Navigation: Private Pilot topic guide
Navigation carries 12% of the Private Pilot blueprint used in this course, the 5th-largest of its 6 weighted areas. It spans 6 concepts. The course teaches it in 2 study units: Sectional Charts & VOR and Navigation Planning.
What Navigation covers
- Magnetic Variation and Deviation — True to Compass — FAA-H-8083-25 Ch.16
- Wind Correction Angle and E6B Ground Speed — FAA-H-8083-25 Ch.16
- Time-Speed-Distance Arithmetic — FAA-H-8083-25 Ch.16
- VOR Navigation — OBS/CDI/TO-FROM/Reverse Sensing — FAA-H-8083-25 Ch.16
- Latitude/Longitude — FAA-H-8083-25 Ch.16
- Pilotage vs Dead Reckoning and Lost Procedures — FAA-H-8083-25 Ch.16
Common mistakes in Navigation
- Confusing variation (chart/magnetic-north) with deviation (aircraft compass card)
- Reversing latitude and longitude (lat = north/south, parallels; long = east/west, meridians)
- Reading VOR radials as true bearings — they are MAGNETIC
- Forgetting to account for reverse sensing on a VOR
- Thinking pilotage and dead reckoning are the same — pilotage = landmarks, DR = computed heading/time
Key terms for Navigation
VOR · OBS · CDI · variation · deviation · E6B · isogonic line · radial · CTAF
How Navigation connects to other areas
- Sectional Chart Symbology — Airspace Lines/Colors links to Airspace Classes — Entry and Equipment — Regulations & Airspace
- Wind Correction Angle and E6B Ground Speed links to Crosswind Component — Clock Rule Calculation — Performance & Weight-and-Balance
- Time-Speed-Distance Arithmetic links to Crosswind Component — Clock Rule Calculation — Performance & Weight-and-Balance
- Sectional Chart Symbology — Airspace Lines/Colors links to Special-Use Airspace — Prohibited/Restricted/MOA — Regulations & Airspace
Official references for Navigation
In the app this area comes with 8 memory cards and 12 module-quiz questions in the full course.