Definition
An informal term for flying an aircraft by relying on bodily sensations -- the feel of acceleration, pressure on the seat, and the pull of gravity -- rather than on flight instruments. It is reliable in visual conditions where the pilot can also see the horizon, but it becomes dangerously misleading in clouds or other instrument conditions because the body cannot accurately sense aircraft attitude without outside visual references.
Plain English
Flying by what your body feels rather than what the instruments say. It works when you can see outside, but your body lies to you when you can't, so it must never be trusted in the clouds.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument flying discussions, especially when explaining why body sensations are not a safe guide in clouds or poor visibility.
Derivation
An old aviation expression from the early days of flying, before reliable instruments existed. Pilots literally judged the aircraft's behaviour by the pressure they felt through the seat -- a sudden lightness meant a descent, a heavier press meant a climb or turn. The phrase survived into modern usage as shorthand for flying purely by feel.
Why Pilots Care
In instrument conditions, relying on these sensations produces spatial disorientation and loss of control.
Grounding Statement
In clouds, a pilot may feel as if the airplane is turning or level even when the instruments show something different.
Intuition Check
Do not assume seat of the pants flying means skillful, instinctive flying. In instrument flying, it means relying on body feelings that can be wrong.
Example Sentence 1
In clear weather over familiar terrain, a pilot might fly seat of the pants, but the moment they enter cloud they must transition fully to the instruments.
Example Sentence 2
In the clouds the instructor stressed that seat of the pants flying would lead to a graveyard spiral if the attitude indicator was ignored.