What does the syllabus require me to know about navigation?

Know what TP 15263 Section 5 asks a candidate to be able to do with charts, time, flight planning, radio theory and satellite navigation — the section that turns "where am I" into documents and procedures.

• You know that the examinations are built on TP 15263, so its sections are the syllabus. TP15263 area5
• You know that most of Section 5 is basic and advanced work, with the satellite-navigation and radar categories marked advanced. TP15263 area5

The definitions category asks only for an operational understanding of the terms the section uses — the syllabus is explicit that this is use rather than recitation. TP15263 area5

Maps and charts is the practical category, and its objectives are all verbs: locate your position on an aeronautical chart, interpret topographical information, determine your distance from the nearest aerodrome, identify a control zone, determine the validity and currency of the chart, and use the Canada Flight Supplement or another approved publication to identify airport operators and air traffic control agencies. TP15263 area5

Currency is the one people forget: an out-of-date chart is not a chart. TP15263 area5

The time objectives are two conversions and a calculation: convert UTC to local time and back, and determine the local time of sunrise and sunset. TP15263 area5

They are in the syllabus because the rest of aviation runs on UTC — a NOTAM, a forecast and an airspace activation are all timed in it — while a site survey and a client's schedule are local. TP15263 area5

Pilot navigation asks you to describe a location and its activities against charts and aeronautical reference points, to identify the class of airspace and the proximity of aerodromes from a chart, and to explain the difference between true and magnetic heading. TP15263 area5

Flight planning is the longest list in the section, and it reads as a checklist for a site: factors influencing the choice of flying area (restricted airspace, property lines, whether an SFOC is required); where to obtain NOTAMs and how to interpret them, including GPS NOTAMs; how to use the CFS for airspace type and radius, frequencies, the aerodrome operator's contact details and the nearest Flight Information Centre or ATS unit for emergency contact; the contact information for emergency services and local authorities; the documents that must be available to crew members; and determining the serviceability of the aircraft and the control station. TP15263 area5

Radio theory is the category an RPA pilot meets as a datalink question: the characteristics of radio wave propagation, the factors that affect radio reception range, the sources of RF interference, how to assess an RF environment, and the function of an RF spectrum analyzer. TP15263 area5

The satellite-navigation category, which is advanced, asks how GNSS is enhanced by augmentation systems, for an example of DGPS used for landing, for the significance of losing GPS in flight, and for what affects GPS performance — satellite count and weather among them. TP15263 area5

And one radar aid is named: describe the function of an ATC radar transponder. TP15263 area5

You are ready for Section 5 questions when you can:

• Locate yourself on a chart, read the terrain, and find the nearest aerodrome TP15263 area5
• Identify a control zone, and check a chart's currency TP15263 area5
• Find an operator or an ATC agency in the CFS TP15263 area5
• Convert UTC to local time, and find sunrise and sunset TP15263 area5
• Explain true against magnetic heading TP15263 area5
• Plan a site: airspace, property, SFOC, NOTAMs, contacts, documents and serviceability TP15263 area5
• Explain propagation, reception range, interference and how to assess an RF environment TP15263 area5
• Describe GNSS augmentation, what affects GPS, and what losing it means TP15263 area5
• Describe what an ATC radar transponder does TP15263 area5

Symptom	Likely cause	What to do
A chart is used without checking its date	The objectives require determining validity and currency	Check the edition before the flight TP15263 area5
Times are compared without a common basis	Aviation runs on UTC and the site runs on local time	Convert deliberately, both ways TP15263 area5
GPS is assumed to be either working or not working	The advanced objective names what affects performance	Treat satellite count and weather as variables TP15263 area5
A topic has no objective beside it	Objectives are printed once per category	Read the category's list TP15263 area5

Practise: Longitude Practise: Aeronautical charts: VNC, VTA Practise: 24 Hour system Practise: Use of aeronautical charts Practise: Factors affecting choice of flying area Practise: Frequency radio waves Characteristics of low/high and very & ultra-high Practise: Principles of operation Practise: Air traffic control (ATC) transponder

• TP 15263E, Section 5 — Navigation (the sample learning objectives table)