Definition
The specific combination of pitch attitude, bank angle, airspeed, power setting, and flightpath that the pilot intends the airplane to be in for the current phase of flight or maneuver. It is the reference condition the pilot is actively flying toward, and any significant departure from it without command is treated as the start of an upset.
Plain English
What the pilot wants the airplane to be doing right now -- the attitude, speed, and flightpath they are trying to maintain. If the airplane drifts away from that on its own, something has gone wrong.
Context Anchor
Used in upset prevention and recovery training when describing the goal of recovering from an airplane upset.
Derivation
Desired comes from an old word meaning “to long for or want.” State comes from Latin status, meaning “standing” or “condition.” In aviation, the phrase means the condition the pilot wants the airplane to be in, not just a general preference.
Why Pilots Care
Recognizing when the airplane has left this state lets the pilot correct early and avoid a full upset or loss of control.
Grounding Statement
After an upset, the desired airplane state is the safe condition the pilot is trying to get back to.
Intuition Check
Do not read state as a place or paperwork status here. It means the airplane’s current condition in flight.
Example Sentence 1
During cruise, the desired airplane state was wings level at 6,500 feet and 110 knots, so when the nose began dropping on its own the pilot recognized the start of an upset.
Example Sentence 2
The training exercise required the pilot to identify any departure from the desired airplane state and correct it before the situation worsened.