FAA Part 107 key terms

The certificated person who holds final authority and responsibility for the safety of a small UAS flight. This person must be able to direct the aircraft throughout the operation and remains accountable for any rule deviations.

A crewmember designated by the Remote PIC to help see and avoid other aircraft, people, and hazards. A VO may be used when the pilot's attention is divided or the view is obstructed, but is not always required.

Continuous unaided eyesight of the aircraft, allowing corrective lenses but no binoculars or viewing devices. The Remote PIC or an observer must know the aircraft's location, attitude, and direction of flight at all times.

An unmanned aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds at takeoff, including everything onboard or attached, together with its control station, command and control links, and any supporting equipment needed to operate it.

An FAA document that allows specific deviations from Part 107 rules for a stated time, place, and purpose, such as operating beyond visual line of sight or over people. It must be carried and complied with.

The standard Part 107 ceiling of 400 feet above ground level. A drone may fly higher only when within 400 feet of a structure, and then no higher than 400 feet above that structure's uppermost limit.

Part 107 requires the small unmanned aircraft to give way to all manned aircraft and to avoid passing over, under, or ahead of them. The remote pilot may never assume the other pilot will see or avoid the drone.

The continuous visual scan for other aircraft, people, and obstacles, followed by timely evasive action. Because small drones carry no reliable onboard traffic detection, this remains the primary method of collision avoidance.

Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability, an FAA program that lets remote pilots request and receive near-real-time airspace authorizations up to published grid altitudes around participating airports, usually through an approved mobile app.

FAA permission that allows a remote pilot to operate in controlled airspace that would otherwise be off limits. It is obtained through LAANC or the FAA's online DroneZone system before flight.

Densely used airspace surrounding the nation's busiest airports, charted with solid blue lines and typically shaped like an inverted wedding cake. All small UAS operations inside it require prior FAA authorization.

Uncontrolled airspace that does not require an air traffic control clearance. In rural areas it usually extends from the surface to 1,200 feet, so most Part 107 flights there need no airspace authorization.

A short-notice FAA restriction on flight within a defined area, issued for wildfires, disaster response, VIP movement, or large events. Small UAS may not fly in a TFR without specific permission.

Notice to Air Missions: a time-critical advisory to pilots about changes or hazards such as closed runways, unserviceable navigational aids, parachute jumps, or active temporary flight restrictions along the planned route.

Airspace such as prohibited, restricted, warning, military operations, or alert areas where hazardous activity or national interest limits flight. Remote pilots must check charts and avoid these areas unless entry is clearly permitted.

A routine, usually hourly, coded surface weather observation reporting wind, visibility, sky condition, temperature, dew point, and altimeter setting at an airport. Decoding it helps pilots judge current conditions before launch.

A coded forecast of expected wind, visibility, clouds, and precipitation within roughly five statute miles of an airport, usually valid for 24 to 30 hours. It shows how conditions are expected to change during a flight.

The height above ground of the lowest broken or overcast cloud layer. Part 107 requires staying at least 500 feet below clouds and 2,000 feet horizontally from them, so a low ceiling severely limits flight.

A rapid change in wind speed or direction over a short distance. A microburst's violent downdraft and outflow can exceed a small drone's climb capability, causing sudden loss of altitude and control.

Storms containing strong updrafts and downdrafts, lightning, hail, and severe turbulence. Remote pilots should keep well clear of them and their anvil and gust fronts, since small aircraft cannot withstand the associated winds.

Ice that forms when supercooled water droplets freeze on propellers, airframe, or sensors. It adds weight, distorts aerodynamic shapes, and destroys lift, so flight in visible moisture near or below freezing should be avoided.

Pressure altitude corrected for nonstandard temperature. High density altitude, from heat, high elevation, or high humidity, thins the air and reduces lift and propeller thrust, lengthening takeoff and degrading climb performance.

The calculation confirming that total weight and center of gravity fall within the manufacturer's limits. Proper loading keeps handling predictable and ensures the aircraft can climb, maneuver, and land as expected.

The point at which the aircraft's total weight is considered concentrated. Loading must keep the CG inside the approved range, because an out-of-limits CG degrades stability, control authority, and battery or motor workload.

The total weight of the aircraft at the start of flight, including batteries, payload, cameras, and attached items. Under Part 107 this figure must remain below 55 pounds for the operation to be legal.

Failure of the command and control link between the control station and the aircraft. The crew should have pre-briefed and programmed a lost-link response, such as hovering, returning to home, or landing automatically.

A situation such as lost link, fly-away, failing battery, or injury that demands immediate action. Part 107 permits deviation from its rules to the extent necessary to handle the emergency safely.

The effective use of every available resource, including people, equipment, and information. Briefings, clear communication, task sharing, and workload management keep the crew coordinated and reduce error.

A systematic method for identifying hazards, assessing risk, and choosing the safest course of action. Common frameworks include the DECIDE model and the perceive, process, perform cycle used before and during flight.

A preflight self-assessment covering Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, and Emotion or Eating. Any yes answer signals that the pilot should reconsider or postpone the flight for safety.

Five counterproductive mindsets: anti-authority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, and resignation. Each has a matching antidote statement, such as 'the rules are usually right' or 'it could happen to me.'

Part 107 prohibits flying within 8 hours after consuming alcohol, while under its influence, or with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.04 percent or higher, and prohibits use of any drug that affects safety.

Lights on the aircraft that must be visible for at least 3 statute miles and flash at a rate sufficient to prevent collision. They are required for operations during the hours of night.

Civil twilight ends 30 minutes after sunset and begins 30 minutes before sunrise. Night, for Part 107, is the period between evening and morning civil twilight, when anticollision lighting is required.

A systematic check of the aircraft, propellers, airframe, batteries, control station, and data links before launch to confirm the system is airworthy and configured for the planned operation.

The requirement that a small UAS be airworthy and properly maintained. The Remote PIC must discontinue flight if the aircraft is no longer in a safe condition and must ensure needed maintenance is performed.

A radio frequency used at non-towered airports for pilots to announce position and intentions. Remote pilots may monitor it to build awareness of arriving and departing traffic near the operation.

The standard rectangular course flown by manned aircraft around an airport, with upwind, crosswind, downwind, base, and final legs. Drone crews should stay clear of the pattern and final approach paths.