Which navigation capability enables direct routing by using onboard navigation databases?

Which navigation capability enables direct routing by using onboard navigation databases?

• A. DME/VOR
• B. ILS
• C. VOR/DME
• D. RNAV

Answer: (D)

RNAV enables direct routing by using an onboard navigation database. The aircraft’s navigation system stores coordinates for many waypoints and routes in a digital database. With RNAV, you can select a destination or a sequence of waypoints, and the flight computer calculates a direct path between them, rather than following conventional ground-based navaids. This lets you fly a direct-to a point anywhere in the database, optimizing the route and fuel use. Ground-based aids like DME/VOR or VOR/DME provide signals from fixed stations and require routing along those beacons, while ILS is an approach system that guides you to a runway; neither facilitates direct routing between arbitrary points using the onboard database.

RNAV enables direct routing by using an onboard navigation database. The aircraft’s navigation system stores coordinates for many waypoints and routes in a digital database. With RNAV, you can select a destination or a sequence of waypoints, and the flight computer calculates a direct path between them, rather than following conventional ground-based navaids. This lets you fly a direct-to a point anywhere in the database, optimizing the route and fuel use. Ground-based aids like DME/VOR or VOR/DME provide signals from fixed stations and require routing along those beacons, while ILS is an approach system that guides you to a runway; neither facilitates direct routing between arbitrary points using the onboard database.