Plain English Meaning

The 'feel' of flying. It's how the pilot senses what the airplane is doing through their body — the seat-of-the-pants awareness of climbing, descending, banking, or shuddering before a stall.

Full Definition

The sense by which a pilot perceives motion, position, and acceleration of the body and the aircraft through physical feel rather than through visual or instrument cues. In flight, it is the felt awareness of the airplane's movement — pitch changes, sink, acceleration, buffeting — transmitted through the seat, controls, and body.

Context Anchor

In , kinesthesia is one of the clues a pilot may feel as the airplane slows and begins to handle differently.