Definition
A unit of measure used on the attitude indicator, equal to the thickness of the miniature aircraft's wing bar, used to describe small, precise pitch changes during instrument flight.
Plain English
On the attitude indicator, the little airplane symbol has wings drawn as bars. Pilots use the thickness of those bars as a ruler to make tiny pitch adjustments — for example, raising the nose by half a bar or one full bar.
Context Anchor
Seen in analog instrument flying when a pilot is interpreting the attitude indicator and making small pitch corrections.
Derivation
The miniature aircraft on an attitude indicator is drawn with horizontal lines representing the wings. These lines are called bars, and their thickness — their width — became a convenient, repeatable visual unit for measuring pitch changes.
Why Pilots Care
Gives a consistent visual reference for making small pitch corrections without needing to read exact degree markings on the instrument.
Intuition Check
Do not read “bar widths” as a precise certified measurement. Here it means a practical visual reference on the attitude indicator for making small attitude changes.
Example Sentence 1
To level off smoothly, the pilot lowered the nose about half a bar width on the attitude indicator.
Example Sentence 2
Using bar widths allowed the pilot to maintain altitude precisely while flying on instruments in smooth air.