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Aviation glossary

Partial Panel

What is partial panel?

Illustration related to partial panel
Image: Edith Emerson, 1888-1981 — Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Partial panel refers to flying solely by reference to instruments when one or more primary flight instruments have failed—most commonly the attitude indicator (or its electronic equivalent). In this situation you control pitch and bank using the remaining instruments, such as the altimeter as your primary pitch reference. Think of it as flying "blind" to your normal go-to instrument and learning to trust the backups.

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