Definition
A course-reversal maneuver in which the pilot, after crossing the procedure turn fix, flies the outbound course for the published distance, then turns 45° away from the outbound course and holds that heading for 40 seconds, then makes a 180° turn in the opposite direction to intercept the inbound course.
Plain English
A specific way of turning the airplane around to line up with the final approach course. You fly outbound, angle off 45° to one side for 40 seconds, then make a wide 180° turn back the other way, which rolls you out heading inbound on the approach.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument approach training and on procedures that require a pilot to reverse course before continuing inbound toward the runway.
Derivation
The name describes the maneuver: a 45° turn off the outbound course, followed by a 180° turn in the other direction. The numbers are the headings flown, not a navigation symbol.
Why Pilots Care
It reverses direction while keeping the aircraft inside the protected airspace defined for the approach.
Intuition Check
Do not read “procedure turn” as just any turn made during a procedure. Here it means a specific course-reversal maneuver. Also, 45° and 180° are heading changes, not how steeply the airplane is banked.
Example Sentence 1
After crossing the fix outbound, the pilot flew a 45°/180° procedure turn to reverse course and intercept the inbound approach track.
Example Sentence 2
After one minute on the 45-degree heading the pilot initiated the 180-degree turn to rejoin the inbound course.