Definition
The direction in which the longitudinal axis of the aircraft is pointed, measured in degrees clockwise from true north (the geographic North Pole), expressed from 000° through 360°.
Plain English
The direction the nose of the airplane is pointing, measured against the geographic North Pole rather than the magnetic one.
Context Anchor
Seen in flight planning and navigation logs when converting a planned route into a heading the pilot can fly.
Derivation
‘True’ here means ‘referenced to the geographic pole,’ not ‘correct’ or ‘accurate.’ ‘Heading’ comes from the direction the aircraft’s nose is heading toward. So ‘true heading’ is the nose direction measured against true north.
Why Pilots Care
True heading provides the reference needed to apply magnetic variation correctly and maintain accurate navigation over long distances.
Intuition Check
True does not mean perfect or more honest here. It means measured from true north, the geographic reference used on charts.
Example Sentence 1
After plotting the course on the chart, the pilot found a true heading of 090° and then applied variation to convert it to a magnetic heading.
Example Sentence 2
On the enroute chart the student noted the true heading between two fixes before converting it to a magnetic heading for the compass.