Definition
Ground-based training equipment that replicates the instruments, controls, and systems of a specific aircraft or class of aircraft, used to teach procedures and develop skills without leaving the ground. A flight training device (FTD) is approved by the FAA to a specific qualification level, and certain training and checking tasks completed in an FTD can count toward pilot certification, ratings, and currency requirements.
Plain English
A ground-based machine that copies the cockpit and behaviour of a real aircraft closely enough that the FAA lets you do some of your training and checkrides in it instead of in the airplane.
Context Anchor
Seen in instructor training, simulator-based lessons, instrument training, and discussions of electronic learning tools used outside the aircraft.
Derivation
Device comes from an older word meaning something planned or designed for a purpose. That fits this aviation use: a flight training device is not just any teaching aid; it is a designed system built to let pilots practice flight tasks on the ground.
Why Pilots Care
They reduce training costs, allow repeated practice of emergencies or complex maneuvers in a safe environment, and often count toward FAA training requirements.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as any device used during flight training, such as a tablet, checklist, or video. In this context, flight training devices are ground-based systems built to imitate enough of the aircraft and its responses for approved pilot practice.
Example Sentence 1
The student completed three hours of holding pattern practice in the flight training device before flying the procedures in the airplane.
Example Sentence 2
Flight training devices let the student repeat a failed landing sequence until the procedure felt natural.