The Bird on the Airbus PFD: Flight Path Vector and Why to Use It

Pilots new to Airbus PFD symbology often ask about the small green symbol nicknamed the bird. Officially it is the flight path vector (FPV) or flight path marker: it shows where the aircraft is actually going through the air mass, not merely where the nose points. On approach, in turbulence, or when fighting a crosswind, the bird is one of the most useful cues on the display — yet many sim pilots leave it disabled because the default view looks busy until you learn the scan.

What the bird shows

The FPV sits on the attitude sphere (or PFD pitch/lateral scales on Airbus) and moves vertically for flight path angle and horizontally for track over ground. If the bird is on the horizon line, your path is level in the air mass. Below the horizon line means descending path; above means climbing. Unlike the aircraft symbol boresight, which shows pitch attitude, the bird shows result of pitch, power, and wind combined.

A strong headwind on approach may require nose-up attitude while the bird still sits on the glideslope reference — exactly what you want on an ILS. A tailwind shows the opposite: nose down attitude with bird on slope. Chasing attitude alone without watching the bird is a common sim landing mistake.

Why Airbus emphasizes it

Airbus human-factors design encourages path-based flying especially in flare and wind shear recovery. The bird makes energy state visible: if the bird sinks below the intended aim point while attitude looks fine, you are losing flight path — add gentle thrust or reduce sink rate. In gusty conditions the bird bounces; your job is to keep it near target using small corrections, not large pitch swings.

How to enable it in the sim

On most Airbus add-ons (FBW A32NX, ToLiss, Fenix):

• Open EFIS control panel on the glareshield
• Look for FPV or bird toggle on the ATT panel — often a button with flight path symbol
• Some models tie it to ND declutter or PFD option pages in the MCDU

Enable on both sides for PF/PM training symmetry, or PF only if screen clutter is an issue on a single monitor setup.

Practical uses

ILS final: Align bird with glideslope reference while monitoring localizer deviation. Attitude will vary with wind; bird stays the control target.

Visual approach: Place bird on the aim point on the runway — not the horizon — for consistent touchdown zone.

Go-around: After rotation, verify bird climbs above horizon before retracting flaps per schedule.

Crosswind: Crabbing shows nose off track while bird tracks centerline — essential for understanding de-crab timing.

Common errors

• Confusing bird with flight director command bars — they are different guidance layers
• Over-controlling every bird twitch below 200 ft
• Leaving FPV off and using only pitch attitude in strong gusts

Spend one NG ROUTE-planned approach with FPV on and one with it off; the difference in touchdown quality is usually obvious within a few flights.

FPV availability and symbology vary by Airbus series and simulator add-on. Simulation training only.