Rotating Aviation Plotter
Line up the grid, spin the azimuth and read your true course. Faster and harder to misread than a fixed plotter, with scales for every chart you'll use in training.
- Rotating azimuth. A full 360° rotating protractor with a grid you align to the chart's lines of latitude and longitude.
- Eight scales. Sectional (1:500,000), WAC (1:1,000,000) and Terminal Area Chart (1:250,000), in nautical miles on the front and statute miles on the back.
- Magnetic variation guide. Convert true course to magnetic right on the plotter.
- Flexible 1.3 mm build. Bends without cracking and lies flat on a folded chart.
A true course in three moves.
- Step 1
Draw the line
Use the straight edge to draw your course from departure to destination. Check the distance on the scale that matches your chart: Sectional for most VFR cross-countries.
- Step 2
Align the grid
Lay the plotter's edge along your course line. Rotate the azimuth until its grid lines sit square with the chart's lines of latitude and longitude, north up.
- Step 3
Read and convert
Read your true course at the index mark. Then apply variation from the chart's isogonic line: east is least, west is best. Subtract easterly variation, add westerly.
Example: true course 047°, variation 10° W. Magnetic course = 047 + 10 = 057°. Hand that to your flight computer with the forecast winds to get your heading.
What's on it.
| Scales | Sectional 1:500,000 · WAC 1:1,000,000 · Terminal 1:250,000 |
|---|---|
| Units | Nautical miles (front), statute miles (back) |
| Azimuth | Rotating, 360° |
| Material | Flexible plastic, 1.3 mm |
| Length | About 13 in (33 cm) |
| Use with | Any E6B-style flight computer (sold separately) |
Plotter questions.
Is this a flight computer?
No. A plotter measures course and distance on the chart. A flight computer (often called an E6B) works out wind correction, groundspeed and fuel. You'll use both, and this plotter works alongside any of them.
Can I use it on the knowledge test?
Plotters are commonly used for the navigation questions on the private pilot knowledge test. Check the current testing-center rules for what you can bring.
Does it work on Canadian VNC charts?
Canadian VFR Navigation Charts are 1:500,000, the same scale as US sectionals, so the Sectional scale works.