Plain English Meaning

Gyros are the cockpit instruments that tell the pilot which way the aircraft is pointing and whether it is banking, climbing, or turning. They work because something inside is spinning very fast, and a fast-spinning object resists changes to its position — that resistance is what the instruments measure.

Full Definition

Gyroscopic instruments — commonly called gyros — are flight instruments that rely on a rapidly spinning rotor to sense aircraft attitude, heading, or rate of turn. The three primary gyro instruments in a traditional cockpit are the attitude indicator, the heading indicator, and the turn coordinator (or ). Gyros may be powered by or , by electrical , or, in modern aircraft, replaced by that the same function electronically.