Definition
A workstation consisting of a keyboard for input and a video screen for output, used by air traffic controllers, flight service specialists, and other aviation personnel to access and update flight data, weather information, and operational records.
Plain English
A computer station with a keyboard and a screen used by aviation staff to look up and enter information.
Context Anchor
Seen mainly in FAA acronym lists, older aviation publications, and references to equipment used in aviation information or briefing systems.
Derivation
The term combines keyboard, meaning the keys used to type, with video display terminal, an older computing term for a screen-and-keyboard station connected to a larger computer system. That helps because KVDT describes the equipment, not a flight procedure or aircraft part.
Why Pilots Care
When you call a flight service station for a briefing or file a flight plan, the specialist is reading and entering your information at a KVDT. Knowing the term helps when reading FAA documentation about how flight data moves through the system.
Example Sentence 1
The flight service specialist pulled up the latest weather at her KVDT while taking the pilot's briefing request.
Example Sentence 2
Flight service stations once relied on KVDTs to display and update flight plan information.