instrument flying

American  

noun

1. the control and navigation of an aircraft by reference to its gauges, with no or only limited visual reference outside the cockpit.

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instrument flying British  

noun

1. the navigation of an aircraft by the use of instruments only

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Etymology

Origin of instrument flying

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

The board said the training should include scenarios that help pilots practice the transition from visual to instrument flying to reduce the risk of spatial disorientation.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 9, 2021

The ATA Association said she was among 165 women who flew without radios or instrument flying instructions.

From BBC • Jan. 10, 2021

The aircraft is equipped for instrument flying for operators licensed to do so — even with a solo pilot.

From New York Times • Jan. 30, 2020

He befriended the qualified pilots and chatted to them about instrument flying, about engine start-ups, about take-offs.

From BBC • Sep. 21, 2019

The sun had been up for a long time, now, but haze blurred the sun's rays and turned both sea and sky into a drifting milky-tinted mass that made instrument flying absolutely necessary.

From Dave Dawson at Casablanca by Bowen, Robert Sydney