Flight Training - April 2015 - 41

If you've not done visual navigation-also called dead reckoning-you might be surprised at how hard it can be to judge
distances between the chart and the outside world. Let's see,
is that hill over there the one on the chart...or is it that one
waaaaaaay out on the horizon? Good features to navigate by
include rivers, lakes, unusual bends in roads, and unique terrain
features.
Flying by chart and ground reference is a great way to guarantee that you'll spend half your time looking outside the airplane.
It also will sharpen your skill set for the worst-case scenario:
having to get somewhere safely if all your fancy gear craps out.
Paper charts never sustain electrical failures, computer freezes,
or dead batteries.
CHALLENGE NUMBER FOUR: FLY TO THE NORTH POLE. That
funny-looking box on the windshield is called a compass.
That's right, just like the ones used on ships back in the Age
of Sail. Before the advent of radios, the compass (along with
following railroad tracks) used to be the way to navigate an
airplane, and compasses remain required equipment in most
airplanes today per FAR 91.205(b)(3), which says you must have
a "magnetic direction indicator" for VFR flight in a Standard
category aircraft.
So your next head-in-the-clouds challenge is to fly a course to a
neighboring airport using nothing but the compass to navigate.
Break out the chart we talked about above. Draw a line on
it between your home airport and your destination (it's OK to
draw on charts, really it is), then use your plotter to determine
the true course. Next, check for the magnetic variation over
your course. Variation is the difference between magnetic
north and geographic north in any given location. Simply put,
your compass points in the wrong direction and you have to
correct for it.
Variation is marked on sectional charts with dashed magenta
lines that run at a mild angle across the chart in a more or less
north/south direction. Pick one from the middle of your flight
path. If the variation is easterly, subtract the number from your
true course. If it's westerly, add it. The memory cue is East is
Least. Now you have your magnetic heading.
Can we fly now? Nope, not yet. Because your compass is a
deviant. (No, not in that way.)
Magnetic deviation refers to compass errors introduced by an
individual airplane's metal structure and installed electronics.
Use the correction card in the airplane to adjust your magnetic
heading to get your compass course. This is the number on the
compass card that you'll fly.
It seems like a lot of work, but this is how it was done in the
old days, and it got Lindbergh safely across an awful lot of water.
The easiest thing to do is just take this copy of Flight Training
with you to the airport. But if you want to remember the whole
process by heart, use the mnemonic True Virgins Make Dull
Company (True course +/- Variation = Magnetic heading +/Deviation = Compass course).

FLYING BY CHART
AND GROUND
REFERENCE IS A
GREAT WAY TO
GUARANTEE THAT
YOU'LL SPEND HALF
YOUR TIME LOOKING
OUTSIDE THE AIRPLANE. IT ALSO WILL
SHARPEN YOUR SKILL
SET FOR THE WORSTCASE SCENARIO:
HAVING TO GET
SOMEWHERE SAFELY
IF ALL YOUR FANCY
GEAR CRAPS OUT.

Next: Get in your airplane and take off.
After a proper preflight, of course. Turn
off your GPS. Turn off your navigation
radios. Fly by the compass. Don't forget
that a compass acts funny in turns to the
north or south, and during acceleration
and deceleration, basically behaving itself
only in level flight.
You'll be surprised by how accurately
you can get from here to there with a
compass, and it's a great way to peel your
eyeballs off those glass screens. Plus, it
puts you in touch with the aviators of
yesteryear and sharpens your emergency
skills. While automation and informationpacked glass panels with moving maps are
great, overreliance on them puts us at risk
of losing basic airmanship skills. When
we break free from our dependence on all
the cockpit lights, bells, and whistles, we
strengthen our basic ability to fly, which
makes us better pilots-both with and
without the fancy toys.
And in addition to improved flying skill,
and the important safety issues of see and
avoid, there's one other good reason to
keep your head in the clouds when you fly:
The view can't be beat.
William E. Dubois is an aviation writer who holds
a commercial pilot certificate with instrument
rating, and advanced and instrument ground
instructor certificates.

APRIL 2015 FLIGHT TRAINING

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Flight Training - April 2015

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