Plain English Meaning

A setting on the autopilot that tells the aircraft to follow a chosen course line by itself, instead of you hand-flying it onto that line.

Full Definition

An autopilot or flight director mode that automatically steers the aircraft to track a selected navigation course, such as a VOR radial, GPS course, or RNAV flight plan leg. When engaged, the system uses inputs from the navigation receiver to keep the aircraft on the chosen course without continuous manual heading adjustments by the pilot.

Context Anchor

Seen in helicopter flight manual limitations and when discussing use of guidance or autopilot functions.