Definition
The combined lateral and vertical signals provided by an Instrument Landing System (ILS) that direct the aircraft along the correct path to the runway. Course guidance comes from the localizer, which defines the lateral track aligned with the runway centerline. Altitude guidance comes from the glide slope, which defines the correct descent angle to the touchdown zone.
Plain English
The information that tells the pilot two things at once: whether the aircraft is lined up correctly with the runway from side to side, and whether it is at the right height as it descends toward landing.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument approach discussions, especially with ILS equipment that gives left-right and up-down guidance to the runway.
Derivation
Course comes from an older word meaning a path or direction of movement. Altitude comes from Latin altus, meaning high. Together, the phrase points to guidance for the airplane’s path across the ground and its height above the ground.
Why Pilots Care
It enables safe landings when visibility is too low to see the runway until the final moments.
Intuition Check
Do not read course as a class of study or altitude as just any height. Here, course means the intended path to follow, and altitude guidance means information that helps keep the aircraft on the correct vertical path or required height.
Example Sentence 1
Once established on the ILS, the pilot used the course and altitude guidance to fly down to decision height.
Example Sentence 2
Without course and altitude guidance the pilot would have had to execute a missed approach in the fog.