Periods, page 74 — that's how often you must undergo a medical examination to keep your licence valid. Medical Requirements, page 80 — the actual standards of fitness you must meet. These are the rules that keep you fit to fly. Medium Intensity Lights, page 442 — these are aerodrome lighting systems, used for approach or runway lighting, with a brightness between low and high intensity. Then we have MEHT, page 427, which stands for Minimum Eye Height. That's the lowest height at which a pilot's eyes must be above the runway threshold to see the visual approach slope indicator correctly. It's a critical value for the design of those lighting systems. Minimum flight altitudes, page 226 — the lowest altitude you may fly over a given area, set to ensure terrain and obstacle clearance. Minimum Sector Altitude, page 158, abbreviated MSA — that's the lowest altitude that provides at least 300 metres of obstacle clearance within a sector of 25 nautical miles around a navigation aid. Missed Approach Procedure, page 171 — the procedure to follow if an approach cannot be completed and you must go around. MOC, page 171 — that stands for Minimum Obstacle Clearance. It's the minimum vertical distance between an aircraft and the highest obstacle in a given area. It's a safety buffer, and it's a fundamental concept in instrument procedure design. Then we have the four modes of parallel runway operations. Mode 1: Independent Parallel Approaches, page 233 — two aircraft can approach two parallel runways simultaneously, each with its own instrument approach, without being dependent on each other. Mode 2: Dependent Parallel Approaches, page 234 — the approaches are staggered, so aircraft on one runway must be separated from those on the other. Mode 3: Simultaneous Instrument Departures, page 236 — two aircraft can depart from parallel runways at the same time. Mode 4: Segregated Departures/Arrivals, page 237 — one runway is used for departures, the other for arrivals, so the traffic flows are separated. Montreal Convention, page 33 — that's the international treaty that governs the liability of airlines for loss, damage, or injury to passengers and cargo. It's a key piece of international air law. Mountainous Terrain, page 154 — that's terrain with significant elevation changes, which has special rules for minimum altitudes and obstacle clearance. MPL, page 78 — that's the Multi-crew Pilot Licence, a licence that allows you to act as co-pilot in multi-pilot operations. And Multi-pilot operations, also page 78 — that's flying an aircraft that requires more than one pilot, where the workload is shared. Finally, in the N section, we have Nationality mark, page 63 — that's the letter or letters that identify the country of registration of an aircraft. For example, the nationality mark for the UK is G. And NDB, which stands for Non-Directional Beacon — that's a ground-based radio navigation aid that transmits a signal in all directions, which the aircraft's ADF, the Automatic Direction Finder, uses to determine the bearing to the beacon. That's the M and N entries of the index. These are the terms you'll be tested on, so it's worth knowing what each one refers to before we dive into the detail.