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Revision as of 22:33, 7 April 2019 editHopsonRoad (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users31,038 editsm →Course, track, route and heading: Removing bold emphasis per MOS:NOBOLD. Using MOS:EMPHASIS with the introduction of a new term. Removing emphasis, thereafter.Tag: Visual edit← Previous edit Revision as of 23:07, 7 April 2019 edit undoHopsonRoad (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users31,038 edits →Course, track, route and heading: Condense, provide refs.Tag: Visual editNext edit →
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] ]


In ], the '''course''' of a ] or ] is the ] in which the craft is to be steered. The course is to be distinguished from the '']'', which is the ] in which the craft's bow or nose is pointed.<ref name=Bartlett/><ref name=Chapman> In ], the '''course''' of a ] or ] is the ] in which the craft is to be steered. The course is to be distinguished from the '']'', which is the ] in which the craft's bow or nose is pointed.<ref name="Bartlett">
⚫ {{Citation|last=Bartlett|first=Tim|title=Adlard Coles Book of Navigations|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|place=|publisher=Adlard Coles|isbn=978-0713689396}}</ref><ref name=Chapman>
{{cite book {{cite book
| last = Husick | last = Husick
Line 14: Line 15:
| pages = 927 | pages = 927
| language = | 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>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C99DDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT839&dq=FAA+%22plot+a+course%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjY45X0xZjhAhVHn-AKHWquBwwQ6AEIMzAC#v=onepage&q=track&f=false|title=Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge: FAA-H-8083-25B|last=Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)|first=|date=2016-09-25|publisher=Ravenio Books|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=|language=en}}</ref> | 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=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C99DDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT839&dq=FAA+%22plot+a+course%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjY45X0xZjhAhVHn-AKHWquBwwQ6AEIMzAC#v=onepage&q=track&f=false|title=Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge: FAA-H-8083-25B|last=Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)|first=|date=2016-09-25|publisher=Ravenio Books|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=|language=en}}</ref>


== Course, track, route and heading == == Course, track, route and heading ==
The path that a vessel follows over the ground is called a ], ''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 ] segments between ]. 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 ], 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=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> Navigators used ] instead of compass degrees, e.g. "northeast" instead of 45° until the 20th century.
The line connecting the object's consecutive positions on the ground is referred to as the ]. The track the object was intended to follow is called the ''route''. For ships and aircraft, the route is represented by the ] that connects the previous ] 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 ], in which case it no longer constitutes an angle but rather a line. The direction of the ] 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>


⚫ == Relationship between true and magnetic directio n ==
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 ], 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 ], and for vessels the actions of ] and ] may cause the two to differ significantly.

⚫ == Relationship between true and magnetic direction ==
] ]
* ''']''' (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 ]. The principle is the same regardless of the sign/direction of any of the components.</ref> * ''']''' (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 ]. The principle is the same regardless of the sign/direction of any of the components.</ref>

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Instruments used to plot a course on a nautical or aeronautical chart.

In navigation, the course of a vessel 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 compass direction in which the craft's bow or nose is pointed.

Course, track, route and heading

The path that a vessel follows over the ground is called a ground track, course made good or course over the ground. For an aircraft it is simply its track. 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. Course directions are specified in degrees from north, either true or magnetic. In aviation, north is usually expressed as 360°. Navigators used ordinal directions, instead of compass degrees, e.g. "northeast" instead of 45° until the 20th century.

Relationship between true and magnetic directio n

Heading and track (A to B)

  • 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°).
  • 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, 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 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 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

True heading (left) and magnetic heading (right)

An aircraft's heading is the direction that the aircraft's nose is pointing.

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°.

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.

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).

Relationship between course and heading

The difference between the course and heading, known as the drift, is due to the motion of the conveying medium, water for a vessel or air for an aircraft, plus other effects like skidding or slipping. The drift can be determined by the adding the vectors of velocity for the vessel or aircraft and the velocity over the ground of the medium in which it is traveling (water or air). For a vessel, one uses published or observed figures for ocean or river currents. For an aircraft, this is determined by the wind triangle.

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 orthogonal to the heading) in its medium (only for vessels, especially for sail boats 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

Notes

  1. ^ Bartlett, Tim (February 25, 2008), Adlard Coles Book of Navigations, Adlard Coles, p. 176, ISBN 978-0713689396
  2. Husick, Charles B. (2009). Chapman Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handling. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. p. 927. ISBN 9781588167446.
  3. ^ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (2016-09-25). Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge: FAA-H-8083-25B. Ravenio Books.
  4. Michael Nolan (28 January 2010). Fundamentals of Air Traffic Control. Cengage Learning. p. 201. ISBN 1-4354-8272-7. For example, a runway heading north would have a magnetic heading of 360°.
  5. 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 side. The principle is the same regardless of the sign/direction of any of the components.
  6. 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°).
  7. By conventional degaussing, deviation could usually be kept below 10°, and fluxgate compasses can be degaussed to close to 0°.

References

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