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Aviation vocabulary · Navigation & Instruments

Heading

Meaning in aviation, with examples

/ˈhedɪŋ/nounCore term

In aviation, heading means: The direction in which the nose of an aircraft is pointing, given in degrees from 001 to 360 and usually measured from magnetic north.

In Turkish: baş, istikamet

How it is used

Controllers give headings as radar vectors: 'turn left heading 270'. Each digit is spoken separately: 'heading two seven zero'. Pilots set the heading on the autopilot panel and read it back.

Example sentences

  1. Fastair 345, turn right heading 090, descend to flight level 120.

  2. Our heading was 180, but the strong wind pushed our track to the east.

Common collocations

  • fly heading
  • turn left heading
  • maintain present heading
  • heading select
  • radar heading
  • altitudeThe vertical distance of an aircraft above mean sea level, usually given in feet. Height, by contrast, is measured from the ground or the airport.
  • autopilotA system that flies the aircraft automatically, holding a selected heading, altitude, speed or route, while the pilots monitor it.
  • waypointA fixed point in the sky, defined by coordinates, that aircraft use to build and follow a route. Most waypoints have five-letter names that can be pronounced.
  • crosswindA wind that blows across the runway from the side instead of along it, which makes takeoff and landing more difficult.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Navigation & Instruments

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