What is "ptol"

Point take off and landing (PTOL) is an evolving term describing special take-off and landing capabilities of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other aircraft.

PTOL indicates that there is no requirement for a runway for operations. Instead, ‘point’ suggests that the length of runway required is near zero, implying a minimal-sized location for touchdown and takeoff. Sometimes no prepared surface at all is needed.

PTOL is assisted in certain cases by means which are not needed by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) or by short take-off and landing (STOL) vehicles. These may include a very long cable enforcing the convergence of the aircraft from afar onto the intended touchdown point. This may still be worthwhile due to maintaining the air-vehicle's advantages which are maximal simplicity leading to better cruise performance, as is the case using a fixed-wing UAV platform.