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Pilot Exams · Subject guide

Navigation Practice Questions for PPL, CPL and ATPL

Navigation practice for UCAA pilot exams: charts, the flight computer, wind triangles, dead reckoning, and radio and satellite aids, with explanations.

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By Ariguma Aviation editorial team · Published · Last reviewed

What Navigation covers

Navigation is the skill of knowing where you are, where you are going and how long it will take. The subject starts with the shape of the Earth, direction and charts, then builds into practical problem-solving: calculating headings that allow for wind, estimating times and fuel, and fixing your position from landmarks, radio aids or satellite systems.

Why it matters operationally

Good navigation keeps you clear of controlled or restricted airspace, high ground and bad weather, and gets you to your destination with the fuel you planned. Even with modern satellite equipment, a pilot needs to cross-check position, spot an error in a programmed route and fall back on basic methods if equipment fails. Navigation also underpins Flight Performance and Planning, because every fuel plan starts with a route and a groundspeed.

How the emphasis changes from PPL to ATPL

UCAA lists Navigation for the PPL, CPL and ATPL. PPL questions focus on visual navigation: chart reading, the flight computer, the wind triangle and simple radio aids. CPL questions expect more precision and a firmer grasp of radio navigation. At ATPL level the subject broadens to long-range navigation, chart projections in more detail and the area navigation systems used in transport aircraft.

Common difficulties

  • Direction conversions. Mixing up true, magnetic and compass headings is the most common source of wrong answers.
  • Flight computer technique. Small reading errors on the scales can push a result outside the correct option.
  • Abstract geometry. Great circles, convergency and projections can feel theoretical until you see them on a chart.

How to practise

Use Ariguma study mode to work topic by topic and read the explanation for every calculation, including the ones you get right, to confirm your method. Ariguma has Navigation banks at PPL, CPL and ATPL level for aeroplane and helicopter candidates. Keep a daily routine of flight computer practice, then sit timed mock exams to build speed. Ariguma practice is study material, not an official UCAA examination.

What Navigation covers

  • The Earth and position

    Latitude and longitude, great circles and rhumb lines, and the units of distance used in aviation.

  • Direction

    True, magnetic and compass direction, variation and deviation.

  • Aeronautical charts

    Chart projections, scale, symbols and how to measure tracks and distances.

  • The flight computer

    Using the navigation computer for speed, time, distance, fuel and conversion problems.

  • Wind triangle

    Heading, track, drift, wind correction and groundspeed.

  • Time

    Coordinated Universal Time, local time and the timing of sunrise and sunset.

  • Dead reckoning and map reading

    Planning and flying a visual route, fixing position and correcting for drift.

  • Radio navigation

    The principles of ground-based aids and how bearings and radials are used to fix position.

  • Satellite navigation

    How satellite positioning works and its limitations for aviation use.

How to revise Navigation

  1. Practise the flight computer for a few minutes every day until wind and conversion problems become routine.
  2. Before calculating, sketch a rough wind triangle so you can see whether your answer is sensible.
  3. Say out loud whether you are working in true or magnetic, and convert only once, at a defined point.
  4. Plan a real cross-country route on a chart and compare your log with what happens in flight.

Frequently asked questions

Is Navigation a UCAA exam subject at all licence levels?

Yes. UCAA advisory circular AC-PEL018 lists Navigation as a knowledge subject for the PPL, CPL and ATPL.

Do I need a flight computer for the exam?

Many candidates learn wind and conversion problems on a navigation computer. AC-PEL018 allows only simple, non-programmable calculators and excludes calculators with a navigation function, so an electronic flight computer is not permitted. Confirm with the UCAA Personnel Licensing Office which aids, if any, you may take in when you book.

Is radio navigation covered elsewhere too?

Yes. Navigation includes radio aids at a general level, and Ariguma's separate Radio Navigation practice subject covers them in more depth for instrument rating study.

Sources and official references

  1. CAA-AC-PEL018: Knowledge Testing for a Licence or RatingUganda Civil Aviation Authority · September 2022 · checked 2026-10-06

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