Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

1 Answers

Magnetic Dip

Asked by: 1623 views ,
Private Pilot

With respect to magnetic dip , define residual dip ?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

1 Answers



  1. Richard Eastman on Jul 11, 2020

    The directional force of Earth magnetic field is reflected in a horizontal line. Thus, the needle must lie horizontal to obtain the maximum accuracy. But in reality, the magnet in the compass still dips slight towards the nearest pole. This is called residual dip and is roughly + three degrees at mid latitudes. Fly a small plane like a Cessna 172 across the Pacific from the U.S. to Australia west-bound and you’ll have enough time to actually measure and see it!

    +1 Votes Thumb up 1 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.