Definition
An electronic cockpit display that consolidates the essential flight instruments — attitude, airspeed, altitude, vertical speed, and heading — onto a single screen, typically with an integrated horizon, flight director, and navigation cues.
Plain English
The main screen in front of the pilot that shows how the aircraft is flying — which way it’s pointing, how fast it’s going, how high it is, whether it’s climbing or descending, and which direction it’s heading.
Context Anchor
Seen in glass-panel cockpits and in discussions of synthetic vision guidance systems, where the outside-view image and flight guidance may appear on the main flight screen.
Derivation
‘Primary’ means first or most important; ‘Flight Display’ means the screen showing flight information. The name signals that this is the screen pilots fly from — the one that replaces the traditional six mechanical flight instruments.
Why Pilots Care
It reduces the need to scan multiple separate instruments, lowering workload and improving awareness of the aircraft's state.
Intuition Check
Primary does not mean it is the only instrument or screen in the cockpit. It means it is the main screen for the information needed to fly and control the aircraft.
Example Sentence 1
During the approach, the pilot kept her scan focused on the Primary Flight Display, cross-checking attitude, airspeed, and altitude.
Example Sentence 2
During the approach, the crew cross-checked the Primary Flight Display against the standby instruments.