: How does a pilot know where the airport is when he is flying to a particular destination for the first time in his life?
In: Other
In modern planes? Airlines will give the pilot a flightplan, existing of a departure airport and arrival airport, each defined by a unique 4 letter code. Between these airports the airplane will fly between waypoints designated by 3 or 5 letter codes (these aren’t actually all unique, but the airplane will indicate the distance between these points, so if a pilot for a 2-hour flight suddenly sees a leg several hundred nautical miles, they’ll know it’s likely wrong). These points are also on airways which have a distinct numbering system.
Pilots flying visual will investigate charts before their flight to guide themselves using landmarks and specialised radio beacons are also available for instrument and visual flying.
And if all that fails, the air traffic control will also help.
Latest Answers