Decide where you want to go. Your flight instructor will normally have a few airports in mind for your initial cross-country and will either assign one to you or provide you with a list to choose from.
Lay the plotter flat on top of the open sectional map, and slide the edge of it (like a ruler) to where it runs from the middle of the departure airport to the middle of the destination airport. Since you will be doing your calculation using “nautical miles,” use the side of the planner with the nautical miles showing on it.
Draw a line with a pencil between the first airport and the second. This is called a course line and gives you an idea of the course you will be flying. This course will change, depending on the force of the winds and magnetic variations, but it is used as your primary heading for all of the calculations for your flight plan.
Determine your true course. Find a line of longitude about halfway between the two airports. Make a thick dot on the course line where it crosses over this line of longitude. Lay the plotter along your course line and move it around until the dot is in the center of the small hole (called a grommet) on the curved part (directional scale) of the plotter.
Use the scale to get the true course direction. If you are going to the east (left to right), you will use the outer scale, and if you are going west (right to left), you will use the inner scale. With the dot still in the center of the grommet, follow the line directly above it upward to the scale you are using (east or west) and read the number. Write the true course heading down on your flight plan. You are now ready to continue with other calculations for your flight.
