What's the term heading mean in aviation?

Question

Hi there.

I was playing my Microsoft Flight Simulator game this morning.

I was flying a mission and the controller told me to turn to a heading of 106.

I was flying an Airbus jet.

Now, I think I know that it is a compass for the plane.

However, where do I find the heading on the instrument panel?

Thanks.

Oh, and is it a map or digital?

Answer 1

Compass direction, based on 0 as north, 90 as east, 180 as south and 270 as west.

Heading should be displayed on the compass or HUD.

Answer 2

take a look at this on line book:

http://www.flightsimbooks.com/learning/

Answer 3

the term heading also refers to the direction the nose is pointing... instead of using letters to describe location (eg. NE) they use a number in a 3 digit format (eg. 060 or 190)

I also play Flight Simulator (flight simulator X mainly) and the planes that i have flown have had the compass also displayed on one of the multi function displays (big square displays) in the centre of the panel. it's a digital read out with a compass and a square at the top with a read out of your EXACT heading (eg 030)

Answer 4

I am glad you are calling it "playing a game."  That's all it is, and you can't learn to fly a real airplane that way.

The "heading" of an airplane in flight is simply the compass direction in which the nose is pointing.  You will find the heading on your Directional Gyro (low center of the panel, under the attitude gyro) and your magnetic compass (usually mounted above the instrument panel).