Checkride

When Charles Lindbergh flew his 3,600-mile solo cross-country flight from New York to Paris, he did not have the benefit of radio navigation or communication equipment. And now, during private pilot practical tests 86 years later, the FAA still requires a demonstration of the same primal means of navigation that Lindbergh relied on. Why? Because when everything else fails, you can always depend on the basics: pilotage and dead reckoning navigation.

Pilotage is used when a pilot determines his position with reference to observed landmarks—and then, by comparing those observations to chart references, is able to proceed on course to the destination. This method is similar to crossing a stream using stepping stones. From your current stone, you would locate and step on each successive stone to cross the stream—one stone (checkpoint) at a time.

Dead reckoning is more like crossing the stream in a canoe, where an estimate of the water’s speed is compensated for by angling the canoe upstream in order to arrive at your desired landing point rather than downstream of it. In an airplane, we calculate a wind-correction angle; account for magnetic variation and deviation; and then refer to our magnetic compass to fly a specific heading that hopefully will take us directly to our desired destination.

Knowing that pilotage and dead reckoning skills will be tested, do complete a cross-country route log that compensates for forecast winds aloft, magnetic variation, and compass deviation; determine your estimated groundspeed, time en route, and fuel required. But on the checkride, in your GPS- and/or VOR-equipped aircraft, do not ignore or underutilize your modern avionics. The designated pilot examiner (DPE) will want to confirm that you know how to use all those fancy bells and whistles, as well as observe you using your primary navigation skills. Remember: It is never a good idea during a checkride to deviate from proper training and proven techniques just because you thought the DPE wanted to see something different.

So go ahead and activate your GPS, entering your destination airport or other desired waypoints; tune your VORs, with the desired course settings on the OBS; and fly the cross-country the same way you would the following week as a new private pilot, using all of your available tools. Let the examiner decide when and how your primary electronic navigation tools become ineffective or unusable. Examiners usually initiate this by simulating a radio navigation (VOR and/or GPS) failure. At that point, simply revert to your handy route log and fly your pre-computed heading while confirming actual course accuracy by looking out the window and observing those previously selected checkpoints going by. It really is just that simple. Just remember to make appropriate heading adjustments to correct for actual winds or course corrections as needed.

Difficulties sometimes arise when less-prominent checkpoints were selected during preflight. Try to use cities, large towns, and larger lakes or rivers as your favorite checkpoints—avoiding, if possible, smaller roads, railroad tracks, small towns, ponds, and yes, even airports. These relatively less-visible landmarks can make for a very nervous applicant when they cannot be spotted during the checkride. If that happens, don’t give up. Proceed with the lost procedures you were taught during training: Plot your approximate location using crossing radials of two adjacent VOR stations and then confirm that position using visual references to nearby landmarks. If VOR navigation is not available (or permitted), consider radio communication with an ATC radar facility as another option. Once your position has been reestablished, fly a heading that will get you back on course toward your destination.

The same goes for cross-country diversion procedures, which also are a required part of every checkride. Start with your current, known position. From there, estimate the approximate heading that will take you to your new destination. Then, having turned to the new heading, begin confirming its accuracy immediately by spotting charted landmarks along the new route—proving that you are, in fact, flying the right way. This will convince the examiner that you didn’t need a line drawn on a chart or any fancy pre-prepared route logs to safely and accurately navigate. If Charles Lindbergh could do it, so can you.