Navigation
Position, direction and time
Candidates must handle latitude and longitude, true versus magnetic bearing, variation and deviation, and the compass swing. Understand the difference between track (path over ground) and heading (where the nose points), and how wind drift creates the drift and wind correction angles. Know the Earth's convergence and why great-circle routes differ from rhumb lines over long distances.
Charts, calculations and navaids
Be able to read a sectional or WAC-style chart: scale, airspace, navaids, obstacles. Learn the navigation computer (E6B) for time, distance, fuel and wind triangle problems, and the 1-in-60 rule for tracking errors. Understand VOR radials, NDB bearings, GNSS, and dead reckoning versus pilotage.
Traps in questions
- Adding variation instead of subtracting (or vice versa) when converting true to magnetic.
- Confusing heading with track when wind is present.
- Misreading a VOR radial as a bearing to the station.
- Ignoring time zone or UTC conversion in flight plan timing.
Worked example: 1-in-60 rule
Aircraft is 5 NM off track after 60 NM flown. Track error ≈ 5/60 × 60 = 5°. To correct, apply a closing angle that depends on remaining distance; for equal remaining distance, double the correction. For a 30 NM remainder, closing angle ≈ 5/30 × 60 = 10°, so total heading change ≈ 15°. Use this rule of thumb for quick in-flight corrections.