Definition
The set of activities a pilot performs to determine the aircraft's position, plan and follow a route, and arrive at the intended destination. In single-pilot resource management, navigation tasks are one category of workload the pilot must manage alongside aircraft control, communication, systems monitoring, and decision-making.
Plain English
The work of figuring out where you are, where you're going, and how to get there during a flight.
Context Anchor
Used in single-pilot resource management when discussing how a pilot manages workload while also flying the airplane, communicating, and making decisions.
Derivation
From the Latin 'navigare,' meaning 'to sail' or 'to steer a ship.' The word carried over to flight because the basic problem is the same: knowing where you are and steering toward where you want to be.
Why Pilots Care
Unmanaged navigation tasks can pull attention away from aircraft control or traffic awareness and contribute to overload or loss of situational awareness.
Intuition Check
Navigation tasks do not mean only using GPS. They include all the actions that help the pilot know the airplane’s position, direction, and next required action.
Example Sentence 1
During the climb, the pilot deferred non-essential navigation tasks until the aircraft was trimmed and stable in cruise.
Example Sentence 2
During the approach briefing the instructor emphasized keeping navigation tasks secondary to maintaining aircraft control.