FAA Aircraft Dispatcher (ADX)Flight Planning and PerformanceHard
An aircraft has flown 60 NM from a VOR and determines it is 6 NM to the right of the intended course. The pilot wants to correct back to parallel the course AND converge to re-intercept the course line over a fix located 30 NM further ahead. Using the 60-to-1 rule, what total heading correction (in degrees) should be applied?
- A24°
- B6°
- C12°
- D18°
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. 18°
By the 60-to-1 rule, 1° of heading change causes roughly 1 NM of lateral displacement per 60 NM flown. The aircraft is off course by 6 NM after 60 NM, so it is 6° off course (parallel correction = 6°). To converge and reintercept the course over the next 30 NM, an additional correction of (6 NM / 30 NM) x 60 = 12° is needed. Total correction = 6° + 12° = 18°.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. This overstates the required correction.
- B. This is only the parallel correction, not including the convergence correction.
- C. This is only the convergence correction, omitting the parallel correction.
60-to-1 Rule
A navigation rule of thumb stating that 1° of angular displacement equals approximately 1 NM of lateral offset per 60 NM of distance flown, used to compute course corrections.
- 1° ≈ 1 NM per 60 NM traveled
- Parallel correction re-establishes track direction
- Convergence correction closes lateral displacement over a chosen distance
Memory trick: Sixty to one: one degree, one mile, every sixty miles you fly.