PILOT NAVIGATION

1. PILOT NAVIGATION Senior/Master Air Cadet

2. Learning Outcomes Know the basic features of air navigation and navigational aids Understand the techniques of flight planning Understand the affects of weather on aviation

3. Flight Planning

4. Introduction We discussed the triangle of velocities and looked briefly at how the triangle is solved We shall revise the components of the triangle and learn how this helps us to plan a flight and then notify other people of our intentions. That is how we calculate some of the unknown components of the triangle from those that we know

6. Triangle of Velocities One side represents movement of the aircraft in still air Comprises of 3 vectors ( a vector being a component of the triangle having both direction & speed ) drawn to scale Another represents wind speed & direction The third shows the actual movement of the plane over the surface of the earth As a result of the other 2 vectors

7. Triangle of Velocities Thus there are 6 components Wind Speed Wind Direction Aircraft Heading True Airspeed Groundspeed Track

8. Solution of the Triangle Mental arithmetic Micro computers As long as we have 4 of the components it can be solved by a number of methods: Scale drawing on graph paper Dalton dead reckoning computer

9. Flight Planning Both in private aviation & military training flight planning is carried out using a Pilot Nav Log Card On this card the flight is divided into a number of legs

11. Flight Planning The card is divided into a number of legs Before the flight the Triangle Of Velocities is solved for each leg

12. Flight Planning However there is more to be done before the goal is reached First, the pilot needs to know the tracks and distances of the various legs So he draws them on a route chart We will now look at a flight of a bulldog from Leeming to Marham via Cottesmore departing from Leeming at 1000 hrs

14. Flight Planning The wind forecast is southerly for the first leg The Wind Forecast Is South Westerly For The Second Leg Looking at the map the wind lines are drawn on & you can see there should be a headwind for leg 1 (GS < TAS ) Producing A Crosswind For Leg 2 (Hdg & Track Differ By Drift)

15. Flight Planning - Log Entries TRACK The Pilot Must Enter Various Details On The Log Card Before Applying The Triangle Of Velocities: Measured With A Protractor DISTANCE Measured From The Chart

16. Flight Planning - Log Entries Forecast Air Temperature Forecast V/W Indicated Air Speed Height The Leg To Be Flown Decided By Operational, Safety & Other Needs Normally The Recommending Cruising Speed

17. Calculated from the IAS/RAS & Air Temperature Flight Planning - Log Entries TRUE AIRSPEED Found from the Peripheral Information on the Chart VARIATION

18. Flight Planning – Triangle of Velocities Usually the Pilot Would use the Rotatable Compass Rose or Dalton Computer We Must Use Graph Paper The Theory is the same but the Dalton Computer is much quicker

19. Flight Planning – Triangle of Velocities Once these are entered The Triangle of Velocities can be used to calculate, for each Leg: The Heading to counter the wind The Groundspeed

20. Flight Planning – Triangle of Velocities We already have 4 of the 6 elements of the triangle (1st leg)

21. W/V NORTH (TRUE) Flight Planning – Triangle of Velocities We First Draw The W/V From The Direction 180º & Give It A Length Of 3 Units ( To Represent 30 Kt)

22. Flight Planning – Triangle of Velocities Next, at the downwind end of the W/V draw the Trk/GS line in direction 161º It is an unknown length This length, the Groundspeed, is one element we will discover

23. Flight Planning – Triangle of Velocities All We Currently Know Is That The GS Will Be Less Than The TAS Of 125 Kt (We Know This From The Log Card) So The Max Length Of The Line Will Be 12.5 Graph Units

24. Flight Planning – Triangle of Velocities Next at the other end of the W/V line draw the HDG/TAS line to A length of 12.5 graph units (for the speed of 125 kt) to where it crosses the GS line & work out the angle with a pair of geometry compasses

25. Tk/GS UNKNOWN LENGHT HDG/TAS 12.5 Units W/V 3 UNITS ANGLE TO BE CALCULATED Flight Planning – Triangle of Velocities

26. Flight Planning – Triangle of Velocities We Can Now Calculate That The Length Of The TRK/GS Line Is 9.6 Units So The GS Will Be 96 Kt

27. Flight Planning – Triangle of Velocities Using A Protractor We Find The HDG/TAS Is 166º. We Can Now Apply The Magnetic Variation Of 7º To 166º(t) To Give A Heading Of 173º (M)

28. Flight Planning – Triangle of Velocities Entering These On The Log Card We Can Work Out The Leg Time By Using The Gs Of 96kt & Distance Of 98nm To Give 61¼ Minutes From Leeming ToCottlesmore We Can Do The Same For The Second Leg To Marham

29. Fuel Planning

30. Fuel Planning One of the main purposes of calculating flight times is to ensure sufficient fuel is available If this happens in a car it is inconvenient, in an aircraft it can be fatal

31. distance Fuel Planning The bulldog consumes fuel at: 12 gallons an hour So 12.3 gallons are needed for the first leg 12/60 X 61.25 = 12.25

32. Other Information The most important is the Safety Altitude This is the height a pilot must climb to, or not fly below, in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC)

33. Other Information This ensures the aircraft does not hit the ground or obstacles such as TV masts

34. Other Information Safety Altitude is calculated by adding 1000’ to the highest elevation on or near the track & rounding it up to the next 100’ In mountainous regions a greater safety height is added

35. Other Information An aircraft can not descend below the safety height unless the crew has good visual contact with the ground or the services of ATC

36. ATC Flight Plan Aircraft crews must notify ATC of their intentions so the overdue action can be initiated if the aircraft is overdue

37. ATC Flight Plan Additionally aircraft entering busy airspace have to submit a flight plan so their flight can be coordinated with other aircraft

38. ATC Flight Plan ATC has a standard format for this, including: Aircraft call sign Aircrafttype ETA Time & place of departure Route Speed & altitude Safety info

39. Conclusion The principles of flight planning are the same for across country flight in a bulldog or a Intercontinental flight on a Boeing

40. Conclusion • We must measure tracks & distances from a chart/databases, • Calculate the effects of the weather (especially the wind) , • Have sufficient fuel, • & inform ATC along the route This ensures that if anything goes wrong help will be available immediately

41. Position Fixing ?

42. Introduction In the pioneering days of aviation aircraft could not fly unless the crew could see the ground, as map reading was the only means of navigating

43. Introduction Later aircraft where fitted with sextants & radio direction finding equipment, but the big strides occurred during & after the second world war

44. Introduction It was not until the 1970’s that world wide coverage with a navigation aid known as Omega was achieved

45. Introduction More recently Satellite Navigation (SatNav) & the Global Position Satellite have come into use

46. Introduction Any process of finding an aircraft’s position is known as Fixing

47. VisualFixing There are many factors affecting map reading At this moment we need to know that when you look out of an aircraft & identify some unique feature this gives a visual fix know as a pinpoint

48. Visual Fixing The accuracy depends on the uniqueness of the feature, accuracy of the map, & skill of the observer It is still a reliable method & is used in the early training of crews

49. Radio Aids If you move a radio through 360º in the horizontal plane you should find 2 points where reception is good & 2 points where it is bad

50. Radio Aids The radio direction finder (RDF) works on this principle. It shows , on a dial in the aircraft, its bearing from a transmitting beacon. As long as the position of the Tx beacon is known a “position line” can be drawn, with the aircraft being somewhere along this line