Definition
Any cockpit instrument or screen that presents navigation, flight, engine, or system information to the pilot. In an RNAV context, the flight deck display is what shows course, distance, and bearing to the selected waypoint, allowing the pilot to fly along the computed route.
Plain English
The screens and gauges in the cockpit that show the pilot what the aircraft and its navigation equipment are doing.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument flying when navigation equipment sends information to cockpit instruments or screens, including area navigation systems that use radio navigation and distance information.
Derivation
From 'flight deck' (the cockpit area where the pilots sit and fly the aircraft) and 'display' (something that shows information). Together it simply means the visual readouts in the cockpit.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots rely on these displays to maintain situational awareness when flying solely by reference to instruments.
Intuition Check
Do not read “flight deck display” as the whole cockpit. Here it means the specific screen or instrument presentation that shows information to the pilot.
Example Sentence 1
The RNAV unit computes the position of the waypoint and sends course and distance information to the flight deck display.
Example Sentence 2
Modern glass cockpits integrate multiple functions into a single flight deck display for improved readability.