What is dead reckoning navigation?

• A. Calculating position using time, speed, and heading when no external navigation aids are available.
• B. Navigating by reference to landmarks only.
• C. Using GPS for position calculations.
• D. Estimating position by wind drift alone.

Answer: (A)

Dead reckoning navigation is estimating your current position by advancing from a known point using your time, speed, and heading when there are no external navigation aids available. In practice, you start from a known fix, determine your airspeed (your speed), set your heading, and measure elapsed time for each leg. The distance traveled is speed times time, and you plot that distance along the heading on the chart to arrive at the new approximate position. Wind can push you off the intended path, so you either adjust the heading to maintain the desired track or account for drift when plotting. This method relies entirely on your own measurements and timing, without GPS or ground-based references.