The orientation of the heliospheric current sheet predicted from a sou
rce surface model is compared with the orientation determined from min
imum-variance analysis of ISEE 3 magnetic field data at 1 AU near sola
r maximum. Of the 37 cases analyzed, 28 have minimum variance normals
that lie orthogonal to the predicted Parker spiral direction. For thes
e cases, the correlation coefficient between the predicted and measure
d inclinations is 0.6. However, for the subset of 14 cases for which t
ransient signatures (either interplanetary shocks or bidirectional ele
ctions) are absent, the agreement in inclinations improves dramaticall
y, with a correlation coefficient of 0.96. These results validate not
only the use of the source surface model as a predictor but also the p
reviously questioned usefulness of minimum variance analysis across co
mplex sector boundaries. In addition, the results imply that interplan
etary dynamics have little effect on current sheet inclination at 1 AU
. The dependence of the correlation on transient occurrence suggests t
hat the leading edge of a coronal mass ejection (CME), where transient
signatures are detected, disrupts the heliospheric current sheet but
that the sheet re-forms between the trailing legs of the CME. In this
way the global structure of the heliosphere, reflected both in the sou
rce surface maps and in the interplanetary sector structure, can be ma
intained even when the CME occurrence rate is high.