Secret Words and Phrases All Pilots Use

Bingo fuel is the minimum fuel needed for a safe flight and landing. Aircraft can go past it, but that is dangerous and unwise.

Pilots who eject join the Martin-Baker Fan Club, named for the ejection system maker. A real list exists for pilots who join.

Flathatting means a pilot flies dangerously close to the ground. This can be fatal, and getting caught often ends a career.

A plumber is an inept pilot. This term insults bad pilots more than good plumbers.

If you are painted, radar scanned you. I tried jamming them with music, but I got painted.

The hangar queen is a plane that has broken down so much it gets parts given to better planes.

Pilots focus on something else.Pilots fly an airplane.Pilots do not have time to groove. Music means electronic interference used to trick radar.

A shoe is a derogatory term for non-pilots, short for "blackshoes," unlike the aviators' brown shoes. That is a burn.

The mythical land where wrecked aircraft go. Taxpayers will likely never see them.We will not seeThis egalitarian redistribution brings dividends. It is a funny little in-joke.

This term has two uses. It means loud, playful flying.orIt describes the night's party. We were booming until 2 am; I can't believe you aren't hungover!

Short for coneheads, cone is slang for an aviation student. Jury is out if it is insulting, but it does not seem like something you would ask.youto be called

This describes a plane's performance limits. Pushing the aircraft to its maximum settings means you are "flying at the edge of the envelope." Some pilots find this exciting, but there are risks.

Inclement weather blocks visibility. This is a colorful word for cloud cover or rain. Flying through goo makes any plumber worry.

If someone gets confused and "loses the bubble," they forgot what was happening.

The front of a boat. That is what it is.

This measures how scary something is. You can probably figure out its origin yourself.

This has nothing to do with a barrel roll. It is slang for a movie—rolling film—that happens nightly in the unit's ready room.

An overly aggressive pilot is a tiger. A tiger might be seen flathatting or doing another dangerous move.