FAA Flight Instructor Airplane (FIA)Navigation and AirspaceHard
A pilot located in the Eastern Standard Time zone plans a departure at 1400 local time. What is the correct proposed departure time expressed in UTC (Zulu) for the flight plan?
- A1400Z
- B1900Z
- C0900Z
- D1800Z
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. 1900Z
Eastern Standard Time (EST) is 5 hours behind UTC (UTC−5). Adding 5 hours to 1400 EST gives 1900 UTC (Zulu) as the correct proposed departure time.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. This ignores the time zone offset entirely.
- C. This would result from subtracting rather than adding the time difference.
- D. This reflects a 4-hour offset, which applies to Eastern Daylight Time, not Standard Time.
UTC (Zulu) Time Conversion
UTC is the standard time reference used in aviation; local times must be converted to UTC using the correct zone offset.
- EST = UTC−5
- EDT = UTC−4
- Always add the offset when converting from EST/EDT to UTC
Memory trick: 'Eastern Standard, add five to go global'