Definition
A vibration or shaking felt through the airframe and flight controls caused by turbulent, separated airflow over the wing as it approaches a stall. It serves as a natural aerodynamic warning that the wing is nearing its critical angle of attack.
Plain English
A shaking or shuddering you feel in the airplane when the wing is starting to lose smooth airflow, usually just before a stall. It's the airplane physically warning you that you're flying too slow or pulling too hard.
Context Anchor
You may feel aerodynamic buffet through the seat, controls, or airframe during slow flight, stall practice, turbulence, or other situations where airflow over the airplane becomes rough.
Derivation
From 'aerodynamic' (relating to air in motion) and 'buffet' (from Old French 'buffet', meaning a blow or strike). The word captures the sensation well: the disturbed air is striking the airframe in rapid, irregular blows.
Why Pilots Care
It provides a direct tactile warning of an approaching stall or of flight near the critical Mach number, allowing the pilot to take corrective action before loss of control.
Analogy
It is like holding your hand out of a moving car window. When your hand is smooth and level, the air flows cleanly; when you tilt it too much, the air gets rough and your hand starts to shake.
Grounding Statement
Aerodynamic buffet is the airplane’s physical shake from rough airflow, not just a sound or a normal engine vibration.
Intuition Check
Do not confuse “buffet” here with a meal or with any random vibration. In aviation, aerodynamic buffet means shaking caused specifically by rough airflow over the airplane.
Example Sentence 1
As the pilot tightened the steep turn, an aerodynamic buffet shook the controls, warning that the wing was approaching a stall.
Example Sentence 2
During the descent the crew noticed light aerodynamic buffet and immediately reduced thrust to remain below the maximum operating Mach number.