Pilot/Controller Glossary
4/3/14
PCG A−6
c.
U.S. Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) Office.
Responsible for collecting, maintaining, and distrib-
uting NOTAMs for the U.S. civilian and military, as
well as international aviation communities.
(See NOTICE TO AIRMEN.)
d.
Weather Unit. Monitor all aspects of weather
for the U.S. that might affect aviation including cloud
cover, visibility, winds, precipitation, thunderstorms,
icing, turbulence, and more. Provide forecasts based
on observations and on discussions with meteorolo-
gists from various National Weather Service offices,
FAA facilities, airlines, and private weather services.
AIR TRAFFIC SERVICE− A generic term meaning:
a.
Flight Information Service.
b.
Alerting Service.
c.
Air Traffic Advisory Service.
d.
Air Traffic Control Service:
1.
Area Control Service,
2.
Approach Control Service, or
3.
Airport Control Service.
AIR TRAFFIC SERVICE (ATS) ROUTES − The
term “ATS Route” is a generic term that includes
“VOR Federal airways,” “colored Federal airways,”
“jet routes,” and “RNAV routes.” The term “ATS
route” does not replace these more familiar route
names, but serves only as an overall title when listing
the types of routes that comprise the United States
route structure.
AIRBORNE− An aircraft is considered airborne
when all parts of the aircraft are off the ground.
AIRBORNE DELAY− Amount of delay to be
encountered in airborne holding.
AIRCRAFT− Device(s) that are used or intended to
be used for flight in the air, and when used in air traffic
control terminology, may include the flight crew.
(See ICAO term AIRCRAFT.)
AIRCRAFT [ICAO]− Any machine that can derive
support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air
other than the reactions of the air against the earth’s
surface.
AIRCRAFT APPROACH CATEGORY− A
grouping of aircraft based on a speed of 1.3 times the
stall speed in the landing configuration at maximum
gross landing weight. An aircraft must fit in only one
category. If it is necessary to maneuver at speeds in
excess of the upper limit of a speed range for a
category, the minimums for the category for that
speed must be used. For example, an aircraft which
falls in Category A, but is circling to land at a speed
in excess of 91 knots, must use the approach
Category B minimums when circling to land. The
categories are as follows:
a.
Category A− Speed less than 91 knots.
b.
Category B− Speed 91 knots or more but less
than 121 knots.
c.
Category C− Speed 121 knots or more but less
than 141 knots.
d.
Category D− Speed 141 knots or more but less
than 166 knots.
e.
Category E− Speed 166 knots or more.
(Refer to 14 CFR Part 97.)
AIRCRAFT CLASSES− For the purposes of Wake
Turbulence Separation Minima, ATC classifies
aircraft as Heavy, Large, and Small as follows:
a.
Heavy− Aircraft capable of takeoff weights of
300,000 pounds or more whether or not they are
operating at this weight during a particular phase of
flight.
b.
Large− Aircraft of more than 41,000 pounds,
maximum certificated takeoff weight, up to but not
including 300,000 pounds.
c.
Small− Aircraft of 41,000 pounds or less
maximum certificated takeoff weight.
(Refer to AIM.)
AIRCRAFT CONFLICT− Predicted conflict, within
URET, of two aircraft, or between aircraft and
airspace. A Red alert is used for conflicts when the
predicted minimum separation is 5 nautical miles or
less. A Yellow alert is used when the predicted
minimum separation is between 5 and approximately
12 nautical miles. A Blue alert is used for conflicts
between an aircraft and predefined airspace.
(See USER REQUEST EVALUATION TOOL.)
AIRCRAFT LIST (ACL)− A view available with
URET that lists aircraft currently in or predicted to be
in a particular sector’s airspace. The view contains
textual flight data information in line format and may
be sorted into various orders based on the specific
needs of the sector team.
(See USER REQUEST EVALUATION TOOL.)