Definition
The intended horizontal path of an aircraft over the ground, measured in degrees clockwise from true north (the geographic North Pole), as drawn between two points on a navigation chart. True course does not account for wind drift or magnetic variation.
Plain English
The direction you plan to fly across the ground, drawn as a straight line on the chart and measured from the real North Pole rather than from the compass north.
Context Anchor
Seen when measuring a route on a chart and filling out navigation planning information before a flight.
Derivation
‘True’ here means ‘aligned with the geographic North Pole’ rather than the magnetic pole the compass points to. ‘Course’ comes from the Latin cursus, meaning ‘a running’ or ‘path travelled’ — the path you intend the aircraft to follow over the ground.
Why Pilots Care
True course forms the starting point for all navigation planning; pilots must apply magnetic variation to convert it to magnetic course for actual in-flight headings.
Intuition Check
True does not mean “correct” here. It means measured from true north, not from magnetic north or from the airplane’s nose.
Example Sentence 1
After drawing the route from the home airport to the destination, the pilot measured a true course of 095° with the plotter.
Example Sentence 2
After determining wind drift, the pilot adjusted to maintain the planned true course over the ground.