Definition
The two categories of data a pilot reads from the flight instruments during an instrument cross-check. Attitude information shows how the aircraft is oriented in pitch, bank, and yaw. Performance information shows what the aircraft is doing as a result of that attitude — its altitude, airspeed, vertical speed, heading, and turn rate.
Plain English
When flying on instruments, the panel tells you two things: how the aircraft is positioned in the air, and what that position is producing in terms of speed, height, and direction. Together, these are what the pilot scans to fly accurately without looking outside.
Context Anchor
Seen during instrument cross-check, when a pilot scans the flight instruments to control the airplane without depending on the view outside.
Derivation
Attitude comes from older words meaning position or posture. That helps because an airplane's attitude is its flying posture: nose up or down, wings level or banked. Performance comes from a word meaning to carry something out; here it means the airplane's actual results in flight.
Why Pilots Care
Essential for maintaining aircraft control when visual references are unavailable.
Grounding Statement
Instruments replace the natural senses to tell the pilot the plane's position and motion.
Intuition Check
Attitude does not mean the pilot's mood here; it means the airplane's position in the air. Performance does not mean how impressive the airplane is; it means what the airplane is actually doing.
Example Sentence 1
During the cross-check, the pilot scanned the attitude indicator first, then confirmed the climb with performance information from the altimeter and airspeed indicator.
Example Sentence 2
Cross-checking attitude and performance information helps detect and correct deviations early.