Abbreviations
AIRPROX – Air Proximity. A situation in which, in the opinion of any party, the distance between aircraft as well as their relative positions and speed are such that the safety of the aircraft involved may have been compromised.
ANO – Air Navigation Order (Reference: CAP393)
ATC – Air Traffic Control
ATCU – Air Traffic Control Unit
ATTI – Attitude Mode
ATZ – Aerodrome Air Traffic Control Zone
CAA – Civil Aviation Authority
CAP – Civil Aviation Procedures/Publication. Each publication on the CAA information page includes a description, edition details, revision status and, for some titles, effective dates
DEM – Digital Elevation Model
ICO – Information Commissioners’ Office
EASA – European Aviation Safety Agency
FIR – Flight Information Region
FPV – First Person View
FRC – Flight Reference Card(s)
GPS – Global Positioning System
ICAO – International Civil Aviation Organisation
Kg – Kilogram
LiPo – Lithium Polymer Battery
LOS – Line of Sight
MATZ – Military Air Traffic Control Zone
MET Data – Meteorological Data
MORS – Mandatory Occurrence Reporting Scheme
MTOM – Maximum Take Off Mass
MTOW – Maximum Take Off Weight
NAA – National Aviation Authority
NFZ- No Fly Zone
NOTAM – Notice to Airmen
OM – Operations Manual
OS – Ordnance Survey
OSC – Operating Safety Case
OPS Manual – Operations Manual
PfAW – Permission for Aerial Work
PfCO – Permission for Commercial Operations
RA – Risk Assessment
RC – Radio Control
RPAS – Remotely Piloted Aircraft System
RPQ – Remote Pilot Qualification
RTF – Ready To Fly. A drone that comes ready to fly, all you need to do is to charge and then install the batteries.
RTH – Return To Home. A GPS feature that some drones have that enables the drone to return to either the controller or the take off site (depending on the settings)
PfCO – Permission for Commercial Operation
PfCW – Permission for Commercial Work
PIC – Pilot in Command
SUA – Small Unmanned Aircraft
SUAS – Small Unmanned Aircraft System
SUSA – Small Unmanned Surveillance Aircraft
UAS – Unmanned Aircraft System
UAV – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Terminology
Commercial Operation – According to the CAA (https://www.caa.co.uk/Commercial-industry/Aircraft/Unmanned-aircraft/Small-drones/Guidance-on-using-small-drones-for-commercial-work/) this term ‘allows a broad variety of flight applications, which are mostly based around aerial photography or the operation of sensors and other data-gathering devices.’
It is any flight which is undertaken “in return for remuneration or other valuable consideration.”
Congested Area – An area in relation to a city, town or settlement which is substantially used for residential, commercial, industrial or recreational purposes. Minimum operation distances will apply in these areas
Controlled Airspace – Airspace of defined dimensions within which Air Traffic Control (ATC) services are provided. The level of control varies with different classes of airspace.
Drone – An unmanned aircraft; can also be referred to as a: UAV, UAS, SUSA, SUAS SUA
Gimbal – A pivoted support that allows the rotation of an object about a single axis. On a drone these are often used to allow the camera to stay in a stable position despite movements of the aircraft
Gyroscope – Gyroscope stabilisation technology measures the rotation of a drone and is one of the components which helps to keep it smooth and stable
Hexacopter – An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with 6 rotors
Multicopter – An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with more than two rotors
Octocopter – An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with 8 rotors
Pitch – The up and down movement of the drone along the vertical axis (this translates into the aircraft will move forwards or backwards)
Roll – The side to side movement of the drone along the horizontal axis (this translates into the aircraft manoeuvring to the left or the right)
Quadcopter – An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with 4 rotors
Trim – Features on the remote controller which allows you to adjust the roll, pitch, yaw and throttle if they are out of balance.
Waypoint Navigation – A feature found in more expensive drones that allows the aircraft to travel between preplanned GPS Navigation Waypoints on its own
Yaw – The left and right movement of the drone alone the horizontal axis (this translates into the aircraft moving to the left or the right)