Glossary

Regulations & certification

The Small UAS Rule governing commercial and most non-recreational drone operations: certification, operating limitations, airspace authorization, waivers, and operations over people/at night.

Regulations & certification

Registration and marking requirements for small unmanned aircraft. Registration is required unless flying under the recreational exception with a drone weighing 0.55 lb (250 g) or less. The owner must be at least 13 (a younger owner needs someone 13+ to register).

Regulations & certification

The certification rule for manned-aircraft pilots. Current Part 61 holders can earn a remote pilot certificate via the online ALC-451 training instead of the in-person UAG test.

Regulations & certification

The Remote ID rule — design/production and operating requirements for broadcasting drone identification and location.

Regulations & certification

The FAA document (FAA-S-ACS-10) that defines the knowledge areas tested on the UAG exam (areas UA.I–UA.V). Each official question maps to an ACS code.

Operations & safety

A systematic approach to consistently determining the best course of action for a given set of circumstances (models include DECIDE and the 3P process).

Airspace

Height measured from the ground directly below. The Part 107 400-foot altitude limit is referenced to AGL.

Loading & performance

The angle between the wing’s chord line and the relative wind. Exceeding the critical angle of attack causes a stall, regardless of airspeed.

Acronyms & systems

An FAA-approved mobile app that shows drone pilots where they can and cannot fly, including airspace restrictions, controlled airspace, and advisories.

Operations & safety

Operating beyond the pilot’s unaided sight. Requires a waiver under current Part 107; the subject of the proposed Part 108 rule.

Regulations & certification

Four categories permitting flight over people. Cat 1: ≤0.55 lb with no lacerating exposed rotating parts. Cat 2/3: injury-severity testing (Cat 3 has site restrictions). Cat 4: requires an FAA airworthiness certificate.

Loading & performance

The point where the aircraft’s weight is balanced. Loading outside the manufacturer’s CG limits degrades stability and control. Follow loading limits in the POH/UAS flight manual.

Airspace

The FAA publication (formerly Airport/Facility Directory) with the most comprehensive information on a given airport — runways, frequencies, lighting, services, remarks.

Operations & safety

In the contiguous U.S., the period 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset. Operating then requires the same anti-collision lighting used at night.

Regulations & certification

FAA authorization to deviate from certain Part 107 rules (e.g., BVLOS, night before 2021, operations over people limits) when the applicant shows the operation can be conducted safely. Hazardous-material carriage cannot be waived.

Operations & safety

The effective use of all available resources — people, equipment, and information — across all phases of an operation to reduce error and improve safety.

Airspace

The radio frequency pilots use to self-announce position and intentions at a non-towered airport. Knowing it helps a remote pilot anticipate where manned traffic will be.

Weather

Pressure altitude corrected for non-standard temperature — the air density the aircraft “feels.” High density altitude (hot, high, humid) means thinner air, less propeller thrust, and degraded performance.

Acronyms & systems

The FAA web portal used to register drones, manage registrations, and apply for airspace authorizations and waivers. Part 107 registration costs $5 per drone, valid 3 years.

Operations & safety

An uncommanded, uncontrolled departure of the aircraft, often from GPS error, interference, or lost link without a safe failsafe.

Acronyms & systems

A defined geographic area where drones without Remote ID may be flown. Both the aircraft and the pilot must stay within the FRIA boundaries and the pilot must keep the aircraft within visual line of sight the whole flight. Only FAA-recognized Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and educational institutions can apply to establish one. Remote ID-equipped drones may also fly in a FRIA but must still broadcast.

Acronyms & systems

A unique identifier created with your IACRA profile that follows you throughout your aviation career; required before registering for the knowledge test.

Operations & safety

Five attitudes that degrade judgment — Anti-authority, Impulsivity, Invulnerability, Macho, and Resignation — each with a memorized antidote.

Acronyms & systems

The FAA’s web-based system for applying for airman certificates, including the remote pilot certificate (Form 8710-13). You first create an IACRA profile to get an FAA Tracking Number (FTN) before scheduling the knowledge test.

Operations & safety

A personal-fitness self-assessment: Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, Emotion/Eating.

Acronyms & systems

An FAA–industry system that gives drone pilots near-real-time authorization to fly in controlled airspace at or below the altitudes published on UAS Facility Maps. Requests are checked against FAA airspace data (facility maps, special-use airspace, TFRs, NOTAMs) through approved UAS Service Suppliers (USS). LAANC provides airspace authorization only — you must still check NOTAMs, weather, and all restrictions.

Loading & performance

The ratio of total load supported by the wings/rotors to the aircraft’s weight, expressed in G. It increases in any maneuver other than straight-and-level flight — about 2 G in a 60° banked level turn.

Operations & safety

Loss of the control signal between the controller and the aircraft. Well-prepared pilots know the aircraft’s programmed failsafe (return-to-home, hover, or land).

Weather

Erratic, gusty airflow created when wind flows over buildings, terrain, or obstacles — strongest on the downwind (lee) side. A heavily tested low-altitude hazard for drones.

Airspace

A bold number in each sectional-chart quadrangle giving the highest known terrain or obstacle elevation there, in thousands and hundreds of feet MSL.

Weather

A report of observed current weather at an airport — wind (degrees true/knots), visibility, weather, clouds (hundreds of feet AGL), temperature/dew point (°C), and altimeter.

Airspace

Special-use airspace separating military training from IFR traffic. Flight isn’t prohibited, but check NOTAMs/the controlling agency for whether it is active.

Airspace

Altitude measured from average sea level. Airspace floors/ceilings and obstruction tops on charts are usually given in MSL.

Airspace

Routes for high-speed, low-altitude military flight. A four-digit number (e.g., VR1667) means at least one segment is at or below 1,500 ft AGL — a collision hazard for drones.

Airspace

A time-critical notice of temporary conditions — TFRs, closures, obstruction-light outages, GPS testing. Checking NOTAMs is part of the required preflight assessment.

Regulations & certification

The pending rule for routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. It is expected to shift compliance responsibility from the individual pilot toward the operating organization. Not yet final as of this writing.

Operations & safety

A preflight risk-assessment tool grouping hazards into Pilot, Aircraft, enVironment, and External pressures.

Acronyms & systems

The ability of a drone to broadcast identification and location information in flight (Part 89). Compliance is met three ways: a standard Remote ID drone, a Remote ID broadcast module attached to the aircraft, or operating within a FRIA. Drones that must be registered must comply with Remote ID.

Acronyms & systems

A device added to a drone that broadcasts the required Remote ID message elements. Its serial number must be listed on the aircraft’s Certificate of Aircraft Registration. A drone with a broadcast module must be operated within visual line of sight.

Regulations & certification

The certificated person directly responsible for and the final authority over a Part 107 operation. Must hold a current remote pilot certificate (recurrent training within the previous 24 calendar months).

Operations & safety

A formal, organization-wide approach to managing safety risk through policy, risk management, assurance, and promotion.

Weather

Stable air resists vertical motion (stratiform clouds, steady precipitation, smooth air, poor visibility). Unstable air rises freely (cumuliform clouds, showers, turbulence, good visibility).

Loading & performance

A rapid loss of lift when airflow over the wing separates because the critical angle of attack is exceeded. Stall speed increases with load factor.

Airspace

Airspace with defined limits where activities must be confined or where limits are imposed on non-participating aircraft — includes prohibited, restricted, warning, alert areas and MOAs.

Acronyms & systems

A small unmanned aircraft (under 55 lb at takeoff, including payload) plus its associated control elements (controller, links). Operated under 14 CFR Part 107.

Weather

A forecast (typically 24–30 hours) of expected weather within about 5 SM of an airport, coded much like a METAR.

Weather

A layer where temperature increases with altitude. Very stable; traps moisture and pollutants, producing smooth air but poor visibility (fog, haze, low cloud) when humidity is high.

Airspace

A temporary airspace restriction (VIP movement, disasters, major sporting events). TFRs apply to all aircraft including drones; entry requires specific authorization or a waiver.

Acronyms & systems

A free aeronautical knowledge and safety test required for recreational flyers (Exception for Limited Recreational Operations). It is NOT the Part 107 test and does not grant a remote pilot certificate.

Regulations & certification

The FAA initial aeronautical knowledge test for the remote pilot certificate: 60 questions, 120 minutes, 70% to pass, taken at a PSI testing center.

Airspace

FAA maps showing the maximum altitudes (in grid cells around airports) at which ATC will likely approve drone operations via LAANC.

Airspace

A non-government air-to-ground radio station that may provide airport advisory information at non-towered fields.

Acronyms & systems

An FAA-approved company that provides the desktop/mobile apps pilots use to request LAANC airspace authorizations, exchanging airspace data with the FAA through the UAS Data Exchange.

Operations & safety

The requirement that the RPIC (or VO) keep the aircraft in sight with unaided vision (corrective lenses allowed) to know its position and see-and-avoid hazards.

Operations & safety

A crewmember who assists the RPIC in seeing and avoiding traffic and hazards. Must maintain effective communication with the RPIC; needs no certificate.

Weather

A sudden change in wind speed and/or direction over a short distance. Hazardous near thunderstorms, fronts, inversions, and structures; can rapidly change a drone’s lift and groundspeed.