Definition
The cockpit instruments that display information about the airplane's attitude, altitude, airspeed, heading, vertical speed, and turn or bank. Traditionally arranged as a six-pack of analog gauges, they may also appear as electronic displays on a primary flight display (PFD).
Plain English
The gauges or screens in the cockpit that tell the pilot how the airplane is flying -- how high, how fast, which direction, and whether it is level, climbing, descending, or turning.
Context Anchor
Seen during the visual preflight assessment and anytime the pilot checks the cockpit instruments before or during flight.
Why Pilots Care
They provide the essential information needed to fly safely and are the primary reference when outside visual cues are unavailable.
Intuition Check
Do not assume flight instruments means every gauge or display in the cockpit. In this context, it means the instruments that show how the airplane is flying, not items such as engine gauges or radios.
Example Sentence 1
During the preflight inspection, the pilot checked that all flight instruments were reading correctly and showed no obvious damage.
Example Sentence 2
When flying in clouds the pilot uses the flight instruments to keep the wings level and maintain altitude.