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aeronautical chart
An aeronautical chart is a map designed to assist in navigation of aircraft, much as nautical charts do for watercraft, or a roadmap for drivers.
Do pilots use latitude and longitude?
At the start of the flight whilst on the ground with the pilots setting the aircraft up ready for flight, the crew tell it the IRS the aircraft’s exact location in terms of Latitude and Longitude. It then detects any acceleration across any axis and then calculates the aircraft position based on this movement.
What codes do pilots use?
Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliet, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-ray, Yankee, Zulu. Pilots pronounce numbers similar to regular English, with a few exceptions: The number three (3) is pronounced “tree.”
Do pilots need maps?
But pilots must always be monitoring to address ATC instructions, weather, traffic or other issues. GPS can occasionally have disruptions, so most pilots keep paper maps handy, and cockpits have a magnetic compass.
What type of map would a pilot use to plan a flight route?
In the United States, aeronautical charts are published by the FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration. The one above is similar to the one I saw in Half Moon Bay. It’s used for flying under visual flight rules (commonly referred to as VFR—if you’re going to be a pilot, you’d better get comfortable with acronyms).
What does Romeo mean in aviation?
“Romeo” refers to the letter R (ICAO phonetic alphabet) and is short for WCHR which is an aviation-typical abbreviation for “Wheel chair to Ramp”.
How did pilots find their way before GPS?
In the past few years, GPS has become a primary method of navigating for pilots. But how did pilots find their way before GPS? And which navigation systems are still in use? In the early days, pilots had to navigate by looking out the window and finding visual landmarks, or by celestial navigation.
NDBs are becoming less and less common as GPS takes over as the popular method of navigating, but some pilots still use them. A VOR, which stands for VHF omnidirectional range, is a type of radio navigation used frequently by pilots today.
How does a pilot calculate distance and time?
Dead reckoning is the process of navigating by calculating distance and time based on the groundspeed of the airplane. A pilot that is dead reckoning will calculate the time it should take between checkpoints on the ground if he flies at a specific airspeed.
How does a pilot know where his aircraft is?
The associated instrument in the cockpit includes an arrow that points in the direction of the NDB ground station, telling the pilot where he is in relation to the NDB station. If a pilot wants to know where he is, he can point his aircraft in the direction of the needle and “follow” it directly to the station.