How to Calculate Magnetic Course - For Student Pilots

[@ChristinaKassab-j9o]

I could hear the El Cajon parrots in the back ground! 😅 Thanks for the videos!

[@therealpoody7485]

Thank you for this, this is gonna sound odd but I actually needed to learn this for information on my Airport Mod I'm building in MSFS2020. The Airport asks for my MagVar and I had no clue.

[@PartTimePilot]

That's awesome to hear!

[@bradbaker2925]

if I have a flight going east to west and i cross several difference magnetic variation lines, which one do I choose? The one closest to destination? Moreover if I depart from a airport and the magnetic variation is +6west and my arrival airport is +12west which do I use?

[@PartTimePilot]

Good question! You should choose the closest and most accurate number for each checkpoint of your journey. If you are traveling from +6 west to +12 west without a checkpoint you should probably put a few in there and calculate things for those legs of flight based on +8 or +10 west in between. Make sense?

[@rck3321]

So the heading that we fly looking at the heading indicator in the plane is the magnetic course with wind correction?

[@PartTimePilot]

Yes. Assuming that the wind data we used for our calculations are still accurate and assuming that our heading indicator has minimal precession errors. The Magnetic heading is meant to be the most real life course/heading information that we have because it takes into account the variations in magnetic field of the earth depending on where we are AND it takes into account drifting one way or another due to winds aloft. It is extremely common that the winds are not what we were expecting and this is when it is very important to track the time to each checkpoint as well the actual heading you needed to fly to reach that checkpoint in order to get an updated, real-time picture of what the winds are looking like (a nice GPS and weather system helps too haha)

[@IkeCamron]

i need help... can you help... I'm not understanding longitudinal, latitudinal, vor, navigation, plotter or flight computer

[@jonasbaine3538]

lol. Did you figure it out??

[@roddraym]

Thanks Nick!

[@PartTimePilot]

roddraym no prob!

[@nenav_fly9412]

And for West always add right?

[@PartTimePilot]

NEnav _fly for isogonics converting from true to magnetic, yes. I remember it as East is least (negative) and west is best (positive)

[@nenav_fly9412]

Part Time Pilot thank you very much

[@thebusybee957]

Ayy ksee was my airport

[@PartTimePilot]

The Busy Bee 🐝 awesome!