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Space modelling competition (S classes)
Space modeling competition (S classes) is FAI model rocketry competition scored on altitude, duration, and scale, with classes from S1 upward and a first world championship in 1972.
Spain AESA UAS regulation
Spain's regulation of civil drones is administered by the state aviation safety agency AESA, resting since 31 December 2020 on EU Regulations 2019/945 and 2019/947, supplemented by national decree 517/2024.
Spanair
Spanair was a Spanish airline founded by SAS in 1986, based in Barcelona; once Spain's second largest airline, it ceased operations in January 2012 after bankruptcy.
Spanair Flight 5022
Spanair Flight 5022 was a scheduled domestic flight from Madrid to Gran Canaria that crashed on takeoff at Madrid-Barajas on 20 August 2008, killing 154 of the 172 people aboard.
Spark plug
A spark plug, also called a sparking plug, is a device that delivers the high-voltage electric spark that ignites the air-fuel mixture in a spark-ignition engine.
Spatial disorientation
Spatial disorientation is an erroneous perception of one's position and motion relative to the earth, common in flight and a leading cause of fatal aviation accidents.
Spatial disorientation in aviation
Spatial disorientation in aviation is a pilot's inability to correctly interpret an aircraft's attitude, altitude, or airspeed when vision and the inner ear give misleading cues in flight.
Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics (Colombia)
The Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics, known as Aerocivil, is Colombia's civil aviation authority, a technical entity under the Ministry of Transport that regulates airspace, provides navigation services, and investigates accidents.
Special reconnaissance
Special reconnaissance is a military term for reconnaissance and surveillance in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments, using capabilities not normally found in conventional forces.
Specific range
Specific range is a measure of aircraft cruise efficiency, the distance flown per unit of fuel consumed, and the aviation counterpart of an automobile's miles per gallon.
Spektrum RC
Spektrum RC is a Horizon Hobby brand of 2.4GHz radio equipment for model aircraft, helicopters, and surface vehicles, which introduced DSM spread-spectrum technology in 2004.
SpiceJet
SpiceJet, also known as Royal Airways, is an Indian low-cost airline founded in 2005 and headquartered in Gurugram, operating domestic and international passenger flights and SpiceXpress cargo services.
Spin (aerodynamics)
A spin, also called a tailspin, is an aggravated stall in which an airplane descends in a corkscrew path while rotating, with at least one wing stalled.
Spin recovery
Spin recovery is the set of control actions a pilot uses to return an airplane to normal flight after a spin, stopping rotation and reducing the angle of attack below stall.
Spirit Airlines
Spirit Airlines was an American ultra-low-cost carrier based in Dania Beach, Florida, operating from 1992 until it shut down in May 2026 after a fuel-price shock.
Spirit of St. Louis
The Spirit of St. Louis is the Ryan NYP monoplane flown by Charles Lindbergh on the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic, from New York to Paris in May 1927.
Spoiler (aeronautics)
A spoiler, also known as a lift dumper, is a hinged panel on a wing's upper surface that disrupts airflow to reduce lift and increase drag, serving as speed brakes and ground lift dumpers.
Spoke–hub distribution paradigm
The spoke–hub distribution paradigm, usually called the hub-and-spoke model, is a network design that routes traffic through central hubs instead of connecting every pair directly.
Spring Airlines
Spring Airlines (春秋航空) is China's first low-cost carrier, a Shanghai-based private airline that began flying in 2005 with an all-Airbus A320 fleet on domestic and Asian routes.
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in aviation is the basic military air unit, made up of two or more flights and smaller than a group or wing, in air forces worldwide.
Squawk code
A squawk code is a four-digit transponder number a pilot enters so air traffic control radar can identify the aircraft, with 7500, 7600, and 7700 reserved for emergencies.
Sri Guru Ravidas Airport
Sri Guru Ravidas Airport, formerly Adampur Airport (AIP/VIAX), is a civil enclave at Adampur, Jalandhar, Punjab, using the Air Force Station airstrip; renamed by PM Modi on 1 February 2026, serving the Doaba region under UDAN.
SriLankan Airlines
SriLankan Airlines, formerly Air Lanka, is the state-owned flag carrier of Sri Lanka, operating an all-Airbus fleet from its hub in Colombo since its launch in 1979.
Sriwijaya Air
Sriwijaya Air is an Indonesian airline based in Jakarta, founded in 2002 by the Lie family, which became Indonesia's third-largest airline group by serving neglected secondary routes with Boeing 737s.
Sriwijaya Air Flight 182
Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 was an Indonesian domestic flight from Jakarta to Pontianak that crashed into the Java Sea in January 2021, killing all 62 aboard.
SS Atlantic Conveyor
SS Atlantic Conveyor was a British Cunard container ship requisitioned for the 1982 Falklands War; Argentine Exocet missiles sank her with the loss of 12 men.
SS Thistlegorm
SS Thistlegorm was a British cargo steamship sunk by German bombers in the Red Sea on 6 October 1941; her wreck is a famous Red Sea dive site.
St. Louis Lambert International Airport
St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) is a public airport 14 miles northwest of downtown St. Louis, Missouri, founded in 1920 by Albert Bond Lambert.
Stabilizer (aeronautics)
A stabilizer in aeronautics is a fixed tail surface of a fixed-wing aircraft: the horizontal stabilizer gives pitch stability, and the vertical fin gives yaw stability.
Stalag 17
Stalag 17 (1953) is Billy Wilder's POW comedy-drama, adapted from the 1951 Broadway play by Bevan and Trzcinski, starring William Holden as suspected informer J.J. Sefton; Holden won the Best Actor Oscar.