PPL navigation course: 12 illustrated chapters

Contents

Each chapter explains, point by point, what the questions of the bank ask, with a « Remember » box and often the classic exam trap. The first chapter is free, below and in the app; the next ones are for PPL subscribers.

1. 1.The Earth, coordinates and distances

   Free

   Meridians, parallels, latitude, longitude, nautical mile, great circle and units.

   7 key points · 45 questions of the bank

2. 2.Aeronautical charts

   Subscribers

   Projections, scale, measuring distances and tracks, reading the ICAO chart and airspace areas.

   9 key points · 99 questions of the bank

3. 3.True, magnetic and compass north

   Subscribers

   Variation, deviation, heading and track: the True, Magnetic, Compass chain.

   7 key points · 126 questions of the bank

4. 4.Wind: drift and the wind triangle

   Subscribers

   Wind, heading, track, drift, crosswind and effective wind, ground speed, calculating the heading to set.

   10 key points · 131 questions of the bank

5. 5.Airspeeds, altimetry and levels

   Subscribers

   Vi, Vc, Vp, Vs and mental calculation; QNH, QFE, flight levels, semicircular rule.

   7 key points · 27 questions of the bank

6. 6.Time, distance, fuel: mental arithmetic

   Subscribers

   Base factor, distance-speed-time relationships, fuel, equal-time point, descent.

   8 key points · 255 questions of the bank

7. 7.UTC time, day and night

   Subscribers

   Coordinated universal time, legal time, shift of sunrise and sunset with longitude, aeronautical night.

   4 key points · 16 questions of the bank

8. 8.Dead reckoning and pilotage

   Subscribers

   Preparing and conducting a VFR navigation: dead reckoning, landmarks, corrections, getting lost, weather, arrival.

   8 key points · 36 questions of the bank

9. 9.VOR and direction finding

   Subscribers

   Radials, QDR and QDM, reading the VOR indicator, range, position fix from two VORs, VDF direction finding.

   12 key points · 67 questions of the bank

10. 10.ADF, NDB and RMI

    Subscribers

    Automatic direction finder and NDB beacons: relative bearing, bearing, RMI, operating limitations.

    5 key points · 13 questions of the bank

11. 11.GPS (GNSS)

    Subscribers

    Principle, information provided, BRG and TRK, estimates, accuracy, RAIM and good practice.

    6 key points · 24 questions of the bank

12. 12.Radar, transponder and services

    Subscribers

    Primary and secondary radar, transponder and codes, radar vectoring, ATIS and radio services.

    8 key points · 27 questions of the bank

A rotating sphere

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For navigation, the Earth is treated as a sphere that rotates about the polar axis. The geographic North Pole (or true north) is the point where this axis pierces the surface: its position is fixed.

• A great circle has its centre at the centre of the Earth: it divides the Earth into two equal halves.
• Meridians are half great circles that join the two poles: they all meet at the poles.
• Parallels are circles parallel to the equator. The equator is the only parallel that is a great circle; the others are "small circles" whose circumference decreases as latitude increases, until it shrinks to a point at the pole.

Remember

Meridian = half great circle from one pole to the other. Equator = the only parallel that is a great circle. The poles are the intersection of all meridians.

Exam trap

The circumference of a parallel decreases as its latitude increases; it never depends on longitude. The 45°N parallel is therefore smaller than the equator and larger than the 60°N parallel.

Latitude and longitude

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A point is located by two angles, measured from the equator and from the prime meridian (Greenwich).

• Latitude is an angle measured along the meridian of the place, from the equator: from 0° to 90° North or South. The closer you get to a pole, the larger it becomes.
• Longitude is the angle between the prime meridian and the meridian of the place: from 0° to 180° East or West.

Same latitude = same parallel; same longitude = same meridian. All points on the Greenwich meridian have a longitude of 0°.

Writing: latitude with 2 digits of degrees (45°00'N), longitude with 3 digits (002°56'E); minutes and seconds with 2 digits.

Remember

Latitude: 0 to 90° N/S from the equator. Longitude: 0 to 180° E/W from Greenwich. North Pole: 90°N (conventional longitude 000°).

Exam trap

"East latitude" or "North longitude" do not exist. A point east of Greenwich and south of the equator has East longitude and South latitude. The intersection of the equator and the antimeridian is written 00°N - 180°E (or W).

The nautical mile: one minute of arc

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The nautical mile (NM) is defined from the Earth: it is the length of an arc of 1 minute (1/60 of a degree) measured along a great circle. It equals 1852 m.

A very practical consequence: along a meridian, a difference in latitude converts directly into distance.

• 1' = 1 NM; 1° = 60 NM;
• two points on the same meridian, 1° apart (30°N and 31°N), are 60 NM apart;
• 10° of arc on any meridian always represents the same distance (600 NM), because all meridians are great circles.

Speed is measured in knots (kt): 1 kt = 1 NM per hour.

Remember

1 NM = 1852 m = 1' of arc of a great circle. 1° = 60 NM. Difference in latitude in minutes = distance in NM (along a meridian).

Exam trap

Check the unit requested: 1°30' along a meridian gives 90 NM, i.e. about 167 km (90 × 1.852).

Along a parallel, this is no longer true

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Parallels (except the equator) are small circles. One degree of longitude along them therefore represents less than 60 NM, and the less so the closer you get to the pole:

• distance for 1° of longitude ≈ 60 × cos(latitude) NM;
• at 45°: about 42 NM; at 60°: 30 NM; at the pole: 0.

This is why, on a chart, a distance is always measured by transferring it to a meridian (latitude scale), never to a parallel or to the horizontal edge of the chart.

Remember

On any parallel other than the equator: 1° of longitude < 60 NM.

Exam trap

"One minute of angle = 1 NM on meridians and on parallels" is false: it holds only for great circles (meridians, equator).

Great circle and rhumb line

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Between two points, there are two particular paths:

• the great circle (orthodrome) follows the arc of a great circle: it is always the shortest path, but its true track varies along the route;
• the rhumb line (loxodrome) crosses all meridians at the same angle: the true track is constant, but the route is longer.

A meridian is both a great circle and a rhumb line (track 000° or 180°), as is the equator. Any parallel is a rhumb line (track 090° or 270°) but not a great circle.

Flying the same heading for a very long time (no wind, magnetic variation assumed constant) amounts to following a rhumb line.

Remember

Great circle = shortest. Rhumb line = constant true track. Meridian = both at once.

Exam trap

The great circle is the shortest route "in all cases", not only along the equator. And the rhumb line is defined by a constant true track.

The course goes on with chapter 2, « Aeronautical charts ». It is read in the Course tab of the app with a PPL subscription, and each chapter ends with the questions of the bank about it. See pricing

How ForAllPilots trains you

• Series of 20 or 30 questions

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• Timed mock exam

  60 questions in 90 minutes, drawn from the whole PPL bank: a training format, not a copy of an official paper.

• AI instructor, optional

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PPL access comes with the Private pilot offer (BIA, PPL, microlight and helicopter): €10 a month, cancel anytime, or €69 once with the Exam Pass (18 months of access, nothing renews). Prices include all taxes.

The other PPL courses

• PPL air law course
• PPL aircraft general knowledge course
• PPL flight performance and planning course
• PPL human performance course
• PPL meteorology course
• PPL operational procedures course
• PPL principles of flight course
• PPL VFR communications course

All about the PPL exams: format, subjects and method