Flight Planning Part 1: Plotting a Course

Private Pilot License (PPL) Notes

This section introduces cross-country flight planning, highlighting essential steps and calculations needed for successful navigation to new airports.

Introduction to Cross-Country Flying:

1. Transition from local flights to cross-country flights.
2. Cross-country flying requires thorough preflight planning.
3. Key variables to compute during planning:
   1. Cruise performance of the airplane.
   2. Time en route to the destination.
   3. Fuel required.
   4. Weather factors such as temperature, pressure, and winds aloft.
4. Importance of manual flight planning:
   1. Develop fundamental navigation skills.
   2. Understand calculations without relying solely on software.

Dead Reckoning and Pilotage:

1. Dead Reckoning:
   1. Plotting course on a chart.
   2. Preparing a navigation log.
   3. Factoring in wind speed and direction at cruise altitude.
   4. Computing heading, time en route, and fuel required.
2. Pilotage:
   1. Selecting visual landmarks such as roads, lakes, towns, and rivers.
   2. Using landmarks to guide navigation.
3. Example Cross-Country Trip:
   1. Route:
      1. Clermont County Airport to Fayette County Airport: 47 nautical miles.
      2. Fayette County Airport to Richmond Airport: 66 nautical miles.
      3. Richmond Airport to Clermont County Airport: 50 nautical miles.
   2. Total distance: 163 nautical miles.
   3. Using a plotter to measure distances and directions.

Determining True Course:

1. Use meridians (lines of longitude) on charts to determine direction in degrees from true north.
2. Definition of True Course: direction measured clockwise from true north.
3. Using a plotter to measure true course:
   1. Align plotter on course line between airports.
   2. Place center of protractor on a meridian.
   3. Read angle the line makes with the meridian.
   4. Use outer scale for easterly directions, inner scale for westerly directions.
4. Example true courses:
   1. Clermont County to Fayette County: 51 degrees (easterly).
   2. Fayette County to Richmond: 280 degrees (westerly).
   3. Richmond to Clermont County: 145 degrees.

Accounting for Wind:

1. Wind affects an airplane's heading and groundspeed.
2. Types of wind information:
   1. Takeoff and landing winds given in magnetic direction.
   2. All other winds given in true direction.
3. Wind correction is necessary to maintain intended track.
4. Definitions:
   1. Drift Angle: difference between heading and track.
   2. True Heading: direction airplane's nose is pointing after wind correction.
   3. Wind Correction Angle: angle between heading and course.
5. Wind's impact on groundspeed:
   1. Tailwind increases groundspeed.
   2. Headwind decreases groundspeed.
   3. Crosswind causes drift off intended track.

Magnetic Variation and Compass Deviation:

1. Magnetic Compass:
   1. Reliable instrument for setting direction.
   2. Affected by variation and deviation.
2. Magnetic Variation:
   1. Angle between true north and magnetic north.
   2. Indicated on charts by Isogonic lines (broken magenta lines).
   3. Agonic line represents zero variation.
   4. Conversion from true course to magnetic course:
      1. Add variation if west ("West is best").
      2. Subtract variation if east ("East is least").
3. Examples of applying variation:
   1. Clermont County to Fayette County (6 degrees west variation):
      1. True Course: 51 degrees.
      2. Magnetic Course: 51 + 6 = 57 degrees.
   2. Los Angeles area (13 degrees east variation):
      1. True Course: 360 degrees.
      2. Magnetic Course: 360 - 13 = 347 degrees.
4. Compass Deviation:
   1. Deflection caused by magnetic influences in the airplane.
   2. Corrected using the compass correction card.
   3. Compass correction card shows adjustments at various headings.
5. Calculating Compass Heading:
   1. Example deviation correction:
      1. Magnetic Heading: 57 degrees.
      2. Deviation (at 60 degrees heading): subtract 2 degrees.
      3. Compass Heading: 57 - 2 = 55 degrees.

Summary of Heading Corrections:

1. Start with True Course (measured from chart).
2. Apply Wind Correction Angle to get True Heading (using E6B or flight computer).
3. Add or subtract Magnetic Variation to get Magnetic Heading.
4. Add or subtract Compass Deviation to get Compass Heading.
5. Use Compass Heading to fly the desired course.
6. Flight logs often include a "compass heading planning" section for calculations.

Understanding and applying these fundamental flight planning steps ensure accurate navigation and safe cross-country flying.