Definition
The published or assigned magnetic course flown away from a navigation fix, station, or waypoint. In holding patterns and procedure turns, the outbound course is the leg flown in the direction opposite the inbound course, used to position the aircraft for the inbound segment back to the fix.
Plain English
The direction you fly away from a navigation point before turning around to come back to it. It's the 'going out' part of a holding pattern or course reversal.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument procedures such as holding, procedure turns, and teardrop entries, where the pilot must fly away from a fix before returning inbound.
Derivation
Outbound' simply means 'heading away from.' In aviation, it pairs with 'inbound' to describe the two halves of any maneuver that leaves a fix and returns to it.
Why Pilots Care
Flying the correct outbound course positions the aircraft to intercept the inbound course safely and at the proper angle during course reversal maneuvers.
Intuition Check
Do not read outbound course as just any direction away from something. In this context, it is a specific planned path, usually shown in degrees, that the procedure expects you to fly.
Example Sentence 1
After crossing the holding fix, the pilot turned to the outbound course and started the one-minute timer.
Example Sentence 2
After crossing the fix, the aircraft turned to track the outbound course as the first step of the procedure turn.