PPL Navigation exam

What the exam covers

Pocket Pilot teaches Navigation in nine lessons, about 36 minutes of reading in all.

1. 01

   The Earth & Coordinates

   4 min

   Latitude and longitude · Waypoints · Great circles and rhumb lines · Nautical miles and minutes of arc · Time and longitude · Chart projections: overview

2. 02

   Direction: True, Magnetic, Compass

   4 min

   The three norths · Variation · Deviation · The full conversion chain · Heading vs Track vs Bearing · Quadrantal and cardinal bearings · Compass errors in flight

3. 03

   Aeronautical Charts

   4 min

   Projection: Lambert Conformal Conic · Scale and distance · What's on the chart · Reading the legend · Choosing landmarks · Currency

4. 04

   Time, Speed & Distance

   4 min

   The four speeds · Computing TAS without a calculator · Computing ground speed · The 60:1 rule: the navigator's friend · Time calculations · Headwind / crosswind component · Endurance, range, and fuel

5. 05

   Dead Reckoning & The Wind Triangle

   4 min

   The three vectors · The four unknowns of every flight plan · Wind correction angle (WCA) · The whiz wheel (CRP-5) · In-flight DR: the "1-in-60" turn · Sources of DR error · When DR fails: getting unlost

6. 06

   Diversions & Getting Unlost

   4 min

   When to divert · The five-step in-flight diversion · The thumb rule for track · Lost procedures: the "5 Cs" · Fuel reserve in a diversion

7. 07

   VOR Navigation

   4 min

   How it works · The cockpit display: OBS, CDI, TO/FROM · Identifying the station · Tracking to and from · Position fix using two VORs · Errors and limitations · DME: distance from the station

8. 08

   NDB and ADF Navigation

   4 min

   How it works · Three bearings to know · Worked example · Tracking to and from an NDB · Cone of silence · NDB errors and limitations · NDB vs VOR: practical use

9. 09

   GNSS and GPS

   4 min

   The four major GNSS constellations · How a position fix works · RAIM and SBAS · Practical accuracy · Failure modes: the things that break a GPS · Best practice for VFR pilots

How the exam works

Navigation is one of the nine PPL(A) theory exams. Each is a separate multiple-choice paper, sat at your school or at a test centre approved by your national aviation authority. This one has 12 questions in 45 minutes, and you need 75% to pass, which is 9 correct answers.

• You have four attempts at each subject before further training is required.
• You must pass all nine within 18 months of your first sitting, in no more than six sittings.
• Your passes then stay valid for 24 months, and your skill test must fall inside that window.

The Navigation mock exam in Pocket Pilot has the same question count, time limit and pass mark, drawn from a growing bank of practice questions.

Try three exam questions

From the Pocket Pilot Navigation question bank, each with the app's explanation and the source it cites.

1. 01 / 03

   You plan a track of 090°(M) with wind from the north. To maintain the track, your heading will be:

   1. AGreater than 090°, crabbing south
   2. BExactly 090°, with the wind affecting only ground speed
   3. CLess than 090°, crabbing into the wind to the north
   4. D180°, directly into the wind
   Show the answerHide the answer

   Answer C. Wind from the north pushes the aircraft south of track, so the nose must be crabbed left (north), giving a heading less than 090°. A pure crosswind also slightly reduces ground speed.

   Source

   EASA Subject 061 – General Navigation

   Lesson

   Dead Reckoning & The Wind Triangle

2. 02 / 03

   Flying towards a VOR with the OBS accidentally set to the reciprocal of your course, the CDI will:

   1. ABehave normally
   2. BStay permanently centred
   3. CShow reverse sensing: the needle points the wrong way and corrections make things worse
   4. DFlag OFF
   Show the answerHide the answer

   Answer C. The CDI senses correctly only when your heading roughly agrees with the OBS course. With the reciprocal selected, deflection reverses: flying towards the needle increases the error. Before trusting the CDI, set the OBS to your intended direction of flight and check the TO/FROM flag.

   Source

   EASA Subject 062 – Radio Navigation

   Lesson

   VOR Navigation

3. 03 / 03

   Every GPS device in your area suddenly loses its fix at the same time. The most likely cause is:

   1. ASimultaneous battery failure
   2. BAll satellites setting below the horizon
   3. CDeliberate or accidental radio-frequency jamming, for example during a military exercise
   4. DA firmware update
   Show the answerHide the answer

   Answer C. GNSS signals are extremely weak and easily jammed, deliberately (military exercises, conflict zones) or accidentally. Area-wide outages are NOTAMed when planned. Revert to visual navigation and radio aids, which is why DR skills stay current.

   Source

   EASA SIB 2022-02 (GNSS outages) / EASA Subject 062

   Lesson

   GNSS and GPS

The other eight exams

• Air Law→16 questions · 35 min
• Human Performance & Limitations→12 questions · 25 min
• Meteorology→16 questions · 50 min
• Communications→12 questions · 20 min
• Principles of Flight→12 questions · 35 min
• Operational Procedures→12 questions · 30 min
• Flight Performance & Planning→12 questions · 45 min
• Aircraft General Knowledge→16 questions · 35 min