FAA · Private Pilot Knowledge Test

Private Pilot Navigation

VFR navigation: sectionals, pilotage, dead reckoning, the wind triangle, VOR, and GPS.

There is no separate Navigation exam. It is one of the subjects on the Private Pilot Knowledge Test, a single test that covers them all.

The Knowledge Test

60questions
2.5 htime limit
70%to pass

Syllabus

What the test covers

Pocket Pilot teaches Navigation in eight lessons, about 60 minutes of reading in all.

01
The Earth, Coordinates & Time
7 min
Latitude and longitude · Degrees, minutes, seconds · Critical fact: 1 minute of latitude = 1 NM · Longitude and the equator · Great circles vs. rhumb lines · Time and time zones · Sunset, sunrise, and the FAA's "night" · Time, speed, distance: the basics · Reading positions from charts · Position formats · VFR cross-country position reports · Sunrise and sunset across time zones · The International Date Line
02
True, Magnetic & Compass Headings
7 min
True north, magnetic north, and the compass · Variation: true vs. magnetic · Isogonic lines · Deviation: magnetic vs. compass · The conversion chain · True course vs. true heading · Magnetic track vs. magnetic heading · Variation across a chart · Common mistakes · ATC and magnetic: the standard · Runway numbers · Recent renumbering · Magnetic deviation by airplane · The compass as backup
03
Sectional Charts
9 min
What is a sectional · Other VFR charts · Reading the scale · What's on a sectional · Sectional symbols summary · The chart projection: Mercator or Lambert? · Computing distance and bearing from a chart · Variation on the chart · Compass rose on each VOR · Reading the airspace block · The Chart Supplement: the airport's fine print · Common chart errors to avoid · Practice exercise
04
Pilotage & Dead Reckoning
7 min
Pilotage · Dead reckoning · The three basic DR computations · Worked example · The six T's · Updating DR in flight · The visual estimation technique · When pilotage fails · Getting un-lost · Mental fuel discipline during DR · Practice
05
The Wind Triangle & E6-B
7 min
The three vectors · Setting up the problem · Solving with trigonometry · The E6-B flight computer · EFB-based wind triangle · The 1-in-60 rule · Wind from the wrong direction · Quick wind correction approximations · Practice: solve these · When to compute wind triangle manually
06
VOR Navigation
9 min
What a VOR does · Frequencies · Radials and bearings · The VOR receiver instruments · To/From and the reverse-sensing trap · Tracking a VOR radial · Tracking inbound · Wind correction on a VOR track · Station passage · Cross-checking with two VORs · Fixing your position from a single indication · VOR limitations · VOR check stations · DME: Distance Measuring Equipment · TACAN: military DME-like · Modern VOR · Practical exam VOR tasks
07
GPS & GNSS
7 min
How GPS works · Accuracy · WAAS: Wide Area Augmentation System · RAIM: Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring · GPS for VFR · Required equipment for IFR use · ADS-B: Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast · Loading a flight plan · GPS approaches · Datum and coordinate format · GPS limitations · Loss-of-GPS procedures · GPS vs. VOR: operational comparison
08
Cross-Country Planning & Diversions
7 min
The full planning workflow · Selecting cruise altitude · Filing a VFR flight plan · Diversions · The diversion calculation in 60 seconds · The "60-mile" rule for diversions · Fuel discipline during a diversion · Personal minimums for cross-country · Lost procedure: the five C's · PPL practical: cross-country task

Format

How the test works

The Private Pilot Knowledge Test, often called the written, is one multiple-choice test of 60 questions drawn from every area of the FAA's Airman Certification Standards. Navigation questions are mixed in with the rest.

You have 2.5 hours, and you need 70% to pass, which is 42 correct answers.
You take it at an approved testing center, once your instructor has endorsed you for it.
A pass is valid for 24 calendar months, and you need to pass your checkride within that time.

In Pocket Pilot you can practice Navigation on its own, from a growing question bank, then sit a full 60-question mock exam that mixes every subject, timed like the real test.

Sample questions

Try three test questions

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

01 / 03
An aircraft has a TAS of 120 kt. Wind is from 330° at 25 kt and the desired true course is 030°. Approximately what is the wind correction angle?
1. AAbout 4° left
2. BAbout 10° left
3. CAbout 6° right
4. DAbout 12° right
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer B. Wind angle = 030° − 330° = 60° (wind from 60° left of the nose). Crosswind component ≈ 25 × sin(60°) ≈ 21.7 kt. WCA ≈ arcsin(21.7/120) ≈ 10° into the wind (left). Crab into the wind to hold track.
Source
FAA-H-8083-25C, Chapter 16
Lesson
The Wind Triangle & E6-B
02 / 03
Flying directly over a VOR-DME station at 6,000 ft AGL, the DME readout will show approximately:
1. A0 NM
2. BIt will go blank
3. C6 NM
4. D1 NM
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer D. DME measures slant range, the straight-line distance from aircraft to station. Directly overhead, that distance is your height: 6,000 ft is about 1 NM. The error matters most close to the station at altitude.
Source
AIM 1-1-5 / FAA-H-8083-25C, Chapter 16
Lesson
VOR Navigation
03 / 03
Navigating by dead reckoning, you arrive over a checkpoint two minutes earlier than the planned time. This tells you that:
1. AYour groundspeed is higher than planned, probably because the tailwind is stronger (or the headwind weaker) than forecast
2. BYour heading is wrong and you should turn toward the next checkpoint
3. CThe true airspeed indicator is under-reading
4. DThe checkpoint was misidentified; early arrival is not possible
Show the answerHide the answer
Answer A. Time checks at each checkpoint reveal the actual wind. Ahead of time means groundspeed is higher than planned, so the wind has more tailwind (or less headwind) than forecast; behind time means the opposite. Being left or right of track reveals the crosswind error. Use the observed wind to recompute the next leg's ETE and heading rather than waiting for the error to accumulate.
Source
FAA-H-8083-25C, Chapter 16
Lesson
Pilotage & Dead Reckoning