Pilot Navigation
Join Date: Oct 2007
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is to check that your DG is aligned with compass. Check this every now and again (at 10 minute intervals, at least ..it only takes a second to check)
Also, I heard a figure, apparently DG's like to wander at a rate of about 7° every 15 minutes. - Don't hold me to that though, maybe it's just specifically the aircraft I fly
Join Date: Sep 2008
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How to read a map
It has been my experience that a lot of students approaching a pre-test do not know how to read a map and many instructors cannot teach it correctly.
I found that students were able to navigate much more effectively when given a tool to actually measure distance rather than wildly guess. I taught my students that when judging your distance to a feature on the map, you should find two remote features about the same distance apart as the original feature is from you (or at an easy ratio like double or half the distance).
With that, then you can measure the distance between the two remote features with a ruler on the map and gain an appreciation of your distance to the original feature.... it takes about 10 seconds
I found that students were able to navigate much more effectively when given a tool to actually measure distance rather than wildly guess. I taught my students that when judging your distance to a feature on the map, you should find two remote features about the same distance apart as the original feature is from you (or at an easy ratio like double or half the distance).
With that, then you can measure the distance between the two remote features with a ruler on the map and gain an appreciation of your distance to the original feature.... it takes about 10 seconds
When you live....
Measuring distances
Best rule of "thumb" I ever learnt for map reading - even used it for flight planning.
Your thumb, at the widest spot, is approx 11nm on a WAC and 3nm on a VTC.
Wanna measure a distance, get the thumb out. For anything you're likely to need inflight - it's a good enough approxmiation and saves you needing to stuff around with rulers.
Also, DONT look out the window for every feature. For a leg of say 20 minutes, do a gross error check at the start, maybe look for one town/city/mountain in the 1st 10 minutes, do your 1 in 60 and then wait til your revised arrival time.
As soon as you start feature-hopping you'll find it very hard not to turn back towards what you think your track should be - don't! If you know you're off track it's not a big deal as long as you maintain heading until the 1/2 way point, work out the drift, double it and turn back towards it (i.e. do a 1-in-60).
If you feature hop and change track continually then you've got no hope of figuring out what the actual winds and hence drift angle should be and no hope of arriving over your next turning point.
UTR
Your thumb, at the widest spot, is approx 11nm on a WAC and 3nm on a VTC.
Wanna measure a distance, get the thumb out. For anything you're likely to need inflight - it's a good enough approxmiation and saves you needing to stuff around with rulers.
Also, DONT look out the window for every feature. For a leg of say 20 minutes, do a gross error check at the start, maybe look for one town/city/mountain in the 1st 10 minutes, do your 1 in 60 and then wait til your revised arrival time.
As soon as you start feature-hopping you'll find it very hard not to turn back towards what you think your track should be - don't! If you know you're off track it's not a big deal as long as you maintain heading until the 1/2 way point, work out the drift, double it and turn back towards it (i.e. do a 1-in-60).
If you feature hop and change track continually then you've got no hope of figuring out what the actual winds and hence drift angle should be and no hope of arriving over your next turning point.
UTR
As others have intimated, there's nothing wrong with getting off track - that's the *normal* state of affairs! The problems come with not recognising the off track position in a reasonable time, fixing position and correcting back to track.
I too have a calibrated thumb. My right** thumb when bent at 90 deg is 20 nm on 1:1mil chart from tip to first joint when bent. 10nm from tip to nail root. Damned convenient of Lambert & his cohorts to make their maps to suit my thumb!
**Strangely, not my left. That one is a mile or two out.
I too have a calibrated thumb. My right** thumb when bent at 90 deg is 20 nm on 1:1mil chart from tip to first joint when bent. 10nm from tip to nail root. Damned convenient of Lambert & his cohorts to make their maps to suit my thumb!
**Strangely, not my left. That one is a mile or two out.
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Use a workcycle, whatever it is they teach you. Practice this at home over and over (visualise). Walk around your back yard quacking to yourself till you can rattle it of without thinking.
Clock - Map - Ground
Big to small (features)
Natural to man made (big hills don't move, but houses, windmills and silos might)
Works a treat, use the GPS to back up YOUR nav, not the other way round...
Remember also anyone with a grudge and some knowledge can get gear from an electronics store to jam GPS signals. Lots of punters will be caught out the day it happens.
Clock - Map - Ground
Big to small (features)
Natural to man made (big hills don't move, but houses, windmills and silos might)
Works a treat, use the GPS to back up YOUR nav, not the other way round...
Remember also anyone with a grudge and some knowledge can get gear from an electronics store to jam GPS signals. Lots of punters will be caught out the day it happens.
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: ˙ǝqɐq ǝɯ ʇ,uıɐ ʇɐɥʇ 'sɔıʇɐqoɹǝɐ ɹoɟ uʍop ǝpısdn ǝɯɐu ɹıǝɥʇ ʇnd ǝɯos
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Deliberate off track
All great tips. If I may add one consider setting a deliberate off track heading:
Say you're travelling East to an impossible to find feature like a tree in the shape of a Y along a fence running North - South. Rather than navigating like a devil fretting about perfect GS and perfect 1 in 60s just intentionally fly a bit to one side and then when you reach the fence you know that if you're not at the feature you must be to the North or South (allow the off track to affect you the same as an otherwise uncorrecte crosswind i.e. all factors sending you a bit to the same side). At best you happen upon it at the perfect time, at worst you then fly an extra minute rather than 5 or 10. It's worked well for me.
Anybody disagree (not looking for an argument, just interested).
FRQ CB
Oh, and Google Earth is not cheating, not for PPL anyway (you may or may not have time to Google Earth on your CPL exam... I did and I still ballsed it up).
Say you're travelling East to an impossible to find feature like a tree in the shape of a Y along a fence running North - South. Rather than navigating like a devil fretting about perfect GS and perfect 1 in 60s just intentionally fly a bit to one side and then when you reach the fence you know that if you're not at the feature you must be to the North or South (allow the off track to affect you the same as an otherwise uncorrecte crosswind i.e. all factors sending you a bit to the same side). At best you happen upon it at the perfect time, at worst you then fly an extra minute rather than 5 or 10. It's worked well for me.
Anybody disagree (not looking for an argument, just interested).
FRQ CB
Oh, and Google Earth is not cheating, not for PPL anyway (you may or may not have time to Google Earth on your CPL exam... I did and I still ballsed it up).
