FlightDesk Aero / Question bank / PPL · Navigation / Closing angle: heading for the next turning point
PPL · EASA 061 · In-flight navigation
Closing angle: heading for the next turning point
You are 4 NM left of track after 40 NM, with 80 NM still to go to the next turning point. By how much, and which way, do you alter heading to fly straight to it?
Explanation
The correction has two parts. The track error (TE) stops you drifting further off; the closing angle (CA) then points you at the turning point. ΔHDG is the change of heading. Both come from the 1 in 60 rule, one with the distance gone and one with the distance to go.
Step by step
- Track error: 4 × 60 ÷ 40 = 6°. Turning 6° right makes you fly parallel to the planned track.
- Closing angle: 4 × 60 ÷ 80 = 3°. Another 3° right closes the 4 NM by the turning point.
- Total: 6° + 3° = 9° to the right, towards the planned track.
Why not the other answers
- 6° right only cancels the track error. You would fly parallel to the track and pass the turning point 4 NM to the left.
- 3° right is only the closing angle. It does not cancel the 6° track error, so you would still pass to the left of the turning point.
- The size is right but the direction is not: you are left of track, so you turn right to get back.
Tip. Write the new heading on your log and note the time. If the closing angle is right, you should see the turning point on the nose at your revised ETA.
Original questions written by FlightDesk Aero and aligned with the EASA syllabus. They are not questions from the official EASA exam bank.