~ Sec. A -
- Line of Position (LOP); can be identified on nautical chart and aeronautical chart as a line of possible positions, one being the airplanes actual position.
- Fix; intersection of two different lines of positions that establishes a position at a definite location.
- Pilotage; navigating by visual landmarks.
- Checkpoints; identifying landmarks that can't be confused with anything else used to provide cues to help you recognize and correct for drift.
- Dead rocking; type of navigation based on the calculations of time, speed, distance, and direction.
- Navigation plotter; transparent instrument that combines a straightedge for drawing a course line, a protractor for measuring the direction of flight, and distance scales for sectional, WAC, and VFR terminal area charts in both nautical and statute miles.
- True course; intended or desired direction of flight as measured on a chart clockwise from true north.
- Navigation log; additional information used in dead reckoning.
- Leg; any segment of a cross-country flight, such as the distance between checkpoints, intermediate stops, or course changes.
- True heading; direction of the longitudinal axis of the airplane points with respect to true north that is equal to true course plus or minus any wind correction angle.
- Isogonic line; lines on charts that connect points of equal magnetic variation.
- Magnetic course; true course corrected for magnetic variation.
- Compass heading; aircraft heading read from the compass that is derived by applying correction factors for variation, deviation, and wind to true course.
- VFR cruising altitude; when fling above 3,000 ft. AGL on magnetic headings from 0-179 degrees you must fly at odd thousand-foot altitudes plus 500 ft. and on headings from 180-359 degrees you are required to fly at even thousand plus 500 ft. up to the flight levels.
- Fuel reserve; requiring flights to have enough fuel to fly to the first point of intended landing at normal cruise speed, and to fly after that for an additional 30 minutes.
- Flight plan; a request that the FSS initiate a search for you if they have not heard from you by a certain time.
~ Sec. B -
- Very high frequency omnidirectional range (VOR);the most commonly used radio navigation system in the U.S. with more than 1,000 stations in service that operate in high frequency range on frequencies of 108 MHz - 117.95 MHz.
- VOR/DME and VORTAC; provide distance information to aircraft equipped with distance measuring equipment.
- Radials; radio beams transmitted by VOR stations outward in every direction.
- Compass roses; depict VORs and their associated radials on sectional charts with circles graduated in degrees.
- Terminal VOR (TVOR); located on an airport and is designed to be used within 25 n.m. and below 12,000 ft. AGL.
- Low altitude VOR (LVOR); used reliably up to 40 n.m. from the station at altitudes between 1,000 and 18,000 ft. AGL.
- High altitude VOR (HVOR); offers a reception range of 40 n.m. up to 14,500 ft., and 100 n.m. between 14,500 ft. and 18,000 ft.
- Reverse sensing; the normal procedure of correcting toward the needle will actually take you farther off course.
- Cone of confusion; area over the station in which the TO-FROM indicator changes.
- Tracking; flying from one station to another maintaining the selected course by keeping the CDI centered.
- Bracketing; involves making a series of corrections to regain and maintain your desired course.
- Triangulation; determining your location from the second stating and drawing a line of position on that radial from the second VOR.
- VOR orientation; determining your position with respect to a VOR facility.
- VOR checkpoints; taxiing your aircraft to a specific point on the airport designated in the VOR Receiver Check section of the A/FD.
- VOR test facilities; enable you to make precise VOR accuracy checks regardless of your position in relation to the facility.
- Horizontal situation indicator (HSI); improved VOR indicator which you will find on many high-performance airplanes.
- Distance measuring equipment (DME); obtaining a readout of the distance in nautical miles to the associated VOR/DME or VORTAC site as well as groundspeed and time enroute to the station.
- Slant range distance; the result of horizontal and vertical distance.
~ Sec. C -
- Automatic direction finder (ADF); aircraft radio navigation system which sends and indicates the direction to an L/MF nondirecional radio beacon (NDB) or commercial broadcast station.
- Nondirectional radio beacons (NDBs); transmit low/medium frequency signals in the range of 190 kHz to 535 kHz.
- Directional antenna; flat device about the size of your hand, containing loops or wire that receive audio signals more efficiently in one direction than in others.
- Sense antenna; receives signals with equal efficiency in all directions.
- Bearing; the horizontal direction from one point to another.
- Fixed-card bearing indicator; where the number zero always appears at the top and the numbers around the 360 degree azimuth card correspond to a station's bearing relative to the nose of the airplane.
- Movable card bearing indicator; rotating the azimuth card so the aircraft heading is under the top index.
- Radio magnetic indicator (RMI); similar to the movable card indicator except it automatically adjusts itself to the present aircraft heading.
- Relative bearing; angular difference between the airplane's longitudinal axis and a straight line drawn from the airplane to the station.
- Magnetic bearing; the magnetic heading added to the relative bearing.
- Homing; navigating to an NDB by holding a zero relative bearing.
- Night effect; when NDB signals can be refracted by the ionosphere and return to earth 30 to 60 miles or more from the station, leading to ADF needle fluctuations most pronounced during the period just before and just after sunrise or sunset.
- Thunderstorm effect; can cause the ADF needle to point to the source of the lightning flashes rather than the tuned NDB.
- Precipitation static; caused by a buildup of static electricity on an aircraft flying in rain, snow, or clouds, can interfere with ADF indications and cause the ADF needle to wander.
- Terrain effect; can occur when mountains reflect the radio waves and cause erroneous bearing indications.
- Shoreline effect; can degrade the accuracy of your ADF.
- Area navigation (RNAV); the basic method used by a variety of equipment including VORTAC-based area navigation systems, long range navigation systems, inertial navigation systems, and global positioning systems.
- Long range navigation (LORAN); a continuous, all-weather, position determining system maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard for land, sea, and airborne applications.
- Time difference; between the reception of a master stations signal and that of a secondary station determining your locations along a string of possibilities.
- Inertial navigation system (INS); self-contained system which supplies aircraft position and navigation information based on inertial forces measured by gyroscopic stabilized instruments called accelerometers.
- Global positioning systems (GPS); space-based radio positioning, navigation, and time-transfer system developed and maintained by the DOD.
- Standard positioning service (SPS); the sum of all GPS errors allowing the DOD to provide a very accurate navigation signal to civilian aviation users.
- Precise positioning service (PPS); available to authorized U.S. and allied military forces, the federal government, and civil users who can satisfy specific U.S. requirements.