Navigation
Navigation basics
Know the Earth's coordinate system, great circle and rhumb line tracks, magnetic variation and deviation, and the computation of heading, track and wind correction. Understand the role of NAVAIDs: VOR, DME, NDB, ILS and GNSS, and the meaning of radials, bearings and distances. PBN and RNAV specifications are increasingly used.
Charts and procedures
Know how to read en-route charts, SIDs, STARs and approach charts, including minima, missed approach procedures and transition levels. Understand the meaning of MEA, MORA, MSA and the minimum vectoring altitude. In Bolivia, terrain elevation makes MSA and MORA especially important.
Traps in questions
Questions often test the difference between track and heading, or between true and magnetic. Another trap is confusing a radial from a VOR with a bearing to a station. Watch for questions on the meaning of a SID's climb gradient and on the missed approach point.
Rule of thumb
Use the wind triangle: heading equals track plus or minus drift. Worked example: a flight requires a track of 090 magnetic, with a wind from 360 at 20 knots and a true airspeed of 120 knots. The wind causes drift to the right, so the heading must be less than 090 to compensate; the exact value comes from the wind triangle, and variation is applied to convert between true and magnetic.