Glossary

Altitude measured from the surface directly below the aircraft, rather than from sea level or from where the pilot is standing. The 400-foot ceiling is an AGL limit.

The initial test that demonstrates aeronautical knowledge for a remote pilot certificate, covering thirteen areas. Part 61 certificate holders may complete training instead of sitting it.

Permission to operate in controlled airspace. It is the routine route into that airspace and is distinct from a waiver, which lifts a rule rather than granting entry.

A certificate issued under Part 21 of the regulations. Holding one is how a Category 4 aircraft qualifies to fly over people, instead of a manufacturer's kinetic-energy declaration.

Lighting the aircraft must carry for night and civil-twilight operations, visible for at least 3 statute miles with a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision.

Operating past the pilot's unaided view. It requires a waiver of the visual-line-of-sight rule, and is the relief that lets inspection and mapping work reach beyond the control station.

A Remote ID device added to an aircraft that was not built with standard Remote ID — the retrofit path to compliance.

Operating so as to endanger the life or property of another. It is a violation on its own, even when every numeric limit has been met.

The simplest path to flying over people: an aircraft weighing 0.55 pounds or less throughout the operation, with no exposed rotating parts that could lacerate.

A heavier aircraft permitted over people once its manufacturer has declared, through an accepted means of compliance, that an impact stays below an 11 foot-pound kinetic-energy threshold.

The same manufacturer showing at a higher 25 foot-pound threshold, paired with tighter limits on where the aircraft may be flown over people — never over an open-air assembly.

The airworthiness path over people: instead of a kinetic-energy declaration, the aircraft holds a full airworthiness certificate issued under Part 21.

The marking that identifies an aircraft's over-people category. Verifying the correct label is present and legible before flight is the remote pilot's job, not the manufacturer's.

The formal authorization to deviate from a rule on the § 107.205 list, issued when the FAA is satisfied the operation can be conducted safely under its terms.

The period bounding night: night runs from the end of evening civil twilight to the beginning of morning civil twilight, as published in the Air Almanac and converted to local time.

A site where everyone present has been put on notice that a drone may pass overhead. It is the condition attached to some over-people and over-vehicle operations.

The required separation from cloud: 500 feet below any cloud and 2,000 feet horizontally from any cloud.

The airworthiness standard for a small unmanned aircraft. The aircraft must be in this condition before each flight, and the determination does not expire at takeoff.

Airspace that requires permission before you fly in it. Uncontrolled airspace does not — which is why identifying which one you are in comes before every flight.

A record a manufacturer files with the FAA stating that an aircraft meets the design and injury-severity requirements of a category. It is what qualifies Category 2 and 3 aircraft.

Departing from a rule. It is authorized in advance by a certificate of waiver, or in the moment by an in-flight emergency requiring immediate action.

The arrangement under which an uncertificated person may fly the aircraft: a remote pilot in command supervises and retains the ability to immediately take direct control.

The continuous contact the remote pilot in command, the person on the controls, and any visual observer must maintain with each other throughout the flight.

A defined area where an aircraft without Remote ID equipment may be flown, and only while the operator can see the aircraft at all times.

Making a false record or report. Part 107 itself carries no falsification rule; the book covers it at the level of FAA guidance rather than as a regulation.

The remote pilot in command is directly responsible for, and the final authority as to, the operation. The work can be shared across a crew; the decision has one owner.

The average slant distance at which prominent unlighted objects can be seen and identified by day, and prominent lighted objects by night. The minimum is 3 statute miles.

Speed measured over the ground rather than through the air. The limit is 87 knots — 100 miles per hour.

An emergency requiring immediate action, during which the remote pilot in command may deviate from any rule of Part 107 to the extent necessary to meet it.

The cap on how hard a blow an aircraft could deliver to a person underneath, expressed in foot-pounds transferred on impact from a rigid object. It separates Category 2 from Category 3.

The Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability — the FAA's UAS Data Exchange, which returns airspace authorizations in near-real time at pre-approved altitudes.

The accepted method a manufacturer uses to demonstrate that an aircraft meets a category's injury threshold, before filing its declaration of compliance.

The period between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight. Flying in it requires anti-collision lighting and the current night qualification.

Notice to airmen — the FAA's notification system, and the mechanism by which temporary flight restrictions and similar areas are designated.

A crowd. Sustained flight over one is barred outright for Category 3, and permitted for Categories 1 and 2 only when the operation also meets the Remote ID conditions.

Whoever is actually flying the aircraft. They need no certificate of their own, provided they are under the direct supervision of a remote pilot in command.

The assessment of the operating environment required before every flight, covering local conditions, airspace, obstacles, and the aircraft's readiness to fly.

Special-use airspace defined by what it protects. Entry turns on the using or controlling agency rather than on an ordinary airspace authorization.

The training that renews flying authority within every 24 calendar months, covering the same thirteen knowledge areas as the initial test — or eight, on the Part 61 path.

The broadcast that lets nearby receivers identify and locate an aircraft in flight. Since September 16, 2023 it has been a condition of nearly every flight.

The certificate that authorizes a person to act as remote pilot in command. It is issued once and never expires — but the authority to fly on it lapses without current recurrent training.

The one person directly responsible for, and the final authority over, a Part 107 operation. Every flight has exactly one, designated before or during the flight.

The explanation, with supporting data, of how an operation will be conducted safely outside the rule it seeks to waive. It is the substance of a waiver application.

The duty to keep the aircraft in sight and stay clear of other traffic. It is where the crew roles and the visual-line-of-sight requirement meet.

One of the two triggers that make an event reportable. Part 107 does not define the term; AC 107-2A explains it as Level 3 or higher on the Abbreviated Injury Scale.

The line-of-sight distance from the control station to an object, measured at an angle rather than horizontally. Flight visibility is expressed as an average slant distance.

The only kind of area from which you may operate aboard a moving vehicle. The rule uses the term but does not itself define it.

An aircraft built with Remote ID broadcast capability, as most drones now sold are — the alternative to adding a broadcast module.

Within a 400-foot radius of a structure you may fly up to 400 feet above its uppermost limit. The exception travels with the structure: leave the radius and the ordinary ceiling returns.

Remaining over people or vehicles rather than transiting. Much of the over-people and over-vehicle rulebook turns on whether flight is sustained.

The accumulated flight hours, cycles, or calendar days on a component. AC 107-2A's guidance is to record it with each repair or replacement so a maintenance schedule emerges.

The FAA-published maps of pre-approved altitudes in controlled airspace. They are what makes a near-real-time LAANC authorization possible.

An FAA-approved company that provides LAANC authorizations to pilots through its own desktop and mobile applications.

Unreasonable or excessive risk. The remote pilot in command must ensure the aircraft poses no undue hazard to people, other aircraft, or property if control is lost.

The requirement to keep the aircraft where it can be seen throughout the flight — exercised by the remote pilot in command with the person on the controls, or by a visual observer.

An optional crew member the remote pilot in command may designate and brief to help keep the aircraft in sight. A visual observer never needs a certificate.