Plain English Meaning

Trying to fly by what your body feels -- the way the seat pushes on you, which way you feel tilted, whether you feel like you are climbing or turning -- instead of believing what the instruments are telling you. Without an outside view to check against, those bodily feelings lie, so pilots are trained not to trust them.

Full Definition

Flying by relying on bodily sensations -- the feel of acceleration, tilt, and pressure transmitted through the seat and harness -- rather than on the flight instruments. In instrument flying this is treated as an error, because the inner-ear and body senses are unreliable when there are no outside visual references and will routinely produce false impressions of pitch, bank, and turning.

Context Anchor

Seen in instrument takeoff training, especially when discussing the error of trusting body feel after takeoff instead of the instruments.