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Time in Service
The time from the moment an aircraft leaves the surface of the earth until it touches down at the next point of landing, used for maintenance intervals such as the 100-hour inspection under 14 CFR 91.409. Maintenance entries often reference tach time as a practical measure of time in service.
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- Touch-and-GoA landing practice maneuver in which the aircraft touches down and immediately takes off again without coming to a full stop. Touch-and-goes are useful training tools but do not satisfy night passenger-currency landing requirements, which require full-stop landings.
- Touchdown ZoneThe portion of the runway near the approach end intended for landing touchdown, often marked with touchdown-zone markings and lighting. Wake vortices and a light tailwind can move another aircraft's wake forward into the touchdown zone, so pilots plan aim points carefully behind heavier traffic.
- Towered AirportAn airport with an operating air traffic control tower that issues taxi, takeoff, and landing clearances. Many towered airports broadcast ATIS; pilots should obtain the current information and notify ATC on initial contact that they have the ATIS code.
- Traffic PatternThe standard rectangular flight path around an airport used for arrivals, departures, and training. Pattern legs typically include upwind, crosswind, downwind, base, and final. Night training for private pilots requires takeoffs and landings involving flight in the traffic pattern.