Plain English Meaning

Flying alone in the clouds or in conditions where you must rely on instruments, with no other pilot in the cockpit to help you.

Full Definition

A flight conducted under Instrument Flight Rules by one pilot operating without a second crew member to share workload, communications, navigation, or aircraft control duties.

Context Anchor

You will see this term in discussions of cockpit workload, risk management, and single-pilot resource management during instrument flying.

Derivation

IFR stands for Instrument Flight Rules — the regulations governing flight by reference to cockpit instruments rather than by looking outside. '' simply means one pilot is in command and operating the , with no co-pilot to delegate to.