Definition
An older name for the attitude indicator: a gyroscopic flight instrument that displays the aircraft's pitch and bank relative to the natural horizon by means of a small symbolic aircraft set against a movable background representing sky and ground, divided by a horizon line.
Plain English
A cockpit instrument that shows you, on a small dial, whether the aircraft's nose is pointed up, down, or level, and whether the wings are tilted left, right, or straight — even when you can't see the real horizon outside.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument flying when using the attitude indicator to control the airplane by reference to cockpit instruments instead of the outside view.
Derivation
From Latin 'artificialis' (made by skill or craft) and 'horizon' (the boundary between earth and sky). Literally a man-made horizon — a stand-in for the real one when the pilot can't see outside.
Why Pilots Care
It lets a pilot maintain controlled flight when outside visual references are lost, preventing spatial disorientation and supporting safe instrument approaches.
Grounding Statement
When the outside horizon disappears, the artificial horizon gives the pilot a simple inside-the-cockpit reference for keeping the airplane upright and controlled.
Intuition Check
Artificial horizon does not mean a fake view out the window. It means an instrument display that represents the horizon so the pilot can judge the airplane’s position relative to it.
Example Sentence 1
As the aircraft entered the cloud layer, the pilot transferred attention from the windscreen to the artificial horizon to maintain wings level.
Example Sentence 2
In the holding pattern the artificial horizon showed a slight nose-up attitude that matched the expected pitch for the assigned speed.