- Charter
- The SFL's highest-level governance document defining mission, competition philosophy, authorities, and the rule-change and disciplinary architecture.
- SPINS
- Special Instructions. Event- and season-specific implementing guidance (configurations, procedures, schedules, technical requirements) that operationalizes the competition.
- CAO
- Current as of. The date a document's published version became current, shown on the Framework Master and in each document's header.
- Trials Phase
- The first phase of every SFL tournament. The three Trials, Speed, Precision and Accuracy, evaluate competitors in discrete skill domains, provide objective performance data and determine seeding in the next phase.
- Dogfight Phase
- A head-to-head bracket where performance is tested against another thinking competitor. Single elimination, three high-aspect sets per matchup. Decides the tournament winner.
- Seeding
- Trials rankings determine Dogfight bracket seeding: 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6, 4 vs 5. Trials confer no advantage beyond seeding.
- Auto-bid
- The previous OTS's two finalists hold seeds 1 and 2 of the next Dogfight Bracket without qualifying through the Trials. The top six qualifiers by Total Trials Score fill seeds 3 to 8.
- UIS
- Unified Impact Score, the Dogfight scoring measure. Unit of score: Impact Seconds. The competitor with the higher UIS in a set wins that set; the competitor who wins two of three sets wins the matchup.
- High-Aspect BFM
- High-Aspect Basic Fighter Maneuvering. The engagement form the Dogfight Bracket is built around: two pilots converge head-on and the fight begins at the merge.
- CLASSIC
- Competition Control. The sole pilot-facing control authority during OTS execution, per Appendix B.
- TechAdmin
- Technical administration. Appendix B, the TechAdmin SOP, is the technical standard for OTS competitor pilots from registration through live OTS execution.
- VPK
- The SFL Virtual Pilot Kit. Required to fly on SFL servers; carries the broadcast webcam feed during live OTS events. Appendix B states what it collects, when, and how long SFL keeps it.
- SRC
- Standing Rules Committee. The permanent rules authority responsible for creating, revising and interpreting rules and standards.
- (AC)²
- Air Combat Advisory Council. A standing council of experienced aviation and competition subject-matter experts that provides structured input to the League.
- URC
- Urgent Rules Change. A time-sensitive rule or standard adjustment issued to protect fairness and integrity, documented with scope and duration, and subject to SRC review and ratification.
- Sanctioned Event
- Any competition formally recognized by the League as official SFL competition and executed under the Charter and applicable SPINS.
- Integrity Flag
- A defined anomaly or control trigger indicating potential invalidity of a run or result and requiring review.
- OTS / LPS
- The two competitive lanes. The Online Tournament Series: scalable participation under standardized technical, integrity and recording requirements. The Live Professional Series: the premier, in-person lane under standardized live conditions.
