Definition
Needles on a navigation display that point along the direct line from the aircraft to a selected ground-based navigation station, such as an NDB or VOR. The head of the pointer indicates the magnetic bearing to the station, and the tail indicates the bearing from it.
Plain English
Arrows on a cockpit instrument that always point at a chosen radio station on the ground, so the pilot can see which direction the station is from the aircraft.
Context Anchor
Seen on navigation instruments during instrument flying, especially when using radio navigation to maintain position awareness or track toward a station.
Derivation
From 'bearing,' meaning the direction of one point from another measured in degrees, and 'pointer,' a needle that indicates a value on an instrument. Together: a needle that shows the direction to something.
Why Pilots Care
They allow the pilot to track directly to or from a station without manually computing headings.
Intuition Check
Do not assume bearing pointers show where the airplane is pointed. They show the direction to the selected navigation source from the airplane.
Example Sentence 1
As the aircraft passed over the VOR, the bearing pointer swung from the nose to the tail of the indicator.
Example Sentence 2
With the bearing pointer steady on the tail, the airplane was flying directly away from the VOR.