CHAPTER 1

THE EARTH

The earth is not a perfect sphere, there is a slight bulge at the Equator and a flattening at the
Poles. The earth's shape is described as an oblate spheroid. The polar diameter is 6860.5 nm
which is 23.2 nm shorter than the average equatorial diameter of 6883.7 nm. This gives a
compression ratio of 1/2967 which for all practical purposes can be ignored. Cartographers and
Inertial Navigation systems will take the true shape of the earth into account.

PARALLELS OF LATITUDE

Parallels of Latitude are small circles that are parallel to the Equator. They lie in a 090 and 270
Rhumb Line direction as they cut all Meridians at 90 .

LATITUDE

The Latitude of a point is the arc of a Meridian from the Equator to the point. It is expressed in
degrees and minutes North or South of the Equator. It can be presented in the following forms.

N 27:30 27:30 N 27 30'N 35 25'45"S 35:25:45S

1
LONGITUDE

The Longitude of a point is the shorter arc of the Equator measured East or West from the
Greenwich Meridian. It can be presented in the following forms.

E032:15 32 15' E 32:15 E 65 24W 65 24’38”W 65:24:38 W

GREAT CIRCLE GC

A Great Circle is a circle drawn on the surface of a sphere whose centre and radius are those of
the sphere itself. A Great Circle divides the sphere into two halves. The Equator is a Great Circle
dividing the earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. On a flat surface the shortest
distance between TWO points is a straight line. On a sphere the shortest distance between two
points is the shorter arc of a Great Circle drawn through the two points. To fly from Europe to the
West Coast of America the shortest distance is of course a Great Circle which usually takes the
least time and fuel used. A Great Circle cuts all Meridians at different angles.

RHUMB LINE RL

A Rhumb Line is a curved line drawn on the surface of the earth which cuts all Meridians at the
same angle. An aircraft steering a constant heading of 065 (T) with zero wind will be flying a
Rhumb Line.

MERIDIANS

Meridians are Great semi-circles that join the North and South Poles. Every Great Circle passing
through the poles forms a Meridian and its Anti-Meridian. All Meridians indicate True North or
000 (T) and 180 (T). As Meridians have a constant direction they are Rhumb Lines as well as
Great Circles.

EQUATOR

The Equator cuts all Meridians at 90 providing a True East-West or 090 (T) and 270 (T) erection.
As the Equator cuts all Meridians at 90 it is a Rhumb Line as well as a Great Circle.

SMALL CIRCLE

A Small Circle is a circle drawn on a sphere whose centre and radius are not those of the sphere
itself.

DIRECTION

TRUE NORTH
True North is the direction of the Meridian passing through a position.

TRUE DIRECTION
Aircraft Heading or Track is measured clockwise from True North. It is usually expressed in
degrees and decimals of a degree, e.g. 092 (T) 107.25 GC 265.37 RL

MAGNETIC NORTH
Magnetic North is the direction in the horizontal plane indicated by a freely suspended magnet
influenced by the earth's magnetic field only.
VARIATION

Variation is the angular difference between True North and Magnetic North

MAGNETIC DIRECTION (M)

Aircraft Magnetic Heading or Magnetic Track is measured clockwise from Magnetic North, which is
sometimes referred to as the Magnetic Meridian, e.g. 100 (M)

COMPASS NORTH (C)

Compass North is the direction indicated by the compass needle in an aircraft. Magnetic Fields in
the aircraft will attract the compass needle away from Magnetic North causing Compass Deviation.
DEVIATION

The angular difference between Compass North and Magnetic North.

Deviation is Westerly when Compass North is to the West of Magnetic North

Deviation is Easterly when Compass North is to the East of Magnetic North

DEVIATION EAST COMPASS LEAST DEVIATION WEST COMPASS BEST

Heading l00 (C) Dev+4 e 104 (M) Heading 100 (C) Dev-3 w 096 (M)

Deviation West is Negative (-) Deviation East is Positive (+)

Deviation is a correction to Compass Heading to give Magnetic Heading

CONVERGENCY AND CONVERSION ANGLE

CONVERGENCY

Meridians are Semi Great Circles joining the North and South Poles. They are parallel at the
Equator. As the meridians leave the Equator either Northwards or Southwards they converge and
meet at the Poles.

Convergency is defined as the angle of inclination

Between two selected meridians measured at a given Latitude.

Considering the two meridians shown above, one at 20W and the other at 20E. The Change of
Longitude (Ch. Long) or Difference in Longitude (D Long) between the two meridians is 40 .

At the Equator (Latitude 0 ) they are parallel, the angle of convergence is 0 . At the Poles
(Latitude 90 ) they meet, and the angle of convergence is the Difference of Longitude, 40 .

At any intermediate Latitude the angle of inclination between the same two meridians will between
0 and 40 depending on the Latitude.
This is a sine relationship, convergence varies as Sine Mean Latitude. Convergency also varies
as the Change of Longitude between the two meridians. The greater the Ch. Long, the greater the
convergency.

Convergency = Ch. Long x Sine Mean Latitude

Ex 1. Calculate the value of Convergence between A (N 45:25 E 025:36) and B(N 37:53 E042:17).

A N 45:25 E 025:36
B N 37:53 E042:17
N 41:39 Mean Latitude 16:41 Change of Longitude

Convergency = Ch. Long x Sin Mean Latitude

= 16 41' x Sin 41 39'
= 16.6833 x Sin 41.65
= 11.0874

NOTE Both Mean Latitude and Change of Longitude must be changed into decimal notation.

THE MERIDIANS CONVERGE TOWARDS THE NEARER POLE

CONVERGENCY = CHANGE OF LONGITUDE x SIN MEAN LATITUDE
CONVERGENCY = DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INITIAL AND FINAL GC TRACKS
Q 1. A and B are in the same hemisphere
The Great Circle Track from A to B is 062
The Great Circle Track from B to A is 278

(a) In which hemisphere are A and B?

(b) What is the value of Convergence between A and B?

Q2. C and D are in the same hemisphere

The Great Circle bearing of D from C is l36 (bearing of D measured at C)
The Great Circle bearing of C from D is 262 (bearing of C measured at D)

(a) In which hemisphere are C and D?

(b) What is the value of Convergency between C and D?
CONVERSION ANGLE CA

CONVERSION ANGLE = DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GREAT CIRCLE AND RHUMB LINE

Conversion Angle (CA) is used to change Great Circle bearings and tracks into Rhumb Line
bearings and tracks or vice versa.

THE GREAT CIRCLE IS ALWAYS NEARER THE POLE

THE RHUMB LINE IS ALWAYS NEARER THE EQUATOR

CONVERSION ANGLE = ½ CONVERGENCEY

CONVERGENCY = TWICE CONVERSION ANGLE

CONVERGENCY = CHANGE OF LONGITUDE x SIN MEAN LATITUDE

CONVERSION ANGLE = ½ CHANGE OF LONGITUDE x SIN MEAN LATITUDE

CONVERSION ANGLE = DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GREAT CIRCLE AND RHUMB LINE

CONVERGENCY - DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INITIAL AND FINAL GREAT CIRCLES

The Rhumb Line is a constant direction. If the Rhumb Line track from A to B is 100º, then the
Rhumb Line track from B to A is 280º. You can always take the reciprocal of a Rhumb Line,
NEVER A GC.

Initial GC track A to B is 080° GC, initial GC track B to A is 300° GC (Conversion angle 20°)
Q3 The Great Circle bearing of A from B is 255 GC
The Rhumb Line bearing of B from A is 084 RL

Q4 The Great Circle bearing of X from Y is 072 GC

The Rhumb Line bearing of Y from X is 259 RL
THE CALCULATION OF RHUMB LINE TRACKS AND DISTANCES

Departure must be used when determining rhumb line tracks and distances.
Calculate the rhumb line track and distance between A (00 N and 010 W) and B (
N 010 E).

In order to express the dLAT in nm's :

dLAT = 30
= 1800'
= 1800 nm (No Departure)

In order to express the dLONG in nm's,

DEP (nm) = dL' x COS MID LAT

= 1200' x COS 15
= 1159 nm

To determine angle A :

1159 nm
TAN =
1800 nm

TAN = 0.6438
= 32.8 (rhumb line track A - B)
 To determine distance x, use Pythagoras:

x² = 1800² + 1159²

x² = 4583281 nm

x = 4583281 nm

x = 2141 nm (rhumb line distance A - B)

It is important to note that this method of determining rhumb line tracks and distances is very
limited in terms of its accuracy

DISTANCE

KILOMETRE (KM.)
A Kilometre is 1/10 000 th. part of the average distance from the Equator to either Pole
It generally accepted to equal 3280 feet.

STATUTE MILE (SM)

Defined in British law as 5280 feet

NAUTICAL MILE (NM)

A Nautical Mile is defined as the distance on the surface of the earth of one minute of arc at the
centre of the earth. As the earth is not a perfect sphere the distance is variable.

At the Equator 1 NM is 6046.4 feet At the pole 1 NM -is 6078 feet

For navigation purposes the Standard Nautical Mile is 6080 feet (South Africa and UK)

ICAO 1 NM = 1852 metres or 6076.1 feet

Most navigational electronic calculators use 1 NM = 6076.1 feet. To answer questions in the CAA
examinations any of the following may be used :-

1 NM = 6080 feet or 1853 metres 1 NM = 6076.1 feet: or I852 metres

Conversion Factors 1 Foot = 12 inches

1 Inch = 2.54 Centimetres

As one minute of arc is 1 NM, then Great Circle distance along a Meridian can be calculated. One
minute of Latitude is 1 NM and 1Degree of Latitude is 60 NM.

The Great Circle distance from N75:30 E065:45 to N82:15 W114:15 is:-

As W114:15 is the anti-meridian of E065:45 the Great Circle distance is along a Meridian over the
Pole where 1 of Latitude equals 1 nm.

N 75:30 to the Pole = 14 30' change of Latitude (14 =x 60 = 840 nm-30 nm) = 870nm
Pole to N 82:15 = 7 45' change of Latitude (7 x 60 = 420nm + 45nm) = 465nm + 870nm =
1335nm

CHANGE OF LONGITUDE (CH. LONG) or DEPARTURE DISTANCE

Departure is the distance in Nautical Miles along a parallel of Latitude in an East-West direction.

At the Equator, two meridians (5W and 5E) have a change of Longitude of 10 of arc. As the
Equator is a Great Circle, 10 of arc equals 600 nautical miles. As Latitude increases, either to the
North or to the South, the meridians converge, and the distance between them decreases, until
they meet at the Poles where the distance between them is zero.
Departure (nm) = ch long (mins) x cos mean lat:

The departure between any 2 points is thus a function of their latitudes and the change of
longitude, and the relationship is given by

Where mean lat = lat A + lat B

2

E 032:45 W 067:25 Both East or West SUBTRACT

E 021:15 E 027:30 One East & One West ADD
11:30Ch.Long 94:55 Ch. Long

ATP NAVIGATION & PLOTTING FLIGHT TRAINING COLLEGE

ATP DOC 2 & 6
Revision : 1/1/2001 Page 14 Version 4
 DEPARTURE = CHANGE of LONGITUDE (in minutes) x COSINE LATITUDE

Q1 The distance from A (N 20:10 E 005:00) to B (N 20:10 \V 005:00) is :-

Departure = Ch. Long x cos Lat

= 10° x 60 x cos20°10'
= 600 x cos 20.1667°
= 563.2163 nm

Q2 An aircraft leaves A (E 012:30) and flies along the parallel of S 29:30 in

an Easterly direction. After flying 1050 nm its Longitude is :-

Departure = Ch. Long x cos Lat

1050nm = Ch. Long xcos29°30'
1050 nm
= 1206.4 minutes of Longitude
cos 29.5°
60
= 20° 06' 24" Easterly
+ 12° 30'
032° 36' 24" E
Q3 An aircraft in the Northern Hemisphere flies around the world in an Easterly
direction at an average groundspeed of 515 Kts in 14 hours. The Latitude
at which the aircraft flew was :-

Departure = Ch. Long cos Latitude

GS 515 x 14 Hrs = 360° x 60 x cos Lat

7210
= cos Lat = 70° 30' N
21600

DISTANCE ALONG A PARALLEL OF LATITUDE IS DEPARTURE

DISTANCE ALONG A MERIDIAN IS CHANGE OF LATITUDE

As a Meridian is a Great Circle, then the arc of Change of Latitude can be converted into nautical
miles.

Q4 The shortest distance from A (N 78:15 W 027:13) in B (SS3:30 E 15.2:4-) is :-

As E 152:47 is the anti-meridian of W 027:13, A to B is the arc of a Great Circle.

N 78:15 to the North Pole = 11:45 Change of Latitude

North Pole to N 82:30 = 7:30 Change of Latitude
_____
19:15 Change of Latitude

19° x 60 = 1140nm+ 15 minutes = 1155nm shortest (GC) distance A to B

Q5 An aircraft departs A (N 25:13 W017:25) and flies a track of 090°(T ) at GS 360

for I hour 35 minutes. Then the aircraft flies a track of l80° (T) for I hour 55
minutes and arrives at position;

Departure = Ch. Long x cos Latitude

N 25:13 W
017:25 ;
Track 180°
Change of Latitude

Departure = Ch. Long x cos Latitude Departure

_________ = Ch. Long
cos Lat

GS360 x 1:35
____________ = 630 minutes of Longitude = 10°30-East of W 017:25 = W 006:55
cos 25:13

Track 180 = Change of Latitude Old Latitude N 25:13

11:30

GS360 x 1:55 = 690nm = 11 30 Southern-Change of Latitude = position N 13:43 W 006:55

RADIO BEARINGS

VHF D/F VERY HIGH FREQUENCY - DIRECTION FINDING VDF

Major airports in South Africa have a VDF service, it is usually on the Approach frequency and will
provide radio bearings to aircraft on request. The aircraft transmits on the appropriate frequency
and direction finding equipment at the airport will sense the direction of the incoming radio wave.
The bearing will be passed to the aircraft in Q-code form.

Q CODE QTE TRUE bearing FROM the VDF station

QDR MAGNETIC bearing FROM the VDF station
QUJ TRUE track TO the VDF station
QDM MAGNETIC track TO the VDF station

QDM ±Variation = QUJ

±180 ±180

QDR Variation = QTE

Take the shortest route to change one bearing to another

QDM Variation QUJ

±180 ±180
QDR =Variation QTE

VOR VOR Radials are Magnetic bearings QDR

RMI Readings are Magnetic tracks to the VOR QDM

RMI BEARINGS (VOR & ADF)

Usually termed RMI READING which is QDM (for ADF RMI ± DEV= QDM)
ADF BEARINGS

ADF Relative bearings are measured from the Fore and Aft axis of the aircraft.
ADF Relative bearings must be converted into True Bearings (QTE) before they can be plotted on
a chart.

RELATIVE BEARING + TRUE HEADING = QUJ 180 = QTE

MAGNETIC VARIATION AT THE AIRCRAFT IS ALWAYS USED WITH ADF BEARINGS

ADF bearing 095 Relative ADF bearing 200 Relative

Heading (T) + 057 Heading (T) 318
QUJ 152 (T) TO NDB QUJ 518
180 Subtract 360
QTE 332 (T) FROM NDB QUJ 158 (T) TO NDB
180
QTE 338 (T) FROM NDB
 QUESTIONS

1. The great circle bearing from A to B is 260 . Convergency 12 . Southern hemisphere.

i) What is the rhumb line bearing from B to A?

ii) What is the great circle bearing from B to A?

2. Positions A and B are in the same hemisphere. The great circle bearing from A to B is 140 .
The great circle bearing from B to A is 330 .

i) In which hemisphere are A and B?

ii) What is the rhumb line bearing from B to A?

3. At what latitude on earth is the convergency twice the value of convergency at 25 N?

4. Position A (40 N 170 E). Position B is on the same parallel of latitude. The great circle
bearing from A to B is 082 .

What is the longitude of position B?

5. What is the rhumb line distance from A (30 N 070 E) to B (30 N 085 E)?

6. An aircraft flies around the world on a rhumb line track of 090 at a ground speed of 480
Kts. The flying time if 19 hours.

At what latitude did the aircraft fly?

7. An aircraft (G/S 480 Kts) departs position A (20 N 010 E) on a track of 360 for 3 HRS. It
then turns onto a track of 270 for 2 HRS 30. It then turns onto a track of 180 for 4 hours.

What is the position of the aircraft at the end of the 3rd leg?

8. What is the shortest distance between A (065 N 13 30’ W) and B (78 N 166 30’E)?