What are Aircraft Instruments?

Aircraft pilots cannot just look out of the window and know where they and what is going on around them. They instead rely on instruments. Instruments essentially concern measurement. Common aircraft measurements include fuel consumption, direction, position, speed, and altitude.

Aircraft instruments are basically grouped in two ways: 1) work performance; and, 2) operating principles. Instruments that measure work performance include vertical speed, altimeter, and airspeed. The basic principles of engine operation concern the relationships between the te ... Read more »