Definition
An instrument scanning technique in which the attitude indicator is treated as the central reference and the pilot's eyes move outward from it to one supporting instrument and back, then outward to the next supporting instrument and back, in a repeating pattern resembling spokes radiating from a hub.
Plain English
A way of scanning the cockpit instruments where you keep returning your eyes to the attitude indicator in the middle, glancing out to one other instrument, then back to the middle, then out to a different instrument, and so on.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument flying when learning how to scan analog cockpit instruments without fixating on one instrument or wasting attention on instruments that are not important for the immediate task.
Derivation
Radial' comes from the Latin radius, meaning the spoke of a wheel or a ray from a center. The name describes the eye movement pattern: like spokes going out from a hub (the attitude indicator) and back again.
Why Pilots Care
Prevents unintended drift off course and supports accurate navigation without constant heading corrections.
Analogy
Think of a bicycle wheel. The attitude indicator is the hub. Each glance out to another instrument and back is one spoke. You ride the spokes in turn rather than letting your eyes wander around the rim.
Intuition Check
Do not read radial here as a VOR navigation radial. In selected radial cross-check, radial means a spoke-like eye movement from a central instrument out to a selected instrument and back.
Example Sentence 1
During the climb, she used a selected radial cross-check, returning to the attitude indicator after each glance at the airspeed and altimeter.
Example Sentence 2
During the hold, a steady selected radial cross-check kept the airplane on the published leg.