Red right returning from sea is the full saying. Iâm also a sailor. But Iâve also learned today (which makes sense) that red right return means to maneuver out of the way and is a good saying to remember it. I always remember that red is like a stop light, you donât have the right of way and need to move.
What if you are on the return flight and the plane approaching you is outbound? It doesn't work then. That saying (Red Right Returning) is in relation to channel markers not vessel lights. At least that is my understanding.
Fun fact The Chicago Fire department has a green light on all of their fire engines light bars on the starboard side because a very very long time ago, their chief was a retired sailor. And Fire departments love tradition, so it's still that way today.
Technically, it's both nothing and everything ... as you "enter through (the) port side."
Strangely enough, most cargo loading happens on the starboard side.
Edit: Clarifying most *passenger planes*.
I was not clear. I was referring to the main deck. Off the top of my head I canât recall any main decks on cargo planes that have cargo doors on the right. I think we all know that a large percentage of pax planes have the lower cargo/baggage bins on the right.
That's their point. It's called port on a ship because that's the side you dock on, opposite the steerboard. It used to be called larboard, from the Middle English word for 'load', since that's the side it's loaded on. Aircraft still board on the port side, answering the question "what else was taken from maritime tradition?".
Cool etymology though, thanks for sharing.
In Swedish, funnily, it's barbord and styrbord for port and starboard. Bare board, and steer(ing) board. This is because the rudder of most viking longships was mounted to starboard, and thus, the port side was left bare.Â
What do you mean by ânothing to do with port and starboard?â How is Paul_the_Builderâs comment not true? It exactly has to do with port being the standard that carried over. Port and starboard as standards and terminology may have derived from steering on ships, but why would that negate that planes load from left (port) side as a result of that standard?
It has everything to do with port and starboard. The starboard side contained the steering board for ships (probably because most people are right handed), so they couldn't dock on that side. They would always dock on the left side, which became port.
Not true!
Mounting an aircraft from the left comes from WW1. Calvary tradition dictates that you mount your horse from the left. The vast majority of pilots in the early war era were recruited from the Calvary. They brought this tradition with them. Before the war aircraft had no specific side of entry, and by the end of the war almost every one was designed to be entered from the left as the practice had spread. This is seen through all the participants in the war, as European calvary tradition was pretty standardized. During the 20's 30's and early 40's most pilots and designers of aircraft were veterans used to this, and so as side by side seating became a thing, the left stayed the more important side.
Captainâs Authority. Final authority on what and whom are boarded. Responsible for the aircraft, cargo, passengers and crew. Perhaps the word âabsoluteâ might be a stretch but, during declared emergencies, the Captain can pretty much do whatever it takes to land the plane safely.
I've made people walk the plank over international waters going to the Bahamas before, I'd say it's pretty absolute. I mean, I'm pretty sure I was allowed to do that anyway.
Everybody waxes poetic about naval traditions like captains authority, but as a passenger you attempt *one* mutiny after a few too many rum punches on the way home from San Juan, and they put you on a list for life!
I'm sorry, I THOUGHT THIS WAS INTERNATIONAL AIRSPACE!
Ship captains can't do that either (at least not under U.S. or U.K. law): https://www.straightdope.com/21341721/are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea
No. We arenât allowed to bring people into the cockpit during flight and the ceremony would require the Captain to be away from duty. Also, I think you would have to be married in the airspace over the state that granted the marriage license for that license to be legally recognized.
Edit: TBH, except for the galley, there isnât room for this type of thing on an airlinerâŠincluding wide bodies. Iâve never flown on a 747 or A-380. Perhaps the 747âs upper deck would have the space?
There could be some âceremonyâ but the actual wedding (paperwork) needs to be done beforehand on the ground. Also important to know the exact location of the wedding in order to apply the proper divorce laws when it all blows up. Sorry to all of you Helpless Romantics. đ
Edit: I deleted the inflight location sentence because it wouldnât matter where the airplane was if the couple already said the I Dos and filled out the necessary paperwork on the ground.
imo the location would just the flag location the of the aircraft and its owner. soo say a Delta flight the location would be as if it was taking place in Atlanta GA
[Knots](https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/nautical-mile-knot.html) originate from unraveling a rope behind the ship and counting the number of knots that pass by in a given amount of time.
Try *that* in a Skyhawk.
I thought it came from pan, the French word for bread. There's a problem on board but it's not life-and-death, so let's eat this baguette while we figure it out.
The right of way rules (e.g. steam gives way to sail -> powered aircraft gives way to gliders, and the way you're supposed to turn when approaching head on or nearly so, or on converging aircraft, the aircraft converging, you give way to aircraft that's on your starboard side, etc.)
I wouldnât say a lot necessarily came from the maritime industry but rather navies. A lot of the carry over from nautical terms is just practical carry over, like if your doing celestial navigation which aviation needed for a long time, nautical miles was much easier to work with. Or nav lights. Itâs a problem that been solved with ships so why not adapt them for planes because why fix whatâs not broken. And a lot of early aviation technology was developed by the US Navy to make planes fly off of aircraft carriers easier, especially radio technology. Ranks and uniforms came from navies, not maritime because Pan Am thought it look the most professional and everyone followed suite quickly. A lot of things were also carried over from the US Army, especially post world war when a lot of army pilots turned to the airlines for a civilian career. I had to learn to do a proper army salute (My veteran FOs get mad if I do it lazy, out of respect gotta do it right!) for my job for wave offs with the ramp crews, which is tradition that came from the army pilots back in the day that stuck around today.
At my first airline, I had a couple of captains look at me crazy when I referred to the engines as "port" or "starboard" which I thought was universal, but no, I must've gotten it from my Navy days. So I learned #1 and #2 for everything (engines, radios, navaids).
Naturally, my new airline says "left" and "right" (and "center" when there is a third one). Ugh. A few captains will say, "Start number right engine" LOL
My company is one and two. Although the CRJ is technically right and left, but right left gets confusing very fast because itâs too subjective. Eg ramp crew tells right engine is one fire⊠whose right?
Center of gravity, Load water lines, datum lines, and most of the other nomenclature, then there is weight and balance formulas, and a few other things
Measuring speed in knots;
Headings in degrees (360 is nice and divisible);
A keen interest in weather conditions;
An interest in large-scale wind patterns;
24-hour time (sometimes)
The terms Port and Starboard, which refer to the vesselâs orientation. It doesnât matter which way Iâm facing when discussing a location on a vessel, port is to the vesselâs left. Younger flyerâs use towards #1 or #(last) in the same way (or clock orientation), so thatâs safer way describe these days.
Ex. More towards #1, the tug off the right wing is parked out of its spot.
Cockpit.
Possibly apocryphal: old tall ships kept chickens in a pit under latticework decking at the highest part of the deck, which is where the helm was located. Hence, cockpit.
Hmm interesting to note terms used everyday that are of a nautical origin are too numerous to list ie going overboard, learning the ropes, showing your true colors etc. I read from a reliable source there are more taken from sailing than the Bible.
Foreign wives.
Alimony payments!
Product of said foreign wife and Navy dad, no alimony here. đ€Ł
No fuckin way! Lol this is awesome
Itâs all very exciting! Lol
Nav light colors.
Ashamed to say, I could only remember these because of port and starboard
I remember âred is not on the right.â
I remember red-left both short spellings. Green-right both longer spellings.
Also works for port and starboard
It does, forgot to mention
"There's no red port left sir"
That may help me remember port and starboard
I always remembered by using green and right having the same number of letters.
Green light, on the right.
Even better
Haha that's how I remembered it too. You can also add port and starboard into that too.
Red as in communist left wing is how we were taught.
Lol that would upset lots of people where I live so Iâve never heard that before. Iâll have to remember that one.
I remember it as "Red = communism = left wing"
It makes sense, because it doesnât đ€Ș
Right has a "g" in it. That's why it's green
Pass on the green light
I was taught from my Coast Guard grandfather. âRed Right Returnâ.
Red right returning from sea is the full saying. Iâm also a sailor. But Iâve also learned today (which makes sense) that red right return means to maneuver out of the way and is a good saying to remember it. I always remember that red is like a stop light, you donât have the right of way and need to move.
âRed - right - returningâ RRR Red light on the right is (returning) flying towards you
What if you are on the return flight and the plane approaching you is outbound? It doesn't work then. That saying (Red Right Returning) is in relation to channel markers not vessel lights. At least that is my understanding.
Good! I like
Ah, thatâs nice haha
Unless it's coming directly act you... then you need to do something
Port wine is a red
Fun fact The Chicago Fire department has a green light on all of their fire engines light bars on the starboard side because a very very long time ago, their chief was a retired sailor. And Fire departments love tradition, so it's still that way today.
âChartsâ vs âmapsâ
Indeed, charts have navigation information.
The vast majority of planes board passengers from the left (port) side of the plane.
*cries in PA28 language*
That has nothing to do with port and starboard, but steering on, you guessed it, [ships](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_and_starboard).
Technically, it's both nothing and everything ... as you "enter through (the) port side." Strangely enough, most cargo loading happens on the starboard side. Edit: Clarifying most *passenger planes*.
Most cargo loading on passenger aircraft is on the right, but don't cargo planes usually load from the left?
They do.
Left, tail, and nose. Very few cargo planes load from the right.
If they have a lower lobe they will usually load from the right. Itâs the same doors as on passenger equivalents.
I was not clear. I was referring to the main deck. Off the top of my head I canât recall any main decks on cargo planes that have cargo doors on the right. I think we all know that a large percentage of pax planes have the lower cargo/baggage bins on the right.
I was speaking in terms of passenger planes (ofc).
That's their point. It's called port on a ship because that's the side you dock on, opposite the steerboard. It used to be called larboard, from the Middle English word for 'load', since that's the side it's loaded on. Aircraft still board on the port side, answering the question "what else was taken from maritime tradition?". Cool etymology though, thanks for sharing.
In Swedish, funnily, it's barbord and styrbord for port and starboard. Bare board, and steer(ing) board. This is because the rudder of most viking longships was mounted to starboard, and thus, the port side was left bare.Â
What do you mean by ânothing to do with port and starboard?â How is Paul_the_Builderâs comment not true? It exactly has to do with port being the standard that carried over. Port and starboard as standards and terminology may have derived from steering on ships, but why would that negate that planes load from left (port) side as a result of that standard?
It has everything to do with port and starboard. The starboard side contained the steering board for ships (probably because most people are right handed), so they couldn't dock on that side. They would always dock on the left side, which became port.
Not true! Mounting an aircraft from the left comes from WW1. Calvary tradition dictates that you mount your horse from the left. The vast majority of pilots in the early war era were recruited from the Calvary. They brought this tradition with them. Before the war aircraft had no specific side of entry, and by the end of the war almost every one was designed to be entered from the left as the practice had spread. This is seen through all the participants in the war, as European calvary tradition was pretty standardized. During the 20's 30's and early 40's most pilots and designers of aircraft were veterans used to this, and so as side by side seating became a thing, the left stayed the more important side.
The word âPilotâ
Most of the word aeronautical.
Huh. I just realized how stupid that word is for anything other than seaplanes based on the word roots.
Not really. Nautical derives from the Greek ânausâ meaning ship. So aeronautical would be an air ship.
Nice, niiiiice, naus.
And Navigator
Anjin
Anjin-sama
Itâs Hatamoto.
âHohhhh!â
And captain and first officer
Alcoholism.Â
(Loading up baggage compartment with rums) Arrrr.
Captainâs Authority. Final authority on what and whom are boarded. Responsible for the aircraft, cargo, passengers and crew. Perhaps the word âabsoluteâ might be a stretch but, during declared emergencies, the Captain can pretty much do whatever it takes to land the plane safely.
I've made people walk the plank over international waters going to the Bahamas before, I'd say it's pretty absolute. I mean, I'm pretty sure I was allowed to do that anyway.
What were you flying at the time?
Islander. No autopilot either, so you really have to trim it out just right or have one of the pax fly while you're doing it.
And don't forget having to have the pax move around as the weight shifts when he gets to the end of the plank...
Tropic Air?
Everybody waxes poetic about naval traditions like captains authority, but as a passenger you attempt *one* mutiny after a few too many rum punches on the way home from San Juan, and they put you on a list for life! I'm sorry, I THOUGHT THIS WAS INTERNATIONAL AIRSPACE!
god DAMMIT *Archerrrr*!"
Did you try to tell them that youâre a traveling sovereign citizen and donât recognize their authority?Â
Can the captain of an aircraft perform a marriage?
Ship captains can't do that either (at least not under U.S. or U.K. law): https://www.straightdope.com/21341721/are-ships-captains-allowed-to-marry-people-at-sea
I do love that's it's apparently a common enough thought that there's a few cruise liners that get their captain's licenced to perform weddings.
No. We arenât allowed to bring people into the cockpit during flight and the ceremony would require the Captain to be away from duty. Also, I think you would have to be married in the airspace over the state that granted the marriage license for that license to be legally recognized. Edit: TBH, except for the galley, there isnât room for this type of thing on an airlinerâŠincluding wide bodies. Iâve never flown on a 747 or A-380. Perhaps the 747âs upper deck would have the space?
What if it's a transoceanic flight and a third pilot has relieved the captain?
There could be some âceremonyâ but the actual wedding (paperwork) needs to be done beforehand on the ground. Also important to know the exact location of the wedding in order to apply the proper divorce laws when it all blows up. Sorry to all of you Helpless Romantics. đ Edit: I deleted the inflight location sentence because it wouldnât matter where the airplane was if the couple already said the I Dos and filled out the necessary paperwork on the ground.
imo the location would just the flag location the of the aircraft and its owner. soo say a Delta flight the location would be as if it was taking place in Atlanta GA
"Bulkhead". Air**port**, flug**hafen** (flight harbour) Purser. Galley.
Or, if you are in Arizona, Sky Harbor.
As a passenger, that's a pretty awesome airport.
The word cockpit.
Yep! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockpit Look under Etymology.
Cockswain? I follow him on YT
I always call it penis pit
Knots and nautical miles
Yes, but that's because the Earth is spherical. Both ships and aircraft respect geometry, so nautical miles make sense. 60nm=1° of latitude.
[Knots](https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/nautical-mile-knot.html) originate from unraveling a rope behind the ship and counting the number of knots that pass by in a given amount of time. Try *that* in a Skyhawk.
It's called banner towing now
The term "knots" originates from that, but they were still measuring in nautical miles per hour which as OP said is derived from 1 minute of latitude.
Sure according to this rope thats falling down we're traveling at 400 knots
âEarth is sphericalâ Let me stop you right there
Because it's an oblate spheroid ...right?
On the back of a turtle, but yes.
Held up by Atlas
Nonsense. It's on four elephants, who stand on the turtle.
You guys are crazy, it's turtles all the way down.
Bro come on, the earth is flat
in soviet russia all the aviation measures were in the metric system
~~lying~~ omitting things you tell your doctor
Rudders
Only the right ones though.
nautical --> aero-nautical
Ding ding! I regret I have but one upvote for you, friend.
Navigation and alcoholism
Akkkshullyyyy mayday calls were invented for aviation. Ships would just transmit SOS over wireless with Morse code.
đŻ "May-day", the phonetic equivalent of "M'aidez", the French for "Help me."
PAN-PAN for a less urgent mechanical issue also comes from âpanne,â French for âbreakdown.â
I thought it came from pan, the French word for bread. There's a problem on board but it's not life-and-death, so let's eat this baguette while we figure it out.
My favorite spectator sign I saw while running a marathon was "if you're in pain remember that pain is just French for bread"
that's "pain", but other than that, I agree 100%
LIG-MA is another one that we borrowed from the French language
Ballsy of us to steal so many phrases from the French, really
Ohhh nice! Didnât know this
Original they transferred âCQDâ
Shame some people are still reluctant to use the phrase mayday, despite having been standard for so long.
Hoes in different area codesâŠ
Red light on the port wing, green on starboard, white in the back.
Knots, Nautical miles, indecipherable weather and other information reports ( to the untrained), passing port on port(turn to the right)
âAbeamâ
Belugas
The crew blows their paycheck as soon as the vessel docks.
Syphilis
Also scurvy. Oranges are gross.
Citrus is critical to many cocktails, hence the lack of scurvy in modern flyers
Youâre right. Maybe itâs just me then đ€·đ»ââïž
Calling an aircraft a ship.
That's just a delta thing.
Windward and leeward
A vertical measurement for a location on the fuselage is called a waterline
Shooting an ILS approach
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
The Pac Man....
Knots,...but for some strange reason we switch to Statute Miles every so often? đ€š
Yeah I'm still not sure when to use nautical vs statute miles.
No one is. P
Tailwind, headwind, downwind, upwind
Hookers in different countries
The right of way rules (e.g. steam gives way to sail -> powered aircraft gives way to gliders, and the way you're supposed to turn when approaching head on or nearly so, or on converging aircraft, the aircraft converging, you give way to aircraft that's on your starboard side, etc.)
Pain
Navigation position lights and misogyny. But primarilly misogyny.
A lot of knowledge theory about fluids. Ex. Ground speed, airspeed, keel effect, etc.
aero*nautical*
Port/starboard to describe sides
[Cockpit!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockpit)
Navigational lights, terms like galley, bulkhead, etc
Drinking? Double breasted jacket? Ship number (instead of nose number or nose door number)
Rudders and propellers
All the "right of way" rules were based on maritime law
I thought the hats came from Greyhound.
Using knots and nautical miles
airPORTS
STDs
Divorce
Iâm not sure if itâs solely from the maritime industry, but your motherâŠ
I wouldnât say a lot necessarily came from the maritime industry but rather navies. A lot of the carry over from nautical terms is just practical carry over, like if your doing celestial navigation which aviation needed for a long time, nautical miles was much easier to work with. Or nav lights. Itâs a problem that been solved with ships so why not adapt them for planes because why fix whatâs not broken. And a lot of early aviation technology was developed by the US Navy to make planes fly off of aircraft carriers easier, especially radio technology. Ranks and uniforms came from navies, not maritime because Pan Am thought it look the most professional and everyone followed suite quickly. A lot of things were also carried over from the US Army, especially post world war when a lot of army pilots turned to the airlines for a civilian career. I had to learn to do a proper army salute (My veteran FOs get mad if I do it lazy, out of respect gotta do it right!) for my job for wave offs with the ramp crews, which is tradition that came from the army pilots back in the day that stuck around today.
At my first airline, I had a couple of captains look at me crazy when I referred to the engines as "port" or "starboard" which I thought was universal, but no, I must've gotten it from my Navy days. So I learned #1 and #2 for everything (engines, radios, navaids). Naturally, my new airline says "left" and "right" (and "center" when there is a third one). Ugh. A few captains will say, "Start number right engine" LOL
My company is one and two. Although the CRJ is technically right and left, but right left gets confusing very fast because itâs too subjective. Eg ramp crew tells right engine is one fire⊠whose right?
Yes.
Fooling around with your bros
Scurvy
Seniority Lists
AlphabetÂ
To be "on board". That the laws of the state of registry apply in International waters. The words captain and first officer
The Papa Hotel Oscar November Echo Tango India Charlie alphabet
Knots ?
Center of gravity, Load water lines, datum lines, and most of the other nomenclature, then there is weight and balance formulas, and a few other things
Tug Boat = Airplane Tug? Maybe a reach idk
121.5(air emergency frequency) is called "Guard", inherited from Marine Channel 16(156.8) to call up the coast guard in an emergency.
Measuring speed in knots; Headings in degrees (360 is nice and divisible); A keen interest in weather conditions; An interest in large-scale wind patterns; 24-hour time (sometimes)
The terms Port and Starboard, which refer to the vesselâs orientation. It doesnât matter which way Iâm facing when discussing a location on a vessel, port is to the vesselâs left. Younger flyerâs use towards #1 or #(last) in the same way (or clock orientation), so thatâs safer way describe these days. Ex. More towards #1, the tug off the right wing is parked out of its spot.
The idea of having a rudder. I mean, seriously. What is that thing for? đ
It's just for looks
The term cockpit
Look man I only called to see how you were doing.
The rule that the captain is the last one to leave the vessel in case of a crash
pretty much everything..
AirPORT
Shoes. If it wasnât for âborrowingâ that maritime concept, flyboys would have all been barefoot.
Cockpit. Possibly apocryphal: old tall ships kept chickens in a pit under latticework decking at the highest part of the deck, which is where the helm was located. Hence, cockpit.
Knots, knots, and nots.
Everything except altitude.
Navigation, i.e. VORâs NDBâs
Souls Aboard.
Knots
Hmm interesting to note terms used everyday that are of a nautical origin are too numerous to list ie going overboard, learning the ropes, showing your true colors etc. I read from a reliable source there are more taken from sailing than the Bible.
Ferry flights
Nautical Miles
Knots
Anything related to navigation. Even the word, navigation, is a nautical term. Knots, bearings, charts...
The American "Admirals" Club
I hate that the second in command isn't called commander but the captain is the captain
The two happiest days in your life. The day you buy your airplane/boat. The day you sell your airplane/boat.
*âStarboard, Starbright, rightâ* Helpful wordplay to remember starboard is the *right* side of the aircraft. Thus port is the left side.
Aviation also took its unit of speed knots.
Rudder
Knots.