Originally Posted by
Checkboard
?? You learn (or did learn) basic en-route PNR at CPL. You learn Off-track PNR for ATPL exams. Hence my post.
I am confused about your reply, frankly. If I didn't make myself clear - this ATPL exam is supposed to produce a competent pilot, one who can successfully plan by themselves en-route, to a sucessful outcome.
It appears that the exam is not guiding people to that standard. That means that the exam is faulty. I suspect that is because the people who know what they are doing are not setting the exam, but trying to teach students to meet an exam set by people who don't quite know what they are doing.
Given the new Westwind report (which I was interested in as I used to fly the type), I wondered if I could still run up a graphical flight progress chart, for PNR and CP calculations:
Actually Checkerboard, I had forgotten that part of the NAV exam when I originally posted and I take your point. However, it is probably the only part of the NAV exam that has any use, the rest seemed rather pointless at the time.
In relation to the Westward ditching, given the paucity of information that he had to work with (from memory a phone briefing re weather and no flight plan) it amazes me it got as far as it did. This is not to open up that discussion here but for a lot of that stuff (PNR, x/wind calls, DME arcs distance between radials etc.) I made up a cheat sheet that I laminated and put it into the Jepp binder I carried. With my memory there was no way I was going to memorise it all.