Definition
A flight maneuver in which the pilot turns the aircraft to fly in the opposite direction from its current heading, typically through a 180-degree turn. In a training context, an instructor may direct the student to reverse course as a distraction or task-management exercise, requiring the student to change heading approximately 180 degrees while maintaining altitude, airspeed, and proper aircraft control.
Plain English
Turn the airplane around so it's heading the opposite way from where it was pointed.
Context Anchor
Used in flight training, navigation, and decision-making when a pilot is asked or chooses to turn away from the present direction of flight.
Derivation
Reverse comes from an older Latin idea meaning “to turn back.” Course comes from a word meaning “a path or direction of movement.” Together, reverse course means to turn back along a different or opposite path.
Why Pilots Care
Used by instructors to build a student's ability to handle unexpected changes without losing control of the aircraft.
Intuition Check
Reverse course does not mean the airplane moves backward. It means the pilot turns the aircraft so its path changes to the opposite or nearly opposite direction.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor told the student to reverse course while she was busy folding a chart, to see if she could maintain altitude during the turn.
Example Sentence 2
While maintaining 3000 feet the student executed a reverse course and rolled out on the reciprocal heading.