FlightDesk Aero / Question bank / PPL · Navigation / Track error with the 1 in 60 rule
PPL · EASA 061 · In-flight navigation
Track error with the 1 in 60 rule
40 NM after the turning point you fix your position 4 NM left of the planned track. What is your track error?
Explanation
The 1 in 60 rule says that 1 NM off track after 60 NM flown is a track error (TE) of 1°. Scale it to the distance you have actually flown: the same 4 NM off after only 40 NM is a bigger angle than after 60 NM.
Step by step
- Distance off track: 4 NM. Distance flown since the turning point: 40 NM.
- TE = 4 × 60 ÷ 40 = 6°.
- You are left of track, so the error is 6° to the left.
Why not the other answers
- 10° divides the distance gone by the distance off (40 ÷ 4). The 1 in 60 rule needs 60 on top.
- 4° takes the nautical miles off track as degrees. That would only be true after exactly 60 NM.
- The angle is right but the side is not: you are left of the planned track.
Tip. The rule holds well up to about 20°, which covers every track error you should meet on a VFR navigation exercise.
Original questions written by FlightDesk Aero and aligned with the EASA syllabus. They are not questions from the official EASA exam bank.