Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary.
If the term you are looking for starts with a
digit or symbol, choose the '#' link.
A Autotuned NAVAID
A At or Above (constrained altitude)
AA American
AAATS Australian Advanced Air Traffic Services
AAC Aeronautical Administration Communication (a class of communication which supports administrative communication)
AAS Advanced Automation System (the end systems for all FAA air traffic control, located at the ARTCCs)
AATT Advanced Aviation Transportation Technology
ABM Abeam
A/C Aircraft
AC Air Canada
ACARS Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System
ACARS ARINC communications and address reporting system (digital communications system used primarily for
aircraft-to-airline messages)
ACARS MU ACARS Management Unit
ACAS Airborne Collision and Avoidance System
ACF Area Control Facility
ACFS Advanced Concepts Flight Simulator (a generic "glass cockpit")
ACK Acknowledge
ACMS Aircraft Condition Monitoring System
ACT Active
ADC Air Data Computer
ADF Automatic Direction Finder
ADI Attitude Director lndicator
ADLP Aircraft Data Link Processor (the Mode S subnetwork function onboard the aircraft that implements the OSI network
layer protocols)
ADMA Aviation Distributors and Manufactureres Association
ADS Automatic Dependent Surveillance
AECB Atomic Energy Control Board
AERA Automated Enroute ATC
AFCS Automatic Flight Control System
AFDS Autopilot Flight Director System (also A/P F/D)
AFS Automatic Flight System
AGATE Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments
AGL Above Ground Level
AHRS Attitude Heading Reference System
AIRS Advanced Infrared Sounder
A/l Anti-ice
AI Artificial Intelligence
AL Allegheny
Alert Indicator (visual or auditory) which provides information to the flightcrew in a timely manner about an event requiring
pilot awareness.
ALPA Air Line Pilots Association
ALT Altitude
ALT Alternate
ALTN Alternate
ALT HOLD Altitude Hold Mode
AM Amplitude Modulation
AM Aeromexico
AMSS Aeronautical Mobile Satellite Service
ANA All Nippon Airways
AOA Angle-of-Attack
AOA Airport Operations Area
AOC Aeronautical Operation Control (communications which support safety and regularity of flight that normally take place
between aircraft and the operator)
AOCS Attitude and Orbit Control System
AOM Aircraft Operating Manual
AOPA Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
A/P Autopilot
APA Allied Pilots Association
APC Aeronautical Passenger Communication (a class of communication which supports passenger communication)
APMS Automated Performance Measurement System
APPR Approach/Approach Mode
APR April
APRT Airport
APU Auxiliary Power Unit
AQP Advanced Qualification Program
ARAC Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee
ARINC Aeronautical Radio Incorporated
ARPA Advanced Research Projects Agency
ARR Arrival
ARTCC Air Route Traffic Control Center
ARTS Automated Radar Terminal System
ASCII American Standard Code for Interface and Interchange
ASI Air Speed Indicator
ASR Airport Surveillance Radar
ASRS Aviation Safety Reporting System (aviation incident reporting system run by NASA for FAA)
AT At (an altitude)
A/T Autothrottle
ATA Air Transport Association
ATA Actual Time of Arrival
ATC Air Traffic Control (a generic term for a joint civil/military system for controlling traffic within a specific area)
ATCS Advanced Train Control Systems
ATCSCC Air Traffic Control System Command Center
ATHR Autothrust System
ATIS Automatic Terminal Information Service (recorded voice message that provides weather and airport services
information)
ATM Air Transportation Management
ATN Aeronautical Telecommunications Network (the collection of ground subnetworks, air/ground subnetworks and
airborne subnetworks interconnected by ATN routers that support computer-to-computer, internetwork communication and
message transfer between host computers using the OSI ISO protocol architecture)
ATS Automatic Throttle System
ATSC Air Traffic Service Communications (Communications related to air traffic services. This includes ATC, aeronautical
and meteorological information, position reporting and services related to safety and regularity of flight)
AUG August
AV Avianca
AVAIL Available
AVHRR Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer
AWACS Airborne Warning And Control System
AWAS Automated Weather Advisory Station
AWIPS Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System
-
C Centigrade
CAA Civil Aviation Authority (Great Britain)
CAB Civil Aeronautics Board
CAAC Civil Aviation Authority of China
CAS Calibrated (Computed) Air Speed
CASE Computer Aided Software Engineering
CAT Clear Air Turbulence
CAT Computer Aided Testing
CAT I Facility providing operation down to 200 feet decision height and runway visual range not less than 2600 feet.
CAT II Facility providing operation down to 100 feet decision height and runway visual range not less than 1200 feet.
CAT II a Facility providing operation with no decision height limit to and along the surface of the runway with external visual reference
during final phase of landing and with a runway visual range not less than 700 feet.
CBT Computer Based Training
CDI Course Deviation Indicator
CDU Control display unit (pilots' interface to the FMS)
CDTI Cockpit Display of Traffic Information
CENA Centred' Études de la Navigation Aérienne (France)
CFIT Controlled Flight Into Terrain
CG Center of Gravity
CGS Centimeter-gram-second
Cl Cost Index
CI China Airlines
CIT Compressor Inlet Temperature
CLB Climb Detent of the Thrust Levers
CLR Clear
CMC Central Maintenance Computer
CNS Communications Navigations and Surveillance
CO Continetnal
COM Cockpit Operating Manual
CON Continuous
CO ROUTE Company Route (also CO RTE)
COTR Contracting Officer's Technical Representative
COTS Commercial Off The Shelf
CP Control Panel
CPCS Cabin Pressure Control System
CPDLC Controller Pilot Datalink Communications
CPU Central Processing Unit
CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check
CRITTER Civil Rotorcraft IFR Terminal-Area Technology Enhancement Research
CRM Cockpit Resource Management
CRM Crew Research Management
CRS Course
CRT Cathode Ray Tube
CRZ Cruise
CSD Constant Speed Drive
CTA Controlled-Time of Arrival
CTA Control Area (ICAO Term)
CTAS Center TRACON Automation System
CTC Centralized Train Central
CTR Center
CTR Civil Tilt Rotor
CTRL Control
CVSRF Crew-Vehicle Simulation Research Facility (NASA Ames)
CWS Control Wheel Steering
V Velocity
VA Heading to an Altitude
VA Design Maneuvering Speed
VAR Variation
VAR Volt-amps Reactive
VAR Visual-aural Radio Range
VASI Visual Approach Slope Indicator
VBF(LO) Flaps up minimum buffet speed at current maneuver load factor minus altitude dependent variable
VBFNG(HI) High speed CAS at N g's to buffet onset
VBFNG(LO) Low speed CAS at N g's to buffet onset
VCMAX Active Maximum Control Speed
VCMIN Active Minimum Control Speed
VC Design Cruising Speed
VD Design Diving Speed
VD Heading to a DME distance
VF Design Flap Speed
VFE Flaps Extended Placard Speed
VFR Visual Flight Rules
VFXR(R) Flap Retraction Speed
VFXR(X) Flap Extension Speed
VG Ground Velocity
VGND Ground Velocity
VH Maximum Level-flight Speed with Continuous Power
VHF Very-high Frequency
VHRR Very High-Resolution Radiometer
VISSR Visible Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer
Vl Heading to a course intercept
Vls Lowest Selectable Airspeed
VLE Landing Gear Extended Placard Airspeed
VLO Maximum Landing Gear of Operating Speed
VLOF Lift-off Speed
VM Heading to a manual termination
VMC Visual Meteorological Conditions
VMC Minimum Control Speed with Critical Engine Out
VM(LO) Minimum Maneuver Speed
VMAX Basic Clean Aircraft Maximum CAS
VMIN Basic Clean Aircraft Minimum CAS
VMO Velocity Max Operating
VNAV Vertical Navigation (provides computer description of aircraft's speed and altitude that can be tracked by autoflight system)
VNE Never-exceed Speed
VNO Maximum Structural Cruising Speed
VOM Volt-ohm-milliammeter
VOR VHF OmniRange Navigatgion System (ground navigational aid that can provide display of aircraft position relative to course
through selected ground navigational radio transmitter)
VORTAC VHF Omni Range Radio/Tactical Air Navagation
VPATH Vertical Path
VR Heading to a radial
VR Takeoff Rotation Velocity
VREF Reference Velocity
VS Design Speed for Maximum Gust Intensity
V/S Vertical Speed/Vertical
VSCS Voice Switching and Control System
VSI Stalling Speed in a Specified Flight Configuration
VSO Stalling Speed in the Landing Configuration
VSTOL Vertical or Short Takeoff and Landing
VTK Vertical Track Distance
VTOL Vertical Takeoff and Landing
V/TRK Vertical Track
VTR Variable Takeoff Rating
VU Utility Speed
VX Speed for Best Angle of Climb
VY Speed for Best Rate of Climb
Vl Critical Engine Failure Velocity (Takeoff Decision Speed)
V2 Takeoff Climb Velocity