Nav exam accuracy
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Nav exam accuracy
Currently studying for my Nav exam, and am dismayed that the mock exams are asking for mag hdg to 1 degree accuracy - sometimes with my answer splitting two of the four choices.
I certainly can't fly to a single degree accuracy, 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...
Is the exam so precise?
I certainly can't fly to a single degree accuracy, 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...
Is the exam so precise?
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But... but... if you are one whole degree out then, after 60 minutes flying at the average spamcan speed of 90 kts, you will be 1.5 miles away from your waypoint. 1.5 miles at 2,000 feet when you're allowed to fly down to 3,000 m visibility means that you may not be able to see your waypoint and you'll get horribly lost!
And surely you would never have waypoints less than 90 miles apart? Do you want to spend all your time looking at the ground?
When I was young... the exams asked for 0.1 degree accuracy!
Seriously, of course the accuracy of those questions are ridiculous. Never mind staying within +/- a couple of degrees, but even knowing your actual groundspeed within +/- 5% is also not obvious - and that has as big an impact on your actual location as your heading might have.
When I went through my mocks, I also had this on some questions and since it seemed basically to be caused by rounding only, I ignored it. On my actual exam, there were no answers that close together so the issue was not relevant. However, whether that is the case on all exams I don't think anyone can say (unless an examiner who has access to all the current papers can do a quick check).
If you are confident that you can solve the nav questions, I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it. If that is the only question you get wrong, you will be OK...
B.
(The above may involve irony, for which I do not apologise, and a certain amount of flippancy, for which I do apologise...)
And surely you would never have waypoints less than 90 miles apart? Do you want to spend all your time looking at the ground?
When I was young... the exams asked for 0.1 degree accuracy!
Seriously, of course the accuracy of those questions are ridiculous. Never mind staying within +/- a couple of degrees, but even knowing your actual groundspeed within +/- 5% is also not obvious - and that has as big an impact on your actual location as your heading might have.
When I went through my mocks, I also had this on some questions and since it seemed basically to be caused by rounding only, I ignored it. On my actual exam, there were no answers that close together so the issue was not relevant. However, whether that is the case on all exams I don't think anyone can say (unless an examiner who has access to all the current papers can do a quick check).
If you are confident that you can solve the nav questions, I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it. If that is the only question you get wrong, you will be OK...
B.
(The above may involve irony, for which I do not apologise, and a certain amount of flippancy, for which I do apologise...)
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I was taught to use the wind down method, which as you say often came out with answers in between those offered.
My guess therefore is they'd worked out the 'correct' answer using the wind up method (which while perfectly accurate enough for PPL flying is not as precise as wind down), and when choosing the 'wrong' answers wanted to put one that was close to the right one, without realising the precise answer sat in between...
My guess therefore is they'd worked out the 'correct' answer using the wind up method (which while perfectly accurate enough for PPL flying is not as precise as wind down), and when choosing the 'wrong' answers wanted to put one that was close to the right one, without realising the precise answer sat in between...
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Currently studying for my Nav exam, and am dismayed that the mock exams are asking for mag hdg to 1 degree accuracy - sometimes with my answer splitting two of the four choices.
I certainly can't fly to a single degree accuracy, 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...
Is the exam so precise?
I certainly can't fly to a single degree accuracy, 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...
Is the exam so precise?
Bonkers, basically.
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Currently studying for my Nav exam, and am dismayed that the mock exams are asking for mag hdg to 1 degree accuracy - sometimes with my answer splitting two of the four choices.
Good luck.
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You wait until you have to sit your ATPL Exams - where you have to answer the question wrong in order to get it marked right... or have a question which has no right answers..
Or like me - get the exact same question TWICE in an exam, with different answers available, on one question you had to round your figures up to get it right and on the other question (SAME question different answers, including the answer from the first question) had to not do any rounding up/down at all to get the mark!! Obviously in the exam under pressure I had already worked it out once so was not going to work it out again - and thus dropped my only mark of the exam!
Or the other exams in the Bristol Question Bank that state something like "if you see this question in an exam appeal it as its factually wrong!"
Or like me - get the exact same question TWICE in an exam, with different answers available, on one question you had to round your figures up to get it right and on the other question (SAME question different answers, including the answer from the first question) had to not do any rounding up/down at all to get the mark!! Obviously in the exam under pressure I had already worked it out once so was not going to work it out again - and thus dropped my only mark of the exam!
Or the other exams in the Bristol Question Bank that state something like "if you see this question in an exam appeal it as its factually wrong!"
once you get up there so you're unlikely to fly exactly the heading you've plotted...
I was under the impression that the latest Nav Exam does not involve plotting any more!
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If your answer does not match one of the options it is probably wrong.
The best exam strategy is to skip the question, answer the rest of the paper, and then go back and make a clean start on it in the time you have left at the end of the exam.
If there is no time left just go for your best guess.
As a general exam strategy it is always best to read the entire paper, first then answer the questions that you are certain of the right answer then move on to the more difficult ones, leaving the hardest until last.
Answering the rest of the paper will often give you a clue or a reminder for the difficult question.
The best exam strategy is to skip the question, answer the rest of the paper, and then go back and make a clean start on it in the time you have left at the end of the exam.
If there is no time left just go for your best guess.
As a general exam strategy it is always best to read the entire paper, first then answer the questions that you are certain of the right answer then move on to the more difficult ones, leaving the hardest until last.
Answering the rest of the paper will often give you a clue or a reminder for the difficult question.
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One thing to ensure is that the nav computer is set up properly, check the centre spot is actually in the centre, if not then get a screwdriver, loosen the corner screws and adjust it. Also make sure you use a sharp pencil to make the marks on the computer not a thick chinagraph.
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I was under the impression that the latest Nav Exam does not involve plotting any more!
It did include some flight computer stuff but the multiple choice answers were far enough apart that there was only one sensible answer if the general workings were right. So don't panic, glum!
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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
.
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.
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.
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!
Thanks for reading.
JJOE.
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keep it in your pocket/kneepad to hand ALWAYS, marked with the latest winds etc
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Not sure I would go with this, unless you have autopilot the wizzwheel is hard to use while you are flying, what you DO want is a big wind arrow on the chart with Max drift written besides it, you then need to know the mental tricks to apply this to your track and TAS to get heading and GS, this can also be used to cross check that the answer you have from the wizzwheel is correct (and in the exam it might tell you which of two answers to go for).
I was refering more to diversions, and other changes of direction/route, to work out HDG , GS and ETA ,fuel etc. rather than for purely the initial route-planning. I didn't make that clear. Mental tricks take much longer under pressure or the numbers don't compute at all sometimes especially for students/newbies like me!. I appreciate it may not be recommended by all or to everyones taste but, personally, I find a couple of spins and you're there- if only to confirm your mental arithmetic.
Rough heading from max drift theory (from your chart if prepped.) then details- For me it reduces workload and increases confidence having 'nailed' these items .It depends of course on distances involved/familiarity of terrain/ accuracy required etc.
I did mention 'get skilled at it first'- if you know your way around it, I find it is not much more a handful than chart/ruler/pencil/protractor? but people don't use it enough at all to get handy with it.
This is all before GPS comes into the mix!
I still think the wizz-wheel is under-rated- am I alone in this, do people not use it at all in the air, before or after qualifying?
JJOE
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Mental tricks take much longer under pressure or the numbers don't compute at all sometimes.
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JJOE
Mine sits on the shelf with my Trevor Thom books - where it has been for the 20 years since I gained my PPL. I have never used it since, and never in the air.
The books have been browsed occasionally.
I still think the wizz-wheel is under-rated- am I alone in this, do people not use it at all in the air, before or after qualifying?
The books have been browsed occasionally.
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I still think the wizz-wheel is under-rated- am I alone in this, do people not use it at all in the air, before or after qualifying?
Not long ago I planned a flight the night before. When I awoke the weather had changed and it was no longer possible to go where I wanted to so I re-planned. With SkyDemon this took about 5 minutes.