The Top 12 Essential Aviation Acronyms, According to Pilots of Instagram

If anything is true in aviation, it’s that you’ll be continuously learning acronyms throughout your career. If you’re just starting in the industry, be forewarned, and don’t be overwhelmed. Natural curiosity will guide you; ask when you hear one you don’t know.

We polled our community of fans on Instagram to identify what they consider the essential acronyms in aviation, and many pilots responded. You’ll undoubtedly notice some important ones missing because there are so many, but consider this a place to start.

*Some acronyms have multiple popular interpretations for some letters, but the intent is the same. Depending on your instructors or where you did your research, you may notice some differences on this list.

Photo by Avel Chuklanov on Unsplash

PILOT SAFETY

Aviation is one of the most regulated industries in the world, so it’s no surprise you’ll learn acronyms that revolve around safety, starting with you. Before boarding any aircraft to fly, do a self-assessment and make sure you’re in the right headspace. If you are not 100% ready to fly, don’t. These acronyms are most commonly associated with pilots, but IMSAFE is helpful for any safety-sensitive position.

IMSAFE
I – Illness
M – Medication
S – Stress
A – Alcohol
F – Fatigue
E – Emotions/Eating

PAVE
P – Pilot
A – Aircraft
V – enVironment
E – External Pressures

BEFORE FLIGHT

Many aviation acronyms are checklists. These are just a few that you’ll repeat all the time.

ARROW – Make sure you have all required documents. Sometimes instructors teach AROW, without Radio Station License.
A – Airworthiness Certificate
R – Radio Station License
R – Registration Certificate
O – Operation Limitations
W – Weight and Balance

AVIATES – Always verify the airworthiness of an aircraft, and make sure all required maintenance is completed and up-to-date.
A – Annual Check
V – VORs
1 – 100 Hour Check
A – Altimeter/Pitot Static
T – Transponder
E – Emergency Location Transmitter
S – Static Inspection

NWKRAFT – Prepare for each flight by having all of the relevant information.
N – NOTAMs (A NOTAM is a notice with essential information about flight operations.)
W – Weather
K – Known Air Traffic Control (ATC) Delays
R – Runway Lengths
A – Alternate Airport
F – Fuel
T – Takeoff and Landing Distances

ATOMATOFLAMES – This checklist covers the equipment required for Visual Flight Rules (VFR) during the day.
A – Altimeter
T – Tachometer
O – Oil Pressure Gauge
M – Magnetic Compass
A – Airspeed Indicator
T – Temperature Gauge
O – Oil Temperature Gauge
E – Emergency Location Transmitter
F – Fuel Gauge
L – Landing Gear Extension Lights
A – Anti-Collision Lights
M – Manifold Pressure Gauge
E – ELT (Emergency Locator Transmitter)
S – Seatbelts

FLAPS – Verify your equipment required for Visual Flight Rules (VFR) during the night.
F – Fuses
L – Landing Light
A – Anti-Collision Lights
P – Position lights
S – Source of power

GRABCARD – You’ll remember the minimum equipment required under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) using this acronym.
G – Generator or Alternator
R – Radio/Navigation Appropriate For Flight
A – Attitude Indicator
B – Ball (Inclinometer)
C – Clock
A – Altimeter
R – Rate of Turn Indicator
D – Directional Gyro

Photo by Chris Leipelt on Unsplash

DURING FLIGHT

Communication is essential when on the ground and especially when in the air. Air Wisconsin makes it a point to teach pilots how to communicate with each other in the cockpit, disagree and have a productive conversation, and properly communicate with the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower during training. Pilots must also be tuned in and engaged. You’ll hear these acronyms often.

ANC

A – Aviate

N – Navigate

C – Communicate

THE 5 Ts – The pilot who suggested this acronym admitted he never thought much of it as a student, but as a CFII, he can’t remind students enough.

T– Turn

T – Time

T – Twist

T – Throttle

T – Talk

The 3 Ps

P – Perceive

P – Process

P – Perform

DECIDE

D – Detect

E – Estimate

C – Choose

I – Identify

D – Do

E – Evaluate

BONUS

We wanted to include one more essential acronym—SAFETY. Always brief your passengers, if any are aboard. If you choose to become a commercial pilot, the Inflight announcement will cover most of the items listed below. However, if your pilot journey includes flying a helicopter, private charters, teaching, operating discovery flights, taking friends and family up for a ride, etc., it’ll be your responsibility.

SAFETY

S – Seat Belts

A – Air Ventilation

F – Fire Extinguisher

E – Emergency Procedure

T – Traffic

Y – “Your Questions”

What do you think is the most crucial acronym in aviation? If it’s not on our list, comment below to add it and help out future aviators reading this blog. As a bonus, we’ve compiled resources below worth checking out if you want to learn more acronyms or common industry abbreviations.

RESOURCES

FAA: Airport and Facility Codes

FAA: Acronyms and Abbreviations

AOPA – The ABCs of Aviation

Check us out on Instagram!

Choosing Your Path to Become a Commercial Pilot

Becoming a commercial pilot is a fun, exciting journey and a long one that will require you to make some decisions fairly early on in the process. Ultimately, your goal is to meet minimum qualifications before you can fly for a commercial airline, but some pilots need more hours and some need less. A handful of factors will determine which path you are on.

Do You Want a Degree?

Whether or not you graduate with a degree from an approved, collegiate-based aviation program, you can be a commercial pilot. Pilots who do not have a degree need to have 1,500 hours total time before flying for a commercial airline and must be at least 23 years old. These requirements are for an unrestricted Airline Pilot Transport (ATP) certificate.

Several factors may allow a pilot to start flying sooner and qualify for a Restricted Airline Pilot Transport certificate (R-ATP). Pilots who have their associate’s degree from an approved program with an aviation major can get their R-ATP with 1,250 hours, and those with their bachelor’s need 1,000 hours total time.

Military pilots qualify for an R-ATP with 750 hours at 21 years old.

What is Your Ultimate Goal?

20% of our pilot workforce will call Air Wisconsin home for the rest of their career. While we do not

require our pilots to have degrees, some U.S. mainline carriers prefer or require pilots to have four year degrees. If you dream of operating large aircraft one day, it’s a good idea to research the requirements for your mainline carrier of choice. It may influence your decision to get or not get a degree.

Air Wisconsin pilots have the opportunity to apply to United’s new pilot career program Aviate. While United prefers a bachelor’s degree, they will and have hired pilots who have other types of experience that they deem comparable.

Learn more about Aviate at unitedaviate.com.

How Do You Want to Build Hours?

Even if you graduate with a four-year degree and after you get your various required ratings, you will likely still have hours left to fly before you can meet minimums. This obviously isn’t a decision you need to make immediately, but as you progress along your journey talk to your instructors and peers to see what you can learn from their experiences.

Some pilots decide to become Certificated Flight Instructors (CFIs) and may even relocate to an area with more favorable weather to fly more and meet minimums faster. Many schools are looking for instructors and often hire students after graduation to come back and teach.

Others may begin flying for a Part 135 carrier. You might be operating a private charter or transporting cargo. There’s a good chance that you will fly in many different types of weather conditions in this role, which is great experience to have.

Since many other countries have lower total time requirements, sometimes pilots will fly overseas and build up the hours they need to work for an airline in the US.

To Sum It Up

No one size fits all path exists for a person who wants to become a commercial pilot. You get to decide which path is right for you based on your career goals.

You can find more detailed information on ATP/R-ATP requirements on the bottom of our Pilot page at www.airwis.com/pilots.

Find a list of FAA approved R-ATP eligible schools on the FAA’s website HERE.