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Asked by: 2345 views Flight Instructor

As chief flight instructor for a FAR Part 61 flight school, I am considering eliminating, or at least curtailing, instruction in  wind correction and ground speed on the E6B, as well as the preparation of a navigation log.   Considering the advancements in navigation and communication we enjoy today, pilotage and dead reckoning seem outdated.  I checked the latest private pilot sample knowledge test questions and there are none regarding these topic.  I'm interested to know other CFI thoughts.

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3 Answers



  1. Kris Kortokrax on May 21, 2018

    I would suggest you become familiar with 14 CFR 61.93(e)(1) which requires flight training on pilotage and dead reckoning before endorsing a student for cross country flight. Then take a look at 61.105(b)(4) which requires ground training on pilotage, dead reckoning and navigation systems. Finally, take a look at the Private ACS Area of Operation I, Task D which requires preparing a navigation log and AOA VI, task A which requires testing on Pilotage and Dead Reckoning.

    If you were to endorse a student for a practical test without giving the required instruction, that would constitute falsification.

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  2. KDS on May 21, 2018

    I’m reminded of when electronic calculators first came our and many pilots railed against using them because the students should know how to do it the old fashioned way. The best counter-argument I heard was when someone asked if they could draw wind-triangles on butcher paper since that is the way it was done before the E6B was developed.

    The reality is that arriving at the correct answer is the goal and how that is achieved is of secondary importance. However, there is a lot of base work that comes in education. For example, do we really need to know how to do arithmatic exercises like long division when an electronic calculator is available. I know of a major school system that debated removing spelling from the system using that logic that spell-checkers were so common.

    I tend to be on the side of needing to teach the E6B. While I can’t give a compelling argument for that, it just seems to me to be somewhat of a base knowledge item. Of course, when all else fails, one can always fall back on the argument I’ve heard many times “what if the batteries fail”.

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  3. Mark Kolber on May 26, 2018

    The reality is that arriving at the correct answer is the goal and how that is achieved is of secondary importance.
    I don’t quite agree. An EFB, a 512 Gb modern tablet, and a $20,000 panel installation are tools. To me, the goal of training is a basic understanding of what the tools are doing and the principles behind them. You can follow a magenta line without ever understanding why your heading is 12 degrees different than your track, but if that’s all one cares about, that’s too bad. Understanding wind effects over ground track and airspeed provides both a richer knowledge base and information for application and correlation to other tasks.

    That’s not necessarily a vote for the EFB. When I did primary training, I not only taught how to use the EFB, but I also drew wind triangles (I decided to forego the butcher paper) as a way of explaining what the EFB was calculating. I don’t think the manual circular slide rule/wind triangle EFB as a tool is essential. Except as an instructional tool, have never used one in flight, and stopped using one for my preflight planning about 25 years ago.

    Dead reckoning and pilotage are still important. I still recall a friend heading to a bad place on a mountain route because he followed an erroneous GPS indication instead of looking out the window. But I don’t think it has to be a cardboard and plastic tool.

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