Definition
The category of cockpit display systems that present visual cues, symbology, and computed flight path information to help the pilot fly the aircraft along an intended trajectory. This includes primary flight displays, head-up displays, synthetic vision systems, and flight director symbology, all of which translate raw sensor and navigation data into guidance the pilot can fly by hand or monitor while the autopilot flies.
Plain English
The screens and visual cues in the cockpit that show the pilot where the aircraft is going and where it should be going, so the pilot can keep it on the intended path.
Context Anchor
Seen in discussions of advanced cockpit displays, including synthetic vision systems used during instrument procedures and approaches.
Derivation
Three plain words combined. 'Flight' is the activity. 'Guidance' comes from the older sense of 'guide' — to lead or steer. 'Display' is what is shown on a screen. Together: the screen-based tools that lead the pilot along the correct path.
Why Pilots Care
Reduces pilot workload and improves accuracy during instrument approaches in low visibility.
Intuition Check
Do not read “guidance” as automatic control. This technology shows the pilot what path to follow; it does not necessarily fly the aircraft by itself.
Example Sentence 1
The aircraft's flight guidance display technology combined synthetic vision with flight director cues, giving the crew a clear picture of the approach path.
Example Sentence 2
Pilots rely on flight guidance display technology to maintain the correct glidepath when flying a GPS approach.