Point one way. Travel another.
Heading is where the nose points. Track is the path over the ground. Move the wind and see why those directions can differ.
Heading
The direction the aircraft nose points. State whether the reference is true, magnetic or compass. Read more →
Track
The direction of the aircraft’s path over the ground. Wind can make it differ from heading. Read more →
True airspeed
Speed through the surrounding air, rather than speed over the ground. Read more →
Fly 78.5° true
Wind correction: 11.5° left
Groundspeed: 98.0 kt
Try this before changing the numbers
You want to travel east at a true airspeed of 100 kt. A 20 kt wind from the north pushes you south. Point about 11.5° left of east to compensate: heading 78.5° true, groundspeed about 98 kt.
Why not simply subtract 20 kt?
A crosswind acts across your intended track. Some of your airspeed cancels that sideways movement. A direct headwind instead subtracts from forward groundspeed; a tailwind adds to it.
This model uses steady horizontal wind and true directions throughout. It does not calculate magnetic variation, compass deviation or changing winds along a route.