Definition
A flight director display style that uses a single symbol — typically a V-shaped or inverted-wedge command bar — to show the pilot the combined pitch and roll guidance needed to fly the selected flight path. The pilot flies the airplane symbol up to and into the command bar to satisfy both pitch and bank commands at once.
Plain English
A flight director presentation that gives you one combined cue for both pitch and bank. You just fly the little airplane symbol into that one cue and you are on profile.
Context Anchor
Seen when comparing flight director and autopilot displays in the cockpit, especially on the screen or instrument that shows the airplane’s nose position and bank.
Derivation
‘Single’ meaning one, and ‘cue’ from the theatrical term for a prompt or signal. Together it literally means ‘one prompt’ — one symbol on the display telling you what to do, instead of two separate ones.
Why Pilots Care
The integrated symbol reduces visual workload and allows faster recognition of required corrections during instrument approaches and departures.
Intuition Check
Single-cue does not mean the system gives only one kind of information. It means pitch and bank guidance are combined into one visual command.
Example Sentence 1
The Bonanza’s flight director uses a single-cue command bar, so the pilot flies the airplane symbol up into the wedge to capture the assigned altitude and heading.
Example Sentence 2
With the single-cue symbol centered on the attitude indicator, the airplane was on the desired flight path.