Definition
An electronic flight instrumentation system is a flight deck display system that replaces traditional mechanical (analog) flight instruments with digital screens. These screens present primary flight information — attitude, airspeed, altitude, vertical speed, heading — and navigation information on one or more electronic displays driven by data from solid-state sensors and air data computers.
Plain English
Instead of a panel full of round mechanical gauges, the cockpit shows the same flight information on computer screens. The screens get their data from electronic sensors and present it in an integrated picture.
Context Anchor
You encounter EFIS when flying or studying a glass cockpit, especially when looking at the main flight display and other cockpit screens.
Derivation
The phrase is built from familiar words, but each carries weight: 'electronic' signals that the data is generated and processed by digital circuits rather than mechanical linkages; 'flight instrumentation' refers to the flight instruments collectively. Together they describe a shift from mechanical needles driven by pressure and gyros to data displayed on screens.
Why Pilots Care
Improves pilot situational awareness by integrating multiple data sources into one easy-to-read display.
Intuition Check
EFIS does not mean the airplane flies itself. It means the flight information is shown electronically, usually on screens, so the pilot can read and use it.
Example Sentence 1
The aircraft's EFIS combined attitude, airspeed, altitude, and heading onto a single primary flight display.
Example Sentence 2
Modern training aircraft often feature EFIS to prepare students for glass cockpit operations.