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Glossary

ACS (Airman Certification Standards)
The FAA document that defines exactly what a knowledge test covers and how well a candidate must know it. The Part 107 test is built from the Unmanned Aircraft General, Small (UAG) ACS, which lists 10 task areas.
ADM (Aeronautical Decision-Making)
The structured process pilots use to consistently identify hazards and choose the safest available course of action, rather than reacting in the moment. ADM is its own ACS task area on the Part 107 test.
AGL (Above Ground Level)
Altitude measured from the terrain directly below the aircraft, rather than from sea level. Part 107's 400-foot altitude limit is measured in AGL, so the legal ceiling rises and falls with the ground underneath the drone.
Airspace classification (Class B, C, D, E, G)
The FAA's system for labeling how much air traffic control involvement a given block of airspace requires. Class B, C, D, and the surface area of designated Class E require prior authorization for Part 107 flight; Class G generally does not.
ATC (Air Traffic Control)
The FAA service that separates and directs aircraft in controlled airspace. Part 107 flight in Class B, C, D, or the surface area of designated Class E airspace requires prior ATC authorization, most often obtained through LAANC.
ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information Service)
A continuously broadcast recording at busier airports giving current weather, active runways, and other advisory information, so pilots do not have to request it individually over the radio.
BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight)
Flying a drone farther than the remote pilot or a visual observer can see it unaided. Part 107 requires the aircraft stay within visual line of sight by default; BVLOS operation requires an individual FAA waiver or exemption.
CRM (Crew Resource Management)
The practice of using every available resource, a visual observer, other crew, or outside information, to make a flight safer, rather than relying solely on the remote pilot's own judgment. Tested as part of the ACS operations task area.
CTAF (Common Traffic Advisory Frequency)
The radio frequency pilots use to announce their position and intentions at an airport without an operating control tower. Knowing how to identify an airport's CTAF on a sectional chart is a tested airport-operations skill.
DECIDE model
A six-step aeronautical decision-making framework: Detect a change, Estimate its significance, Choose a course of action, Identify options, Do the chosen action, and Evaluate the outcome. Taught alongside PAVE and IMSAFE in the ADM task area.
FAA (Federal Aviation Administration)
The US government agency that regulates civil aviation, including drones. The FAA writes and enforces 14 CFR Part 107, administers the Remote Pilot Certificate, and publishes the study materials the Part 107 test is built from.
FAA DroneZone
The FAA's official online portal for drone registration, recreational and commercial, and for related filings like certain waiver applications. It is separate from IACRA, which is where you file your Part 107 certificate application after passing the knowledge test.
FAASTeam (FAA Safety Team)
The FAA program that hosts FAASafety.gov, the site where existing Part 107 certificate holders complete their free 24-month recurrent training course instead of retaking the knowledge test.
IACRA (Integrated Airman Certification and Rating Application)
The FAA's online system for filing an airman certificate application, including the Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, after you pass the knowledge test. There is no separate FAA fee for this filing.
IMSAFE checklist
A personal fitness-to-fly mnemonic checking Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, and Emotion before flying. It supports the fitness standard in 14 CFR 107.17, which bars flying with a known condition that would interfere with safe operation.
LAANC (Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability)
An automated system that grants near-real-time authorization to fly a drone in controlled airspace near an airport, replacing what used to be a slow manual FAA request. Available through several FAA-approved apps for most, but not all, controlled airspace.
METAR (Meteorological Aerodrome Report)
A standardized, coded report of current weather conditions at an airport: wind, visibility, cloud layers, temperature, and pressure. The Part 107 test expects you to decode a raw METAR string, not just read a plain-language forecast.
MOA (Military Operations Area)
Airspace set aside for military training activity, marked on sectional charts with a magenta hatched border. MOAs do not always require FAA authorization for civilian Part 107 flight, but checking current activity status is part of situational awareness.
MSL (Mean Sea Level)
Altitude measured from average sea level rather than the ground below. Sectional charts label airspace boundaries and obstacle heights in MSL, so converting between MSL and AGL is a core sectional-chart-reading skill.
NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions)
An official FAA notice alerting pilots to a temporary hazard or airspace change, such as a TFR, a disabled runway light, or a tower outage. Checking current NOTAMs for your flight area is part of the preflight requirements every Part 107 remote pilot must complete.
PAVE checklist
A preflight risk-assessment mnemonic covering Pilot (fitness to fly), Aircraft (condition and limitations), enVironment (weather and airspace), and External pressures (schedule or client pressure to fly anyway). Part 107 study material teaches PAVE as a structured way to catch risk before takeoff.
PSI
The FAA-authorized company that administers the Part 107 knowledge test at physical test centers and collects the 175 USD test fee. You schedule your test directly through PSI, not through the FAA.
Remote ID
A broadcast requirement that most drones flown in US airspace transmit identification and location information in real time, functioning like a digital license plate. Most drones meet it either with built-in Standard Remote ID or an attached Remote ID broadcast module.
RPIC (Remote Pilot in Command)
The person who holds final responsibility for a drone flight's safety and legal compliance, whether or not they are personally holding the controller at that moment. Every Part 107 flight must have a designated RPIC.
sUAS (Small Unmanned Aircraft System)
A UAS weighing less than 55 pounds at takeoff, including everything attached to it. Part 107 governs sUAS operations specifically; heavier unmanned aircraft fall under different FAA rules entirely.
TAF (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast)
A coded forecast of expected weather at an airport over roughly the next 24 to 30 hours, using the same symbology as a METAR. Reading a TAF alongside a current METAR is part of the FAA's required preflight weather briefing.
TFR (Temporary Flight Restriction)
A temporary block of airspace the FAA closes to non-essential flight, including drones, usually for events like wildfires, VIP movements, sporting events, or disasters. TFRs are published as NOTAMs and must be checked before every flight, not assumed absent.
TRUST (The Recreational UAS Safety Test)
A free, ungraded FAA awareness test for hobby-only drone flying, required before recreational flight but distinct from Part 107. TRUST cannot be failed and produces a completion certificate, not a Remote Pilot Certificate.
TSA (Transportation Security Administration)
The federal agency that runs a security background check on every Part 107 applicant before the FAA issues a certificate, even after you pass the knowledge test. This check adds processing time beyond the test date itself.
UAG (Unmanned Aircraft General, Small)
The official name of the FAA's initial Part 107 knowledge test and the Airman Certification Standards document it is built from. UAG is the exam code you will see when scheduling your test through PSI.
UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System)
An unmanned aircraft and all the equipment needed to control it remotely: the aircraft itself, the controller, and the communication link between them. The everyday word for a UAS is a drone.
UNICOM
A non-air-traffic-control radio station at many smaller airports used for advisory communication, sometimes serving the same function as a CTAF. UNICOM frequencies appear on sectional charts near the airport symbol.
VLOS (Visual Line of Sight)
The default Part 107 requirement that the remote pilot in command, or a visual observer working with them, be able to see the drone with unaided vision (contacts and glasses are fine, binoculars are not) throughout the flight.
VO (Visual Observer)
A person assisting the remote pilot by watching the drone and surrounding airspace for hazards, without operating the flight controls. Using a VO can help satisfy visual-line-of-sight requirements when the remote pilot's own view is limited.