Originally Posted by
rudestuff
It sounds like you're doing just fine. What you need is practice, and no matter how long you've been doing it you'll never get it perfectly every time (because you're right about there being an element of magic).
Would agree with this. If you can’t achieve a CDA on the day for whatever the reason, it’s not the end of the world …. treat ATC track miles to touchdown (if given) as a general guide as opposed to the gospel truth! I think your maths is good enough…it’s pretty much what most people are doing.