Area Navigation
What is area navigation?
Area navigation (RNAV) is a method of navigation that allows an aircraft to fly any desired flight path without needing to fly directly over ground-based navigation stations. RNAV equipment—such as VOR/DME, LORAN, GPS, or inertial navigation systems (INS)—computes the aircraft's position, actual track, and groundspeed, then displays useful guidance to the pilot. Dedicated RNAV routes exist in both altitude structures: high-altitude routes carry a "Q" prefix and low-altitude routes carry a "T" prefix. Think of it as point-to-point navigation—you fly direct to a defined point in space rather than zigzagging station to station.
Also known as: RNAV, area navigation
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