What is the indicated wind direction if the true course is 286° and the true heading is 281°?

To determine the indicated wind direction, it's essential to recognize that the wind direction is represented as the direction from which the wind is coming. In this scenario, we are given the true course and true heading.

The true course (286°) represents the path over the ground the aircraft intends to follow, while the true heading (281°) is the direction the aircraft is pointed in the air. The difference between true heading and true course indicates the wind's effect on the aircraft's flight path.

Calculating the difference gives us:

• True Course (286°) - True Heading (281°) = 5°.

Since the true heading is less than the true course, this tells us that the wind is coming from the left side of the aircraft (it’s effectively from a higher angle toward the right). The wind is thus resulting in a right drift to the course, meaning it is blowing from a direction that needs to be corrected for.

To determine the wind direction, we can adjust the true course by adding the drift angle (which is 5° in this case) back to the true heading:

• True Heading (281°) + Drift Angle (5°) = 286°.

However, to find the actual wind