Plain English Meaning

A rate gyro is a small spinning sensor that measures how fast the aircraft is turning around one axis, not which way it is pointing. It tells you the speed of the rotation, like saying 'turning at three degrees per second' instead of 'banked twenty degrees.'

Full Definition

Gyroscopic instruments that sense and measure the rate of rotation about a single axis rather than maintaining a fixed reference in space. Their output is angular velocity (degrees per second), which is then used to drive rate-based instruments such as the turn coordinator and turn-and-slip indicator, and to feed angular rate data into an Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS).

Context Anchor

Seen in instrument flying discussions of and reference , especially when explaining how sense aircraft motion.