The E6B Practice Bench
Work the same problem three ways: punch it into the digital computer, spin the circular slide rule, then mark the wind dot and slide the grid. Random problems check your answers.
For practice and education only. Not for navigation. These are practice simulations of a generic E6B-style computer, not a certified instrument. Use your own flight computer, current charts and your POH for real planning, and learn the method with your flight instructor.
The digital flight computer.
Every answer updates as you type. Winds aloft forecasts are true, so pair them with true course; add variation and deviation for magnetic and compass headings.
The computer side.
A circular slide rule. Drag the inner disk to turn it; drag near the outer edge to move the red hairline. The outer scale is miles, gallons or knots; the inner scale is minutes. Decimal points are up to you: 12 can mean 1.2, 12 or 120.
How to use the computer side
- Time: rate index (60) under groundspeed on the outer scale; find distance on the outer scale; read minutes on the inner scale below it.
- Distance: same setting; find minutes on the inner scale; read distance above it.
- Groundspeed: put minutes flown under distance flown; read groundspeed above the 60 index.
- Fuel: 60 index under gallons per hour; time on the inner scale; gallons above it.
- Miles: put the value under NAUT and read statute miles above STAT (or kilometers above KM).
- Seconds: use the SEC index (36, for 3,600 seconds) instead of 60 for short times.
The wind side.
Turn the frosted disk, pencil the wind dot, then slide the grid. Drag the disk to rotate it; drag the grid outside the disk (or use the slider) to slide it.
- Turn the disk until the wind direction is under the TRUE INDEX.
- Pick up the pencil and mark the wind dot straight up from the grommet, wind speed in knots above it (use the grid arcs to measure).
- Turn the disk until the true course is under the TRUE INDEX.
- Slide the grid until the dot sits on the TAS arc.
- Read groundspeed under the grommet and the wind correction angle on the drift line through the dot (right of center = add, left = subtract).
Random E6B problems.
Answers within about 2% count, which is how close a manual E6B reads. Work them on paper, the slide rule or the digital side; then check.