Definition
A pavement marking made up of yellow chevron-shaped stripes, indicating a paved area that is unsuitable for taxiing, takeoff, or landing. Aircraft must not operate on areas marked with yellow chevrons.
Plain English
Yellow arrow-shaped lines painted on pavement that mean 'do not drive, take off, or land here.' The surface looks usable but is not safe for aircraft.
Context Anchor
Seen on some electronic attitude displays during instrument flying, especially when learning pitch control by reference to the instruments.
Derivation
A 'chevron' is a V-shaped or inverted-V shape, from the Old French 'chevron' meaning 'rafter' (because rafters meet at a similar angle). The yellow color and arrow-like shape together signal a clear visual warning to stay off.
Why Pilots Care
Landing or taking off on these areas can damage the aircraft or cause loss of control.
Grounding Statement
Use the yellow chevron as the airplane reference: above the horizon line shows a nose-up indication, and below the horizon line shows a nose-down indication.
Intuition Check
Do not assume yellow means a warning here. In this context, the yellow chevron is a V-shaped reference mark used to read pitch on the attitude display.
Example Sentence 1
Before taxiing into position, the pilot noted the yellow chevrons at the approach end of the runway and held short of the usable surface.
Example Sentence 2
During rollout the aircraft stayed clear of the yellow chevrons marking the blast pad.