Definition
The skill of managing two or more flying tasks at the same time by shifting focus between them in a deliberate, controlled way — for example, scanning outside for traffic while also monitoring instruments and maintaining aircraft control.
Plain English
Splitting your attention so you can keep doing several important things at once, instead of getting locked onto just one.
Context Anchor
Used in flight training when an instructor introduces distractions or added tasks to help a learner keep control of the aircraft while managing more than one demand.
Derivation
From Latin 'dividere' meaning 'to separate or split.' In flying, the pilot is splitting their attention across multiple tasks rather than letting it stay fixed on one.
Why Pilots Care
Failure to divide attention properly leads to loss of aircraft control, missed radio calls, or failure to notice traffic or system problems.
Grounding Statement
A simple example is flying straight and level while briefly checking a chart, then bringing your eyes and focus back to flying the airplane.
Intuition Check
Do not assume “divide attention” means giving every task equal attention. In flying, it means sharing attention while keeping aircraft control as the top priority.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor introduced distractions during the lesson to teach the student to divide attention between flying the airplane and handling cockpit tasks.
Example Sentence 2
Good pilots learn to divide attention so they can scan for traffic while still adjusting power and tracking the heading.