CPL Navigation (Sri Lanka CAA Pilot Licence Examinations) study guide
CPL Navigation · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The CPL Navigation examination is the navigation subject within the Commercial Pilot Licence theory sequence administered by Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). It is intended for candidates who already hold, or are working toward, a private pilot licence and now need to demonstrate the navigation knowledge required for commercial operations. The subject sits alongside the other CPL theory subjects and is normally attempted after human factors and meteorology, because flight planning depends on both. Content centres on the practical navigation task: preparing a flight plan, choosing tracks and altitudes, calculating heading and groundspeed from forecast winds, applying variation and deviation, managing fuel and endurance, and monitoring progress in flight. Expect map reading, time and distance calculations, dead reckoning, radio navigation aids, and the regulatory and operational knowledge that supports them. Preparation should combine the CASA-published syllabus and permitted reference materials with worked flight-planning exercises under time pressure, since the examination is calculation-heavy. Topics on this exam: Navigation. The CPL Navigation study guide has 1 section and about 368 words.
01Navigation
CPL Navigation checks your ability to plan and monitor a flight without relying solely on GPS: chart reading and scale, the wind triangle, heading conversions, ETA/fuel calculations, and position fixing. Expect numerical questions where one unit slip or a reversed sign costs the mark. Wind direction is given as the direction from which the wind blows; the wind vector in the triangle blows towards the reciprocal. Convert with the T-V-M-D-C chain.
368 words, about 2 minMore study resources for CPL Navigation
- Practice questionsOn a Lambert conformal conic chart used for navigation in Australia, what is the principal property that makes it suitable for plotting radio bearings over long distances?
- FlashcardsGreat circle. The shortest path between two points on the Earth's surface, formed by the intersection of the surface with a plane through the Earth's centre.
- Cheat sheetGreat circle distance: d = 60 × arccos(sin φ1 sin φ2 + cos φ1 cos φ2 cos Δλ), with d in nautical miles when the angle is in degrees.
- Key termsTrue Track. The intended path of an aircraft over the ground, measured in degrees from true north.
- Study planDefine the Earth coordinate system terms used in CPL navigation: latitude, longitude, great circle, small circle, rhumb line, and the properties of each.
- Common mistakesCandidates memorise the triangle-of-velocities formula but practice it only in isolation, so under time pressure they treat the cruise TAS as the speed over the ground and get leg times and fuel burns that are systematically short on headwind legs.
- Exam-day guideBring the government-issued photo ID the provider requires for admission.