Bearing

A bearing is the direction of an aircraft, station, beacon, or point measured as an angle from a reference, usually north. It is used in radio navigation, position fixing, and ATC direction finding, for example as QDM to a station or QDR from a station. Bearings may be true, magnetic, relative, or given from one object to another, so you must know exactly which reference is used. Pilots use the bearing with charts, radials, and other navigation information to determine position and fly the correct track.