Heading vs track vs true north explained: learn how wind and magnetic variation change the numbers, plus which value pilots and simulators use.
In aviation and real-world flying, heading is the direction an aircraft’s nose points; track is the direction it actually travels over the ground. True north is the geographic reference from which a true heading or true track is measured. Wind separates heading from track; magnetic variation separates true values from magnetic ones.
Heading, track and true north compared
The three terms answer different questions about an aircraft’s orientation, movement and directional reference.
| Term | What it means | Key detail |
|---|---|---|
| Heading | The direction the aircraft’s longitudinal axis, or nose, points | Can be true, magnetic or compass heading |
| Track | The aircraft’s actual direction of travel over the ground | Requires ground movement and can be true or magnetic |
| True north | The direction towards the geographic North Pole along the local meridian | It is a reference datum, not the aircraft’s direction of movement |
Both heading and track are angles measured clockwise from a north reference. For example, 090° is east and 180° is south, but the number is incomplete unless we know whether the reference is true or magnetic north.
Why do heading and track differ?
Heading and track differ whenever the aircraft’s nose is not aligned with its path across the ground, most commonly because of crosswind.
Suppose the required track is 090° true and a northerly wind is pushing the aircraft south. The pilot must point the nose north of east, perhaps on a heading near 080° true, to keep the resulting ground track on 090°. The angle between heading and track in steady flight is the wind-correction or drift angle.
The difference can also be large during a sideslip, in a helicopter moving sideways, or while an aircraft is being carried by a strong air mass. Heading remains meaningful while stationary, but GNSS track does not: at very low ground speed it may jump around, disappear or retain the last valid value.
How does true north affect heading and track?
True north determines the zero point for true heading and true track; magnetic north provides a different zero point displaced by local magnetic variation.
- True heading (TH): nose direction measured from true north.
- Magnetic heading (MH): nose direction measured from magnetic north.
- True track (TT): ground path measured from true north.
- Magnetic track (MT): ground path measured from magnetic north.
To convert true to magnetic, subtract easterly variation and add westerly variation. A true track of 090° in an area with 10°E variation is therefore a magnetic track of 080°. Compass deviation adds another correction between magnetic heading and the heading shown by a conventional magnetic compass.
A mistake we see constantly in simulators is comparing a magnetic cockpit heading with a map or flight planner displaying true track. The mismatch then includes both wind drift and magnetic variation. Check for T, M, TH, MH or TRK labels and confirm which north reference the map uses. Different magnetic models can also produce small discrepancies between a simulator, chart and planning tool.
Is track the same as course?
No. Course is normally the intended direction of a route or selected navigation line, while track is the direction the aircraft is actually moving.
Avionics may label the planned path as CRS or desired track as DTK. If wind pushes the aircraft away from that line, its actual track differs until the pilot or navigation system corrects it. Terminology varies slightly between instruments, so our simulator explanation of heading, course and bearing covers the related indications in more detail.
Which indication should you follow?
Follow heading for an assigned heading or HDG autopilot mode, and follow course or desired track when maintaining a route over the ground.
- ATC vector or HDG mode: set and fly the instructed heading. In ordinary operations this is usually magnetic unless true headings are explicitly used.
- Following a flight-plan leg: keep the required course or desired track, allowing the avionics or pilot to apply wind correction.
- Manual navigation: adjust heading until the observed ground track remains on the required course.
- Stationary or taxiing slowly: trust heading rather than GNSS track, which may be undefined or unstable.
HDG mode holds the selected heading; it does not automatically preserve a ground track against changing wind. NAV or LNAV guidance instead aims to capture and follow the planned path, commanding whatever heading is needed. Our overview of how aircraft navigation systems derive and display guidance explains where those values come from.
The practical rule is simple: point the nose using heading, judge movement using track, and never compare either number until their north reference matches. This distinction becomes especially clear during VOR and NDB wind-correction practice, where the required heading changes while the desired ground path stays fixed.