Servo amplifier.  An electronic amplifier in an autopilot system that increases the signal from the autopilot enough that it can operate the servos that move the control surfaces. 

Servo tab. A small movable tab built into the trailing edge of a primary control surface of an airplane. The flight deck controls move the tab in such a direction that it produces an aerodynamic force moving the surface on which it is mounted. 

Setback. The distance the jaws of a brake must be set back from the mold line to form a bend. Setback for a 90° bend is equal to the inside radius of the bend plus the thickness of the metal being bent. For a bend other than 90°, a K-factor must be used. See also K-factor. 

Shake (wood defect). Longitudinal cracks in a piece of wood, usually between two annual rings. 

SHF.  Super-high frequency. 

Shear section. A necked-down section of the drive shaft of a constant-displacement engine-driven fluid pump. If the pump should seize, the shear section will break and prevent the pump from being destroyed or the engine from being damaged. Some pumps use a shear pin rather than a shear section. 

Shear strength. The strength of a riveted joint in a sheet metal structure in which the rivets shear before the metal tears at the rivet holes. 

Shelf life. The length of time a product is good when it remains in its original unopened container. 

Shielded wire.  Electrical wire enclosed in a braided metal jacket. Electromagnetic energy radiated from the wire is trapped by the braid and is carried to ground. 

Shimmy. Abnormal, and often violent, vibration of the nose wheel of an airplane. Shimmying is usually caused by looseness of the nose wheel support mechanism or an unbalanced wheel. 

Shimmy damper. A small hydraulic shock absorber installed between the nose wheel fork and the nose wheel cylinder attached to the aircraft structure. 

Shock mounts.  Resilient mounting pads used to protect electronic equipment by absorbing low-frequency, high amplitude vibrations. 

Shock wave.  A pressure wave formed in the air by a flight vehicle moving at a speed greater than the speed of sound. As the vehicle passes through the air, it produces sound waves that spread out in all directions. But since the vehicle is flying faster than these waves are moving, they build up and form a pressure wave at the front and rear of the vehicle. As the air passes through a shock wave it slows down, its static pressure increases, and its total energy decreases. 

Shop head. The head of a rivet which is formed when the shank is upset. 

Show-type finish.  The type of finish put on fabric-covered aircraft intended for show. This finish is usually made up of many coats of dope, with much sanding and rubbing of the surface between coats. 

Shunt winding. Field coils in an electric motor or generator that are connected in parallel with the armature. 

Shuttle valve. An automatic selector valve mounted on critical components such as landing gear actuation cylinders and brake cylinders. For normal operation, system fluid flows into the actuator through the shuttle valve, but if normal system pressure is lost, emergency system pressure forces the shuttle over and emergency fluid flows into the actuator. 

Sidestick controller.  A flight deck flight control used on some of the fly-by-wire equipped airplanes. The stick is mounted rigidly on the side console of the flight deck, and pressures exerted on the stick by the pilot produce electrical signals that are sent to the computer that flies the airplane. 

Sight glass (air conditioning system component). A small window in the high side of a vapor-cycle cooling system. Liquid refrigerant flows past the sight glass, and if the charge of refrigerant is low, bubbles will be seen. A fully charged system has no bubbles in the refrigerant. 

Sight line.  A line drawn on a sheet metal layout that is one bend radius from the bend-tangent line. The sight line is lined up directly below the nose of the radius bar in a cornice brake. When the metal is clamped in this position, the bend tangent line is in the correct position for the start of the bend. 

Silicon controlled rectifier (SCR).  A semiconductor electron control device. An SCR blocks current flow in both directions until a pulse of positive voltage is applied to its gate. It then conducts in its forward direction, while continuing to block current in its reverse direction. 

