Private pilot · ACS PA.VI.A
Pilotage and Dead Reckoning
Pilotage and dead reckoning are the base of every cross-country: a course drawn on the chart, a wind-corrected heading, checkpoints and a flight log.
You plan it on the ground, then fly it by looking out the window, watching the clock and correcting as you go.
Why this one matters
GPS makes navigation easy until it fails, the battery dies or the database is wrong. A pilot who has planned with a chart and a clock always knows roughly where they are, how much fuel is left and what is underneath them. That awareness keeps you out of airspace you are not cleared into, away from terrain, and away from running out of fuel.
Can’t miss
- •Pilotage is navigating by visible landmarks; dead reckoning is navigating by computed heading, groundspeed and time. You use both together.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
- •True course, corrected for wind, gives true heading; corrected for variation, magnetic heading; corrected for deviation, compass heading.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
- •In level cruise more than 3,000 feet above the surface and below 18,000 MSL (unless ATC authorizes otherwise; not while turning or holding 2 minutes or less): odd thousands plus 500 on magnetic courses 0-179°, even thousands plus 500 on 180-359°.(14 CFR 91.159)
- •In the northern hemisphere the compass lags in turns from north and leads in turns from south, and shows a turn to the north when you accelerate on an east or west heading.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Flight Instruments (magnetic compass))
- •Log the actual time at each checkpoint, compare it with the plan and revise your groundspeed, ETA and fuel.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
- •You may not begin a VFR flight unless, considering wind and forecast weather, there's enough fuel to reach the first point of intended landing and then, at normal cruise, 30 more minutes by day or 45 at night.(14 CFR 91.151(a))
- •Checkride standard: within 3 nautical miles of course, checkpoints within 5 minutes of ETA, altitude ±200 feet, heading ±15°.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.VI.A.S5-S7)
What you should know
Two methods, used together K1 · K3
- Pilotage uses landmarks you can see: towns, highways, rivers, lakes, railroads, towers. It works best with a good chart and good visibility.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
- Dead reckoning uses the wind triangle: true airspeed, wind and course give heading and groundspeed; groundspeed and distance give time.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
- Read the topography on the sectional: contour lines and terrain tints show high ground, and the maximum elevation figure (MEF) in each quadrangle is the elevation in feet MSL of the highest known terrain or obstruction (whichever is higher), plus a charting allowance, rounded up to the next 100 feet. It's a planning reference, not a safe altitude: flying at the MEF can leave much less clearance than you think.(FAA Aeronautical Chart User’s Guide)
The magnetic compass K2
- Variation is the angle between true and magnetic north. It changes with location and is shown by isogonic lines on the chart. Going from true to magnetic: east is least (subtract), west is best (add).(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
- Deviation is error from the airplane’s own magnetic fields (radios, wiring). The compass correction card shows it for your airplane.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Flight Instruments (magnetic compass))
- Northerly turning error, two separate ideas. Starting a turn from a northerly heading, the compass first shows a turn the opposite way and lags; from a southerly heading it leads. Turning to a heading with only the compass: undershoot north and overshoot south (UNOS) by about 15° plus half your latitude (about 35° at 40° latitude), then let the card settle and correct.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Flight Instruments (magnetic compass))
- Magnetic dip (the needle pulled down toward the earth) causes both the turning and acceleration errors. Oscillation is the card swinging in turbulence: average it, and read the compass only in smooth, steady flight.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Flight Instruments (magnetic compass))
- In normal flight you navigate on the heading indicator: align it with the compass in straight, level, unaccelerated flight, and re-align it about every 15 minutes and after big power or attitude changes, because it precesses. Compass turns are for when it has failed or is being reset.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Flight Instruments (magnetic compass))
- Acceleration error on east or west headings: accelerating shows a turn to the north, decelerating a turn to the south. Read the compass in steady, level, unaccelerated flight.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Flight Instruments (magnetic compass))
Planning the route K4 · K5 · K6
- Pick a route that avoids airspace you can’t enter, high terrain and long stretches with no place to land. Pick checkpoints you can recognize from the air, spaced so you can confirm progress regularly.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
- Pick an altitude that meets the VFR cruising altitude rule, clears terrain and obstacles, keeps the cloud clearances, and suits the winds aloft.(14 CFR 91.159 (cruising altitudes); 91.155 (cloud clearance and visibility); 91.119 (minimum safe altitudes))
- Plot the true course with a plotter, measure distance, then use the winds aloft and true airspeed to find wind correction angle, true heading and groundspeed (E6B or electronic computer).(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
- True airspeed is higher than indicated at altitude and in warm air: find it from calibrated airspeed with pressure altitude and temperature, and work out the density altitude from the same two numbers, since it drives performance.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
- Choose the cruise power setting from the POH cruise performance table for the planned pressure altitude and temperature; the TAS and fuel flow for that setting feed your heading, groundspeed, time and fuel. In flight, compare planned and actual and correct.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation; Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.VI.A.K6)
Flying the plan K7 · R3
- Write the actual time over each checkpoint on the flight log. If you’re late, your actual groundspeed is lower than planned (a stronger headwind, a weaker tailwind, or less true airspeed than planned): compute the groundspeed from the actual time over the known distance between checkpoints, then revise the ETA and fuel from it.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
- If you’re off course: first fix where you actually are (time from the last checkpoint plus at least two identifying features). Then either turn to intercept the planned course and resume with a heading corrected for the drift you measured, or plot a new course from where you are to the next checkpoint or destination and compute a new heading, time and fuel.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation)
- Track fuel by time, not by the gauges alone. If consumption is higher than planned, decide early whether to land for fuel.(14 CFR 91.151)
Staying safe en route R1 · R2
- Navigation pulls your eyes inside. Keep a regular scan outside for traffic, and fold the chart and set up the log before you need them.(AC 90-48, Pilots' Role in Collision Avoidance)
- Prioritize: aviate, navigate, communicate. If you are unsure of your position, keep flying the airplane on a steady heading and altitude, note the time and heading, and fix your position from the last checkpoint, elapsed time and ground features. If you can't fix it promptly, climb if terrain and airspace allow and ask ATC or Flight Service for help, rather than pressing on while the fuel runs down.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))
On the flight
ACS standards
- Verify position within 3 nautical miles of the flight-planned route.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.VI.A.S5)
- Arrive at en route checkpoints within 5 minutes of the initial or revised ETA, and give a destination estimate.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.VI.A.S6)
- Altitude ±200 feet and heading ±15°.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), Area VI)
What your instructor is watching for
Your instructor watches whether you keep the flight log up to date, recognize checkpoints before you reach them, correct for drift, hold altitude and heading while navigating, and keep looking outside for traffic.
Scenarios
Decide what you would do first, then see the worked answer.
Your planned checkpoint is a small town, and you see two small towns near where you expected it.
How do you tell which is which? See the worked answer
Use more than one feature: the roads, railroad or river that should run past it, a tower or lake nearby, and your time and heading since the last checkpoint. Don’t accept a checkpoint that only half matches.
PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation
Your heading indicator has failed. You turn left from east to north using only the compass, and plan to roll out when it reads 360.
Where will you actually end up, and how do you fix it? See the worked answer
Past north. Turning to north the compass lags, so when it reads 360 you have already turned beyond it. Roll out before the compass reaches north (undershoot north, overshoot south), let it settle in level flight, then correct. A timed standard-rate turn helps.
PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Flight Instruments (magnetic compass)
Halfway through the flight your fuel burn has been 1.5 gallons per hour more than planned.
What do you do with that? See the worked answer
Recompute fuel at the destination using the actual burn and groundspeed. If it would cut into the 30-minute reserve, or leave less margin than I want, land for fuel at an airport on the way.
14 CFR 91.151
Common mistakes
Applying variation the wrong way.
An error of twice the variation can put you miles off course.
Instead: Going from true to magnetic: east is least, west is best. Check that the result makes sense on the chart.
Not logging times.
Without actual times you can’t find your groundspeed, and you can’t work out where you are if you get lost.
Instead: Write the time at every checkpoint, even with GPS on.
Chasing the checkpoint and losing altitude.
Heads-down navigating lets altitude and heading wander and hides traffic.
Instead: Trim, set the heading, then look for the checkpoint outside.
Now train it
Say it out loud, hear it asked, and take the quick check in this lesson’s practice pack. It tracks your shaky spots.
Got it?
When it feels solid, practice pilotage and dead reckoning out loud with our examiner.
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Sources
- Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C): Navigation; Flight Instruments
- Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM): Chapters 1, 4, 6 and 7
- 14 CFR Part 91: 91.3, 91.119, 91.123, 91.151, 91.159, 91.171, 91.215, 91.225
- AC 90-48: Pilots' Role in Collision Avoidance
- Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C): Area VI
- VFR sectional chart and Chart Supplement: for your route
Study aid, not FAA guidance. Regulations change; check the current text at eCFR and the ACS. Checked against current sources 2026-11-12.