Definition
An automatic cancellation of a pilot's request or service when the pilot fails to respond or take required action within a specified period. In the Flight Service Station (FSS) context, a time out occurs when a pilot does not contact FSS or close a flight plan within the expected window, prompting follow-up procedures such as search and rescue alerting.
Plain English
If a pilot doesn't check in or respond when expected, the system automatically flags it after a set amount of time and starts the next step, like trying to locate the pilot.
Context Anchor
You use this when contacting Flight Service after departure to open a flight plan or correct the departure time.
Derivation
Here, out carries the simple sense of leaving a place. Time out means the time the aircraft went out from the departure point and the flight began.
Why Pilots Care
Ensures critical communications are not blocked by equipment failure or prolonged transmissions.
Intuition Check
Do not read time out as a rest break or as a system that stopped responding. In this Flight Service context, it means the actual time the flight departed.
Example Sentence 1
After landing, the pilot called FSS immediately to close the flight plan and avoid a time out.
Example Sentence 2
If your mic sticks, the time out feature prevents the frequency from being unusable for others.