Definition
The direction the nose of the aircraft is pointed, measured in degrees clockwise from true north (the geographic North Pole), expressed as a three-digit value from 001° to 360°.
Plain English
The way the airplane is actually pointing, measured against the real North Pole rather than the magnetic one.
Context Anchor
Seen in navigation planning when comparing course, wind correction, and the direction the airplane must be pointed to go where planned.
Derivation
‘True’ here means measured from true north — the geographic North Pole — rather than from magnetic north, which sits in a different place and shifts over time. ‘Heading’ is the direction the aircraft’s nose is pointed.
Why Pilots Care
True heading is the starting point for accurate dead-reckoning navigation and for applying variation and wind corrections to find the magnetic heading actually flown.
Intuition Check
True does not mean “perfect” here; it means measured from true north. Heading is where the nose points, not always the exact path the airplane moves over the ground.
Example Sentence 1
After applying wind correction to her true course, she calculated a true heading of 085°.
Example Sentence 2
After determining the true heading from the sectional, the pilot applied magnetic variation and wind correction to set the heading indicator.