PCAA Navigation study plan

Map each of the eight PCAA domains to its weight and rank them by study hours, writing the ranking into your own notes

Summarise the structure of the national civil aviation act and the ANO-style operating rules that govern navigation equipment carriage and flight crew licensing

Explain the difference between ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices and how a state files a difference, using one navigation-related example

Derive the fuel, alternate and holding requirements for a short domestic sector from the applicable flight-planning rules

Build a one-page table of regulatory definitions you must quote accurately (e.g. ceiling, visibility, night, controlled airspace)

Convert between true, magnetic and compass headings using variation and deviation, working ten practice conversions without error

Compute great-circle distance and initial track between two points using the haversine method and compare with a chart-derived answer

Explain the 1-in-60 rule and apply it to calculate track error and closing angle for a given off-track drift

Draft a full manual navigation log for a 120 NM VFR cross-country including wind triangle, ground speed, ETA and fuel per leg

Identify which regulatory minima apply to that route (visibility, cloud clearance, alternate requirement) and justify each

Describe the operating principle, transmitted information and cockpit indication of VOR, DME, ILS, NDB/ADF and GNSS-based approaches

Explain the difference between a QDM, QDR, QUJ and QTE and state which you would use for a given intercept

Interpret a published instrument approach plate's minima, missed approach and vertical profile without external help

State the standard vertical and lateral separation minima applied in controlled airspace and the conditions under which they reduce

Explain wake turbulence category spacing and the runway-holding-point implications for a medium following a heavy

Calculate time and distance to a VOR station from two bearings taken at a known interval

Explain RNAV and RNP, including the meaning of RNP AR and on-board performance monitoring and alerting

Describe the phases of flight and the controller's responsibility in each, including clearance delivery, ground, tower, approach and area control

Outline how a radar approach service differs from a procedural service and what separation responsibility the pilot retains

Explain SSR modes and codes, and the meaning of a discrete, non-discrete and emergency squawk

Diagram the end-to-end CNS chain from sensor to controller display for radar, ADS-B and voice communications

Explain the difference between ADS-B Out and In, and the role of the ground surveillance network in each

Describe the meteorological conditions that produce low-level wind shear, icing and thunderstorm hazards to navigation

Interpret a TAF and METAR including trend groups, CAVOK, and the meaning of each decoded element

Explain how upper winds and temperature affect true airspeed, ground speed and fuel planning on a given route

Read a significant weather chart and identify the pressure systems, fronts and jet stream affecting a planned route

Explain the difference between an AIP, a NOTAM, an AIRAC cycle and a chart amendment, and state where each is authoritative

Interpret a published enroute chart's airspace classes, reporting points, and minimum enroute altitudes

Decode a NOTAM affecting a navigation aid or runway and state the operational consequence

Identify chart symbology errors or ambiguities in your own reading and resolve them against the AIP

Explain the four components of a Safety Management System and how a hazard log differs from an occurrence report

Describe the Just Culture principle and where the line falls between error and violation

Identify the human factors that most often contribute to navigation errors (complacency, expectation bias, fatigue, distraction) and give a mitigation for each

Explain threat and error management and apply it to a planned approach briefing

Outline the purpose of a voluntary reporting scheme and the protections it offers

Re-take every domain self-test and record a score per domain

Re-teach the three weakest domains in writing, one page each

Complete two full-length timed mock exams under exam conditions

Review every wrong answer from the mocks and trace it to its source rule or chart

Build a final one-page cheat sheet of numbers, minima and definitions you must not forget