Definition
The instruments and avionics installed in an aircraft used to determine position, track a desired course, and guide the airplane from one geographic point to another. This includes equipment such as VOR receivers, GPS units, ADF, DME, moving-map displays, and electronic flight instrument systems used for navigation tasks.
Plain English
The gear in the cockpit that tells the pilot where the airplane is and helps it get to where it's going.
Context Anchor
Seen in cockpit workload and attention discussions, especially when a pilot must look inside the airplane to read, set, or check route information.
Derivation
From Latin 'navigare' (to sail or steer a ship), from 'navis' (ship) and 'agere' (to drive). The word carried over from sea navigation to air navigation, where the pilot 'steers' the aircraft along a planned route using onboard instruments.
Why Pilots Care
Operating navigation equipment requires head-down attention inside the cockpit, which pulls the pilot's eyes away from outside scanning. Knowing how to use it efficiently reduces time spent fiddling with knobs and screens, leaving more attention for flying the airplane and watching for traffic.
Intuition Check
Do not read navigation equipment as only one device or only a moving map. In this context, it means any cockpit equipment used to help find position or follow the route, and it can become a distraction if it takes too much attention.
Example Sentence 1
Before departure, the pilot programmed the route into the navigation equipment so the course would display on the moving map.
Example Sentence 2
Excessive focus on navigation equipment during a visual approach can cause the pilot to neglect basic attitude flying.