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Private Pilot Ground School
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
IAP 2019

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Navigation

Outline
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• Pilotage (look out the window)
• NDBs monitored via ADF (needle points to
radio station)
• VOR (1950s upgrade to NDB)
• GPS and moving map

Private Pilot Ground School 2

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Section A
PILOTAGE AND DEAD RECKONING

Private Pilot Ground School 3

Pilotage
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• Navigation using visual landmarks
• VFR charts emphasize objects easy to identify from the
air, e.g., highways, towns, big towers
• Ground procedure:
– Plot planned course (avoid restricted areas, open water)
– Select checkpoints along the route
– Measure distance from checkpoint to checkpoint
– Develop flight plan and navlog
• In-flight procedure
– Fly planned headings and airspeed
– At each checkpoint, use left/right deviation for wind
correction

Private Pilot Ground School 4

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Example
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• From: Hanscom Field, Bedford, MA (BED)
• To: Morse State Apt., Bennington, VT (DDH)

Source: Public Domain Private Pilot Ground School 5

Planning Goal: Navlog

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Private Pilot Ground School 6

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Dead Reckoning
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• Navigation solely by means of computations
based on time, airspeed, distance and direction
• Use in conjunction with pilotage
• Steps:
– Plot course on chart, including landmarks
– Measure true course (TC) at meridian nearest the
center of the course
– Correct for forecast wind to find true heading (TH)
– Correct for magnetic variation to find MH
– Estimate ground speed and ETE for each leg (account
for time, speed, distance to climb in the POH)
Private Pilot Ground School 7

Courses and Headings

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• Course
– Direction over the ground
• Heading
– Direction aircraft is pointing
– Wind can make heading different from course
• True (course or heading)
– Referenced to true north pole
• Magnetic (course or heading)
– Referenced to magnetic north pole

Private Pilot Ground School 8

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Courses and Headings

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• True Course
– Direction of line from A to B relative to true north
• True Heading
– Direction airplane is pointed, given wind corrections, relative to
true north
• Magnetic Course
– Direction of line from A to B relative to magnetic north
• Magnetic Heading
– Direction airplane is pointed, given wind corrections, relative to
magnetic north
• Compass Heading
– Magnetic Heading corrected for airplane-specific compass
errors

Private Pilot Ground School 9

Magnetic Variation
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• Isogonic Line: correction factor to convert from
True to Magnetic
– east is least, west is best (subtract east, add west)

Private Pilot Ground School 10

Source: Public Domain

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Local Magnetic Variation

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• True north !=
magnetic north
• VORs in magnetic
• Isogonic lines
• “east is least; west
is best”: true + W
variation = mag

Source: Public Domain

Private Pilot Ground School 11

Magnetic Deviation
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• Magnetic and electrical
fields inside the cockpit
disturb compass
• Compass Correction
Card
– Magnetic heading ->
Compass heading
– Specific to each airframe
(not just aircraft type)
– Must be updated
periodically

Worthless if heated windshield is

turned on!
Private Pilot Ground School 12

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Plotter and E6B Introduction

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• Plotter
– Flight planning tool to measure
distances and courses
• Sectional: 1 inch -> 6.86nm / 7.89sm
• TAC: 1 inch -> 3.43nm / 3.95sm
• World Aeronautical Chart (WAC):
1 inch -> 13.7nm / 16sm
• E6B
– Evolved to make common calculations
easier (slide rule)
– Two sides: computer side and wind
side
– Waterproof and no batteries required © source unknown. All rights reserved. This content is
excluded from our Creative Commons license. For more
information, see https://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/
Private Pilot Ground School 13

Using the Plotter

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• Used to determine
true course between
two waypoints
• Different distance
scales
• Key points:
– Use correct distance
scale for chart type in
use
– Use Meridians (North-
South Lines) for
course calculations
© source unknown. All rights reserved. This content is
excluded from our Creative Commons license. For more
information, see https://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/

Private Pilot Ground School 14

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Using the Plotter

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Private Pilot Ground School 15

Using the Plotter

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NORTH

True Course
(TC):
038°

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Using the E6B: Computer Side

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• Calculator is a simple
way to calculate ratios
between values
• Sliding inner ring
normally represents
TIME
• Outer ring normally
represents VALUE of
interest
– Fuel per unit time
– Distance per unit time Source: Public Domain

Private Pilot Ground School 17

Using the E6B: Computer Side

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At 90 Knots…

10 minutes
(inner ring) to
fly 15nm
(outer ring)

Private Pilot Ground School 18

Source: Public Domain

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Using the E6B: Wind Side

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• Used to find impact of
wind
– Wind correction angles
– Groundspeed
• Given partial
information, useful for
determining other
missing information
1. True airspeed
2. Groundspeed
3. Wind correction angle
4. Wind speed
5. Wind direction

Private Pilot Ground School 19

Source: Public Domain

Using the E6B: Wind Side

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Wind Direction: 210°

Wind Speed: 20 knots
True Course: 180°
True Airspeed: 147 knots

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Using the E6B: Wind Side

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Wind Direction: 210°

Wind Speed: 20 knots
True Course: 180°
True Airspeed: 147 knots

Private Pilot Ground School 21

Using the E6B: Wind Side

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Wind Direction: 210°

Wind Speed: 20 knots
True Course: 180°
True Airspeed: 147 knots

Private Pilot Ground School 22

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Using the E6B: Wind Side

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Wind Direction: 210°

Wind Speed: 20 knots
True Course: 180°
True Airspeed: 147 knots

Groundspeed: 129 knots

Wind Correction Angle: 4°

Private Pilot Ground School 23

Navigation Log Form

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Private Pilot Ground School 24

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Filled-out
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Private Pilot Ground School 25

SkyVector.com: free and easy

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Source: Public Domain

Private Pilot Ground School 26

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Pilotage Summary
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• Use winds aloft forecast to create a plan
• Correct heading based on passing over/
left/right of previously selected
landmarks
• Fun skill, relationship to safety is unclear
(Student pilot versus Commercial pilot)
• Still worth doing, but generate the navlog
electronically!
• Knowledge Test: Built-in electronic E6B;
plotter useful.
Private Pilot Ground School 27

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Section B
ADF NAVIGATION

Private Pilot Ground School 28

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This won’t be on the test…

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… still fun to learn about.

Non-directional beacons
(NDBs) set up in the 1930s.

Pilot originally had to turn dial

to hunt for station direction.

The Automatic Direction

Finder (ADF) was a huge
innovation.
© source unknown. All rights reserved. This content is excluded from our Creative
Commons license. For more information, see https://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/
At right: from Flying 1952. Private Pilot Ground School 29

Automatic Direction Finder

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• Automatic Direction Finder
(ADF) – Unit in the aircraft
• Non Directional Beacon
(NDB) – Ground Station
• Indicator – Compass rose
with needle, needle points
to the station
Source: Public Domain

Private Pilot Ground School 30

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How to use the ADF

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• Homing – Keep the
needle pointed forward,
airplane tracks curved
path in wind
• Tracking – Needle offset
due to wind, airplane
tracks straight path over
ground Source: Public Domain

Private Pilot Ground School 31

Finding Magnetic Bearing

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• Relative Bearing
– Number read on face of
the ADF
• Magnetic Heading
– Number read from face
of directional gyroscope
• Magnetic Bearing
– Magnetic heading TO
the station
Source: Public Domain

Magnetic Heading + Relative Bearing = Magnetic Bearing

Private Pilot Ground School 32

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Movable Card ADF

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• Turn card to match

heading of aircraft
• Read magnetic
bearing under needle

Source: Public Domain

Private Pilot Ground School 33

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Section C
VOR NAVIGATION

Private Pilot Ground School 34

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VHF Omni-Directional Range

(VOR) 16.687
• 1950s improvement to
NDBs
• With no reference to a
magnetic compass, receiver
can determine the magnetic
radial from station
• 360 radials (one for each
degree)
• Can track “TO” or “FROM”
station on a specific radial
• Can determine lat-long
position by intersecting
radials from two VORs
Private Pilot Ground School 35

Three types of VORs

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• VOR
– Only transmits azimuth
information
• VOR-DME
– Distance Measuring
Equipment (DME)
– Azimuth plus distance from
VOR information
• VORTAC
– Military: Tactical Air
Navigation (TACAN)
– Azimuth plus distance
navigation
– Private Pilot Standpoint:
Same Function as VOR/DME
Source: Public Domain

Private Pilot Ground School 36

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VOR Service Volumes

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High-Altitude Low-Altitude Terminal

Source: Public Domain

Private Pilot Ground School 37

Parts of the VOR

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• Transmitter
• Receiver
• Indicator
– OBS – Omni Bearing
Selector
– CDI – Course Deviation
Indicator
– TO/FROM Flag
Source: Public Domain

Private Pilot Ground School 38

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VOT: test on the ground

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• At Hanscom: tune 110.0

• “Cessna 182”: indication should be “180 TO”
• VOR Test Facility (VOT) frequencies buried in
the Chart Supplement

Private Pilot Ground School 39

Using VORs
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NOTE:
Easiest method to determine
VOR deflection is to imagine the
airplane is pointed in same
direction as OBS

OBS reading is NOT sensitive to

actual aircraft heading

Source: Public Domain Private Pilot Ground School 40

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Source: Public Domain

Private Pilot Ground School 41

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Source: Public Domain

Private Pilot Ground School 42

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VOR simulators
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• LuizMonteiro.com
(Flash)
• List of apps: AOPA

Private Pilot Ground School 43

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Section D
GPS NAVIGATION

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Global Positioning System (GPS)

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• 1973 U.S. military idea: Navstar (“Navigation
System Using Timing and Ranging”)
• Broadcast time and position from multiple
stations
• Each “time of flight” gives a position
somewhere on a sphere
• Intersect 4 spheres to get an x,y,z location

Private Pilot Ground School 45

Global Positioning System (GPS)

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• Constellation of 32
satellites (2016); 31 in
use
• Minimum of 5
observable from any
point on earth
• 5 or more used for IFR
operations
© Kluwer Academic Publishers. All rights reserved. This content
is excluded from our Creative Commons license. For more
information, see https://ocw.mit.edu/help/faq-fair-use/

Private Pilot Ground School 46

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WAAS/SBAS
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• Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS): FAA-
established ground stations that gather correction
information
• Generic name: satellite-based augmentation system
(SBAS)

From Wikipedia: WAAS uses a network of ground-based reference

stations, in North America and Hawaii, to measure small variations in the
GPS satellites' signals in the western hemisphere. Measurements from
the reference stations are routed to master stations, which queue the
received Deviation Correction (DC) and send the correction messages to
geostationary WAAS satellites in a timely manner (every 5 seconds or
better). Those satellites broadcast the correction messages back to
Earth, where WAAS-enabled GPS receivers use the corrections while
computing their positions to improve accuracy.
Private Pilot Ground School 47

A Garmin GTN 750

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Combination of
• GPS
• NAV radio (VOR/ILS)
• COM radio

Private Pilot Ground School 48

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Garmin G1000 moving map

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Private Pilot Ground School 49

Avidyne PFD moving map

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Private Pilot Ground School 50

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Brandon Abel

91.161 - DC Area
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• When operating VFR within 60 NM of

Washington, DC (DCA VOR), must have taken
special awareness training
• Must have course certificate to show, but not
onboard

Private Pilot Ground School 51

After the navigation mistake…

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• 91.25 - Aviation Safety Reporting Program
• Reports submitted to the Aviation Safety
Reporting Program will not be used in
enforcement against a pilot
– Exception: reports containing info about accidents or
criminal offenses
– Program intended to encourage reporting of
situations hazardous to aviation safety
• Subject to some important limitations, the FAA will actually waive fines
or penalties for people who voluntarily report unintentional violations
of the Federal Aviation Regulations through the program
• Run by NASA: http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov

Brandon Abel Private Pilot Ground School 52

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Summary
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• Pilotage
• NDBs monitored via ADF
• VOR
• GPS and moving map

Captain Sully: “"If I'm ever unable to access [GPS] or

use the compass…, I could just keep Venus in the
left front corner of the windshield and we would
reach California.“

Private Pilot Ground School 53

Summary
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• Pilotage
• NDBs monitored via ADF
• VOR
• GPS and moving map

Captain Sully: “"If I'm ever unable to access [GPS] or

use the compass…, I could just keep Venus in the
left front corner of the windshield and we would
reach California.“

Alternative: call ATC with “Request vectors SFO.” 54

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16.687 Private Pilot Ground School

IAP 2019

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