Flight Planning Fundamentals
Core concepts
Flight planning is a systematic process: define the route, select the aircraft configuration, gather meteorological and NOTAM data, compute the navigation log with winds aloft, apply fuel policy, then verify performance and mass limitations before signing the operational flight plan. Candidates must understand true airspeed (TAS), track (TRK), heading (HDG), wind vector triangles, and the distinction between true and magnetic values. The wind correction angle (WCA) and groundspeed derive from the wind triangle; the crab angle is applied to track to obtain heading.
Traps
Common exam traps: confusing track with heading; applying magnetic variation in the wrong direction (east is least, west is best for converting true to magnetic); forgetting that wind forecasts are given in true direction while ATIS/ATS reports use magnetic; mixing units (knots, km/h, m/s); and ignoring the difference between still-air distance and along-track distance.
Worked example / rule of thumb
Rule: for small angles, WCA (degrees) ≈ (crosswind component / TAS) × 60. Example: TAS 120 kt, wind 270/30, track 360. Crosswind = 30 kt. WCA ≈ (30/120)×60 = 15°. Headwind component = 0 (pure crosswind), so GS ≈ √(120²−30²) ≈ 116 kt. Heading = 360 − 15 = 345°T (turn into wind). Apply variation (say 2°E) to get 343°M. Always sanity-check: crosswind reduces groundspeed slightly even when it is purely perpendicular.