Using the 60:1 rule, if you are 30 miles from a VOR and off course by 1 degree, how many miles off course are you?

Using the 60:1 rule, if you are 30 miles from a VOR and off course by 1 degree, how many miles off course are you?

• A. 0.75 mile
• B. 1.0 mile
• C. 1.25 miles
• D. 0.5 mile

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is estimating cross‑track distance with the 60:1 rule. This rule of thumb says that for every 1 degree of course error, you’re off by about 1 mile for every 60 nautical miles to the VOR. Here you’re 30 miles away, so with a 1° deviation the lateral error is roughly 30/60 ≈ 0.5 miles. If you check with the exact trigonometry, cross‑track distance equals distance × tan(1°). That’s about 30 × 0.0175 ≈ 0.525 miles, which aligns with the rough 0.5 miles. So you’re about half a mile off course.

The main idea here is estimating cross‑track distance with the 60:1 rule. This rule of thumb says that for every 1 degree of course error, you’re off by about 1 mile for every 60 nautical miles to the VOR. Here you’re 30 miles away, so with a 1° deviation the lateral error is roughly 30/60 ≈ 0.5 miles. If you check with the exact trigonometry, cross‑track distance equals distance × tan(1°). That’s about 30 × 0.0175 ≈ 0.525 miles, which aligns with the rough 0.5 miles. So you’re about half a mile off course.