It’s been 19 years and this is bugging me.
Time
Transponder
Txxxxxxxx?
Try-me? (sorry feminists)
Terror?
friday the Thirteenth?
Due to inflation, there are now five T’s:
Turn
Time
Twist
Throttle
Talk
(for use when passing a fix)
Sounds like your T’s are for a lineup check - Time, Transponder… Throttle? Turn on your lights?
Never heard of the three Ts sorry.
Maybe you meant the three H’s:
High
Hot
Humid
All of which contribute to lower density air.
Temperature?
I don’t see a connection between time and transponder that would help me fit a third word in there.
[Carnac the Magnificent opens the envelope]
“What describes the anus of a giraffe with the runs?”
Ed McMahon: Doh Ho Ho Ho Ho!
Tits
Things you do or take note of when crossing the hold short point.
Since nobody else has heard of it, I don’t feel so bad.
Maybe it’s takeoff? I’d sure hate to forget that one.
Reminds me of SPORTS, an acronym they used to teach us for trouble-shooting misfires on the M-16 (evidently they replaced it with something new, but I… er… wasn’t paying attention during that part of my annual firearms training. :eek:)
SPORTS was a favorite quiz item for NCOs trying to trip up confused airmen. What is the last S short for?
Slap Pull Observe Release Tap and… Shoot. Folks would forget that one because why the hell do they need to be reminded to shoot the gun? 
(for clarification, Slap the base of the magazine to ensure it is seated properly, Pull the charging handle and hold it back, Observe to see if a round or a casing was ejected from the ejector port, Release the charging handle so it snaps forward, Tap the forward assist (I have no solid idea of what it does, but it’s a little button behind the ejector port. I think it makes sure the bolt has gone all the way forward if the weapon is a bit grimy).
If you practice enough, the whole SPORTS process only takes a few seconds. One assumes that in a firefight, you will have made some attempt to seek cover or concealment while you do all that too.
As far as the three H’s go, with the High Hot and Humid, the reason you need to remember what causes low air density is because low air density affects aircraft performance: Since the plane operates by pushing itself through the air and manipulating the airflow to produce lift, thinner air means the plane can’t fly as high or maneuver as easily. I’ve heard of planes landing at high-altitude airports like Denver one day only to find they are above their service ceiling while parked on the tarmac the next day, effectively being grounded until the weather changes. Similarly, an aircraft near the edge of their service ceiling will have a harder time avoiding obstacles, such as mountains, particularly if the visibility is poor.
It’s still SPORTS. That hasn’t changed. It is possible that either you are thinking about POPS for open-bolt, belt fed weapons or an immediate action drill for some other weapon system. Or someone was coming up with his own shit during your last annual training. But SPORTS is still Army doctrine for the M16/M4 series weapons.
Traffic?
ETA: or tower maybe?
Boba Fett.
Way too many instructors, or book writers, use way too many cutesy acronyms in this game. Don’t worry if you don’t remember any particular one; only a few have widespread use.
That said, you’d note the time and turn the transponder either to or from Standby either just before Takeoff or just before Taxiing in, and either way there’d be a Throttle check/change. But if you needed reminding of those things, an acronym wouldn’t help.
nm
Hah! As an Air Force guy we were twice as complicated!
The only reference to multiple T’s I had was the Six T’s. During navigation, once you crossed a waypoint you did the six T’s:
Time
Turn
Throttle
Twist
Track
Talk
Time - check your actual time versus your planned time. Start processing the difference in your task-saturated-acting-like-a-Commodore-64-brain.
Turn - Start turning toward your new heading. Regardless of how the the computational physics in your gray matter is going, you need to point the jet in the right direction.
Throttle - that thing that makes the jet go fast. Just coarse (ie not fine) corrections now. Were you early? Move the go fast lever back. Were you late? Make jet go faster now. Adjust later.
Twist - Old school stuff here. Before GPS we had to fly along certain radials (one line out of 360) emanating from a NAVAID. This step was to make sure you dialed in (by twisting the selector knob) the proper outbound course. So, Dial In that course while turning and still trying to figure out your speed.
Track - After dialing in the proper course, adjust your heading to correct for wind drift so you track the course properly. Easier to do if you have your groundspeed figured, which of course you don’t because you’ve been concentrating on your throttle from Step 3.
Talk - If needed, talk to anyone (ATC or other aircraft) that you should.
It should be noted that talking is purposely last on this list. Get your Stuff sorted out first, then start blabbing.
In the AF we had this mantra: Aviate, Navigate, Communicate.
Talking on the radio is the last, most insignificant thing you can ever do. Landing your jet safely is the thing you are supposed to do.
A very experienced pilot once told me a mnemonic for pre-take-off checks that goes something like this:
Tommy Tiernan Tells Awfully Funny Stories Ha Ha Ha
He claimed this mnemonic was originally used in the RAF, possibly with “Terry Thomas” substituted for “Tommy Tiernan”.
Now, unfortunately I can’t remember what each of the letters stands for. But there are 3 Ts, which is why I was reminded of this by your question.
The three Hs at the end are probably “Hatches, Harnesses and Halogens” (i.e. doors closed and locked, seat-belts fastened, lights on (as appropriate)). F would be “Fuel” (on and sufficient) and the A is probably the Altimeter subscale setting.
One of the Ts is definitely “Trim set for take-off”. I can’t remember what the other two are.
This is the one I know. The most important thing is to fly the aircraft. When the aircraft is under control, then you can make it go somewhere. Once the aircraft is under control and heading in the right direction, then you can talk on the radio.
It seems that my instructor’s favourite phrases were FLY THE AIRPLANE! and LOOK OUTSIDE! (Only part of the shouting was because we didn’t wear headsets.) Actually, the latter phrase was used more often. Early on, I had a tendency to look at the instruments for heading, climb, and altitude, instead of looking outside and gauging those things from the attitude of the aircraft in relation to landmarks. Interestingly, my SO took some lessons from the same instructor and she said he didn’t shout much. As far as ‘Fly the airplane!’, I used that during my helicopter checkride. The examiner was asking me something, and I had to tell him I’d answer him after I climbed over a ridge on a hot day in the mildly-underpowered, fairly heavy, R22. He commented in the debriefing, just before he gave me my temporary heli ticket, that that was a good action. 
I don’t doubt that, but I’m in the Air Force, so who knows what crazyness is now official doctrine for us.
If I had to guess I’d say the third T could be Tower, like Fubaya said, although you’d already be up with tower before crossing the hold short for either an immediate take off or to line up and wait. Maybe it’s for a Takeoff clearance call from tower, since taking off without clearance is all kinds of wrong.
I always run a WANTS check before I step out of the building to go fly:
- Weather - final update to see if we can legally take off or need to alter our destination
- Activate - have we sent our flight plan to base ops or a Flight Service Station and confirmed it’s “active” in the system?
- NOTAMS - do we have all the applicable FAA Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) with us?
- TOLD - have we updated our Take Off and Landing Data based on the current temperature or other airfield conditions?
- S - I use this one for SID/STAR/Sh*t. Will this flight involve a published Standard Instrument Departure (SID) or Standard Arrival (STAR) procedures and do we have the FAA publication book they’re in? Finally, do I need to visit the restroom one final time? Skip this last item before a long flight at your peril :eek:.