Travis Colby
Filing Flight Plan
OK, this one has me really scratching my head.
I've been preparing for my knowledge test and am regularly scoring above 90% on the practice exams. On the last one I took I missed a simple question about a magnetic course. The question concerned airports in the DFW area and I used a sectional chart, subtracting the 4 degree east variation called for on the chart, and finished the calculations. I got the question wrong and noticed that the I foolishly misread the question that specifically said the magnetic variation was 7 degrees east. Re-working that question with the stated 7 degrees east gave me the answer listed as correct.
I then started to wonder why the FAA would give us a question with a different variation than printed on the sectional they gave us as an exhibit, was that just a cruel trick? I then used SkyVector to check the problem again, and they also have the 7 degree east variation. I checked other sources and they all come up with 7-8 degrees of variation. Why is that?
What am I missing here? The flight is right at the 4 degree east isogonic line on the chart, so I am really confused. Are there errors on the sectionals?
I just don't understand this one!