Definition
A moving-map display orientation in which the aircraft's current direction of travel is always shown pointing toward the top of the screen. The map rotates beneath the airplane symbol as the heading changes, so what is ahead of the aircraft appears above the symbol and what is behind appears below it.
Plain English
The map turns with you, so whatever is in front of the airplane is always at the top of the screen.
Context Anchor
Seen in cockpit moving maps, panel displays, and tablet navigation apps when choosing how the map is oriented.
Derivation
Track' here means the path the aircraft is actually following over the ground. 'Track up' literally means that path is oriented upward on the screen. Knowing this helps separate it from 'heading up' (where the nose direction is up) and 'north up' (where north is fixed at the top regardless of which way you are flying).
Why Pilots Care
This orientation lets the pilot match the display directly to the view ahead without mentally rotating the image, reducing interpretation time during flight.
Analogy
It is like using a car navigation map that turns as you turn, so the road ahead stays at the top of the screen instead of keeping north at the top.
Intuition Check
Track up does not mean the aircraft is climbing. It means the aircraft’s path over the ground is aimed toward the top of the map. Track up also does not always mean the aircraft’s nose is pointed exactly at the top of the display; wind can make the aircraft move over the ground in a slightly different direction than it is pointed.
Example Sentence 1
She set the moving map to track up so the runway environment would appear at the top of the screen as she flew the approach.
Example Sentence 2
Switching to track up made it simple to compare the display with the terrain visible out the windshield during the approach.