Definition
A device that is used, or intended to be used, for flight in the air. This includes airplanes, helicopters, gliders, gyroplanes, balloons, and airships.
Plain English
Any machine designed to fly. ACFT is just a shortened way of writing aircraft in NOTAMs, charts, and other space-limited aviation text.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA acronym lists, official airport or airspace notices, flight planning notes, and other places where aviation information is shortened.
Derivation
Aircraft combines air with craft. Craft originally meant a vehicle or vessel, such as a boat; in aviation, aircraft means a vehicle that operates in the air.
Why Pilots Care
NOTAMs and weather products use heavy abbreviation. Recognizing ACFT instantly keeps you reading at normal speed instead of stopping to decode it.
Intuition Check
Do not read ACFT as meaning only airplane. It means aircraft broadly, including helicopters, gliders, balloons, and other vehicles intended to fly.
Example Sentence 1
The NOTAM warned of unmanned ACFT operating below 400 feet near the airport.
Example Sentence 2
All required inspections must be completed before the ACFT can be flown.