Let’s break it down: True Heading vs Magnetic Heading vs Compass Heading Most student pilots get confused with these early on, but once you understand the difference, navigation becomes a lot easier. • True Heading is the direction you’re flying relative to true north (the geographic North Pole). It’s what your flight planning starts with. • Magnetic Heading is your true heading corrected for magnetic variation (the angle between true north and magnetic north). This is what most navigation chart