Private pilot · ACS PA.VI.A · lesson pack

Pilotage and Dead Reckoning

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.

1 · Know these cold

•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)

2 · The lesson

Two methods, used together

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

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

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

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

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))

Want it all on one page, with scenarios? Read the full lesson.

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.

3 · Say it out loud

Answer each one out loud, then check yourself and mark how it went.

Remember Recall it
“What is the difference between pilotage and dead reckoning?”
Understand Explain why
“Why does the compass show the wrong direction when you start a turn from a north heading?”
Apply Use it on a flight
“You reach your second checkpoint six minutes later than planned. What do you do?”

4 · 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.

5 · Quick check

Answer, then reveal. Flag anything you want to see again.

1. What is the VFR cruising altitude rule above 3,000 feet AGL?
2. Variation is 10° east. True course is 090°, no wind. What is the magnetic course?
3. What does the compass show when you accelerate on an easterly heading in the northern hemisphere?
4. What fuel reserve does a day VFR flight require?
5. What are the checkride tolerances for navigation by pilotage and dead reckoning?
Scenario6. You pass a checkpoint 2 miles left of course. What do you do?

Trained it? Now prove it: practice pilotage and dead reckoning out loud with our examiner.

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Connect it

One situation that runs across this lesson and its neighbors in the same ACS area. Decide first, then check.

Connect it · Navigation

Halfway through a cross-country, the clouds ahead are lowering and pushing you down. You turn toward an airport off to your right, and ten minutes later you can't match the ground to the chart.

How do the diversion and the lost procedure connect? Decide, then see the worked answer

Divert early, while you still have altitude and options, and to a suitable airport, not just the nearest: terrain and weather on the way, runway length and surface, and fuel to get there with your reserve. As you turn, note the time and your heading, estimate the new heading, time and fuel, then refine. Hold an altitude that keeps you clear of terrain and meets the 91.155 cloud clearances. That note at the turn is what the lost procedure starts from: dead-reckon from the turn point, and the elapsed time multiplied by your groundspeed bounds how far you can be from it, your circle of uncertainty. Then the five Cs, in order. Climb, if the clouds allow, for a better view and radio reception. Communicate: ATC for radar assistance, flight following or vectors; Flight Service for communications and direction-finding help (Flight Service doesn't provide flight following). Confess that you're unsure of your position. Comply with the help you get, but keep the controller advised that you're VFR and not instrument rated: radar assistance doesn't authorize you to break the regulations or the VFR cloud clearances, so declare an emergency rather than accept a vector into cloud. Conserve fuel with an endurance power setting. Cross-check with a VOR cross-fix or GPS. Declare an emergency early, on 121.5 or by squawking 7700, if you can't stay VFR or the help isn't resolving it.

PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Navigation; AIM 6-2; 14 CFR 91.155

Brings together: Pilotage and Dead Reckoning · Navigation Systems and Radar Services · Diversion · Lost Procedures

Teaching this? The instructor lesson plan →

Study aid, not FAA guidance. Sources: Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C); Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM); 14 CFR Part 91; AC 90-48; Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C); VFR sectional chart and Chart Supplement. Checked against current sources 2026-11-12.