Definition
A primary flight instrument that displays the aircraft's pitch and bank attitude relative to the horizon, combined with command bars or steering cues driven by the flight director system to show the pilot how to fly to satisfy a selected flight path, such as a heading, course, glideslope, or pitch reference.
Plain English
An instrument that shows whether the aircraft's nose is pointed up or down and whether the wings are level or tilted, and also shows movable cues that tell the pilot how to steer to follow a chosen flight path.
Context Anchor
Seen on instrument panels in aircraft equipped for instrument flying, especially when using a flight director or autopilot guidance system.
Derivation
Attitude here refers to the aircraft's orientation in space (pitch and bank), not a state of mind. Director comes from the flight director, the system that calculates and displays steering commands. Together: an attitude display that also directs the pilot how to fly.
Why Pilots Care
It combines attitude reference and steering guidance into one display, reducing the need to scan multiple instruments and improving accuracy during critical phases like instrument approaches.
Intuition Check
Do not read “attitude” as emotional state here. In this term, attitude means how the aircraft is positioned relative to the horizon.
Example Sentence 1
On the missed approach, the pilot transitioned to the ADI and followed the command bars to establish the climb attitude.
Example Sentence 2
In level flight the Attitude Director Indicator indicated zero pitch and zero bank with the flight director engaged.