Why doesn't your compass point to the North Pole, and why is the answer different in Lisbon, Amsterdam and Helsinki? This lesson explains true, magnetic and compass north, the earth's magnetic field in 3D, real variation values across Europe, isogonals, deviation and the deviation card, with lots of worked conversions.

This is lesson 4 of a free, complete course on PPL(A) navigation theory. Every idea is built up step by step with whiteboard drawings and 3D animations, with worked examples, exam-style quick checks and a cheat sheet at the end. It is for student pilots preparing for the EASA PPL(A) or LAPL theory exam, and for any pilot who wants to understand navigation instead of memorising it.

In this lesson:
• Directions in degrees, and true north
• True course and true heading on the chart
• The earth's magnetic field, in 3D
• Magnetic north and variation, with real values across Europe
• Isogonals and the agonic line; how variation changes
• Converting true and magnetic: the sign rules
• Compass north, deviation and the deviation card
• The full chain: true, magnetic, compass

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:17 What you'll learn
0:42 True north and true directions
1:38 The earth's magnetic field
2:44 Variation across Europe
3:37 Quick check 1
4:04 Isogonals, and how variation changes
5:36 Quick check 2
5:57 Converting true and magnetic
7:24 Compass north and deviation
8:25 The deviation card
9:08 Quick check 3
9:34 The full chain
10:18 Quick check 4
10:47 Cheat sheet
11:30 Next lesson

◀ Previous lesson: Time: UTC, time zones, sunrise, twilight and night
▶ Next lesson: Chart projections: Mercator and Lambert

Tip: pause at each quick check and work it out before the answer appears, and screenshot the cheat sheet for revision.
Always use the current official documents (AIP, charts, aircraft manual) for real flight planning.

Subscribe for the rest of the course: @jogendrafx

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