Medium Transport; Low Wing; 2 Turbojet Eng
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Other / Unknown; Communication Breakdown
Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance
Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert; Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Flight Crew Returned To Clearance; Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Human Factors; Procedure
Tower issued us 'turn right heading 110 cleared for takeoff 22L.' Shortly after take-off; I called for heading mode; the command bars rolled to the left; and I started to follow the command bars. Tower immediately noticed us starting to roll to the left and said 'turn right; right heading 110.' I immediately rolled into a right turn. The tower controller caught our mistake so quickly that we only turned a few degrees to the left. I am very thankful the controller was watching us so closely; because we would have completely rolled in a turn to the left. The rest of the flight was uneventful. Turning left could pose a potential conflict with arriving aircraft; which is a very serious threat. I make it a point before every take-off to verbally confirm our take-off clearance; course; and initial altitude; so this is very frustrating. I must have got rushed and or complacent with the 'right turn;' because I did not register a 260-degree turn to the right. And to make things worse; the flight director commanded a turn to the left (the shortest distance to heading 110). The fact that the controller caught our roll to the left so early; it was as though he anticipated our mistake. Which leads me to believe he has seen this many times before. So this will not happen in the future I will make an extra effort to verify a right or left turn before take-off. But I would also like to have the tower controller somehow emphasize a right or left turn when a potential threat exists; such as greater than a 180-degree turn. Maybe stating 'verify right turn; right turn 110 cleared for take-off.' This would alert the pilots that a threat exists; a greater-than-180-degree turn and the autopilot/flight director may turn in the opposite or shortest distance to the heading bug.
Departing MDW Runway 22L; a air carrier Captain reports being told to turn right heading 110 degrees along with the takeoff clearance. The reporter starts a left turn which ATC immediately detects and corrects.