GENERAL NAVIGATION 002

LINES ON THE EARTH

BGS Chapter 3

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 LINES ON THE EARTH
• Great Circles
• The Equator
• Meridians

• Small Circles
• Parallels of Latitude

• Rhumb Lines

• Great Circle and Rhumb Line Direction.

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 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the lesson you will be able to:

• Define a Great Circle

• Name examples of Great Circles on the Earth

• Describe a Meridian and an anti-meridian

• Define a Small Circle

• Name examples of Small Circles on the Earth

• Define a Rhumb Line.

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GREAT CIRCLES

• A Great Circle is a circle on the Earth’s

surface whose centre and radius are
those of the Earth itself Great Circle

• The shortest distance between two

points is the shorter arc of the GC
joining those two points

• Given two points on the Earth’s

surface, there will be only one GC Shortest
Distance
A
joining them (unless the points are
diametrically opposed)

AIRWAYS AVIATION ATPL GN002 – LINES ON THE EARTH

THE EQUATOR

• A Great Circle whose plane is at 90° to the axis of rotation of the Earth.

• Defines the East-West direction

• Divides the Earth equally into two halves

• The datum for defining Latitude 90°

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MERIDIANS
• Semi-Great Circles joining the N and S Poles
Prime Meridian
• A meridian and its anti-meridian complete a Great Circle

• Each meridian:
• Indicates True North-South direction
• Crosses the Equator at 90°

THE PRIME MERIDIAN

• Passes through Greenwich, UK

• Also known as the Greenwich Meridian

• The datum for defining Longitude

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SMALL CIRCLES
A Small Circle is any circle on the surface of the Earth whose centre and
radius are not those of the Earth

AIRWAYS AVIATION ATPL GN002 – LINES ON THE EARTH

PARALLELS OF LATITUDE
• Parallels of Latitude are Small Circles whose planes are parallel to the
Equator

• Lie in an E-W direction

• Function is to indicate position N or S of the Equator

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RHUMB LINES
A Rhumb Line is a line of constant direction

i.e. it cuts all Meridians at the same angle

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RHUMB LINE TRACK MOSCOW TO VANCOUVER
… on a Mercator chart

Moscow
Vancouver

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RHUMB LINE TRACK MOSCOW TO VANCOUVER
… and on a globe

Vancouver

Moscow

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COMMON RHUMB LINES

• Parallels of Latitude
…because they have a constant direction of 270°/090° and cut
all meridians at 90°

• The Equator
…a special case because the Equator is also a Great Circle

• Meridians
… because they have a constant direction of 360°/180°

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GREAT CIRCLE AND RHUMB LINE DIRECTION
North Pole
NORTHERN
HEMISPHERE

Rhumb Line

Great Circle

• The Rhumb Line has constant direction

• Rhumb lines always lie on the equatorial side of a Great Circle

• The Great Circle’s track direction is increasing in an Easterly Direction

• The Great Circle’s track direction is decreasing in an Westerly Direction

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GREAT CIRCLE AND RHUMB LINE DIRECTION
SOUTHERN
HEMISPHERE

Great Circle
Rhumb Line

South Pole
• The Rhumb Line has constant direction

• Rhumb lines always lie on the equatorial side of a Great Circle

• The Great Circle’s track direction is decreasing in an Easterly Direction

• The Great Circle’s track direction is increasing in an Westerly Direction

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GREAT CIRCLE CHANGE OF DIRECTION

Westbound Track Eastbound Track

N
DECREASE INCREASE Hemisphere

INCREASE DECREASE S
Hemisphere

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 LEARNING OUTCOMES REVIEW

• Define a Great Circle

• Name examples of Great Circles on the Earth

• Describe a Meridian and an anti-meridian

• Define a Small Circle

• Name examples of Small Circles on the Earth

• Define a Rhumb Line.

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 Next Lesson:

Latitude and Longitude

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EASA LEARNING OBJECTIVES
061 01 02 01 Great Circles, Small Circles, and Rhumb Lines
• Define a ‘great circle’ in relation to the surface of a sphere.
• Describe the ‘geometric properties’ of a great circle, including vertex.
• Define a ‘small circle’ in relation to the surface of a sphere.
• Define a ‘rhumb line’. A line which cuts all meridians at the same angle.

061 01 02 04 Longitude, Difference of Longitude

• Describe a meridian as a semi great circle, which runs north and south from pole to
pole.
• Explain that the meridians and their anti-meridian complete a great circle.
• State that the Greenwich Meridian is also known as the Prime Meridian.
• Define a ‘rhumb line’. A line intersecting all meridians at the same angle.
• Explain the geometrical properties of a rhumb line. Parallels and meridians are special
cases of rhumb lines.

061 01 04 01 True North

• State that all meridians run in north–south direction, and that the true-north direction is
along any meridian towards the geographic north pole.

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