PPL - Nav Exam
 

Hi all.

Taking this exam very soon and just wanted some advice as to what exactly to expect. I understand that there will be a route plan to complete but how much of this is the exam based on?

I ask because I am happy with finding headings/gs etc etc but I am struggling more with the 'general' nav questions such as the ones in the confuser.

I am getting good %'s and improving each time but really not feeling confident. I am definetly finding this the hardest from all the exams. Anyone else found the nav exam to be equally challenging?

Practice finding airfields from grid coordinates. The exam is based on the land-of-shandy-drinkers southern chart and I spent ages finding the flippin' airfields, let alone putting the plog together.

There are 25 multi-choice questions in the PPL Navigation examination and you have 90 minutes to complete the exam.

Questions 1 to 20 are 'Navigation' and are all based on the VFR flight you will be required to plan; many of them require accurate planning and completion of a navigation flight plan. Remember that you will not be permitted to take an electronic calculator, mobile phone or similar device into the exam room.

Questions 21 to 25 are 'Radio Navigation' questions - all of which are absolute gifts. You might even consider doing them first to get 20% 'in the bag' before you start drawing lines on your chart!

The chart used is indeed one which covers civilised areas of the UK, rather than the barren wastes of 't Nawrth, tha' knaws.

And remember, above all RTFQ!

So if I can successfully plan a route and fill in a plog as per usual then I should be able to pass?

I find the process straightforward when planning a flight so unless there is anything else, I think I may take this tomorrow.

Use as fine a pencil/marker as possible for the lines! Be very careful with them, as the possible answers are in some cases very close in terms of degrees.

And if your route requires a turn at one of those very high obstacles, it's the dot at the bottom (I think) that you want your line to touch, not the top of the symbol.

Thanks all for the advice everyone. 88%

Well done!!


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Yeah nice one PP.

Done your air law? :eek:

Use the right whizz-wheel
 

I found that the wind-face of my Transair TPS-1 gave the wrong results. Several of my answers were a degree or two out from the correct answer - which really didn't help at all. :{

I assumed it was ham-fistedness on my part, so I had my instructor check my use of the whizz-wheel after the exam and although I was spot on, the TPS-1 wasn't. I suppose it could just be mine that has a problem.

I found quite a good Whizz Wheel Simulator here.

Creative Dynamix

Because you can set the scales more accurately on the simulator, I found it useful for cross checking results against my real CRP-1 and seeing what sort of errors I was getting. It is also faster to use.

Er ... so what? You can't fly that accurately anyway.

I have definetly found this Nav exam the hardest so far. I think its a case of once you know how to do everything, it is easy, however learning everything in the first place is the tricky bit. I was happy with the result though, considering 2 of my wrong answers were "Why the hell didnt you just RTFQ!!!!!"

Done air law, human performance met and nav now.

Going to do comms next week then the practical the following week.

Supposed to be doing my first solo nav today but alas the poor weather.

Try again tomorrow I suppose:ok:

And even if you could, you'd hardly be a long way off target on the length of legs you are likely to fly in the UK. Hands up anyone who has flown as much as 90 nm on one constant heading, VFR in the UK?

I found the same problem when practising for my Nav exam. When comparing my cheapish whizz wheel to one of the more expensive ATPL type ones, it seemed to be a bit inaccurate.

All seems silly when the aircraft I fly has a DI with a resolution of 5 degrees :ugh:

not to mention that the wind will never ever ever be exactly as forecast.....

It's a problem because I lost marks. A couple of my exam answers were wrong (1 degree out = wrong), thanks to the inaccurate whizz-wheel. It makes little practical difference when flying, as you say... you can't fly that accurately.

Edit: I was pee'd off because I was expecting to get 100% on Nav and was rather disappointed that I didn't. I passed anyway, but I feel dirty now. ;)

I should probably have mentioned that I have the TPS-1 with wind-arm and I suspect that this addition is the culprit.