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Magnetic or True ?


Adrian Lewer

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  • 2 months later...
Guest 3rd dimension

Here is a basic rule I was taught by a very high hour pilot.

 

If it is spoken eg awis, atis or by radio it is magnetic.

 

If it is written it is true eg taf, area eg.

 

Hope it helps.

 

 

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  • 2 months later...
If it's written, it's true. If it's spoken, it's magnetic.

Thus, all TAF, ARFOR, METAR, SPECI etc are in true. ATIS will be magnetic.

Correct - that's how I remember which is which (need all the help I can get to remember things these days!!) ....

 

 

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Guest Ken deVos
i have a similar shorter one, if its on paper, it true.

I like your method Ultralights, that stops any confusion with written runway headings which are magnetic 040_nerd.gif.a6a4f823734c8b20ed33654968aaa347.gif

 

A little off subject, but is there an easy way to distinguish cloud heights (AMSL or AGL) in the various forecasts :confused:

 

 

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Guest Ken deVos
[snip] I thought all were given as AMSL unless stated otherwise.......... Right or Wrong?Cheers

Dexter

My understanding is that TAFs are AGL as described here:

 

Decoding a TAF

 

"SCT040 BKN100 are the cloud amounts and heights above the aerodrome (in 100's of feet)

 

Cloud amount is expressed as SKC, FEW, SCT, BKN or OVC"

 

 

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Guest Mad Dave

It kind of makes sense if you think about it as well, because how could an area forecast be AGL? Whereas a TAF really has to be (in relation to overflying, circuits etc.)

 

 

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Magnetic variation changes as you fly North or South or East or West so your magnetic compass heading theoretically needs to gradually change if you flew a long enough track to cross a few compass variation lines-ignoring great circle tracking for our type of flying.

 

If you go flying near Iron Ore deposits you might have to ignore your compass completely. Lang Hancock is supposed to have found his Iron ore deposits due to aircraft compass anomalies when flying in a light plane over the area.

 

It is normal or close enough usually to take an average deviation into account from the start to the end of each straight line portion of the track on the map especially as we are all flying VFR in RAA aircraft so far.

 

Another factor is that the compass variation at a particular location changes over time. New issued WAC charts take this into account but my new current Canberra WAC chart is possibly at least four years out of date.

 

I have two Canberra WAC charts for Canberra.

 

Eighth edition dated 1981 . This one says isogonic information based on 1980 info (lines of equal magnetic declination).

 

Sixteenth edition dated Jan 2008. This one says the Magnetic variation info is 2005 info.

 

They respectively show magnetic variations for Griffith NSW of about 10.4 degrees East and 10.9 degrees East for 2005.

 

Eventually the Magnetic North and South poles will flip (swap over). I don't want to be still flying when that happens.

 

From what I remember flying from Griffith to Ballarat results in flying down a track with almost the same magnetic variation from start to finish.

 

My ERSA lists the deviations in whole degrees with both as 11 degrees East.

 

 

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Guest pelorus32
Magnetic variation changes as you fly North or South or East or West so your magnetic compass heading theoretically needs to gradually change if you flew a long enough track to cross a few compass variation lines-ignoring great circle tracking for our type of flying. If you go flying near Iron Ore deposits you might have to ignore your compass completely. Lang Hancock is supposed to have found his Iron ore deposits due to aircraft compass anomalies when flying in a light plane over the area.

 

It is normal or close enough usually to take an average deviation into account from the start to the end of each straight line portion of the track on the map especially as we are all flying VFR in RAA aircraft so far.

 

Another factor is that the compass variation at a particular location changes over time. New issued WAC charts take this into account but my new current Canberra WAC chart is possibly at least four years out of date.

 

I have two Canberra WAC charts for Canberra.

 

Eighth edition dated 1981 . This one says isogonic information based on 1980 info (lines of equal magnetic declination).

 

Sixteenth edition dated Jan 2008. This one says the Magnetic variation info is 2005 info.

 

They respectively show magnetic variations for Griffith NSW of about 10.4 degrees East and 10.9 degrees East for 2005.

 

Eventually the Magnetic North and South poles will flip (swap over). I don't want to be still flying when that happens.

 

From what I remember flying from Griffith to Ballarat results in flying down a track with almost the same magnetic variation from start to finish.

 

My ERSA lists the deviations in whole degrees with both as 11 degrees East.

This is a very well known process. Marine charts don't have isogonals in the way WACs do. However they have compass roses that show the variation and tell you how much the variation changes each year and in which direction.

 

Regards

 

Mike

 

 

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They respectively show magnetic variations for Griffith NSW of about 10.4 degrees East and 10.9 degrees East for 2005. ..... My ERSA lists the deviations in whole degrees with both as 11 degrees East.

To be honest - in the Jab I'm stuffed if I can pick up something like a coupla degrees either way when I'm in the air, especially if there's a bit of turbulence ....

 

So it's a bit academic really !!

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
My instructor taught me an easy rule:If it's written, it's true. If it's spoken, it's magnetic.

 

Thus, all TAF, ARFOR, METAR, SPECI etc are in true. ATIS will be magnetic.

 

Hey, that's a good one/way to remember it.

 

099_off_topic.gif.20188a5321221476a2fad1197804b380.gif

 

 

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  • 4 months later...
Guest Kevin the Penniless

That BOM site requires a password. Can you make the pdf available to us lowly plebs that do not have passwords?

 

 

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Guest magcheck
That BOM site requires a password. Can you make the pdf available to us lowly plebs that do not have passwords?

You can get the password and Username on the login pagae

 

l Aviation Products are accessed via username:bomw0007 and password:aviation. By entering this username and password you are acknowledging that all Aviation products produced by the Bureau of Meteorology are for aviation users only.

 

Aviation Weather Services

 

 

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All BOM aviation services require a user name and password - these are both freely available on the BOM website.

 

The user name is bomw0007 and the password is aviation!

 

EDIT: beaten by a minute!!

 

 

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