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.<ref name="Bartlett"> Template:Citation</ref><ref name=Chapman> Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite PHAK</ref>Template:Pn 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).<ref name="Bartlett" /> The intended track is a route.
DiscussionEdit
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.<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">Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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See alsoEdit
- Acronyms and abbreviations in avionics
- Glossary of navigation terms
- Bearing (navigation)
- Breton plotter
- E6B
- Great circle
- Ground track
- Navigation
- Navigation room
- Rhumb line