Operational Navigation Flight Training Instruction
Flying the Route
FLYING THE ROUTE
READING THE CHART
Knowing your chart is of obvious importance. Study the chart, and use your imagination about what to
expect. Experience is helpful in this matter; as you progress through the ONav syllabus, you will find
following landmarks easier. Notice the symbols for roads, railroads, and rivers. Check where the roads
go; a road between large towns is likely to be heavily traveled and wider than one connecting small country
towns. Is the road labeled as a U.S. highway or a state highway? The U.S. highway may not be any
wider, but you can expect to see more traffic on it. At crossroads, try to project what may be there beside
the roads. What vertical definition might you see? Railroads have more stringent requirements for
construction than highways and you should see them easily. Even an abandoned roadbed may be easy to
see and use as a landmark. Rivers and streams may not be very good, especially at times of year when
leaves are off the trees. If you can tell which way they are flowing you may be able to funnel to a larger
stream or a recognizable bridge. Forget trying to count the streams you cross; not all are shown on your
TPC. All checkpoints and landmarks should be viewed and studied not as singular points, but rather in
terms of overall environment associated with the “checkpoint.” Consider the checkpoints in the categories
identified below. Refer to Figures 1 and 2 for examples of these various types of landmarks.
POSITIVE LANDMARKS
Positive landmarks which can be positively identified and plotted at a point on the chart. Mountains and
large natural bodies of water are very good positive landmarks. You need not pass directly over a positive
landmark for it to be useful to you. Be cautious when using man-made landmarks, as they may have
changed, moved, or no longer exist.
LINEAR LANDMARKS
Linear landmarks are features which can be positively identified but not specifically plotted because they
extend for some distance. Features such as roads, railroads, coastlines, power lines, and rivers may
make good timing checkpoints if they are perpendicular to the course line and have other specific environ-
mental particulars that identify your position. A power line should be large and not easily confused with
other lines near. Rivers must be either isolated or very large, and you should have some confirming
landmark to ensure that you have the right one.
UNCERTAIN LANDMARKS
Uncertain landmarks are features which the pilot suspects he can correlate with the chart but are not fully
reliable. They may be repetitious, as oil wells or windmills. You can not navigate from oil well to oil well in
the Permian Basin of west Texas, nor, from oil field to oil field. Uncertain landmarks may be objects that
look much alike; if you see the oval symbol for a racetrack on your chart and you see a racetrack on the
ground, is it a horse track, a dog track, or a high school athletic track? Check the surroundings. A high
school track will certainly have a high school near by, and will probably be in town, while a horse or dog
track will be more removed. An automobile race track will have identifiable mechanical facilities and a
horse track will have stables.
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