Aeronautical Terms beginning with H

Hazardous attitudes

Five aeronautical decision-making attitudes that may contribute to poor pilot judgment: antiauthority, impulsivity, invulnerability, machismo, and resignation.

Hazardous Inflight Weather Advisory Service (HIWAS).

Service providing recorded weather forecasts broadcast to airborne pilots over selected VORs. Discontinued on January 8, 2020.

Head-up display (HUD)

A special type of flight viewing screen that allows the pilot to watch the flight instruments and other data while looking through the windshield of the aircraft for other traffic, the approach lights, or the runway.

Height above airport (HAA)

The height of the MDA above the published airport elevation.

Height above landing (HAL)

The height above a designated helicopter landing area used for helicopter instrument approach procedures.

Height above touchdown elevation (HAT)

The DA/DH or MDA above the highest runway elevation in the touchdown zone (first 3,000 feet of the runway).

Holding

A predetermined maneuver that keeps aircraft within a specified airspace while awaiting further clearance from ATC.

Holding pattern

A racetrack pattern, involving two turns and two legs, used to keep an aircraft within a prescribed airspace with respect to a geographic fix. A standard pattern uses right turns; nonstandard patterns use left turns.

Homing

Flying the aircraft on any heading required to keep the needle pointing to the 0 relative bearing position.

Horizontal situation indicator (HSI)

A flight navigation instrument that combines the heading indicator with a CDI, in order to provide the pilot with better situational awareness of location with respect to the courseline.

Human factors

A multidisciplinary field encompassing the behavioral and social sciences, engineering, and physiology, to consider the variables that influence individual and crew performance for the purpose of optimizing human performance and reducing errors.