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Aviation glossary

Flight deck

Also: cockpit, flightdeck

The aircraft

Forward compartment from which the pilots fly the aircraft and manage its systems, navigation and communications.

What it is

On today's airliners the flight deck normally seats two pilots: the captain on the left and the first officer on the right. In front of them are the flight controls, either a control column or a sidestick, and the rudder pedals; between them, the thrust levers; ahead, the flight and navigation displays; and above, the overhead panel with the electrical, hydraulic, fuel and pressurisation systems.

For decades many large aircraft also carried a third crew member, the flight engineer, who monitored engines and systems from a dedicated panel. Automation and glass cockpits made the role unnecessary: the Boeing 727 had three crew stations, whereas the Boeing 757 and Airbus A310 were already flown by two.

On Vuelopedia

Boeing 727 Airbus A310

Related terms

Glass cockpitFlight deck in which most dial instruments are replaced by electronic screens that combine flight, navigation and systems information. Pilot in commandThe pilot designated as ultimately responsible for the operation and safety of a flight; at an airline this is the captain, who normally sits in the left-hand seat. First officerThe pilot who shares the controls with the captain, ranks next in the chain of command and usually sits in the right-hand seat of the flight deck. AutopilotSystem that holds or changes an aircraft's flight path, altitude, heading and vertical speed according to values selected by the crew. Fly-by-wireFlight control system in which the pilot's inputs travel as electrical signals to computers that move the control surfaces.
Whole glossary

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This page was last updated on October 9, 2026

APA

Vuelopedia. (2026, October 9). Flight deck. Retrieved October 16, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/flight-deck

MLA

“Flight deck.” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 9 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/flight-deck. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Vuelopedia. “Flight deck.” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 9, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/flight-deck.

Harvard

Vuelopedia (2026) Flight deck. Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/flight-deck (Accessed: 16 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{vuelopedia_en_glossary_flight_deck,
  author       = {{Vuelopedia}},
  title        = {{Flight deck}},
  publisher    = {Fundación Poderia},
  year         = {2026},
  date         = {2026-10-09},
  url          = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/flight-deck},
  howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/flight-deck}},
  urldate      = {2026-10-16},
  note         = {Accessed 2026-10-16}
}

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/glossary/flight-deck |title=Flight deck |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-09 |access-date=2026-10-16 |language=en}}

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