There are hundreds of aviation abbreviations used by people in the aviation industry. Most are used by pilots in the cockpit. This list includes a few of them.
Commonly-used Aviation Abbreviations
Direction or Time
- A - At or Above
- AOA - Angle of Attack
- B - At or Below
- DES - Descent
- DEST - Destination
- DIS or DIST - Distance
- ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival
- FA - Final Approach
- FT - Feet
- GA - Go Around
- G/S - Glideslope
- HDG - Heading
- LAT - Latitude
- LNAV - Lateral Navigation
- LONG - Longitude
- PSR - Point of Safe Return
- TOC - Top of Climb
- TOD - Top of Descent
- UTC - Universal Coordinated Time
- WOFW - Weight-off-Wheels (indicates aircraft is off ground since lift off)
- WONW - Weight-on-Wheels (indicates aircraft is on ground since touch down
- Z - Zulu Time (Greenwich Mean Time)
Equipment & Systems
- AC or A/C - Aircraft
- ACAS - Airborne Collision Avoidance System
- ACARS - Aircraft Communication and Addressing Reporting System
- ACMS - Aircraft Condition Monitoring System
- AP or A/P - Auto Pilot
- ASI - Airspeed Indicator
- CP - Control Panel
- CVR - Cockpit Voice Recorder
- ELT - Emergency Locator Transmitter
- FBO - Fixed Base Operator
- FDR - Flight Data Recorder
- GCA - Ground-controlled Approach
- GPWS - Ground Proximity Warning System
- INS - Inertial Navigation System
- NDB - Non-Directional (Radio) Beacon
- PAPI - Precision Approach Path Indicator
- VASI - Visual Approach Slope Indicator
Facilities
- AOA - Airport Operations Area
- DER - Departure End of Runway
- FD - Flight Director
- MOC - Minimum Obstacle Clearance
- RW or RWY - Runway
- STAR - Standard Terminal Arrival Route
- TWR - Tower
Communication
- ACK - Acknowledge
- FL - Flight Level
- FLT - Flight
- ACT - Active
- ALT - Altitude
- ALT HOLD - Altitude Hold Mode
- ARR - Arrival
- ATA - Actual Time of Arrival
- DEP - Departure
- GS - Ground Speed
- HP - Holding Pattern
- R/C - Rate of Climb
- TO - Take Off
- TURB - Turbulence
- VA - Heading to an Altitude
For more aviation abbreviations check out the Glossary of Airport Acronyms on the Federal Aviation Administration website.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"Aviation Abbreviations." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 23 March 2019. <https://abbreviations.yourdictionary.com/articles/aviation-abbreviations.html>.
APA Style
Aviation Abbreviations. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23rd, 2019, from https://abbreviations.yourdictionary.com/articles/aviation-abbreviations.html
Post a comment.
comments powered by DisqusAviation Abbreviations
By YourDictionary
There are hundreds of aviation abbreviations used by people in the aviation industry. Most are used by pilots in the cockpit. This list includes a few of them.
