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Instruments used to plot a course on a nautical chart.

In navigation, the course of a watercraft or aircraft is the cardinal direction in which the craft is to be steered. The course is to be distinguished from the heading, which is the direction where the watercraft's bow or the aircraft's nose is pointed.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Course, track, route and heading[edit]

True heading (left) and magnetic heading (right)

Heading and track (A to B)
1 – True North
2 – Heading, the direction the vessel is "pointing towards"
3 – Magnetic north, which differs from true north by the magnetic variation.
4 – Compass north, including a two-part error; the magnetic variation (6) and the ship's own magnetic field (5)
5 – Magnetic deviation, caused by vessel's magnetic field.
6 – Magnetic variation, caused by variations in Earth's magnetic field.
7 – Compass heading or compass course, before correction for magnetic deviation or magnetic variation.
8 – Magnetic heading, the compass heading corrected for magnetic deviation but not magnetic variation; thus, the heading reliative to magnetic north.
9, 10 – Effects of crosswind and tidal current, causing the vessel's track to differ from its heading.
A, B – Vessel's track.

The path that a vessel follows over the ground is called a ground track, course made good or course over the ground.^[1] For an aircraft it is simply its track.^[3] The intended track is a route. For ships and aircraft, routes are typically straight-line segments between waypoints. A navigator determines the bearing (the compass direction from the craft's current position) of the next waypoint. Because water currents or wind can cause a craft to drift off course, a navigator sets a course to steer that compensates for drift. The helmsman or pilot points the craft on a heading that corresponds to the course to steer. If the predicted drift is correct, then the craft's track will correspond to the planned course to the next waypoint.^[1]^[3] Course directions are specified in degrees from north, either true or magnetic. In aviation, north is usually expressed as 360°.^[4] Navigators used ordinal directions, instead of compass degrees, e.g. "northeast" instead of 45° until the mid-20th century when the use of degrees became prevalent.^[5]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c Bartlett, Tim (2008), Adlard Coles Book of Navigations, Adlard Coles, p. 176, ISBN 978-0713689396
^ Husick, Charles B. (2009). Chapman Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handling. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 927. ISBN 9781588167446.
^ ^a ^b ^c Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (2016-09-25). Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge: FAA-H-8083-25B. Ravenio Books.
^ Michael Nolan (2010). Fundamentals of Air Traffic Control. Cengage Learning. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-4354-8272-2. For example, a runway heading north would have a magnetic heading of 360°.
^ Rousmaniere, John; Smith, Mark (1999). The Annapolis Book of Seamanship: Third Edition: Completely Revised, Expanded and Updated. Simon and Schuster. p. 234. ISBN 9780684854205.

External links[edit]

[Bartlett-1] Bartlett, Tim (2008), Adlard Coles Book of Navigations, Adlard Coles, p. 176, ISBN 978-0713689396

[Chapman-2] Husick, Charles B. (2009). Chapman Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handling. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 927. ISBN 9781588167446.

[:0-3] Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (2016-09-25). Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge: FAA-H-8083-25B. Ravenio Books.

[Nolan2010-4] Michael Nolan (2010). Fundamentals of Air Traffic Control. Cengage Learning. p. 201. ISBN 978-1-4354-8272-2. For example, a runway heading north would have a magnetic heading of 360°.

[5] Rousmaniere, John; Smith, Mark (1999). The Annapolis Book of Seamanship: Third Edition: Completely Revised, Expanded and Updated. Simon and Schuster. p. 234. ISBN 9780684854205.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|Cardinal direction for steering}}
-{{refimprove|date=April 2014}}
+[[File:Navigational rules types.JPG|thumb|Instruments used to plot a course on a nautical chart.]]
+In [[navigation]], the '''course''' of a [[watercraft]] or [[aircraft]] is the [[cardinal direction]] in which the craft is to be [[Steering|steered]]. The course is to be distinguished from the ''[[Heading (navigation)|heading]]'', which is the direction where the watercraft's [[Bow (watercraft)|bow]] or the aircraft's [[Nose cone|nose]] is pointed.<ref name="Bartlett">
-[[File:Navigational rules types.JPG|thumb|Instruments used to plot a course on a nautical or aeronautical chart.]]
+{{Citation|last=Bartlett|first=Tim|title=Adlard Coles Book of Navigations|year=2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RWUQAAAAQBAJ&q=pilotage|page=176|publisher=Adlard Coles|isbn=978-0713689396}}</ref><ref name=Chapman>
-In [[navigation]], a [[watercraft|vessel]]'s or [[aircraft]]'s '''course''' is the [[cardinal direction]] along which the vessel or aircraft is to be steered. It is to be distinguished from the vessel or aircraft's '''heading''', which is the [[compass]] direction in which the craft's bow or nose is pointed.<ref name=Bartlett/><ref name=Chapman>
 {{cite book
  | last = Husick
  | first = Charles B.
- | author-link =
  | title = Chapman Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handling
  | publisher = Sterling Publishing Company, Inc.
  | date = 2009
- | location =
+ | page = 927
+ | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=S4FwbS8StvEC&q=definition+nautical+course&pg=PA50 | isbn = 9781588167446 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C99DDQAAQBAJ&q=track&pg=PT839|title=Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge: FAA-H-8083-25B|last=Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)|date=2016-09-25|publisher=Ravenio Books|language=en}}</ref>
- | pages = 927
- | language =
- | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=S4FwbS8StvEC&pg=PA50&dq=definition+nautical+course&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwio64CswePSAhVF5oMKHWjlAjAQ6AEIGjAA#v=onepage&q=definition%20nautical%20course&f=false
- | isbn = 9781588167446 }}</ref><ref name = AIM>
-{{cite book
- | last = Federal Aviation Administration
- | first =
- | author-link = Federal Aviation Administration
- | title = FAR/AIM 2017
- | publisher = Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.
- | date = 2016
- | location =
- | pages = 1340
- | language =
- | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=x8jMDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT3089&dq=FAA+navigation+definition+course&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjkpY_PzePSAhVK_4MKHUW7ClgQ6AEIJjAC#v=onepage&q=course&f=false
- | isbn = 9781510713208 }}</ref>
 == Course, track, route and heading ==
-The line connecting the object's consecutive positions on the ground is referred to as the '''[[ground track]]'''. The ''track'' the object was intended to follow is called the '''route'''. For ships and aircraft, the ''route'' is represented by the [[Great circle|great circle line]] that connects the previous [[waypoint]] with the next waypoint. The responsibility of a navigator is to make the ''track'' coincide as much as possible with the ''route''. The direction of the ''route'' is called the '''route course'''. "Course" exceptionally, and arguably erroneously, may also refer to the ''route'', such as in a [[course deviation indicator]], in which case it no longer constitutes an angle but rather a line. The direction of the [[Great circle|great circle line]] that runs from the current position to the next waypoint is called the '''course to steer''', or the '''bearing''' to that waypoint. The '''tracking angle''' is the angle between the ''course to steer'' and the ''course''. The '''heading''' is the direction to which the "nose" of the object is pointing, its orientation.<ref name=Bartlett>
-{{Citation
- | last = Bartlett
- | first = Tim
- | title = Adlard Coles Book of Navigations
- | place =
- | publisher = Adlard Coles
- | date = February 25, 2008
- | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RWUQAAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Adlard+Coles+Book+of+Navigations&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjI5969y93MAhWHNiYKHfAuDb0Q6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=pilotage&f=false
- | pages = 176
- | isbn = 978-0713689396 }}</ref>
-Directions (''course to steer'', ''course'', ''heading'' and ''route course'') are typically measured clockwise from north, either true or magnetic, in degrees from 0° to 359°, following compass convention (0° being north, 90° being east, etc.). In [[aviation]], north is usually expressed as 360° instead of 0°
-<ref name="Nolan2010">{{cite book|author=Michael Nolan|title=Fundamentals of Air Traffic Control|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6yhTiGC3ulcC&pg=PA201|date=28 January 2010|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=1-4354-8272-7|page=201|quote=For example, a runway heading north would have a magnetic heading of 360°.}}</ref>
-<ref>{{cite web|title=North: Zero Or Three Sixty Degrees?|url=http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/tech_ops/read.main/144883/|website=airliners.net|accessdate=6 May 2015}}</ref>
-. For land based vehicles (like cars), ''heading'' and ''course'' are typically identical, but for aircraft the action of [[wind]], and for vessels the actions of [[wind]] and [[ocean current|current]] may cause the two to differ significantly.
-== Relationship between true and magnetic direction ==
-[[Image:Course (navigation).svg|upright=1|Heading and track (A to B)]]
-* '''[[Navigation|Heading]]''' (2) is the angle between the direction in which the object's nose is pointing and a reference direction (e.g. true north (1)) (the heading of the ship shown in the image above is about 060°).<ref>To increase readability of the diagram, all possible influences were given as positive values, e.g. variation to the east, positive deviation, wind and current from [[port (nautical)|port side]]. The principle is the same regardless of the sign/direction of any of the components.</ref>
-* Any reading from a magnetic compass refers to ''compass north'' (4), which is supposed to contain a two-part ''compass error:''
-:a) The Earth's magnetic field's north direction, or ''magnetic north'' (3), almost always differs from true north by [[magnetic variation]] (6), the local amount of which may be found in nautical or aeronautical charts,<ref>The "heading and track" diagram above shows a [[magnetic declination]] to the east, as is commonly encountered in most of the [[Pacific Ocean]], and a somewhat exaggerated (relative to most real-life examples) deviation (of about 10°).</ref> and
-:b) The vehicle's own magnetic field may influence the compass by so-called [[magnetic deviation]] (5). Deviation only depends on the vehicle's own magnetic field<ref>By conventional [[degaussing]], deviation could usually be kept below 10°, and [[fluxgate compass]]es can be degaussed to close to 0°.</ref> and the heading, and therefore can be checked out and given as a ''deviation table'' or, graphically, as a [[Napier's diagram]].
-* The ''compass heading'' (7) has to be corrected first for deviation (the "nearer" error), which yields the ''magnetic heading'' (8). Correcting this for variation yields ''true heading'' (2).
-* In case of a [[crosswind]] (9), and/or [[tide|tidal]] or other current (10), the heading will not meet the desired target, as the vehicle will continuously drift sideways; it becomes necessary to point the heading away from the course to counteract these effects and make the track coincide with the [[great circle]].
-==Aircraft heading==
 {{multiple image
- | width1 = 300
+ | width1 = 200
  | footer = True heading (left) and magnetic heading (right)
  | image1 = MISB ST 0601.8 - Platform Heading Angle.png
  | alt1 =
- | width2 = 300
+ | width2 = 200
  | image2 = MISB ST 0601.8 - Platform Magnetic Heading.png
  | alt2 =
  | caption2 =
  }}
+[[Image:Course (navigation).svg|thumb|upright=3|Heading and track (A to B)<br>
+– True North <br>
-An '''aircraft's heading''' is the direction that the aircraft's nose is pointing.
+– Heading, the direction the vessel is "pointing towards" <br>
+– Magnetic north, which differs from true north by the magnetic variation. <br>
-It is referenced by using either the [[magnetic compass]] or [[heading indicator]], two instruments that most aircraft have as standard. Using standard instrumentation, it is in reference to the local magnetic north direction. True heading is in relation to the lines of meridian (north–south lines). The units are degrees from north in a clockwise direction. North is 0°, east is 90°, south is 180°, and west is 270°.
+– Compass north, including a two-part error; the magnetic variation (6) and the ship's own magnetic field (5) <br>
+– Magnetic deviation, caused by vessel's magnetic field. <br>
-Note that, due to wind forces, the direction of movement of the aircraft, or track, is not the same as the heading. The nose of the aircraft may be pointing due west, for example, but a strong northerly wind will change its track south of west. The angle between heading and track is known as the drift angle. Crab angle is the amount of correction an aircraft must be turned into the wind in order to maintain the desired course. It is opposite in direction to the drift angle and approximately equal in magnitude for small angles.
+– Magnetic variation, caused by variations in Earth's magnetic field. <br>
+– Compass heading or compass course, before correction for magnetic deviation or magnetic variation. <br>
-An aircraft can have instruments on board that show to the pilot the aircraft heading. The [[autopilot]] can be programmed to maintain either the aircraft heading or its course (when set in a proper mode and with correct navigational data inputs).
+– Magnetic heading, the compass heading corrected for magnetic deviation but not magnetic variation; thus, the heading reliative to magnetic north. <br>
+, 10 – Effects of crosswind and tidal current, causing the vessel's track to differ from its heading. <br>
-== Relationship between course and heading ==
+A, B – Vessel's track.]]
+The path that a vessel follows over the ground is called a ''[[ground track]]'', ''course made good'' or ''course over the ground''.<ref name="Bartlett" /> For an aircraft it is simply its ''track''.<ref name=":0" /> The intended track is a ''route''. For ships and aircraft, routes are typically [[Great-circle distance|straight-line]] segments between [[Waypoint|waypoints]]. A navigator determines the ''bearing'' (the compass direction from the craft's current position) of the next waypoint. Because water currents or wind can cause a craft to drift off course, a navigator sets a ''course to steer'' that compensates for drift. The helmsman or pilot points the craft on a ''heading'' that corresponds to the course to steer. If the predicted drift is correct, then the craft's track will correspond to the planned course to the next waypoint.<ref name="Bartlett" /><ref name=":0" /> Course directions are specified in degrees from north, either true or magnetic. In [[aviation]], north is usually expressed as 360°.<ref name="Nolan2010">{{cite book|author=Michael Nolan|title=Fundamentals of Air Traffic Control|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6yhTiGC3ulcC&pg=PA201|date=2010|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-4354-8272-2|page=201|quote=For example, a runway heading north would have a magnetic heading of 360°.}}</ref> Navigators used [[Cardinal direction|ordinal directions]], instead of compass degrees, e.g. "northeast" instead of 45° until the mid-20th century when the use of degrees became prevalent.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xRqzoX04v5AC&q=cardinal+direction&pg=PA233|title=The Annapolis Book of Seamanship: Third Edition: Completely Revised, Expanded and Updated|last1=Rousmaniere|first1=John|last2=Smith|first2=Mark|date=1999|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9780684854205|pages=234|language=en}}</ref>
-The ''heading'' will differ from the ''course'' depending on (1) the forward speed (speed parallel to the ''heading'') of the vehicle in its medium (air for an aircraft, water for a vessel), (2) drift speed (speed [[Orthogonality|orthogonal]] to the ''heading'') in its medium (only for vessels, especially for [[sail boat]]s at close [[points of sail]]), and (3) wind speed and wind direction (only for aircraft) or current speed and current direction (only for vessels). In the event of a [[headwind]] or [[tailwind]], ''heading'' and course in an aircraft are the same. For a ship at sea, if a current is running parallel to the ''heading'', then the ''course'' is the same as the ''heading''.
-In an aircraft, to correct for the difference between ''heading'' and ''course'', a navigator uses the [[wind triangle]]. In the early days of navigation, wind speed was estimated by the drift observed and the plane was steered to correct for the wind influence. Contemporary navigational aids have simplified the problem of determining course to steer.
 == See also ==
-{{Portal|Nautical}}
+{{Portal|Geography}}
 * [[Acronyms and abbreviations in avionics]]
 * [[Bearing (navigation)]]
 * [[Breton plotter]]
 * [[E6B]]
+* [[Great circle]]
 * [[Ground track]]
 * [[Navigation]]
@@ Line 94: / Line 49: @@
 * [[Rhumb line]]
-== Notes ==
+==References==
 {{Reflist}}
-==References==
+==External links==
 *[https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/ Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge]
 *[https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/media/21_phak_glossary.pdf glossary]
@@ Line 103: / Line 58: @@
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Course (Navigation)}}
 [[Category:Aircraft instruments]]
-[[Category:Navigation]]
+[[Category:Marine navigation]]
 [[Category:Tracking]]
+[[Category:Air navigation]]

Latest revision as of 18:13, 2 April 2024

Course, track, route and heading[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]