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Top 25 ATPL General Navigation Questions (with Sourced Answers)

LAST UPDATED: 7 OCTOBER 2026

Published Oct 2026~14 min readEASA syllabusSubject 061

General Navigation (061) is one of the 13 EASA ATPL theory papers: 55 questions in 2 hours 15 minutes, passed at 75%. It covers the Earth and its coordinates, distance and direction, magnetism and the compass, time, speeds and the triangle of velocities, dead reckoning and chart projections. Many questions are short calculations, so the time goes on arithmetic as much as on knowledge.

These 25 questions come from v1prep's ATPL General Navigation bank, with the four options, the correct answer marked, a short explanation with the working, and the topic it is filed under. Choose your answer, and do the sums, before you read the one under it. For the compass errors in more depth, see magnetic compass errors explained.

Sections: 5 questions each
  1. The Earth & distance
  2. Convergency & direction
  3. Magnetism, the compass & time
  4. Speed, wind & dead reckoning
  5. Chart projections

The Earth & distance

Shape, great circles, rhumb lines, departure
Question 1
The shape of the Earth, for navigation purposes, is best described as:
  1. Aa perfect sphere of uniform radius
  2. Ban oblate spheroid (flattened at poles) ✓
  3. Ca perfect ellipsoid with no flattening
  4. Da prolate spheroid (flattened at equator)
Answer: B. An oblate spheroid, flattened at the poles: the equatorial radius is about 6378 km and the polar radius about 6357 km, a flattening of about 1/298. The WGS84 ellipsoid is the standard model in aviation.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Earth, Form and Coordinates
Question 2
A Great Circle on the Earth is defined as:
  1. Aany closed loop drawn on the surface of Earth
  2. Bany line of constant true track flown across map
  3. Ca line of constant latitude (a small parallel)
  4. Da circle whose centre is the centre of the Earth ✓
Answer: D. A great circle has its centre at the centre of the Earth and a radius equal to the Earth's. The shortest distance between two points on the surface lies along the great circle joining them.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Earth, Form and Coordinates
Question 3
A Rhumb Line (loxodrome) is best described as:
  1. Athe shortest distance between two points
  2. Ba line cutting all meridians at the same angle ✓
  3. Ca line that always coincides with a great circle
  4. Da line of equal magnetic variation
Answer: B. A rhumb line is a line of constant true track. It is generally longer than the great circle between the same two points, except along the equator or a meridian, where the two are the same line.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Earth, Form and Coordinates
Question 4
1° of latitude (along any meridian) corresponds to a distance of approximately:
  1. A30 NM
  2. B100 NM
  3. C60 NM ✓
  4. D120 NM
Answer: C. One minute of arc along a meridian is about one nautical mile, the original definition of the nautical mile, so 1° of latitude is about 60 NM. Along a parallel the distance per degree shrinks with the cosine of the latitude.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Earth, Form and Coordinates
Question 5
Two points lie on the parallel 60°N. Their longitudes differ by 1°. East-west distance is approximately:
  1. A30 NM ✓
  2. B60 NM
  3. C120 NM
  4. D0 NM
Answer: A. Departure = ch.long (minutes) × cos(latitude) = 60 × cos 60° = 60 × 0.5 = 30 NM.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Earth, Form and Coordinates

Convergency & direction

Conversion angle, variation, deviation
Question 6
Convergency between two meridians can be approximated by:
  1. Ach.long × sin(mean lat) ✓
  2. Bch.long × cos(mean lat)
  3. Cch.long × tan(mean lat)
  4. Dch.long ÷ sin(mean lat)
Answer: A. Convergency on the Earth = ch.long × sin(mean latitude). It is zero at the equator and equal to the change of longitude at the poles.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Earth, Form and Coordinates
Question 7
Conversion Angle (between great-circle and rhumb-line tracks) equals:
  1. Athe convergency
  2. Btwice the convergency
  3. Chalf the convergency ✓
  4. Dis independent of convergency
Answer: C. Conversion angle = ½ × convergency. It is the difference between the initial great circle and rhumb line tracks between two points.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Earth, Form and Coordinates
Question 8
In the Northern Hemisphere, the great circle lies on the ___ side of the rhumb line:
  1. Aequatorial (south) side
  2. Bpolar (north) side ✓
  3. CGC and RL always coincide exactly
  4. Ddepends only on the projection used
Answer: B. The great circle bulges towards the higher latitudes, so in the northern hemisphere it lies on the north side of the rhumb line, and in the southern hemisphere on the south side.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Convergency and Conversion Angle
Question 9
Magnetic Variation is the angle between:
  1. AMagnetic North and Compass North
  2. BTrue North and Magnetic North ✓
  3. Cisogonals on different charts
  4. Dmagnetic equator and geographic equator
Answer: B. Variation is the angle between true north and magnetic north. It changes with position and slowly with time. Lines of equal variation are isogonals; the line of zero variation is the agonic line.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Direction
Question 10
Compass heading 095°, deviation 2°W, local variation 6°E. True heading is:
  1. A087°
  2. B103°
  3. C099° ✓
  4. D091°
Answer: C. Compass to magnetic: subtract westerly deviation, 095 − 2 = 093°. Magnetic to true: add easterly variation, 093 + 6 = 099°.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Direction

Magnetism, the compass & time

Dip, turning and acceleration errors, LMT
Question 11
Magnetic Dip is:
  1. Athe angle between the Earth’s field and the horizontal ✓
  2. Bthe lateral force on the compass needle from vibration
  3. Cthe deviation of the compass on northerly headings
  4. Dan electrical error of the turn coordinator
Answer: A. Dip is the angle, in the vertical plane, between the Earth's magnetic field and the local horizontal: zero at the magnetic equator and 90° at the magnetic poles. It causes the turning and acceleration errors of the direct-reading compass.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Magnetism and the Magnetic Compass
Question 12
Northern hemisphere, turning through a northerly heading. The direct-reading magnetic compass:
  1. Areads ahead of actual heading (leads)
  2. Breverses its direction of rotation
  3. Creads correctly throughout the turn
  4. Dreads behind actual heading (lags) ✓
Answer: D. Turning through north in the northern hemisphere, the compass lags, so the turn must be stopped before the compass reaches the target heading: undershoot north, overshoot south (UNOS). It is reversed in the southern hemisphere.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Magnetism and the Magnetic Compass
Question 13
Northern hemisphere, on E or W heading, the aircraft accelerates. The compass shows:
  1. Ano error: reads correctly
  2. Ban apparent turn toward south
  3. Can apparent turn toward north ✓
  4. Da lag of exactly 30°
Answer: C. On an easterly or westerly heading in the northern hemisphere, acceleration shows an apparent turn towards north and deceleration an apparent turn towards south (ANDS). It is reversed in the southern hemisphere.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Magnetism and the Magnetic Compass
Question 14
It is 1200 UTC. The LMT at longitude 045°E is:
  1. A0900 LMT
  2. B1200 LMT
  3. C1800 LMT
  4. D1500 LMT ✓
Answer: D. 45° at 15° per hour is 3 hours. East of Greenwich local time is ahead, so LMT = UTC + 3 = 1500.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Time
Question 15
Civil twilight is defined as the period when the sun’s centre is:
  1. Aexactly on the visible horizon
  2. Bbetween 6° and 12° below the horizon
  3. Cbetween 12° and 18° below the horizon
  4. Dbetween 0° and 6° below the horizon ✓
Answer: D. Civil twilight: the sun's centre between 0° and 6° below the horizon. Nautical twilight: 6° to 12°. Astronomical twilight: 12° to 18°.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Time

Speed, wind & dead reckoning

TAS, Mach, drift, 1-in-60, ETA
Question 16
The local speed of sound (LSS) depends on:
  1. Aatmospheric pressure only
  2. Bhumidity primarily, not temperature
  3. Cdensity combining pressure and temperature
  4. Dabsolute temperature only ✓
Answer: D. The speed of sound is √(γRT): for a given gas it depends only on absolute temperature, not on pressure. It therefore falls with altitude up to the tropopause.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Speed (IAS/CAS/EAS/TAS, Mach)
Question 17
If an aircraft climbs at constant CAS in the troposphere, the TAS will:
  1. Aincrease (density falls with altitude) ✓
  2. Bdecrease as the aircraft climbs
  3. Cremain constant throughout the climb
  4. Dbe unrelated to altitude
Answer: A. Constant CAS means constant dynamic pressure, ½ρV². As density falls with height, TAS must rise to keep it constant: roughly 2% per 1000 ft up to about 10 000 ft.Source: ATPL General Navigation: Speed (IAS/CAS/EAS/TAS, Mach)
Question 18
Heading 090°(T), TAS 300 kt, wind 360°/30 (from north). The drift is approximately:
  1. A30° drift
  2. B6° left
  3. C0° drift
  4. D6° right ✓
Answer: D. A wind from 360° on a heading of 090° pushes the aircraft south, to the right. The whole 30 kt is crosswind, so drift ≈ arcsin(30/300) ≈ 5.7°, about 6° right.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Triangle of Velocities
Question 19
After 30 NM of a 90 NM leg, you are 3 NM right of track. Total alteration to regain track at destination:
  1. A3° left
  2. B9° left ✓
  3. C6° left
  4. D15° left
Answer: B. Track error = 3/30 × 60 = 6°. Closing angle = 3/60 × 60 = 3°. Total alteration = 6 + 3 = 9°, to the left, back towards the track.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Triangle of Velocities
Question 20
Overhead A at 1230 UTC. At 1300 UTC at fix 90 NM along track. ETA over B (180 NM beyond A) is:
  1. A1330 UTC ✓
  2. B1300 UTC
  3. C1400 UTC
  4. D1245 UTC
Answer: A. Groundspeed = 90 NM in 30 minutes = 180 kt. 90 NM remain to B, which takes 30 minutes, so the ETA is 1330 UTC.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Dead Reckoning Navigation

Chart projections

Mercator, Lambert, polar stereographic
Question 21
An orthomorphic (or conformal) chart preserves:
  1. Atrue shape and angles over small areas ✓
  2. Btrue area on the chart surface always
  3. Cgreat circles as straight lines always
  4. Drhumb lines as straight lines always
Answer: A. On an orthomorphic chart the meridians and parallels cross at right angles and the scale at any point is the same in all directions, so bearings are undistorted. Mercator, Lambert and polar stereographic charts are all orthomorphic.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Chart Projections (General)
Question 22
On a Mercator chart, a Rhumb Line appears as:
  1. Aa curve concave to the equator
  2. Ba closed circle on the chart
  3. Ca perfectly straight line ✓
  4. Dalways identical to the great circle
Answer: C. The defining property of the Mercator: rhumb lines are straight lines, which makes it good for plotting constant-track routes.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Mercator Projection
Question 23
Mercator scale at latitude 60°N (compared to the equator) is:
  1. Athe same (no expansion)
  2. Bhalved (cos 60° = 0.5)
  3. Cdoubled (sec 60° = 2) ✓
  4. Dthree times the equator scale
Answer: C. Mercator scale at a latitude = scale at the equator × sec(latitude). Sec 60° = 2, so the scale is doubled; at 80° it is almost 6 times the equator scale.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Mercator Projection
Question 24
On a Lambert chart, a Great Circle:
  1. Ais a curve concave to the equator
  2. Bis approximately a straight line ✓
  3. Cis a closed circle on the chart
  4. Dcannot be drawn on this projection
Answer: B. On a Lambert chart great circles are very nearly straight lines. Strictly they are slight curves, concave to the parallel of origin.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Lambert Conformal Conic Projection
Question 25
On a Polar Stereographic chart centred at the North Pole, meridians appear as:
  1. Aconcentric arcs around the pole
  2. Bparallel straight lines, evenly spaced
  3. Ccurves concave toward the pole
  4. Dstraight lines radiating from the pole ✓
Answer: D. The meridians are straight lines radiating from the pole, and the angle between two of them on the chart equals their change of longitude.Source: ATPL General Navigation, Polar Stereographic Projection

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