In aviation navigation, the term refers to the intended direction of flight in the horizontal plane measured from which reference?

• A. North
• B. South
• C. East
• D. West

Answer: (A)

The main idea is how the course is defined in aviation navigation: it’s the intended direction of flight on the horizontal plane, measured from a fixed reference line. That reference is north. So a course is described as degrees clockwise from north, with 0 (or 360) pointing to the North, 90 to the East, 180 to the South, and 270 to the West. In practice, you’ll see true or magnetic north used as the reference depending on the context, but the measurement always starts from north. This is why North is the correct reference. The other directions describe where you’re headed, not the baseline from which the measurement starts.