Definition
A waypoint defined by a specified bearing (in degrees) and distance (in nautical miles) from a known navigation reference point, typically a VOR or VORTAC station. The bearing is measured outbound from the reference station, and the distance is measured along that bearing.
Plain English
A point in the sky described by saying 'go in this direction from this station, and stop after this many miles.' The direction is given as a compass bearing, and the distance is given in nautical miles.
Context Anchor
Seen in IFR route planning and random RNAV route descriptions, where a route point may be defined by direction and distance instead of by a published waypoint name.
Derivation
The name describes its two ingredients: a 'degree' (the bearing) and a 'distance' (how far along that bearing). It is a fix located by giving both pieces of information from a known station.
Why Pilots Care
Allows pilots and ATC to create precise, flexible waypoints for direct or random routing without relying on established fixes or airways.
Intuition Check
Do not read “degree” here as temperature or level of importance. In this term, it means compass direction; the distance tells how far from the reference point the fix is.
Example Sentence 1
The pilot filed a degree-distance fix as 'ABC270030,' meaning 30 nautical miles outbound from the ABC VORTAC on the 270 radial.
Example Sentence 2
The pilot plotted the degree-distance fix using the 090 radial and 25 DME to join the random RNAV route.