Track is defined as which?

• A. The planned flight path through the air
• B. The actual path made over the ground in flight
• C. The vertical profile
• D. The velocity vector relative to air

Answer: (B)

Track is the actual path over the ground that the airplane follows. It’s what you’d plot on a map, and it results from how the aircraft’s movement through the air combines with wind. Even if you point the nose in a certain direction (heading) and aim for a specific course, crosswinds or headwinds can push the airplane off that line, so the track ends up shifted from the intended path. To stay on a desired route, you compensate by adjusting heading to account for wind, so the track over the ground matches where you want to go. This is different from the vertical profile, which is altitude vs. time, and from the velocity vector relative to air, which is the aircraft’s airspeed and direction through the air mass.