Definition
A waypoint characteristic that requires the aircraft to overfly the waypoint before beginning a turn to the next leg of the procedure, rather than turning early to anticipate the next course.
Plain English
The aircraft has to pass directly over the waypoint before it starts turning toward the next one. No cutting the corner.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument procedure design and database discussions, especially where a waypoint is coded so the aircraft must cross it before changing course.
Why Pilots Care
Ensures the aircraft stays within protected airspace and follows the intended flight path precisely as designed by procedure specialists.
Intuition Check
Fly-over does not just mean the airplane happens to pass above an area. Here it means the navigation system recognizes a required point and does not start the next turn until that point is crossed.
Example Sentence 1
The missed approach point is a fly-over waypoint, so the pilot continued straight ahead until crossing it before starting the climbing turn.
Example Sentence 2
Because this fix uses fly-over capability, the autopilot will continue straight past the waypoint and then initiate the course change.