Definition
The horizontal angle measured clockwise from the aircraft's nose (the longitudinal axis) to a line drawn from the aircraft to a navigation station or other point. It is expressed in degrees from 000° to 359° and is referenced to the aircraft itself, not to north.
Plain English
The angle, measured clockwise from straight ahead of the aircraft, to whatever you are pointing at — like a station on the ground. If the station is directly off your right wingtip, the relative bearing is 090°. If it is directly behind you, it is 180°.
Context Anchor
Seen when using an automatic direction finder (ADF), especially when reading the ADF needle and figuring out where the selected station is in relation to the airplane.
Derivation
"Relative" comes from the Latin relatus, meaning "referred to" or "in relation to." The bearing is given relative to the aircraft's own heading, rather than to north. That's the key idea: it only makes sense in relation to where the aircraft is pointing.
Why Pilots Care
It lets the pilot determine the station's position and turn toward it using only the ADF needle, without first converting to a magnetic heading.
Analogy
It is like saying something is at your 2 o’clock position, but using degrees from the airplane’s nose instead of clock positions.
Intuition Check
Do not read relative bearing as a direction from north. Relative bearing is measured from the aircraft’s nose, so it changes when the aircraft turns.
Example Sentence 1
With the ADF needle showing a relative bearing of 045°, the station is off the nose to the right at a 45-degree angle.
Example Sentence 2
When the relative bearing reached 000, the aircraft was heading directly toward the station.