In recent years, paper charts, plotters / protractors, mechanical E6-B (circular slide rule) navigation “computers” are all being supplanted by electronic flight bags. These electronic aids are incredible and I will certainly use them to maximize safety.
But, I also really enjoy learning the classic methods. Using a labeled straight-edge for distances, a protractor for courses, and a circular slide rule for time/distance/rates and another side with trigonometry for course adjustments for wind, I like to imagine what it might have been like, flying over Europe in the 1940’s.
Planning for my first cross-country flights, I used these classic tools and filled out a VFR navigation log provided by the flight school.
Downsides of tools I initially used
I quickly realized a few things, especially during my first dual cross-country:
- Flight planning VFR navlogs that have been passed on for years or decades have not been updated for current practice
- Precious space is used to document VOR navigation frequencies and radials, although flying “Victor airways” seems far less common in today’s age of GPS
- Most navlogs are ergonomically inefficient. Space is at a premium in a Cessna 172. If you fold a navlog to fit on your kneeboard, you want to see the most critical information
- While I think it’s absolutely crucial for true understanding to be able to do the navlog calculations manually, if it’s too time-consuming or onerous, it’s easy to get lazy and skip steps. A key rule in effective process improvement is to “Make it easy to do it right.”
Creating my own tools
Goal: create my own flight planning tools that supports understanding, convenience, and utility.
I first used Microsoft Excel to create a worksheet for manual completion of a flight planning navlog.
The first page was for a typical navlog.
I arranged it so that when folded in half to fit on a kneeboard, one side had the “critical” in-flight information of checkpoints, magnetic heading, time, and fuel consumption.
The second page was a worksheet for risk management,
Pre-flight planning includes looking at current and forecast weather, adverse conditions en route, areas of temporary flight restriction, and assessment of other potential risks, all of which should be considered in the Go / No Go decision. Much of this information can be obtained via https://www.1800wxbrief.com/ and others are personal assessments.
The third page in the Excel document was a weight and balance calculator for the aircraft that I fly.
From the outset, this page was “functional” to facilitate calculating weight and balance arms and CG limits assessment.
Example of usage
Disclaimer: the following is NOT a valid route – the second leg flies through a restricted area. But the triangular route is convenient to allow testing wind correction angles.
SkyVector to choose waypoints
SkyVector is a free website that is really awesome to quickly plan out possible routes. You can drag and drop checkpoints over various aviation charts.
Rather than using a straight-edge and protractor, SkyVector has a toggle switch on the top right of the Flight Plan window that will show you true courses and distances (but it’s still good practice to do it manually).
Here’s a simple (and bad) plan from Norwood (KOWD) to Hyannis (KHYA) to Worcester (KORH) and back to Norwood (KOWD).
Entering the true courses, leg distances, and winds aloft (along with magnetic variation) into the appropriate yellow cells results in calculation of magnetic compass courses and headings for navigation. Entering fuel on board, expected cruise performance, additional fuel needed for taxi + climb, weight and balance numbers, allows calculation of time per leg, fuel endurance, consumption, and reserve time, takeoff and landing weights + center of gravity moments. (Estimated calculations of density altitudes are also included, assuming standard lapse rates.)
The “highlight formulas” checkbox can be unchecked, to remove the yellow + green cell highlighting, and the navlog printed out. It’s designed so that when folded in half, the most critical fields are still visible, as well as space to fill in the actual times for each leg.
First solo cross-country
Attached is the navlog I actually used for my first ever solo cross-country, from Norwood to Hyannis and back. It’s a slightly older version (the newer version allows changing airspeeds en route; also, there’s an embarrassing error in planned altitude for my return flight).
This example of my handwriting makes it very clear why it’s better for me to type things than to handwrite them…
Picture of the Cape Cod Canal during the return flight from Hyannis.
