- acceptable means of compliance (AMC)
means non-binding standards adopted by the Agency to illustrate means to establish compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and its delegated and implementing acts;
- accident
means an occurrence associated with the operation of a balloon which takes place between the moment of the commencement of the inflation of the balloon and the moment of complete deflation of the balloon, in which:
- aircraft flight manual (AFM)
means the document containing the applicable and approved operating limitations and information with respect to the balloon;
- alternative means of compliance (AltMoC)
means those means that propose an alternative to an existing AMC or those that propose new means to establish compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 and its delegated and implementing acts for which no associated AMC have been adopted by the Agency;
- assessment of competence
means the demonstration of skill, knowledge and attitude for the initial issue, revalidation or renewal of an instructor or examiner certificate;
- balloon
means a manned lighter-than-air aircraft which is not power-driven and sustains flight through the use of either a lighter-than-air gas or an airborne heater, including gas balloons, hot-air balloons, mixed balloons and, although power-driven, hot-air airships;
- balloon empty mass
means the mass determined by weighing the balloon with all the installed equipment as specified in the AFM;
- balloon specialised operation
means any operation, which can be commercial or non-commercial, with a balloon the main purpose of which is not the carriage of passengers for sightseeing or experience flights, but parachute operations, hang-gliding dropping, flying displays, competition flights or similar specialised activities;
- class of balloons
means a categorisation of balloons taking into account the lifting means used to sustain flight;
- commercial operation
means any operation of a balloon, in return for remuneration or other valuable consideration, which is available for the public or, when not made available to the public, is performed under a contract between an operator and a customer, where the latter has no control over the operator;
- commercial passenger ballooning
(CPB) means a form of commercial air transport operation with a balloon whereby passengers are carried on sightseeing or experience flights for remuneration or other valuable consideration;
- competition flight
means any air operation with a balloon performed for the purposes of participating in air races or contests, including practising for such an operation and flying to and from air races or contests;
- conversion report
means a report on the basis of which a licence may be converted into a Part-BFCL licence.
- crew member
means a person assigned by an operator to perform duties on board the balloon or, where the duties are directly related to the operation of the balloon, on the ground;
- critical phases of flight
means take-off, final approach, missed approach, landing and any other phases of a flight which the pilot-in-command determines as critical for the safe operation of the balloon;
- dangerous goods
means articles or substances which are capable of posing a risk to health, safety, property or the environment and which are shown in the list of dangerous goods in the technical instructions or which are to be classified as such in accordance with those instructions;
- dry lease agreement
means an agreement between undertakings pursuant to which the balloon is operated under the responsibility of the lessee;
- flight crew member
means a licensed crew member charged with duties essential to the operation of an aircraft during a flight duty period;
- flight time
means the total time from the moment the basket leaves the ground for the purpose of taking off until the moment it finally comes to a rest at the end of the flight;
- flying display
means any air operation with a balloon performed for the purposes of providing an exhibition or entertainment at an advertised event open to the public, including practising for such an operation and flying to and from the advertised event;
- free balloon
means a balloon that is not continuously anchored to a fixed point during operation;
- gas balloon
means a free balloon that derives its lift from a lighter-than-air gas;
- group of balloons
means a categorisation of balloons, taking into account the size or capacity of the envelope;
- hot-air airship
means a power-driven hot-air balloon, whereby the engine does not create any portion of lift;
- hot-air balloon
means a free balloon that derives its lift from heated air;
- incident
means an occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the operation of a balloon which affects or could affect the safety of its operation;
- introductory flight
means any air operation, against remuneration or other valuable consideration, that consists of an air tour of short duration for the purpose of attracting new trainees or new members, performed either by a training organisation referred to in Article 10a of Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 or by an organisation established with the aim of promoting aerial sport or leisure aviation;
- mixed balloon
means a free balloon that derives its lift from a combination of heated air and a lighter-than–air, non-flammable gas;
- national licence
means a pilot licence issued by a Member State in accordance with national legislation before the date of application of Annex III (Part-BFCL) to this Regulation or of Annex I (Part-FCL) to Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011;
- night
means the period between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight.
- operating site
means a site selected by the pilot-in-command or the operator for landing, take-off or external load operations;
- Part-BFCL licence
means a flight crew licence which complies with the requirements of Annex III (Part-BFCL) to this Regulation;
- pilot-in-command
means the pilot designated as being in command and charged with the safe conduct of the flight;
- principal place of business
means the head office or registered office of the operator of the balloon within which the principal financial functions and operational control of the activities referred to in this Regulation are exercised;
- proficiency check
means the demonstration of skill for the purpose of complying with the recency requirements as established in this Regulation, including oral examinations as may be required;
- psychoactive substances
means alcohol, opioids, cannabinoids, sedatives and hypnotics, cocaine, other psychostimulants, hallucinogens and volatile solvents, excluding coffee and tobacco;
- refuelling
means the refilling of fuel cylinders or fuel tanks from an external source, excluding the replacement of fuel cylinders;
- serious incident
means an occurrence associated with the operation of the balloon which takes place between the moment of the commencement of the inflation of the balloon and the moment of complete deflation of the balloon, in which there was a high probability of an accident;
- skill test
means the demonstration of skill for the purpose of issuing a licence or rating, or extension of a privilege, including oral examinations as may be required;
- solo flight
means a flight during which a student pilot is the sole occupant of the balloon;
- technical instructions
means the latest applicable edition of the ‘Technical instructions for the safe transport of dangerous goods by air’, including the supplement and any addenda, published by ICAO in document 9284-AN/905;
- tethered flight
means a flight with a tether system that anchors the balloon to a fixed location during operation, with the exception of a tether which may be used as part of the take-off procedure.
- tethered gas balloon
means a gas balloon with a tether system that continuously anchors the balloon to a fixed point during operation;
- traffic load
means the total mass of passengers, baggage and carry-on specialist equipment;
- wet lease agreement
means an agreement between operators pursuant to which the balloon is operated under the responsibility of the lessor;