Plain English Meaning

These are the cockpit instruments that rely on a fast-spinning wheel inside them to tell the pilot how the airplane is positioned and turning. They show whether the wings are level, which direction the nose is pointing, and how quickly the airplane is turning.

Full Definition

A group of cockpit instruments that use a spinning rotor (gyroscope) to sense and display aircraft attitude, heading, and rate of turn. The three primary gyroscopic instruments are the attitude indicator, the heading indicator, and the turn coordinator (or turn-and-slip indicator). The rotor is driven either by a vacuum/pressure system or by an electric , and its to changes in is what allows the to provide a stable for the pilot.