Glossary

AH - Artificial horizon
AP - Autopilot
APU - Auxiliary power unit A small turbine engine that supplies power to the aircraft when the engines are not running or ground power is not connected
AQC - Airline Qualification Course A CTC course that incorporates the MCC and JOC to bridge the gap between CPL/IR and TR
ATC - Air Traffic Control
ATPL - Airline Transport Pilot's Licence To satisfy CAA requirements, we are required to sit all the ground school subjects that are part of this licence and then take the CPL/IR practical test plus the MCC and TR. The licence matures to an ATPL on reaching 1500 hours flying time
ASI - Airspeed Indicator
BA - British Airways
CAA - Civil Aviation Authority
CBT - Computer Based Training
CPL - Commercial Pilot's Licence
CRM - Crew Resource Management The non-technical skills used by the crew members to keep each other informed and working together effectively
CTR - Control Zone Area of controlled airspace around an aerodrome
DI - Directional Indicator
DME - Distance Measuring Equipment The aircraft uses radio signals to determine its distance from a given point (often located with a VOR)
EASA - European Aviation Safety Agency The regulating body in Europe to which the UK CAA is answerable
EFATO - Engine Failure after take-off
FD - Flight Director Symbols that appear on the PFD to guide the pilot 
FLOG - Flight log The paperwork used to keep track of a flight as it progresses
FMC - Flight Management Computer (Boeing)
FMGC - Flight Management and Guidance Computer (Airbus)
FNPT - Flight Navigation Procedure Training Essentially a flight simulator that doesn't move
GPS - Global positioning system
GNSS - Global navigation satellite system
HSI - Horizontal Situation Indicator A complex compass rose that displays information such as the aircraft track and heading
ICAO - International Civil Aviation Organisation
IFR - Instrument Flight Rules Flights conducted using the aircraft instruments as the primary reference (and many other criteria! Airliners almost exclusively fly under these rules)
ILS - Instrument Landing System Two radio signals are picked up by receivers on the aircraft and guide it laterally and vertically down to the runway from a given altitude
IMC - Instrument Meteorological Conditions When the prevailing weather is not suitable for adequate visual reference
IR - Instrument Rating Added to the CPL, this test is conducted by reference only to the instruments in the aircraft and no external references until landing
JOC - Jet Orientation Course See AQC
KDR - Knowledge Deficiency Report A short summary of areas of uncertainty in exam subjects sat in NZ
LOE - Line orientated evaluation An assessed LOS
LOS - Line orientated Scenario Training flight that follows the outline of a genuine commercial flight
LST - Licence Skills Test
MCC - Multi-crew co-operation certificate
ME - Multi-engine
MPL - Multi-crew pilot's licence A more modern route than the traditional CPL/IR, this involves cadet pilots in multi-crew operations from a much earlier stage and usually is based on a large jet simulator after the initial basic training on a SE aircraft
ND - Navigation display
NDB - Non-directional beacon An antenna in the aircraft picks up the signal from this and uses a needle on a compass rose, or similar, to point to it. These are generally low-powered and subject to interference and other errors so mostly unused by modern airliners
NZ - New Zealand
PF - Pilot Flying Flies the aircraft manually or controls the autopilot. Directs the PM as required
PFD - Primary Flight Display
PFL - Practice Forced Landing An approach to a suitable landing site in the case of simulated engine failure in a single engined aircraft
PM - Pilot Monitoring Keeps a check on everything the Pilot Flying is doing and handles ancillary duties such as the radio and paperwork (Sometimes known as PNF - Pilot non-flying)
PPL - Private Pilot's Licence
RNAV - In a nutshell, navigating by GPS!
R/T - Radiotelephony
SE - Single-engine
SFO - Senior First Officer
SOP - Standard Operating Procedures Different for every airline but based on those from the manufacturer in order to maintain safe and efficient operation of the aircraft 
TDODAR - Time, Diagnose, Options, Decide, Assign tasks, Review A tool for managing non-normal situation
TO - Take off
TR - Type rating The specific training for a particular aircraft (required for large jet transports eg. A320, B777)
VFR - Visual Flight Rules Flights conducted using outside visual references as the primary reference (most often used in PPL flying but also a condition of the CPL exam)
VMC - Visual Meteorological Conditions Weather conditions are suitable for outside references
VOR - Very high frequency omnidirectional radio beacon A more sophisticated version of an NDB which allows an aircraft to track a very specific compass direction based on the radio signal (e.g. 270 degrees)
VSI - Vertical speed indicator