Definition
A GPS or moving-map display orientation in which the desired track — the course line the pilot intends to fly between two waypoints — is shown pointing toward the top of the screen, regardless of the aircraft's actual heading. The map rotates so that the planned course is always vertical on the display.
Plain English
A way of showing the moving map so the line you want to fly along always points straight up the screen. As you turn or drift, the map turns underneath, but the planned course stays pointing up.
Context Anchor
Seen on GPS, moving-map, and flight display settings when choosing how the map is oriented.
Derivation
Desired' from Latin desiderare, to long for or aim at. 'Track' from Old French trac, a path or course. Together: the path the pilot aims to follow. 'Up' simply describes which direction it points on the screen.
Why Pilots Care
Reduces the mental rotation required to interpret position relative to the planned route, lowering the chance of navigational error under workload.
Analogy
It is like a phone map that rotates so your planned route points toward the top of the screen, rather than always keeping north at the top.
Intuition Check
Do not read DTK up as the airplane’s current heading being up. It means the planned ground path is up on the display.
Example Sentence 1
She switched the GPS to Desired Track Up so the course line stayed vertical and any crosswind drift would show clearly.
Example Sentence 2
With desired track up active, any deviation left or right of the route became immediately obvious without rotating the chart mentally.