Navigation Flashcards
What are the 5 Methods of Navigation?
Pilotage - Using reference to the surface
Dead Reckoning - “Point and Shoot” using the surface
Radio Navigation - Without reference to surface
Celestial Navigation - Using reference to stars
GPS Navigation - using the Global Positioning System to determine location
How many minutes in a degrees of lat/long and how many seconds in a minute?
60
Longitude lines are known as what? Latitude lines are known as what?
Meridians of Longitude
Parallels of Latitude
Describe Meridians of Longitude
Join the true poles of the Earth, run North to South, measure East and West of the Prime Meridian, distance between lines decreases as you get nearer to poles
Describe Parallels of Latitude
Run parallel to Equator, Measured North and South of the Equator, distance between lines is constant
How many degrees of Longitude are completed in one day? and how fast does the Earth spin in degrees of Longitude/hour
360 degrees of Longitude in a day. 15 degrees of Longitude an hour
Where is Standard Time located, and what is it known as?
Greenwich, England. Known as GMT, UTC, or Zulu
What Time system is used in all ATC or Meteorology services?
Zulu Time
How many time zones in Canada and name them
6 Time Zones
Pacific, Mountain, Central, Eastern, Atlantic, and Newfoundland
What is a Great Circle?
Line over the surface of the Earth that, if extended over the entire surface, it would cut it exactly in half
Is the Equator a Great Circle?
Yes
What does a Great Circle represent?
The shortest distance between two points on the Earth. However, aircraft must constantly adjust heading because it does not meet Meridians at same angle
What is Rhumb Line?
A curved line on Earth that meets each Meridian at the same angle
What are some Advantages and Disadvantages of Rhumb Lines?
Advantage: Allows pilots to fly a constant heading
Disadvantage: Unless track is on a Meridian, route is longer than Great Circle
What is the Difference between Heading and Bearing?
Heading is the direction the aircraft’s nose is pointed
Bearing is the direction of an object from an observer or our position relative to a point
Is the Earth a magnet?
Yes
What does a compass needle align itself with?
The North seeking end of the needle will always point towards magnetic North
What causes Magnetic Dip?
Earth’s magnetic lines are horizontal over the Equator, but vertical at the poles. In Northern Latitudes this causes the needle to point down
What is the Geographic Area where Magnetic Dip occurs called?
The Area of Compass Unreliability, or Northern Domestic Airspace
What allows us to make sure we are going in the right direction even though True North, and Magnetic North are in different places?
Magnetic Variation
What is an Isogonic Line, and what is an Agonic Line?
Isogonic Line is a line joining places of equal variation
Agonic line is a line joining places of zero variation
If magnetic pole lies west of true pole what must we do?
Add the variation on to True North
When is the Compass reliable?
During level constant airspeed flight, or constant rate climbs or descents
Does the Compass require any external power?
No