Definition
An imaginary line extending laterally from the pilot's eye through a chosen reference point on the airplane (such as a wingtip) and out to the ground. During eights on pylons, the pilot uses this line to keep the chosen pylon visually fixed at the reference point throughout the maneuver.
Plain English
An invisible straight line that runs from your eye, across a fixed spot on the airplane like the wingtip, and down to a point on the ground. You use it as a sighting tool to keep a ground feature lined up with that spot on the airplane.
Context Anchor
Seen in eights-on-pylons training when comparing the airplane’s altitude with the pilot’s line of sight to the ground pylon.
Derivation
Projected here means extended outward in a straight line, the way a beam of light projects from a flashlight. The line is not painted on anything; it is the straight path your eye traces from the airplane to the ground.
Why Pilots Care
Keeping the projected visual reference line fixed on the pylon confirms the aircraft is at pivotal altitude, allowing the turn to be flown with constant radius and no altitude change.
Analogy
Think of pointing a laser pen from your eye, across the wingtip, down to a tree on the ground. As the airplane moves, you have to fly so the laser stays on that tree.
Intuition Check
Do not read “projected” as a line drawn on the windshield or on a chart. Here it means an imaginary sight line extended outward from the pilot’s view to a ground point.
Example Sentence 1
Hold the pylon steady on the projected visual reference line by adjusting bank, not by looking around for it.
Example Sentence 2
Climbing above pivotal altitude causes the projected visual reference line to move ahead of the pylon, showing the need to descend.