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. The path that a vessel follows is called a track or, in the case of aircraft, ground track (also known as course made good or course over the ground). The intended track is a route.
Discussion
Further information: Bearing (angle) § Arcs, and Rhumb line § Introduction
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.56 Course directions are specified in degrees from north, either true or magnetic. In aviation, north is usually expressed as 360°.7 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.8
See also
- Geography portal
- Acronyms and abbreviations in avionics
- Glossary of navigation terms
- Bearing (navigation)
- Breton plotter
- E6B
- Great circle
- Ground track
- Navigation
- Navigation room
- Rhumb line
External links
References
Bartlett, Tim (2008), Adlard Coles Book of Navigations, Adlard Coles, p. 176, ISBN 978-0713689396 978-0713689396 ↩
Husick, Charles B. (2009). Chapman Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handling. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 927. ISBN 9781588167446. 9781588167446 ↩
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25B ed.). Federal Aviation Administration. 2016-08-24. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20230620203429/https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak ↩
Bartlett, Tim (2008), Adlard Coles Book of Navigations, Adlard Coles, p. 176, ISBN 978-0713689396 978-0713689396 ↩
Bartlett, Tim (2008), Adlard Coles Book of Navigations, Adlard Coles, p. 176, ISBN 978-0713689396 978-0713689396 ↩
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25B ed.). Federal Aviation Administration. 2016-08-24. Archived from the original on 2023-06-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20230620203429/https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak ↩
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°. 978-1-4354-8272-2 ↩
Rousmaniere, John; Smith, Mark (1999). The Annapolis Book of Seamanship: Third Edition: Completely Revised, Expanded and Updated. Simon and Schuster. p. 234. ISBN 9780684854205. 9780684854205 ↩