I know that this is an old one, but could any Air Trafffic Controller clarify the meaning of clearances such as, "fly runway heading" or "fly straight ahead?"
Recently, I was taking off from an airport and the controller issued a "fly runway heading after departure" clearance.
I elected to fly the clearance using the "TRACK SEL" mode on my MCP and this caused a bit of an argument with the check pilot on board.
My understanding is that ATC issues this clearance when it wants me to fly in a
straight line from the runway to avoid conflict with other traffics nearby. If I use the "HEADING SEL" mode, I could end up left or right of that straight line and violating some aispace.
Therefore, when ATC issues runway heading clearances, does it want me to fly on the runway heading regardless of drift, or to fly a straight line on the runway track?
Thanks