What does Variation (VAR) represent in aviation navigation?

What does Variation (VAR) represent in aviation navigation?

• A. The angular difference between true north and magnetic north
• B. The actual flight path over the ground measured clockwise from True North
• C. The indicated airspeed corrected for instrument installation error
• D. The angle measured clockwise from True North to the nose of the aircraft

Answer: (A)

Variation is the angular difference between true north and magnetic north. In aviation, true north points to the geographic North Pole, while magnetic north is where the compass needle actually points, and that direction varies by location and over time. The variation shown on charts tells you how many degrees to adjust when converting between true headings and magnetic headings, so you can navigate accurately using magnetic instruments. The other concepts—track over the ground (actual path relative to the surface), indicated airspeed corrected for instrument installation error, and the aircraft’s nose direction relative to true north (true heading)—refer to different ideas, not the difference between true and magnetic north. Hence the variation represents that angular difference.

Variation is the angular difference between true north and magnetic north. In aviation, true north points to the geographic North Pole, while magnetic north is where the compass needle actually points, and that direction varies by location and over time. The variation shown on charts tells you how many degrees to adjust when converting between true headings and magnetic headings, so you can navigate accurately using magnetic instruments. The other concepts—track over the ground (actual path relative to the surface), indicated airspeed corrected for instrument installation error, and the aircraft’s nose direction relative to true north (true heading)—refer to different ideas, not the difference between true and magnetic north. Hence the variation represents that angular difference.