Glum,
Sorry to hear that you failed. Did you fail by much and in the areas you expected?
To answer your query, I found that there usually IS a right answer and it may depend on the issues raised by alexbrett and others above- a detailed example might help some more accurate responses.
Having recently sat the exams again I also found that at first sight there was/is a lot of bolleaux in there. Also, when you do the practical navigation exercises you
will find that
...and of course the winds are never exactly as forecast once you get up there so you're unlikely to fly exactly the heading you've plotted...
.
But what I would say is that until you master these calculations/techniques correctly and are confident that they make theoretical sense (on the ground, first, without the pressure) then you can move onto 'rules of thumb' like 'max drift', 'new track reference...', 'standard closing angle' and a myriad of others.
Schools do not, in my experience, go anywhere close in spending time on these things but let you do the exams at your own peril.( My views on schools' practises have been aired elsewhere and that's that! and other schools are available etc!!
)
Having said that, I am a huge fan of tablet GPS, now that it is reliable and robust enough to be useful and pity those who swear against it- but with the usual disclaimer that it should be used
in conjunction with plotted map/ compass ie trad. methods.
Depending on where you fly ie familiar area or away from home you should be able to cross-over seamlessly from one to the other, just as you would glance at your other 'six-pack' of instruments. ie if your GPS is rendered useless then you should know where you are and your 'manual' stuff takes over; it may seem like overkill to some but once competent on the tablet and the trad. stuff, it really doesn't take much longer to prep both.
Reading the various views and the apparent 'polarisation' of the GPS debate, it would seem that some rely on GPS totally and I would disagree with that (apart from only for well-travelled, familiar trips in 'bimbling' weather if you insisted on it alone!).
Apologies for turning a simple exam query into a rambling opinion on GPS/maps but I firmly believe these things are crucial for new pilots especially.
I agree with foxmoth that 'play' in the whizz-wheel can easily outweigh the required accuracy mentioned in the OP.
Do get skilled at the whizz-wheel and keep it in your pocket/kneepad to hand ALWAYS, marked with the latest winds etc: it will be your only trusted friend at some point.
All the best to those grappling with their exams.
I'm no expert, just a born-again pilot.
You don't plot headings, unless you are doing Airplot, you plot tracks!
Whopity, I'm pretty sure you know the nervous chap meant the heading he'd
planned! but you are of course correct.
Thanks for reading.
JJOE.