Acronyms and Glossary of Terms!

[Raydon]

**sticky maybe?**

Ok being the Uubernoob that I am, I wanted to learn the acronyms and some of the good ol jargony talk y'all be usin round hea. So i researched everything as best as I could and here's a start! This one goes out to all the noobs. (Unless i'm the only one )


To make this thread more intelligible I would ask that replies be limited to additional terms that should be on this list or corrections to terms already listed here! that way it doesn't take you a year to look through 5000 posts to find the one term you're hoping for.. and it doesn't take me a year to search 5000 posts for a correction or addition. Pretty pretty please?

***please note that these are terms found in the forums.. not the huge list of FAA certified anagrams from ATC websites and whatnot.***

ARTCC: Air Route Traffic Control Center
ASAP: Automated Staffing Application Process
ATLTRACON: The wise and knowledgeable controller who often wows us with his very useful insights into ATC. Works at A80 (ATLanta TRACON)
ATCSCC: Air Traffic Control System Command Center
ATCT: Air traffic Control Tower
AT-SAT: Air Traffic-Selection and Training
FAA: Mother Dearest
FOL: Final (Firm) Offer Letter
FSS: Flight Service Station
OTS: Off The Street (no prior ATC or CTI experience)
OKC: This is where all the cool kids go (Oklahoma City)
PEPC: Pre Employment Processing Center
PUBNAT: PUBlic-NATional announcement (an acronym that the FAA uses on ASAP)
TOL: Tentative Offer Letter.
TRACON : Terminal Radar Approach CONtrol

AAAAND the ARTCC List!

ZAB Albuquerque
ZAU Chicago
ZBW Boston
ZDC Washington
ZFW Dallas-Ft Worth
ZHU Houston
ZID Indianapolis
ZJX Jacksonville
ZKC Kansas City
ZLA Los Angeles
ZLC Salt Lake City
ZMA Miami
ZME Memphis
ZMP Minneapolis
ZNY New York
ZOA Oakland
ZOB Cleveland
ZSE Seattle
ZTL Atlanta
ZDV Denver

****TRACON-ONLY CENTERS****

Anchorage, AK - ANCHORAGE TRACON
Phoenix, AZ - PHOENIX TRACON
Tucson, AZ - TUSCON TRACON
Mather, CA - NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TRACON
San Diego, CA - SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TRACON
Denver, CO - DENVER TRACON
Windsor Locks, CT - YANKEE TRACON
Pensacola, FL - PENSACOLA TRACON
Peachtree City, GA - ATLANTA TRACON
Elgin, IL - CHICAGO TRACON
Falmouth, MA - CAPE TRACON
Detroit, MI - DETROIT TRACON
Minneapolis, MN - MINNEAPOLIS TRACON
St Charles, MO - ST LOUIS TRACON
Meridian, MS - MERIDIAN NAS /MC CAIN FIELD/ ARPT TRACON
Bellevue, NE - OMAHA TRACON
Merrimack, NH - BOSTON TRACON
Las Vegas, NV - LAS VEGAS TRACON
Rome, NY - GRIFFISS AIRPARK ARPT
Ronkonkoma, NY - NEW YORK TRACON
Portland, OR - PORTLAND TRACON
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX - DALLAS - FT WORTH TRACON
Houston, TX - HOUSTON TRACON
Salt Lake City, UT - SALT LAKE CITY TRACON
Warrenton, VA - POTOMAC TRACON
Burien, WA - SEATTLE TRACON

****ATCT/TRACON CENTERS****

Fairbanks, AK - FAIRBANKS INTL ARPT
Birmingham, AL - BIRMINGHAM INTL ARPT
Huntsville, AL - HUNTSVILLE INTL-CARL T JONES FIELD ARPT
Mobile, AL - MOBILE REGIONAL ARPT
Montgomery, AL - MONTGOMERY RGNL (DANNELLY FIELD) ARPT
Fort Smith, AR - FORT SMITH REGIONAL ARPT
Little Rock, AR - ADAMS FIELD ARPT
Bakersfield, CA - MEADOWS FIELD ARPT
Fresno, CA - FRESNO YOSEMITE INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Palm Springs, CA - PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Santa Barbara, CA - SANTA BARBARA MUNI ARPT
Aspen, CO - ASPEN-PITKIN CO/SARDY FIELD ARPT
Colorado Springs, CO - CITY OF COLORADO SPRINGS MUNI ARPT
Pueblo, CO - PUEBLO MEMORIAL ARPT
Daytona Beach, FL - DAYTONA BEACH INTL ARPT
Fort Myers, FL - SOUTHWEST FLORIDA INTL ARPT
Jacksonville, FL - JACKSONVILLE INTL ARPT
Miami, FL - MIAMI INTL ARPT
Orlando, FL - ORLANDO INTL ARPT
Tallahassee, FL - TALLAHASSEE REGIONAL ARPT
Tampa, FL - TAMPA INTL ARPT
West Palm Beach, FL - PALM BEACH INTL ARPT
Augusta, GA - AUGUSTA RGNL AT BUSH FIELD ARPT
Savannah, GA - SAVANNAH/HILTON HEAD INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Hilo, HI - HILO INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Cedar Rapids, IA - THE EASTERN IOWA ARPT
Des Moines, IA - DES MOINES INTL ARPT
Sioux City, IA - SIOUX GATEWAY/COL. BUD DAY FIELD ARPT
Waterloo, IA - WATERLOO MUNI ARPT
Boise, ID - BOISE AIR TERMINAL/GOWEN FLD ARPT
Twin Falls, ID - JOSLIN FIELD - MAGIC VALLEY RGNL ARPT
Champaign/Urbana, IL - UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-WILLARD ARPT
Chicago/Rockford, IL - CHICAGO/ROCKFORD INTL ARPT
Moline, IL - QUAD CITY INTL ARPT
Peoria, IL - GREATER PEORIA REGIONAL ARPT
Springfield, IL - ABRAHAM LINCOLN CAPITAL ARPT
Evansville, IN - EVANSVILLE REGIONAL ARPT
Fort Wayne, IN - FORT WAYNE INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Indianapolis, IN - INDIANAPOLIS INTL ARPT
South Bend, IN - SOUTH BEND REGIONAL ARPT
Terre Haute, IN - TERRE HAUTE INTERNATIONAL-HULMAN FIELD ARPT
Wichita, KS - WICHITA MID-CONTINENT ARPT
Covington, KY - CINCINNATI/NORTHERN KENTUCKY INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Lexington, KY - BLUE GRASS ARPT
Louisville, KY - LOUISVILLE INTL-STANDIFORD FIELD ARPT
Baton Rouge, LA - BATON ROUGE METROPOLITAN, RYAN FIELD ARPT
Lafayette, LA - LAFAYETTE REGIONAL ARPT
Lake Charles, LA - LAKE CHARLES REGIONAL ARPT
Monroe, LA - MONROE REGIONAL ARPT
New Orleans, LA - LOUIS ARMSTRONG NEW ORLEANS INTL ARPT
Shreveport, LA - SHREVEPORT REGIONAL ARPT
Bangor, ME - BANGOR INTL ARPT
Portland, ME - PORTLAND INTL JETPORT ARPT
Flint, MI - BISHOP INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Grand Rapids, MI - GERALD R. FORD INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Kalamazoo, MI - KALAMAZOO/BATTLE CREEK INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Lansing, MI - CAPITAL CITY ARPT
Muskegon, MI - MUSKEGON COUNTY ARPT
Saginaw, MI - MBS INTL ARPT
Duluth, MN - DULUTH INTL ARPT
Rochester, MN - ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Kansas City, MO - KANSAS CITY INTL ARPT
Springfield, MO - SPRINGFIELD-BRANSON NATIONAL ARPT
Gulfport, MS - GULFPORT-BILOXI INTL ARPT
Jackson, MS - JACKSON-EVERS INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Billings, MT - BILLINGS LOGAN INTL ARPT
Great Falls, MT - GREAT FALLS INTL ARPT
Helena, MT - HELENA REGIONAL ARPT
Asheville, NC - ASHEVILLE REGIONAL ARPT
Charlotte, NC - CHARLOTTE/DOUGLAS INTL ARPT
Fayetteville, NC - FAYETTEVILLE REGIONAL/GRANNIS FIELD ARPT
Greensboro, NC - PIEDMONT TRIAD INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Raleigh/Durham, NC - RALEIGH-DURHAM INTL ARPT
Wilmington, NC - WILMINGTON INTL ARPT
Bismarck, ND - BISMARCK MUNI ARPT
Fargo, ND - HECTOR INTL ARPT
Lincoln, NE - LINCOLN MUNI ARPT
Atlantic City, NJ - ATLANTIC CITY INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Albuquerque, NM - ALBUQUERQUE INTL SUNPORT ARPT
Roswell, NM - ROSWELL INTERNATIONAL AIR CENTER ARPT
Reno, NV - RENO/TAHOE INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Albany, NY - ALBANY INTL ARPT
Binghamton, NY - BINGHAMTON REGIONAL/EDWIN A LINK FIELD ARPT
Buffalo, NY - BUFFALO NIAGARA INTL ARPT
Elmira, NY - ELMIRA/CORNING REGIONAL ARPT
Rochester, NY - GREATER ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Syracuse, NY - SYRACUSE HANCOCK INTL ARPT
Akron, OH - AKRON-CANTON REGIONAL ARPT
Cleveland, OH - CLEVELAND-HOPKINS INTL ARPT
Columbus, OH - PORT COLUMBUS INTL ARPT
Mansfield, OH - MANSFIELD LAHM REGIONAL ARPT
Toledo, OH - TOLEDO EXPRESS ARPT
Vandalia, OH - JAMES M COX DAYTON INTL ARPT
Youngstown/Warren, OH - YOUNGSTOWN-WARREN REGIONAL ARPT
Oklahoma City, OK - WILL ROGERS WORLD ARPT
Tulsa, OK - TULSA INTL ARPT
Eugene, OR - MAHLON SWEET FIELD ARPT
Allentown, PA - LEHIGH VALLEY INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Erie, PA - ERIE INTL/TOM RIDGE FIELD ARPT
Harrisburg, PA - HARRISBURG INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Philadelphia, PA - PHILADELPHIA INTL ARPT
Pittsburgh, PA - PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Reading, PA - READING REGIONAL/CARL A SPAATZ FIELD ARPT
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA - WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON INTL ARPT
Providence, RI - THEODORE FRANCIS GREEN STATE ARPT
Charleston, SC - CHARLESTON AFB/INTL ARPT
Columbia, SC - COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN ARPT
Florence, SC - FLORENCE REGIONAL ARPT
Greer, SC - GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG INTL ARPT
Myrtle Beach, SC - MYRTLE BEACH INTL ARPT
Sioux Falls, SD - JOE FOSS FIELD ARPT
Bristol/Johnson/Kingsport, TN - TRI-CITIES RGNL TN/VA ARPT
Chattanooga, TN - LOVELL FIELD ARPT
Knoxville, TN - MC GHEE TYSON ARPT
Memphis, TN - MEMPHIS INTL ARPT
Nashville, TN - NASHVILLE INTL ARPT
Abilene, TX - ABILENE REGIONAL ARPT
Amarillo, TX - RICK HUSBAND AMARILLO INTL ARPT
Austin, TX - AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTL ARPT
Beaumont/Port Arthur, TX - SOUTHEAST TEXAS REGIONAL ARPT
Corpus Christi, TX - CORPUS CHRISTI INTL ARPT
El Paso, TX - EL PASO INTL ARPT
Longview, TX - EAST TEXAS RGNL ARPT
Lubbock, TX - LUBBOCK PRESTON SMITH INTL ARPT
Midland, TX - MIDLAND INTERNATIONAL ARPT
San Antonio, TX - SAN ANTONIO INTL ARPT
Waco, TX - WACO REGIONAL ARPT
Norfolk, VA - NORFOLK INTL ARPT
Roanoke, VA - ROANOKE REGIONAL/WOODRUM FIELD ARPT
Burlington, VT - BURLINGTON INTL ARPT
Moses Lake, WA - GRANT COUNTY INTL ARPT
Pasco, WA - TRI-CITIES ARPT
Spokane, WA - SPOKANE INTL ARPT
Green Bay, WI - AUSTIN STRAUBEL INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Madison, WI - DANE COUNTY REGIONAL-TRUAX FIELD ARPT
Milwaukee, WI - GENERAL MITCHELL INTERNATIONAL ARPT
Charleston, WV - YEAGER ARPT
Clarksburg, WV - HARRISON/MARION REGIONAL ARPT
Huntington, WV - TRI-STATE/MILTON J. FERGUSON FIELD ARPT
Casper, WY - NATRONA COUNTY INTL ARPT

[neverett]

I believe they are acronyms but not sure.

OTS = Off the street
PUBNAT = Public announcement for the entire nation [national announcement open to the public]

[nathanw]

Originally Posted by Raydon

Ok being the Uubernoob that I am, I wanted to learn the acronyms and some of the good ol jargony talk y'all be usin round hea. So i researched everything as best as I could and here's a start! This one goes out to all the noobs. (Unless i'm the only one )

***please note that these are terms found in the forums.. not the huge list of FAA certified acronyms from ATC websites and whatnot.***

ATLTRACON: The wise and knowledgeable controller who often wows us with his very useful insights into ATC. Works at A80 (ATLanta TRACON)
OTS: Off-The-Street (no prior ATC or CTI experience)
OKC: This is where all the cool kids go (Oklahoma City)
PUBNAT: PUBlic-NATional announcement (an acronym that the FAA uses on ASAP)

[Jerrod]

OTS - Off The Street, as in no formal or school based ATC training.

Here's the Phonetic Alphabet. I believe it's fairly standard but someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Jerrod]

Originally Posted by nathanw

Letters are fine, but I believe in ATC you will pronounce THREE as "TREE", FIVE as "FIFE" and NINE as "NINER" to prevent misunderstandings with similar sounding letters/numbers. I don't know how much this is enforced as I hear it used maybe 50% of the time on frequency...

Cool, I think that's what the chart says right?

[nathanw]

Originally Posted by Jerrod

Cool, I think that's what the chart says right?

Buh-leted! I obviously can't read. Stupid publick edukation

[Jerrod]

Originally Posted by nathanw

Buh-leted! I obviously can't read. Stupid publick edukation

[GnW]

I hope youre ready for another 900 or so acronyms

no, seriously. it's about that many.

[ATLTRACON]

Originally Posted by GnW

I hope youre ready for another 900 or so acronyms

no, seriously. it's about that many.

Oh I think there's more than that...don't forget FFAA

BTW..thanks for the compliment, your check is in the mail.

[Raydon]

Originally Posted by GnW

I hope youre ready for another 900 or so acronyms

no, seriously. it's about that many.

I haven't seen THAT many in these forums.. avast! they must be hidin

[nathanw]

Originally Posted by Raydon

TRACON : Terminal Radar Approach Control

Forgot one.

[nathanw]

Pleeeeeeease change all those "anagrams" to "acronyms". It's buggin the fertilizer out of me lol.

[Raydon]

Originally Posted by nathanw

Pleeeeeeease change all those "anagrams" to "acronyms". It's buggin the fertilizer out of me lol.

[rloucks81]

One other enroute for your list - ZDV - Denver

[upstateNY]

Where did the Z at the beginning of the identifiers in the Centers come from?

ZAB Albuquerque
ZAU Chicago
ZBW Boston
ZDC Washington

[csmith_txatc]

Originally Posted by Raydon

**sticky maybe?**


ARTCC: Air Route Traffic Control Center
ASAP: Aviation Safety Action Program (Aka the web-based FAA network where one can find the PUBNAT's(See below)
ATLTRACON: The wise and knowledgeable controller who often wows us with his very useful insights into ATC. Works at A80 (ATLanta TRACON)
ATCSCC: Air Traffic Control System Command Center
ATCT: Air traffic Control Tower
AT-SAT: Air Traffic-Selection and Training
FAA: Mother Dearest
FOL: Final (Firm) Offer Letter
FSS: Flight Service Station
OTS: Off The Street (no prior ATC or CTI experience)
OKC: This is where all the cool kids go (Oklahoma City)
PEPC: Pre Employment Processing Center
PUBNAT: PUBlic-NATional announcement (an acronym that the FAA uses on ASAP)
TOL: Tentative Offer Letter.
TRACON : Terminal Radar Approach CONtrol

ASAP: Automated Staffing and Application Process

[AFTOFAAATC]

I think High Desert TRACON is another you forgot to add. There are also a ton of tower only facs out there too.

[KindaRadley]

Anyone feel like rambling off the airline ICAO codes for the newbie?

Just off the top of my head:

SWA- Southwest Airlines
DAL- Delta Airlines
EGF- Eagle Flight
MEP- Midwest Airlines
UAL- United Airlines
NWA- Northwest Airlines
COM- Comair
JAL- Japan Airlines
JBU- Jetblue
ASH- Airshuttle (Mesa)
FDX- FedEx
UPS- UPS (duh!!!)
FRL- Freedom Airlines
BAW- British Airways
VRD- Virgin America

That's what I came up with off the top of my head... anyone wanna add to it? OH!! Anyone wanna list the CALLSIGNS for the airlines?! That's a lot of fun to do!!! All stuff that has to be memorized while you're at OKC!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Something else I just thought of-- the jetcraft types!!! (EASY!!!)

***TRIVIA QUESTION*** What is the only aircraft that is in the weight class of "Super"??

Boeing Jetcraft (currently flying)
B707
B717
B727
B737
B747H
B757H
B767H
B777H

Airbus Jetcraft
A300
A310
A318
A319
A320
A321
A330H
A340H
A380

Oki... I'm done... that's enough use of my brain for the night!

[nathanw]

Originally Posted by KindaRadley

***TRIVIA QUESTION*** What is the only aircraft that is in the weight class of "Super"??

A380

[KindaRadley]

Originally Posted by nathanw

A380

Nice!! It pays to have no life and to be on the ATC board in the middle of the night!

[nathanw]

Originally Posted by KindaRadley

Nice!! It pays to have no life and to be on the ATC board in the middle of the night!

I second that lol

[Freezer41]

Palm Springs is no longer up/down. SCT took their approach airspace a few months ago.

SKW - Skywest
QXE - Horizon Air
FFT - Frontier Flight
COA - Continental
ASA - Alaska
CAL - Dynasty
AFR - Air France
AMT - oops uhh AAH... aah!

[Freezer41]

Originally Posted by KindaRadley

Anyone feel like rambling off the airline ICAO codes for the newbie?

Just off the top of my head:

SWA- Southwest Airlines
DAL- Delta Airlines
EGF- Eagle Flight
MEP- Midwest Airlines
UAL- United Airlines
NWA- Northwest Airlines
COM- Comair
JAL- Japan Airlines
JBU- Jetblue
ASH- Airshuttle (Mesa)
FDX- FedEx
UPS- UPS (duh!!!)
FRL- Freedom Airlines
BAW- British Airways
VRD- Virgin America

That's what I came up with off the top of my head... anyone wanna add to it? OH!! Anyone wanna list the CALLSIGNS for the airlines?! That's a lot of fun to do!!! All stuff that has to be memorized while you're at OKC!!!

EGF- American Eagle (Eagle Flight)
MEP- Midwest Airlines (Midex)
JAL- Japan Airlines (Japanair)
BAW- British Airways (Speedbird)
VRD- Virgin America (Redwood)

[upstateNY]

Here's a little easier way to learn operators and aircraft types by using flightaware.com

http://flightaware.com/live/fleet/

It shows all operators by count (how many are actively in the ATC system on an IFR flight plan) and their prefix (AAL for American etc) You will need to learn these prefixes.


You can also use http://flightaware.com/live/aircrafttype/

The codes in the middle column are what need to be learned since that is what will show on the data block in the ATC system

[Raydon]

PUBNAT1 FEBOTS "February"... etc etc
PUBNAT2 APEOTS
PUBNAT3 MAYOTS
PUBNAT4 JUNROTS
PUBNAT5 JEWLOTS