Definition
Training flights conducted with a flight instructor on board, where the instructor provides direct instruction, demonstration, and supervision while the student manipulates the controls. Dual flights are logged as dual instruction received and count toward the dual time requirements for a pilot certificate or rating.
Plain English
Flights where the student flies the airplane with the instructor sitting next to them, teaching and supervising the whole time.
Context Anchor
Seen in student pilot training records and lesson planning, especially when comparing flights made with an instructor to flights made solo.
Derivation
From Latin 'dualis' meaning 'of two.' In flight training, 'dual' refers to two pilots working together in the cockpit -- the student flying and the instructor teaching -- as opposed to solo flights where the student flies alone.
Why Pilots Care
These flights let instructors correct errors and build skills safely before solo or cross-country stages.
Intuition Check
Dual does not mean two airplanes or two separate flights here. It means one training flight with both the student and the instructor on board.
Example Sentence 1
After the student soloed, the instructor scheduled several more dual flights to introduce night operations and short-field landings before the cross-country phase began.
Example Sentence 2
After solo, the student still flew dual flights to prepare for cross-country navigation.