Cross Country Planner

Cross Country Planning and Flying Guide

The Cross Country Planning and Flying Guide is available for download at no charge. It contains 52 pages in Adobe pdf format. The Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to use the file. Acrobat Reader is free and available by clicking the link below.

As you can see from the "contents" below, this guide is geared for the novice or student pilot; although, it may be helpful for flight instructors. The main purpose of the guide is to provide a solid foundation for understanding the VOR, allowing the student to easily visualize his actual position based upon the indications of the VOR's OBS (omnibearing selector) and CDI (course deviation indicator).

The file is 1.37 MB. It is available free as a download or on CD-ROM for $3.00 plus $3.95 Priority Mail shipping.

Download Cross Country Planning pdf file (1.37 MB)

Contents

Chapter 1 - Planning and Executing the Flight
Methods of Navigation
Pilotage
Dead Reckoning
Radio Navigation
Double-Cross System for Navigation
The Double Cross
Variation
Variation Rule
WCA Rule
Cruise Altitude
Cruise Performance
Thin Air
Optimum Cruise Altitude
Effect of Wind
Preflight Preparation
Equipment
Checking Weather
Weather Prediction
Buys Ballot's Law
Tom's Law
Proving the Law
Plotting the Course
    1. Draw a True Course Line
    2. Measure the True Course
    3. Measure the Course Distances
    4. Determine the Ground Speed
    5. Compute the Time and Fuel
Diverting to an Alternate Airport
Course Measurement
Distance Measurement
Estimating Time
Lost Procedures
    Circle of Error
    DF Steer
    Radar Assistance
    The Five Cs
    Radio Aids
Flight Log
    Fixes
    Frequency Column
    Magnetic Course
    Distance
    Time

VFR Flight Plan
Takeoff
En route
Descent
Descent Rule
Checking Your Altitude
Cross-Country Checklist
    Weather Brief Checklist
    Weather Briefing
    Preflight Planning
    Flight Log
Destination Airport Information

Chapter 2 - Radio Navigation
VOR Principle
    1. VOR Line-of-Sight Transmission
    2. VOR Usable Range
    3. Frequency Range of VOR
    4. Classification
    5. Station Identification
The VORTAC Station
Airborne VOR Equipment
Tuning and Identifying the VOR Station
Omnibearing Selector (OBS)
Course Deviation Indicator
Understanding the VOR
Left-Right Needle Indication (Course Arrow)
To-From Indication
Summary
Flying Victor Airways
Reciprocals
Bracketing
Tracking
Reverse Sensing

Chapter 3 - Control Positioning While Taxiing
Taxi Technique
Thumbs-Up Method
Downwind Taxiing

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