What is the wind correction angle (WCA) when the track is 180 degrees and the heading is 165 degrees?

The wind correction angle (WCA) is calculated by finding the difference between the track and the heading. The track represents the actual path over the ground, while the heading is the direction in which the aircraft is pointed.

In this scenario, the track is 180 degrees, which means the aircraft is moving directly south. The heading is 165 degrees, indicating that the aircraft is pointed slightly to the southeast. The WCA can be determined by subtracting the heading from the track.

When you compute this, you get:

180 degrees (track) - 165 degrees (heading) = 15 degrees.

This value represents the angle that the aircraft needs to adjust its heading to maintain a straight track in the presence of wind, thus allowing the aircraft to compensate for wind drift. Since 15 degrees is the result of this calculation, it confirms why the correct answer aligns with this value.