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Aviation glossary

Magnetic Heading

What is magnetic heading?

FAA handbook figure illustrating magnetic heading

Magnetic heading (MH) is the direction the aircraft's nose is pointed measured relative to magnetic north (rather than true north). It's what you read off your magnetic compass or heading indicator once it's set correctly. Think of it as "where the nose points" referenced to the same north the compass uses.

Also known as: MH, magnetic heading

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