Definition
A point on an extended runway centerline used as a reference for an instrument approach when the actual runway threshold is not the desired aim point. It functions as a virtual threshold so that the approach geometry, glidepath, and obstacle clearance can be designed around a displaced reference rather than the physical runway end.
Plain English
An imaginary 'pretend' threshold placed on the runway centerline that the approach is built around, used when designers need the approach to aim at a point other than the real start of the runway.
Context Anchor
Seen in GPS-based instrument approach design, navigation-database information, and discussions of how final approach guidance is built.
Derivation
From Latin 'fictitius' meaning 'artificial' or 'made up.' The point is not a real, marked threshold on the pavement — it is a designed reference, hence 'fictitious.'
Why Pilots Care
Knowing that the approach is built to a fictitious threshold (not the runway threshold) helps the pilot understand why the glidepath, minimums, or aim point may not match the physical runway end, and why a visual segment or circling maneuver may be required after the approach.
Grounding Statement
Picture an invisible dot placed where the approach-design math needs a runway-threshold reference, even though that dot may not be a physical runway marking.
Intuition Check
Fictitious does not mean fake, unreliable, or unsafe here. It means a deliberately created reference point used by the approach design and navigation system.
Example Sentence 1
Because the approach used a fictitious threshold point well short of the runway, the published glidepath did not lead directly to the touchdown zone.
Example Sentence 2
During the approach briefing the pilot noted that the Fictitious Threshold Point lay 800 feet before the actual runway threshold.