PPLNAV Extra Course Material
Syllabus
AIRSPACE: Knowledge of airspace that was covered in PPLLAW needs to be refreshed fully. This includes rules around special use airspace such as MBZ, LFZ etc. and what the pilot's obligations are when flying through such airspace. This information is spread between Part 71 and the early part of Part 91. GAP Booklet: Airspace
SARTIME: Knowledge of the rules around VFR flight plans, including SARTIME that has been covered in PPLLAW needs to be refreshed. Also found in Part 91. SARTIME is a time nominated by the pilot-in-command, and it is the time when alerting action is initiated. The definition of SARTIME in Part 1 states this specifically. (There is no 10 minute or 30 minute delay).
HW/TW & XW: Basic Navigation & Flight Planning Part 1 - PPL has a section on how to break down surface wind into headwind and crosswind component for a RWY on page 66. This method uses the navigation computer. There is another way to do this without a navigation computer, using what is known as a crosswind component graph. It is possible that you will be given this graph in the exam, but the use of the graph is simply an alternative method and is not necessary since you already know how to do it on the navigation computer. The graph can be ignored.
MAP READING: When DR navigating normally, the correct method of map reading is to read from map to ground. This means that you first look at features on the map, then look outside the aircraft to the ground and attempt to match those features to orientate yourself. However, when lost, this procedure must be reversed and you must now read from ground to map. This is because if you do not know where you are you will not know where to look on the map, and therefore you must start with what you actually see outside the aircraft and attempt to match that to the map. In summary during normal navigation, read map to ground. When lost or unsure of your position (the only exception), read ground to map.
FUEL MANAGEMENT: Regarding the management of an aeroplane with 2 wing tanks. Most light aeroplane fuel gauges tend to be unreliable and are not used operationally. It is normal practice to dip the fuel tanks during the pre-flight inspection, begin the flight on the fullest tank, and then change tanks every 30 minutes while keeping a log of what has been done and mathematically calculating the fuel remaining and therefore flight time in minutes remaining in each tank (rather than using a fuel gauge). Running a fuel tank dry is dangerous as the potential vapour lock can make it difficult to restart fuel flow from the other tank, even if fuel is available. GAP Booklet: Fuel Management
BAD WX CONFIGURATION: An aeroplane can be configured in what is known as the 'bad weather configuration' which generally involves lowering the flap and setting the aircraft up to cruise at a slower airspeed, and turning the carb heat on. This configuration is used when in a low flying zone as well, simulating a low level bad weather scenario in an aeroplane.
DIVERSIONS: A diversion off-track to avoid weather, forming a 60° angle away from the track, then turning 120° to return to track such that an equilateral triangle is formed (all angles are 60° and all sides have the same length). Assuming all 3 sides take the same time to fly (not correct due to wind affecting groundspeed differently, but in the absence of any further information) and say each side takes 2 minutes to fly, the aircraft will be delayed at the destination by 2 minutes (not by 4 minutes, because it will now take 4 minutes to fly what would have previously taken 2 minutes to fly).
REGAINING TRACK: When intercepting the track required after an intentional (due to weather, as above) or unintentional (1 in 60 rule scenario) diversion from track, the pilot must turn by an amount equal to the closing angle. For example, if the track error was 5° to the left of track and the closing angle was 8°, the total correction required to be made to the heading would have been 13° to the right. Once the pilot returns to intercept the track (if this is at a point earlier than B), the pilot must make a left turn by 8° to continue flying the track.
CHART SYMBOLS: See the symbol on a chart for gliders launched by winch, with associated height. For example: Winch operations upto 800’ AGL will be shown as 800’ W. The W means winching (gliders launched by winch rather than towing). See this pdf for chart symbols found on VNCs (see both pages, B charts are 1:500,000 in blue and C charts are 1:250,000 in green). Also note the term ‘relief’ refers to terrain elevation and VNCs use colour coding to show relief.
ECT/MCT: Using the daylight tables from the AIP Volume 4 provided on the screen, derive or interpolate ECT/MCT. Refresh interpolation.
ATIS: Gives wind direction in °M. ATIS comes from ATC. Wind information given to you by a controller over the radio is also in °M. Everything else is in °T.
VARIATION: Can be referred to as magnetic variation.
DEFINITIONS: Nm and km.
FEET/METRES: 10 feet = ~3 metres (approx.) for nav computer conversions.
DRIFT: Can be referred to as WCA (Wind Correction Angle). Also mentioned in the book on page 26.
DRIFT/FAN LINES: These are lines drawn on either side of the track required,10° away from the track. Therefore at the points where they intersect, a 20° heading correction will be needed to make good the destination, but at all other points the heading correction will be something less than 20°, meaning that a 20° correction will cause the aircraft to intercept the track earlier than at the destination.
WINDS ALOFT: Basic Navigation & Flight Planning Part 1 - PPL emphasises on page 71 that when calculating wind the track made good (TMG) must be used, not the track required (TR). This becomes particularly important when answering questions that provide position fixes and times on a VNC, implying that an aircraft has covered a certain distance between 2 times and requiring calculation of the wind that must have affected the aircraft between those times. In this case, the TMG is the track flown between the two stated times, rather than the track required in the flight plan.
ROC: Knowledge about the way in which ROC and AOC are affected by headwind and tailwind changes must be clear. ROC is not affected by wind, but AOC is. AOC will be steeper when climbing into a headwind, and shallower (flatter) when climbing with a tailwind (AOD is affected by wind in the same way as AOC).
DI: A gyroscopic DI wanders, needs realignment to the magnetic compass at least every 15 minutes. Not doing this could be a reason for getting off-track.
ISOGONALS: An isogonal is a line on a chart joining places of equal variation. They are normally shown over the ocean because of the difficulty in viewing them over the clutter on land, but are intended to imply their continued passage over land and water.
AGONIC LINES: An agonic line is a line on a chart joining places of zero magnetic variation. There are no agonic lines in the vicinity of New Zealand.
SADIE & CLEAR CHECKS: Need to know what checks are used when.
TRIM: Trimming an aircraft refers to the practice of adjusting control loading (or pressure) such that the flight controls maintain a certain position without the need for pilot control input. For example, if a pilot finds the need to hold constant right rudder in the cruise, the rudder can be ‘trimmed’ to the right using the trim wheel, such that the pilot may then relax the pressure on the right rudder pedal and the rudder will remain displaced to the right.
TERMINOLOGY: Caution some answer options mix up terminology making them incorrect, subtly using terms like ‘meridians of latitude’ to make the answer incorrect. Read every word in the questions as well as the answers carefully.
ROUNDING: Some questions specifically tell you to round up or down to the nearest whole number. If not specified, when rounding is appropriate or required, round as discussed in class (to the nearest whole number and if exactly halfway, round up).
PSR/SSR: A thorough understanding of the working of PSR and SSR is required. Note that SSR signals are UHF, with the ground station interrogating aircraft on 1030 mhz and the aircraft transponder replying on 1090 mhz. There is two-way communication between the aircraft and the ground station.
CRUISE PERFORMANCE CHART: See this link for an example (C172).
OPERATIONAL DEAD RECKONING: You are expected to have an operational understanding of topics such as low level navigation, lost procedures, etc. all of which will be referenced in an aeroplane context. Please see DR Link 1and DR Link 2 taken from an old version of the Waypoints book, but which are still relevant in terms of DR navigation and are required by the current syllabus. Also see the definition of a DR position, and be able to explain how you would differentiate between a position fix, a pinpoint, a waypoint, and a DR position. See the specific sections of the Practical Flying Guide as directed.
CHECKPOINTS: Checkpoints are pre-determined (during the planning stage) points along the track that pilots intend to use to verify that they are on track, as well as to perform groundspeed checks to amend ETA. They are usually easily identifiable geographical features such as river mouths, or prominent man made features such as bridges or road intersections.
POSITION LINES: A position line or Line of Position (LOP) is a line on a chart on which the aircraft is expected to be. With a position line you do not know your exact position, but you know that it is on the line. You would need two intersecting position lines to get a position fix. The intersection of a position line and a geographical feature such as a river may also be used to determine a position fix.
GPS: VFR Navigation can be assisted by GPS but GPS cannot be used as a substitute for DR navigation. A thorough understanding of the way GPS (including RAIM) works is also required. There is one-way communication between the satellite and the GPS receiver. The satellite sends a coded (time-stamped) message to the GPS receiver. There is no reply sent back. Please also see GPS Link 1regarding GPS in general and GPS Link 2 regarding GPS RAIM. To understand GPS Doppler Shift Response, first see this link followed by the beginning of this link.
GPS ERRORS: See this pdf from the CPLNAV course regarding the types of GPS Errors.