Definition
The category of cockpit instruments that show the aircraft's heading — the direction the nose is pointing relative to a reference such as magnetic north or true north. The two primary heading instruments are the magnetic compass and the heading indicator (a gyroscopic instrument, sometimes slaved to a magnetic source).
Plain English
The instruments that tell the pilot which way the airplane's nose is pointing.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument flying when using the panel to hold a course, turn to an assigned heading, or check that the direction shown agrees with other direction information.
Derivation
‘Heading’ comes from the old sense of ‘head’ as the front of something — the direction the head, or nose, is pointed. So heading instruments literally show where the nose is headed.
Why Pilots Care
Accurate heading information allows the pilot to maintain a desired course, execute precise turns, and navigate safely when visual references are unavailable.
Intuition Check
Heading does not mean the path the airplane actually travels over the ground. It means the direction the nose is pointed; wind can make the actual path different.
Example Sentence 1
During the instrument scan, the pilot cross-checked the heading instruments to confirm the aircraft was still tracking 270 degrees.
Example Sentence 2
After the vacuum pump failed, the pilot relied on the magnetic compass as the only remaining heading instrument.