Tips for PPL navigating?

[Cpt Joshua]

I can't seem to get past my solo nav check..
passed the PPL exam, waiting to get the rest of the navs out of the way.

But I seem to overload myself and doubt myself too much... fixating myself on finding out where i am on the map

I'm almost about to throw it all in.

Any tips to make them a little more stress free?

[rodrigues]

6MIN Markers

I used to have the exact same problem, flying in and around where you are out of coincidence.

I'm now past that, thanks to one primary thing - Time.

Obtain your ground speed on the day, and plot it against the distance covered in 6 minutes. For example, if my Ground Speed is 120KTS, I would plot a line at 12NM along each track. Once departing the initial aerodrome, I would then write on my WAC/VTC/VNC My departure time +6, and next to the next marker +6 on top of that etc. I found this to be extremely accurate, and even if you are off track, you will be abeam that point at each 6 minute interval.

I choose 6 minutes as it's easily divisible by an hour, and gives a very regular indicator of where you will be. This method is what helped me, and can only recommend it based on that.

Sincerely hope it helps.

Rodrigues

[Sagey]

Be methodical with planning on the ground, think through on the ground what you are looking for what you are going to do next.

In the air don't forget to: Fly the aeroplane fly the aeroplane and fly the aeroplane. Keep your eyes outside.

Choose sensible fixes, only pick up map 2-3 mins before that fix to identify, ie ten minutes between fixes, map is down for 7 mins. If you need to make a correction do it but between fixes, fly the aeroplane.

S

[jimmellish]

Once you are flying with the correct heading (calculated for crosswinds, of course) look out of the window and find some land feature in the distance which is roughly on the correct track and fly towards it. If it remains in the same spot on the windscreen then you are flying towards it.

You can now devote much of your time to doing the other things required safe in the knowledge that, if the feature it still in the same place on the windscreen, then you are pretty much on track.

Also, trust the work you put into your log before departure. If a town is supposed to appear 10 minutes into a leg then it probably will. I am always surprised at how accurate a well calculated log can be.

[BackPacker]

But I seem to overload myself and doubt myself too much... fixating myself on finding out where i am on the map.

If your basic navigation technique is OK (and I assume it is) but you find yourself overloaded due to a fear of getting lost, why not get some assistance and ask for a Basic or Traffic service from a radar equipped unit? You can bet they will warn you if you are about to blunder into someones airspace well in time, and if you do get lost, help is only a very short call away. Make sure to identify yourself as a student pilot and they'll be extra nice. In fact, you could even phone them up beforehand and explain the problem. They'll be really looking out for you then. And remember: they're there to help.

At the end of the day you've got to be able to navigate your way around without their help but while you're still learning to actually do that, the help they can provide may just make the task a bit easier. Thus freeing up a few braincells for other things. Enjoying the scenery for instance.

Also, if you are very unsure about your navigation capabilities, make sure you plan an extra easy route. Don't go off in a straight line over featureless terrain but follow rivers, roads and railways. If it takes a few minutes extra to get there, so what? But flying along a river for instance prevents you from getting lost (unless you follow the wrong river) but at the same time it gives you the opportunity to validate your plog: ground speed, heading, ETE and so forth. Thus getting a little more confidence in your preparations.

[dublinpilot]

The best tips I can give you are:

1. Pick LARGE (easy to see from far away) items as your waypoints. Lakes and large towns are good. Small villages are bad, as it's often difficult to tell if it's a village or a small collection of houses.

If you are a few miles off track, a small village is impossible to identify. A large town or lake is much easier to see from a few miles away.

2. Don't fly directly to each waypoint, but instead fly a straight line. Ie. if you have waypoint A, B and C, which are pretty much in a straight line, but flying directly over B on the way to see, means your heading changes by 5 degrees, then forgot it. Fly a straight line from A to C, and have B waypoint as "2 miles north of B". Less heading changes means less chance to get it wrong, and easier to apply drift correction.

3. Have your waypoints further apart.
When I was training I was thought to have waypoints about 10 minutes apart, but later, I found that this actually left me in the position of constantly trying to fix my position (and using smaller waypoint such as small villages). I felt over worked, as I was constantly trying to see the next waypoint ahead.
Much easier is if the waypoints are 15-20 minutes apart. Then in between do the following:
From the start of each leg, mark off where you should be on the map every five minutes into that leg. Eg. 5 mins, 10 mins, 15 mins after point a, then start again 5 mins, 10 mins etc after point B etc. Now you have 'little waypoints' to help settle your mind about where you are, but you don't have to spend time writing up your plog and adjusting estimates, and working out new drift correction, and closing angles. Instead you can simply look and think "yep....things are working out nicely, and I know exactly where I am...now lets see how much off course/time I will be when I get to the next actual waypoint" (Which might still be 15 mins away). Less mental stress.

Point three is a bit of over kill, but I found it very useful when I was lacking confidence in navigation. When you become more comfortable, you won't need it.

I hope that helps.

[hatzflyer]

He says he is in Australia. Don't suppose they have too many villages? Maybe the odd kangaroo..

[nmcpilot]

Agreeing with backpacker on receiving assistance but why not invest in a GPS. My understanding is that your navigation technique is fine and you know what you are doing but you will have your head in the cockpit for a minute too long and then you look out and you get a bit disorientated and things seem a little unfamiliar..

I don't think you will be allowed a GPS for your PPL skills test (although I used one on the IR) so I am not sure.

Many people will say it will make you sloppy with navigation the old fashioned way. I personally now would never go on a VFR flight without one (unless its far away from controlled airspace!) it just frees up your mental capacity as you have a backup navigator, and allows you to enjoy the flight more and concentrate on other key aspects like fuel and weather etc..

By no means nav completely on a GPS but as abackup aid to lower your workload I think one of the best buys around.

[Lunchmaster]

The Royal Institute of Navigation do a great little booklet on VFR navigation. It was given away with Flyer magazine a while back and is written by a guy from the CAA who used to train RAF pilots and navigators in navigation skills and regularly presents at safety evenings etc. Can't remember his name I'm afraid.

It may even be available on the CAA website somewhere. I've looked but can't find it for you although I have the hard copy at home. It is basically teaching you to follow the same workflow pattern for each leg of navigation route. Very easy to understand and I found it consolidated everything I learned during the PPL and has helped immeasurably - freed up time to actually enjoy cross country flights.

Maybe Flyer magazine has some still knocking around the office?

(BTW, they also do a similar booklet on GPS navigation which is also good)

Lunchmaster

[Arclite01]

For me...........

1. always pick unique points (lakes are good)
2. make best use of railway lines they are easy to spot on the map
3. look for the next place you are going to - not what you are overhead
4. 6 minute marks on maps work for me too
5. talk yourself along the route - and tell the instructor where you are going next
6. make sure the gyro is aligned with the compass and trust it implicitly
7. If you are unsure of your position (not lost ) then call up 121.5 and request 'training fix, training fix, training fix' - they will give you yopur position to within a mile or so.............
8. Don't be scared to use your aircraft Navaids - VOR and ADF can be really useful aids to your tracking
9. Work to approximates (ETA within a minute or so, headings use nearest 5 degrees and correct it - over short distances it does not impact that much)

Hope these help


Arc

[Arclite01]

and another thought - just do a load of NAVEX work - it'll cost a few dollars but your confidence will grow massively

Arc

[RatherBeFlying]

Go Places

They don't necessarily have to be long legs; in fact 10-15 nm will do fine.

Try plotting a round robin to a bunch of local airfields, especially the grass strips.

Of course it's much easier higher up

You do have to get used to looking at the map and finding the corresponding feature on the ground.

Cross-country glider flights are excellent training as you are usually zigzagging from one source of lift to where you hope to find more lift while progressing to the next turnpoint and eventually (if the lift holds) getting back home. The map comes out when there's airspace boundaries nearby or grass strips to find.

In the Southern Ontario farmland I fly over, towns are usually the wooded spots

[Munnyspinner]

From experience the best advice from above would be to rely less on the chart and learn to trust your planning. Planning and preparation etc. is the key to good navigation.

If you think your way through the flight and carefully prepare you chart and PLog then this will reduce workload inthe cockpit.

An aircraft flown out of balance ( wings not level) and not in trim (fluctuating around an altitude) might be held on constant heading but will not acheive expected airspeed. Conversely, if you get the performance right and your flight planning is sound then you can rely on heading and time as a means to get you where you want to be.

I use 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 marks on each leg with ETAs for each. Based on the first 1/4 I will have a rough idea of what my TE is likley to be by halfway and double this to get my correction angle to apply. Rather than making lots of small corrections I favour the fewer and bigger approach. At least that way you get a better fix on what the wind is actually doing over a longer period of time - useful if you need to plan a diversion or emergency landing.

Don't creep along you route on the chart. Remember, you are flying the aircraft in a straight line ( if you maintain heading etc.) and so every 10 minutes or so should be enough to check you actual position against expected progress. You are looking for trend and, by adopting the 1 in 60 rule, should be able to anticipate where you next waypoint is likley to be realtive to your planned track, based on the previous fix. Sometimes, by trying to follow a line feature on a chart, you can get lost simply by missing a motorwayor railway interchange.

Practice and get you instructor to set you some challenges. Turning points need not be many miles apart but should be sufficently well spaced that you can use the intervening flight time to do some mental arithmetic and adjust your ETAs etc. Make sure he give you at least two diversions on each navex and learn as many rules of thumbs as you can - its all pretty basic geometry. Flying around cloud then returning to your previous track is also good practice.

Finally, I would advocate the use of VOR/ADF equipment to keep yourself appraised of position - always easy when you know where you should be but not when you are truly lost. Do not use a sole means of navigation!

There are lots of ways to get caught out and perhaps the simplest is not synchronising you DI with compass. Remember, make sure that your wings are level and that you are not climbing or descending, in balance and in trim.

Time, map, ground is the addage that I was taught and it has always worked for me. A good ( digital) stopwatch is easier to navigate with although you will need a proper clock for IR. Once you know where your meant to be its much easier confirming you position by finding the chart features on the ground than vice versa. All motorways look the same as do many of the junctions. But, each is unique when you start comparing other notable features - I challenge you to do that from ground to chart.

There are many tips and tricks but find what works for you and hone your skills with practice. I used to clutter my charts with all sorts of extraneous information but I have found simple is best and if you plan well the infromation always comes readily to hand.

[Tinstaafl]

The majority of Australia is out of range of VORs & NDBs. It's a requirement to be able to navigate VFR without navaids. OK to use them when available but there *will* be a section on the PPL test where navaids aren't allowed to be used.

This thread has more navigation tips.

[Whopity]

But I seem to overload myself and doubt myself too much... fixating myself on finding out where i am on the map

Get a better instructor!

[24Carrot]

I know nothing about navigating or PPL in Australia, but when doing PPL solo nav in the UK I found it useful to have a GPS on the back seat, recording my track. After the flight, at home, I plotted the track on my marked up chart. It was very revealing, and so soon after the flight I could still recognise every turn and wander.

My FI thought it useful too. It gave him feedback on my solo nav skills and I learned a lot discussing the tracks with him.

Even the cheapest hiking GPS will record tracks. Google "GPS mapping software" for ways to scan your chart and plot the track. It is a bit of a hassle but I thought it worthwhile.

Finally, you speak of overload. I can certainly sympathise with that, I was the same. In my case more practice meant better organisation and more time to navigate. Eventually!

[RTN11]

Navigation is all about cockpit management.

If you've done your planning well, then the heading and times you have should work out, all you have to do is fly them. Have faith in your planning.

Get your kneeboard, plog and stopwatch, and think of the best way to have them to hand for yourself. You can do this at home. You need to be really familiar with the plog you are using so you spend as little time as possible with your head in the cockpit. I bought a basic clipboard and put all the info I need on it, including some velco to hold the pens on.

Then, a nav leg becomes all about looking out of the aircraft. If you pick a nav point ahead, and the time to be there, you can incorporate looking for it into a scanning lookout which you should have anyway when flying VFR.

As long as you hold you heading and speed, you should only ever have to make one track correction (using whichever method you have been taught) and then you know exactly when you'll be at your destination. At least 2 mins before, you need to be looking ahead for it. If you wait until time is up then start looking for it, you'll never see it, it will be directly below you.

[PompeyPaul]

From a former map addict....

...height, heading, speed gets you to where you should be. The map does not.