Definition
The intended horizontal direction of flight between two points, measured in degrees clockwise from magnetic north. Magnetic course is the true course corrected for magnetic variation but not for wind drift.
Plain English
The direction you plan to fly from one point to another, measured against magnetic north (the north your compass points to) rather than the geographic North Pole.
Context Anchor
Seen on IFR flight planning forms, navigation logs, and route-planning figures where each route segment has a planned course.
Derivation
Magnetic' refers to the Earth's magnetic field, which is what a compass aligns with. 'Course' comes from the Latin cursus, meaning 'a running' or 'path.' Together: the planned path measured against the compass's reference, not the geographic one.
Why Pilots Care
Magnetic course aligns the compass and navigation instruments with the intended route without needing variation corrections in flight.
Intuition Check
Do not read course as simply where the airplane’s nose points. In MAG CRSE, course means the planned path over the ground, measured from magnetic north.
Example Sentence 1
The navigation log showed a magnetic course of 085° for the leg from CIVET to DRAKO.
Example Sentence 2
After departure, ATC cleared the aircraft to maintain a MAG CRSE of 270 until the next waypoint.