Definition
Database entries used by RNAV and FMS equipment that define named geographic points (fixes) by their latitude and longitude, along with associated data such as identifier, type, and reference navaid. Fix records are part of the navigation database that allows the aircraft's flight management system to locate and sequence waypoints along a procedure or route.
Plain English
Stored data points in the aircraft's navigation database that tell the system where each named waypoint is located on Earth.
Context Anchor
Seen when studying how instrument procedures, routes, arrivals, and approaches are stored in a navigation database.
Derivation
A 'fix' in navigation is a known position — historically a point you could 'fix' on a chart by sighting landmarks or navaids. A 'record' here is a database entry. So a fix record is simply a stored entry describing a known position.
Why Pilots Care
When a pilot loads an approach or route into the FMS, the system pulls each waypoint from its fix records. If a fix record is missing, outdated, or coded incorrectly, the procedure may not load correctly or may not match the published chart — which is why current navigation database cycles matter.
Analogy
A fix record is like a saved contact in a phone: the name alone is not enough; the stored details tell the system exactly which point that name refers to.
Intuition Check
Do not read “fix” as “repair” here. In aviation navigation, a fix is a known point in space used to define where the aircraft is going or where a procedure changes.
Example Sentence 1
The FMS uses fix records from the current navigation database to build the approach procedure.
Example Sentence 2
During preflight planning the pilot verified that the fix records matched the current navigation database.