Definition
Steering and pitch instructions generated by a flight director's internal computer that show the pilot, or direct the autopilot, the precise control inputs needed to fly a selected mode such as heading, course, altitude hold, or an instrument approach.
Plain English
These are the 'fly here' instructions worked out by the flight director's computer. It takes the mode you have selected and figures out exactly how much to bank or pitch to achieve it, then displays that as guidance bars on the attitude indicator or sends it straight to the autopilot.
Context Anchor
Seen in flight director and autopilot discussions, especially when command bars or other display cues show what the system wants the airplane to do next.
Derivation
Computed' comes from Latin computare, meaning to calculate or work out. The point here is that the commands are not raw sensor readings — the system has done the math and is telling the pilot or autopilot what to do about it.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots rely on these signals to maintain precise heading and altitude during instrument flight without constant manual calculation.
Grounding Statement
The system compares the airplane’s present flight path with the selected flight path, then turns that difference into guidance for the controls.
Intuition Check
Do not read “commands” as radio instructions from air traffic control. Here, computed commands are calculated guidance from the flight director or autopilot system; if the autopilot is engaged, it may follow them, and if not, the pilot may follow them manually.
Example Sentence 1
With the flight director engaged in heading mode, the pilot followed the computed commands by banking right until the command bars centered on the attitude indicator.
Example Sentence 2
With the autopilot engaged, the system tracked the computed commands to maintain the assigned altitude and heading.