MDR/ good rules of thumb
 

As a young inexperienced pilot I am very interested in any MDR or rules of thumb that can assist me when flying. For instance when calculating XWC I learnt a simple rule saying "number of degrees off + 30 equals somewhat the percentage of the given wind as crosswind" (when landing on rwy 18, reported wind 200 degrees 20 kts XWC is 10 kts. and so on...)
Please post a couple of your favourite MDR rules. I hope we can come up with a nice collection and maybe help me and others gain more situational awareness when the workload is high.


Best regards

Read this and be ready to answer questions. Seems to me that rule of thumb you learnt is a bit rough!
What's a 'Mdr'?

Thank you Notso F.

MDR: Mental Dead Reckoning.

I know that the rule is a bit rough, you could however use 20 instead of 30 when the wind off is less than 50 degrees - still its safe and a bit conservative... The example I gave was not very good and the result repressents the XWC if the wind was 30 degrees off :ooh: (sin 30 x 20 = 10 kts XWC).

My mistake - sorry.

errare humanum est.

All you have to do is memorise the sine table, see? And apply it like in the other thread. The clock idea I have to admit is pretty smart, though slightly less accurate, but this way of yours seems a bit dodgy to me!

I agree. I will memorise the table.
You know any handy MDR techniques for TOD, ROD, TAS etc.?

Surely there must be hundreds of good tips/rules of thumb/MDR out there...



:ok:

don't try to learn them all, you'll do a mess eventually. There are only few of some importance.Try to learn those from older guys,or from FCTM's.
As I was once told,it's safer to memorise as little as possible of the nonessential things.Otherwise,in a emergency situation,or under stress you'll be more inclined to make mistakes.
For a great collection of rules of thumb check this http://www.flightinfo.com/rulesofthumb.asp

Try to take only what you need .Don't try to memorise too much,cause you'll end mixing them :)

Roger that!
Many thanks for the link. Exactly what I was looking for.