EXPERIENTIAL TOOL
Aviation
Personal Orientation Project
(POP)
AVIATION
Activity Guide
This activity guide was created in collaboration with experts in the field and is intended to be used in the
classroom under teacher supervision. The information it contains is not meant to be exhaustive.
The external links mentioned in this guide may no longer be active or may direct you to content that is
outdated or inappropriate. Please check these links before using them with students, as we cannot guarantee
they will work. Moreover, the Commission scolaire de la Beauce-Etchemin does not endorse nor shall be
held responsible for the reliability or accuracy of these external links or for the consequences of their use. In
addition, the Commission scolaire de la Beauce-Etchemin does not accept responsibility for the erroneous
interpretation or improper use of this activity guide.
Note that the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Creative Commons licence applies
only to the text and images noted as being under this licence. Any use of images or other materials that
are copyright protected with all rights reserved for purposes other than for this activity guide, in whole
or in part, is strictly forbidden.
This work, with the exception of any images or other materials identified as copyright protected with all
rights reserved, may be reproduced in full or in part provided the source is acknowledged.
2004, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ca/deed.en_CA
You are free to copy, distribute and transmit this
work.
You are free to adapt this work.
Attribution. You must attribute the work to its
original author.
Noncommercial. You may not use this work for
commercial purposes.
Share alike. If you alter, transform or build upon
this work, you may distribute the resulting work
only under the same licence as this one.
Document number: 1
Document version: 4.0
Year: 2013
Property of the Commission scolaire de la Beauce-Etchemin
i
A V I A T I O N
Table of Contents
General information
1
Credits
3
I NTRODUCTI ON
5
ACTIVI TY
1
Introduction to flight planning
ACTIVI TY
7
2
Planning a flight: Québec City
to Trois-Rivières
ACTIVI TY
45
3
Flight simulation
49
CONCLUSI ON
57
ANSWER
KEY
Activity 2
58
APPENDI X
A – Glossary
64
ii
General information
A V I A T I O N
List of materials
The following is a list of all the materials and resources required to complete this tool kit
on aviation:
 Aviation Activity Guide
 Multimedia computer
 X-Plane 10 Global flight simulator software







Visual flight rules navigation chart (VNC) #1
Visual flight rules navigation chart (VNC) #2
Ruler
Navigation plotter
Graph paper
Square protractor
Joystick
Websites for activities
X-Plane Wiki
http://wiki.x-plane.com
Other recommended websites
Aerospace Industries Association of Canada
www.aiac.ca
Magnetic Declination
www.magnetic-declination.com
Take Charge
www.takecharge.navcanada.ca
TranspoCity
www.careersintransportation.ca
1
A V I A T I O N
Files and other resources
Visual flight rules navigation chart (VNC) #2 answer key
http://liensppo.qc.ca
X-Plane 10 Manual
http://liensppo.qc.ca
Note that all links mentioned in this section are listed on the POP Links website at
http://liensppo.qc.ca in the “Aviation” section.
2
Credits
A V I A T I O N
French conception and adaptation
Denis Godin
Private pilot (activities 1 and 2)
Pedagogical Validation Committee for POP Activity Guides
English conception
Rob Costain
Education Consultant (Activity 3)
English translation and adaptation
i-Edit Inc.
Translation
Avis Anderson
Researcher, editor and final reviser
Pedagogical Validation Committee for POP Activity Guides
Images
The Commission scolaire Beauce-Etchemin logo appearing throughout this guide is
copyright protected with all rights reserved and is therefore excluded from the Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada licence.
The cover page photo was taken by user flightlog (“Cockpit PA 28,” Flickr®, accessed
March 18, 2013, http://www.flickr.com/photos/flightlog/6362060615/). It is under Creative
Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic licence.
The photo at the beginning of Activity 1 was taken by user Makaristos
(“C-FAFJ-2008-09-13-YVR,”Wikimedia Commons, last modified September 25, 2010,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:C-FAFJ-2008-09-13-YVR.jpg). It has been released
into the public domain.
Figures 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 are cropped and enlarged from visual flight rules
navigation chart (VNC) #1, which is provided with this guide courtesy of Nav Canada
(http://www.navcanada.ca). These figures are copyright protected with all rights reserved and
are therefore excluded from the Creative Commons licence.
All other images in Activity 1 were taken by Robert Costain and are under Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada licence.
3
A V I A T I O N
Images (cont.)
The photo at the beginning of Activity 2 was taken by Ben
Fitzgerald-O’Connor
(“IMG_8307,”
Flickr®,
accessed
March
18,
2013,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/onega/4678058602/). It is under Creative Commons Attribution
2.0 Generic licence.
Figure 2.1 is cropped and enlarged from visual flight rules navigation chart (VNC) #2, which is
provided with this guide courtesy of Nav Canada (http://www.navcanada.ca). This figure is
copyright protected with all rights reserved and is therefore excluded from the Creative
Commons licence.
The photo at the beginning of Activity 3 was taken by NASA (“AC97-0295-13 a,” Wikimedia
Commons, last modified October 17, 2010, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AC970295-13_a.jpeg). It is in the public domain.
All screenshots in Activity 3 are of the X-Plane 10 Global flight simulator software and are used
with permission. They are copyright protected with all rights reserved and are therefore
excluded from the Creative Commons licence.
Figure
3.8
in
Activity
3
was
created
by
NASA
(“Roll
pitch
yaw plain,” Wikimedia Commons, last modified November 21, 2009,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rollpitchyawplain.png). It is in the public domain.
The vector diagrams in the Answer Key were created by Robert Costain. They are under the
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada licence.
Other copyrighted material
The visual flight rules navigation charts (VNCs) provided with this activity guide for
activities 1 and 2 are courtesy of Nav Canada (http://www.navcanada.ca). They are
intended for use with this guide only; under no circumstances should they ever be
used for navigation purposes. The charts are copyright protected with all rights reserved
and are therefore excluded from the Creative Commons licence.
4
A V I A T I O N
Introduction
Aviation is a broad industry that offers many high-paying career opportunities: airline pilot,
bush pilot, flight dispatcher, air traffic controller, flight instructor, helicopter pilot, aircraft
maintenance engineer, flight service specialist, etc.
In Canada, there are four types of airplane pilot permits and licences1:
1) The recreational pilot permit allows the holder to fly non-commercially as a pilot of a
single-engine airplane. Only domestic day flying is allowed.
2) The private pilot licence is the most commonly held licence in Canada and is generally
the first licence earned by aspiring professional pilots. It allows the holder to fly noncommercially as a pilot or co-pilot of a single-engine airplane. Only day flying is
allowed, unless the pilot has earned other ratings by following various courses.
3) The commercial pilot’s licence allows the holder to fly professionally as a pilot of a
single-pilot airplane or as co-pilot on a multi-crew airplane. Night flying is included in
this licence.
4) The airline transport pilot’s licence allows the holder to fly professionally as a pilot
of a single-pilot airplane or as co-pilot on a multi-crew airplane. This licence is required
to be a professional airline captain.
This activity guide will focus on flight planning, something you would do if you were a
flight dispatcher or a bush pilot, who does not have access to a highly automated cockpit.
Over the years, instruments in the cockpits of commercial aircraft have evolved to such a
point that flight planning now consists mainly of programming flight computers and GPS.
Despite these technological advances, flight planning remains an important exercise from
an academic point of view, since it allows pilots to learn about the factors that affect flight
and understand how these new instruments function. Furthermore, since flight instrument
failures do occur, it is of the utmost importance that all pilots know how to fly under visual
flight rules (VFR).2 This method involves the use of standard charts and calculations that
help direct pilots and set them on the right course.
1. Each permit and licence has an equivalent for helicopter pilots (see “Pilot licensing in Canada,” Wikipedia, last
modified April 17, 2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_licensing_in_Canada, and “On Becoming a Pilot in Canada,”
Air Time Canada, accessed April 9, 2012, http://www.airfun.org/bap/index.html).
2. Visual flight rules are a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear
enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. The pilot must be able to operate the aircraft with visual
reference to the ground and by visually avoiding obstructions and other aircraft (“Visual flight rules,” Wikipedia, last
modified May 21, 2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_flight_rules).
A V I A T I O N
You will also have the opportunity to fly an airplane using X-Plane, a flight simulator. XPlane is a software tool that can be used to predict the flying qualities of various planes
with a high degree of accuracy.3 It is a great way for you to explore the world of aircraft
flight dynamics.
Enjoy your time as a pilot!
Note about units of measurement
As a result of the great influence of the United States and England in aviation, imperial
units of measurement are most commonly used in this industry to this day. Instruments
built in these countries are calibrated in imperial units, which, for consistency’s sake, are
used by most countries. The measurements used in the activities in this guide are therefore
given in imperial units to more closely reflect pilots’ everyday reality.
The following table contains information about imperial units of measurement used in the
aviation industry as well as their metric equivalents.
Imperial Units of Measurement
Type of measurement
Length
Length
Length
Weight
Volume
Speed
Unit
Inch
Foot
Nautical mile
Pound
Gallon (U.S.)
Knot
Abbreviation
in.
ft.
NM
lb.
gal.
kt.
Metric equivalent
1 in. = 2.54 cm
1 ft. = 30.48 cm
1 NM = 1.85 km
1 lb. = 453.59 g
1 gal. = 3.70 L
1 kt. = 1.85 km/h
Note that technical terms are indicated in italics throughout the guide and are defined
in footnotes the first time they are used. Definitions for these terms can also be found
in the glossary in Appendix A.
3. See “About X-Plane,” X-Plane 10 Manual, Laminar Research, 2012.
Activity
A V I A T I O N
1
Introduction to flight planning
Flight planning is “the process of producing a flight plan to describe a proposed aircraft
flight. It involves two safety-critical aspects: fuel calculation, to ensure that the aircraft can
safely reach the destination, and compliance with air traffic control requirements, to
minimize the risk of mid-air collision.” In addition, pilots normally want to minimize flight
cost by choosing an appropriate route, altitude and speed and by loading the minimum
necessary fuel on board.
You are training for your private pilot licence and are learning to plan a flight for a singleengine aircraft providing an air taxi service from Bagotville to Roberval. Since this is a
challenging task, your flight instructor will walk you through the steps required to plan this
flight. In Activity 2, you will repeat the same flight planning steps on your own for a
different flight.
What you will need to complete this activity:





Visual flight rules navigation chart (VNC) #1
Ruler
Navigation plotter
Graph paper
Square protractor
A V I A T I O N
Exercise 1: Flight planning training
During your training, your flight instructor shows you the steps required to plan a flight
from Bagotville to Roberval. Try out each step as you go along and check your answers
against those of your instructor. Note that the purpose of this exercise is to fill out a Flight
Planner; to do so, the instructor provides you with a virtual flight rules navigation chart
(VNC #1), a blank Flight Planner (which you will fill out as you go along) and several
tables that contain pertinent information.
Step 1
Using figures 1.1 to 1.3 to help you, locate the origin airport (Bagotville Airport) and the
destination airport (Roberval Airport) on VNC #1, as well as the set heading point (SHP)4,
which in this example is the Shipshaw Dam. A set heading point is an easily identifiable
intermediate point, usually located between 10 and 15 nautical miles5 (NM) from the origin
airport.
Origin airport: Bagotville
(Draw the first flight segment
starting from the intersection of
these two bars)
© 2009, Nav Canada
Figure 1.1
4. The set heading point (SHP) is a geographic reference point that is easily identifiable and located at a reasonable
distance from the take-off runway. The climb segment of the flight ends here, and the cruise segment begins.
5. A nautical mile is a unit of length corresponding to approximately one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian.
By international agreement, one nautical mile is exactly 1852 metres.
A V I A T I O N
A V I A T I O N
Set heading point: Shipshaw Dam
(Draw the first flight segment to
this symbol)
© 2009, Nav Canada
Figure 1.2
Destination airport: Roberval
(Draw the second flight segment
to the middle of this bar)
© 2009, Nav Canada
Figure 1.3
A V I A T I O N
Step 2
Once you have located these three points on the chart, use the ruler to draw flight segments
from the origin airport to the set heading point and from the set heading point to the
destination airport, as shown in Figure 1.4.
Figure 1.4
The flight segment between the origin airport (departure point) and the set heading point is
called the climb segment, while the flight segment between the set heading point and the
destination airport (arrival point) is the cruise segment.
A V I A T I O N
Step 3
Measure the true track (TT) (or true course)6 for the climb segment using the navigation
plotter. To do so, align the top edge of the plotter (where the nautical mile marks are
indicated) with the climb segment. Move the plotter left or right along the climb segment
until the hole in the plotter lies on a meridian7 (vertical grid line on the chart). Then read
the angle between the climb segment and the meridian, using the bottom numbers on the
protractor (as the climb segment is heading west) (see Figures 1.5).
True track = Approx. 305°
Meridian
Read the angle
from the bottom
numbers on the
protractor
Align the top edge
of the plotter with
the climb segment
Figure 1.5
Because you are using a relatively small chart, it is difficult to measure the true track with
precision. For the purpose of this exercise, you should therefore round the angle up or down
to the nearest 5°.
Record your result in the Flight Planner on the following page and compare it to what your
flight instructor recorded in the instructor’s Flight Planner on page 13. (As you proceed
through this exercise, your instructor’s latest additions to the instructor’s Flight Planner are
indicated in red.) You will use your Flight Planner for all steps in this activity; it will help
you compare your results to your instructor’s.
6. The true track (TT) (or true course) is the actual path over the ground that the aircraft will follow. It is obtained directly
from the angle of the line that connects two points on a map.
7. A meridian (or line of longitude) is an imaginary arc on the earth’s surface that runs from the North Pole to the South
Pole and connects all locations along it with a given longitude.
TOTAL
Fuel reserve
Destination
airport:
Roberval
Set heading
point:
Shipshaw Dam
Origin airport:
Bagotville
FLIGHT
PATH
TT
(°)
MT
(°)
Wind
(°/kt.)
TH
(°)
MH
(°)
DIST
(NM)
Flight Planner
GS
(kt.)
EET
(min)
FUEL
(gal.)
MEF
(ft.)
ATL
(ft.)
A V I A T I O N
A V I A T I O N
Flight Planner
FLIGHT
PATH
TT
(° )
MT
(° )
WIND
(°/kt.)
TH
(° )
MH
(° )
DIST
(NM)
GS
(kt.)
EET
(min)
FUEL
(gal.)
Origin airport:
Bagotville
Set heading
point:
Shipshaw Dam
305
Destination
airport:
Roberval
Fuel reserve
TOTAL
Use the following legend to understand the Flight Planner:
Flight Planner Legend
Abbreviation
TT
MT
WIND
TH
MH
DIST
GS
EET
FUEL
MEF
ALT
Term
True track (°)
Magnetic track (°)
Wind direction/speed (°/kt.)
True heading (°)
Magnetic heading (°)
Length of segment (NM)
Ground speed (kt.)
Estimated elapsed time (min.)
Expected fuel consumption (gal.)
Maximum elevation figure (ft.)
Flight altitude (ft.)
MEF
(ft.)
ALT
(ft.)
A V I A T I O N
Step 4
Repeat the same procedure to measure the true track for the cruise segment (see Figure
1.6).
True track = Approx. 275°
Figure 1.6
Record your results in your Flight Planner and compare them to what your flight instructor
recorded in the instructor’s Flight Planner below.
Flight Planner
FLIGHT
PATH
TT
(° )
Origin airport:
Bagotville
Set heading
point:
Shipshaw Dam
305
Destination
airport:
Roberval
275
Fuel reserve
TOTAL
MT
(° )
WIND
(°/kt.)
TH
(° )
MH
(° )
DIST
(NM)
GS
(kt.)
EET
(min)
FUEL
(gal.)
MEF
(ft.)
ALT
(ft.)
A V I A T I O N
Step 5
Calculate the magnetic track (MT) (or magnetic course)8 by subtracting the degree of
magnetic variation (or magnetic declination)9 from the true track. For the region
concerned, the degree of variation is 17 W (−17 degrees from true north). Subtract this
number from the true tracks calculated previously.
Magnetic track = true track – degree of magnetic variation
Climb segment: 305 – (–17) = 322°
Cruise segment: 275 – (–17) = 292°
Record your results in your Flight Planner and compare them to what your flight instructor
recorded in the instructor’s Flight Planner below.
Flight Planner
FLIGHT
PATH
TT
(° )
MT
(° )
Set heading
point:
Shipshaw Dam
305
322
Destination
airport:
Roberval
275
292
WIND
(°/kt.)
TH
(° )
MH
(° )
DIST
(NM)
GS
(kt.)
EET
(min)
FUEL
(gal.)
MEF
(ft.)
ALT
(ft.)
Origin airport:
Bagotville
Fuel reserve
TOTAL
Note that we are assuming the degree of magnetic variation is 17 W for all locations
mentioned in Activity 1. You can verify the actual degree of magnetic variation
by visiting www.magnetic-declination.com and entering the origin airport and the set
heading point in turn. Magnetic variation changes constantly; charts and databases must be
updated at least twice a year to reflect the current magnetic variation.10
8. The magnetic track (MT) (or magnetic course) is the true track corrected for magnetic variation.
9. The degree of magnetic variation (or magnetic declination) is the angle between magnetic north (the direction the north
end of a compass needle points) and true north. The degree of magnetic variation is positive when the magnetic north is
east of true north and negative when it is west of true north (“Magnetic declination,” Wikipedia, last modified April 21,
2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_declination).
10. See
“Magnetic
declination,”
Wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_declination).
last
modified
April
21,
2012,
A V I A T I O N
Step 6
Using the navigation plotter, measure the distance in nautical miles (NM) for the climb
segment (see Figure 1.7). Make sure the nautical miles side of the plotter is up and start
at 0, not at the corner of the navigation plotter.
Start measuring
from here
Figure 1.7
Record your result in your Flight Planner and compare it to what your flight instructor
recorded in the instructor’s Flight Planner below.
Flight Planner
FLIGHT
PATH
TT
(° )
MT
(° )
Set heading
point:
Shipshaw Dam
305
322
Destination
airport:
Roberval
275
292
WIND
(°/kt.)
TH
(° )
MH
(° )
DIST
(NM)
Origin airport:
Bagotville
Fuel reserve
TOTAL
11
GS
(kt.)
EET
(min)
FUEL
(gal.)
MEF
(ft.)
ALT
(ft.)
A V I A T I O N
Step 7
Now do the same for the cruise segment (see Figure 1.8).
Figure 1.8
Again, record your result in your Flight Planner and compare it to what your flight
instructor recorded in the instructor’s Flight Planner below.
Flight Planner
FLIGHT
PATH
TT
(° )
MT
(° )
WIND
(°/kt.)
TH
(° )
MH
(° )
DIST
(NM)
Set heading
point:
Shipshaw Dam
305
322
11
Destination
airport:
Roberval
275
292
40
Origin airport:
Bagotville
Fuel reserve
TOTAL
GS
(kt.)
EET
(min)
FUEL
(gal.)
MEF
(ft.)
ALT
(ft.)
A V I A T I O N
Step 8
Determine the maximum elevation figure (MEF)11 for each flight segment. The MEF is the
highest elevation, including terrain and other vertical obstacles (towers, trees, etc.) within
a given quadrant on the chart (see Figure 1.9). In this case, both flight segments have the
same MEF: the highest MEF indicated on the chart within the flight path is 38, which
corresponds to 3800 feet (see Figure 1.9). For the purpose of this exercise, add 500 feet to
the MEF indicated on the chart as a buffer to account for pilot error.
MEF: 3800 + 500 = 4300 ft.
Quadrant within both
flight segments with
the highest MEF
Maximum
elevation
figure
Figure 1.9
11. The maximum elevation figure (MEF) represents the highest elevation within a quadrant on the visual flight rules
navigation chart. MEF figures are represented to the nearest 100 feet value, and the last two digits of the number are not
shown on the chart (e.g. 2800 feet is shown as 28).
A V I A T I O N
Your flight instructor recorded the MEF for each flight segment in the instructor’s Flight
Planner. Record the same values in yours.
Flight Planner
FLIGHT
PATH
TT
(° )
MT
(° )
WIND
(°/kt.)
TH
(° )
MH
(° )
DIST
(NM)
GS
(kt.)
EET
(min)
FUEL
(gal.)
MEF
(ft.)
Set heading
point:
Shipshaw Dam
305
322
11
4300
Destination
airport:
Roberval
275
292
40
4300
ALT
(ft.)
Origin airport:
Bagotville
Fuel reserve
TOTAL
Step 9
Using the magnetic track (MT) for each flight segment, determine the flight altitudes12
based on the predetermined cruising altitudes13 found in Table 1. To avoid burning excess
fuel during the climb, pilots generally use the minimum safe altitude unless favourable
wind conditions prevail during long-distance flights. In this case, the altitude chosen would
be 4500 feet.
Table 1
Predetermined Cruising Altitudes
Magnetic track (MT)
000-179
180-359
Altitude (ft.)
3500
5500
7500
9500
4500
6500
8500
10 500
12. Altitude is the height of the aircraft above the terrain over which it is flying.
13. Cruising altitude ranges are predetermined based on flight direction for air traffic control purposes in order to avoid
mid-air collisions.
A V I A T I O N
Your flight instructor recorded the altitude for each flight segment in the instructor’s Flight
Planner. Record the same values in yours.
Flight Planner
FLIGHT
PATH
TT
(° )
MT
(° )
Set heading
point:
Shipshaw Dam
305
322
Destination
airport:
Roberval
275
292
WIND
(°/kt.)
TH
(° )
MH
(° )
DIST
(NM)
GS
(kt.)
EET
(min)
FUEL
(gal.)
MEF
(ft.)
ALT
(ft.)
11
4300
4500
40
4300
4500
Origin airport:
Bagotville
Fuel reserve
TOTAL
A V I A T I O N
Step 10
Use Table 2 below to determine the climbing speed14 and rate of fuel consumption of the
climb segment of the flight for the altitude found in Step 9. Use the average of the two
altitudes if necessary (4000 and 5000 feet in this case, since the altitude is 4500 feet, as
indicated in Table 1). Retain these values for steps 13 and 19.
Climbing speed: (83 + 83) / 2 = 83 kt.
Rate of fuel consumption: (9.6 + 9.5) /2 = 9.55 gal./h
Table 2
Climb Flight Performance
Rate of fuel
Altitude (ft.) Speed (kt.)
consumption (gal./h)
0
87
10.0
1000
86
9.8
2000
86
9.7
3000
84
9.7
4000
83
9.6
5000
83
9.5
6000
82
9.5
7000
81
9.4
8000
80
9.4
9000
80
9.3
10 000
79
9.3
14. The climbing speed is the speed of the aircraft during the climb segment independent of wind conditions, as indicated
on the instrument panel.