Definition
Navigation data displayed on a Multi-Function Display (MFD) that supports navigation by visual reference to landmarks on the ground, typically including a moving map showing the aircraft's position relative to terrain, roads, rivers, towns, airports, and other visible features.
Plain English
The map and ground-feature information shown on a cockpit screen that helps a pilot navigate by looking outside and matching what they see on the ground to what is shown on the display.
Context Anchor
Seen in navigation instrument, chart, and moving-map discussions, especially when confirming position by outside visual references.
Derivation
Pilotage comes from the French 'pilotage,' meaning the act of steering or guiding a vessel, originally used in maritime navigation where a pilot steered ships using visible landmarks along a coast. The aviation meaning carries the same idea: navigating by what you can see, rather than by instruments alone.
Why Pilots Care
Pilotage information on the MFD lets a pilot cross-check their position against real-world features outside, which is a critical backup when GPS or other navigation sources become unreliable.
Intuition Check
Do not read pilotage information as information about the pilot. Here, pilotage means navigation by recognizable features on the ground.
Example Sentence 1
The student used the pilotage information on the MFD to confirm the aircraft was tracking along the river she had identified on her sectional chart.
Example Sentence 2
When the GPS signal was lost, the student pilot continued the flight by relying on pilotage information from visible landmarks.