Plain English Meaning

Match your control input to how much the airplane is actually moving away from where you want it. Small drift, small correction. Bigger drift, bigger correction. Don't overdo it.

Full Definition

A control input technique in which the pilot applies pressure on the flight controls in direct proportion to the size and rate of the airplane's deviation from the desired flight path or attitude, using only as much input as is needed to correct the deviation and no more.

Context Anchor

Used when discussing how to prevent loss of control by making smooth, measured corrections to pitch, bank, yaw, , or flight path changes.