Definition
Informal term for the procedural knowledge of which buttons, knobs, and menu sequences to operate on a specific avionics unit (such as a GPS navigator, autopilot, or flight management system) to achieve a desired result. It refers to device-specific operating skill rather than the underlying aeronautical concepts.
Plain English
Knowing which buttons to push, in what order, on a particular cockpit gadget to make it do what you want.
Context Anchor
Seen when learning to program cockpit equipment such as navigation units, flight displays, and autopilot control panels.
Derivation
A casual word built from 'button' plus '-ology' (the suffix meaning 'study of'). The mock-academic ending is intentional and slightly tongue-in-cheek — it pokes fun at how much time pilots spend learning the quirks of their boxes rather than flying the airplane.
Why Pilots Care
Excessive buttonology reduces attention to basic attitude flying and can cause loss of situational awareness during critical phases of flight.
Intuition Check
Buttonology does not mean the equipment is doing the thinking for the pilot. It means the pilot can make the equipment do what was intended, then confirm it did so correctly.
Example Sentence 1
Before her checkride, she spent an evening with the simulator drilling the buttonology of the GPS so she could load an approach without hesitation.
Example Sentence 2
Good airmanship means knowing when to stop buttonology and return to flying by reference to the horizon.