Brunei DCA CPL(A) General Navigation study guide
Brunei DCA CPL(A) General Navigation · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The General Navigation examination is one of the theoretical knowledge subjects a candidate must pass to obtain a Commercial Pilot Licence (Aeroplane) issued by Brunei Darussalam's Department of Civil Aviation. It is aimed at trainee commercial pilots who have completed, or are working through, a structured ground-school programme and who need to demonstrate that they can navigate an aeroplane accurately and safely without relying solely on automation. The Brunei DCA CPL(A) General Navigation study guide has 9 sections and about 2,563 words.
01Earth's Shape and Coordinate Systems
For navigation the Earth is treated as an oblate spheroid flattened at the poles: the polar radius is about 6,357 km and the equatorial radius about 6,378 km. The difference matters for long-range work; for short legs a sphere is adequate.
358 words, about 2 min02Charts and Chart Projections
A chart is a flat representation of a curved surface, so every projection distorts something: shape, area, scale or direction. A candidate must state which properties are preserved and the navigational consequence.
302 words, about 2 min03Dead Reckoning: Track, Heading, Wind and Drift
True track is the path over the ground measured from true north; heading is the direction the aircraft nose points. True airspeed (TAS) is the aircraft's speed through the air; groundspeed (GS) is its speed over the ground.
284 words, about 1 min04Magnetism and Compass Conversion
A magnetic compass aligns with the local magnetic field, not with true north. Variation is the angle between true north and magnetic north at a place, stated east or west; it changes with position and slowly with time.
273 words, about 1 min05Time: UTC, LMT, Zone Time and Sunrise/Sunset
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the reference for all flight planning and ATC. Local mean time (LMT) is the time at a specific longitude, with the sun crossing the meridian at 1200 LMT.
291 words, about 1 min06Flight Planning and Navigation Computations
For each leg you need distance, true track, wind, TAS, groundspeed, time and fuel. Fuel = fuel flow × time; time = distance/groundspeed.
279 words, about 1 min07Radio Navigation Principles and Position Fixing
Radio aids give a line of position (LOP). A VOR gives a magnetic bearing (radial) from the station; a DME gives slant range.
266 words, about 1 min08Area Navigation, GNSS and Performance-Based Navigation
Area navigation allows flight on any desired path using inputs from various sensors, rather than tracking station to station. RNP adds on-board performance monitoring and alerting, so the aircraft can alert the crew when the navigation performance is not met.
247 words, about 1 min09Mass and Balance and Navigation Performance
Maximum take-off mass, maximum landing mass, maximum zero-fuel mass and maximum taxi mass constrain the load. Basic empty mass plus traffic load plus fuel gives the take-off mass; the centre of gravity (CG) must lie within the forward and aft limits for the whole flight, including fuel burn-off.
263 words, about 1 min