AFPAM11-216 — Air Navigation

AFPAM11-216 governs air navigation, including celestial-navigation computations, charting, flight instruments, and navigation procedures.

Search AFPAM11-216

  • Publication number: AFPAM11-216
  • Title: AIR NAVIGATION
  • Date: 2018-02-28

View AFPAM11-216 on armypubs.army.mil


It covers date, fix time, latitude and longitude, GHA, LHA, declination, altitude corrections, motion adjustments, and grid azimuth. It explains preflight and in-flight computations, including corrections for refraction, sextant error, parallax, Polaris, and observer or body motion.

Applies to: This pamphlet may apply to the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) when published in the AFRC Index 2 and to the Air National Guard when published in the NGR (AF) 0-2.

Topics covered

  • GHA corrections
  • LHA calculations
  • Assumed latitude
  • Altitude corrections
  • Motion adjustments
  • Grid azimuth

Questions and answers

How is the DR position used in the navigation computation?

The DR position for the time of the observation. (paragraph 4)

How is the total motion adjustment determined?

Correction based on combined motion of observer and body, for the difference between the time of the shot and fix time. The sign of this correction will be the same as the sign in block 26 if the observation was taken prior to the computation time. If it was taken later, the sign will be reversed. (paragraph 2-8)

How must atmospheric refraction be extracted and applied?

Atmospheric refraction correction must be extracted for the actual Hs. It may then be applied to either Hc or Hs using the proper sign. Extracting the value for Hc may cause large errors, especially when the body is near the horizon. (paragraph 3-9)

When do precomputational methods lose accuracy?

Precomputational methods lose accuracy when the assumed position and the actual position differ by large distances. (paragraph 3-9)

What does the intercept distance represent?

Intercept distance (NM) is the difference between the final Hc and Ho. Apply the HOMOTO rule to determine direction (T or A) along the Zn. (paragraph 3-7)

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