Commercial Pilot for Airplane Category › VI. Navigation › Task A. Pilotage and Dead Reckoning

CA.VI.A.K5b

Knowledge

Plotting a course, including:

Wind correction angle

Study note

Get a short, cited explanation of this element written from the FAA handbooks: the core idea, the numbers that matter, common test traps, and a quick self-check.

From the FAA library

Airplane Flying Handbook p. 7-11
Chapter 7: Ground Reference Maneuvers › Elementary Eights › Eights Along a Road
places the airplane in a crosswind position, the pilot should compensate for the wind drift with an appropriate wind correction angle. The following description is illustrated in Figure 7-7. The airplane is initially in a crosswind position, perpendicular ... bank angle as well as the rate at which the bank angle is reduced so that the wind correction angle is correct. Assuming that the wind is coming from the right side of the airplane, the airplane heading should…
Airplane Flying Handbook p. 7-7
Chapter 7: Ground Reference Maneuvers › Turns Around a Point
correct for groundspeed changes in order to maintain a constant radius turn—steeper bank angles for higher ground speeds, shallow bank angles for slower groundspeeds. ⦁ Improving competency in managing the quickly-changing bank angles. ⦁ Establishing and adjusting the wind correction ... other ground reference maneuvers, when wind is present, the pilot adjusts the airplane’s bank and wind correction angle to maintain a constant radius turn around a point. In contrast to the ground reference maneuvers discussed previously, in which turns…
Airplane Flying Handbook p. 7-5
Chapter 7: Ground Reference Maneuvers › Rectangular Course
Rolling out from a turn with the required wind correction angle to compensate for any drift caused by the wind. ⦁ Establishing and correcting the wind correction angle in order to maintain the track over the ground. ⦁ Preparing the pilot…
Airplane Flying Handbook p. 7-10
Chapter 7: Ground Reference Maneuvers › S-Turns
directly crosswind. In addition to the rate of rollout and bank angle, the pilot should control the wind correction angle throughout the turn. Controlling the wind correction angle during a turn can be complex to understand. The concept ... that is 90° to the straight-lined ground reference. In this example, if the wind requires a 10° wind correction angle (for this example, this is a left turn with the crosswind from the left), the airplane would…