The 1 in 60 rule is a handy navigation tool. Once you grasp this simple concept, it's easy to use. The best way to explain the 1 in 60 rule is by example. Assume that you planned a direct flight that is 120 miles long. There is a small lake halfway across, and your planned track takes you overhead that lake.

You take off, and after having flown 60 miles, you find yourself 1 mile off track to the left of the lake. What the 1 in 60 rule states is that if you've flown 60 miles, and you are 1 mile off track, your track error is 1 degree. This means that if you change your heading by one degree to the right, you'll be flying parallel to your planned track.

But you still have 60 miles to go, and you need to arrive at your destination. Use the 1 in 60 rule again to obtain the correction angle. You are one mile off track, with 60 miles to go, so your correction angle is a further one degree to the right. When you combine the track error with the correction angle, this gives you a two degree heading correction to your right, for a direct track to your destination.

Let's have a look at another example. Assume that you planned a direct flight that is 50 miles long, the lake is 20 miles out from home, and you find yourself 3 miles off track to the left of the lake. If the rule states that for a 60 mile flight, your track error is 1, One degree for every mile off track, then for a shorter 20 mile flight, your track error will be three times greater for every mile off track.

Therefore, three multiplied by three miles off track gives you a nine degree track error. This means that if you change your heading by nine degrees to the right, You will be flying parallel to your planned track. You still have 30 miles to go. Use the 1 in 60 rule to obtain the correction angle. You are 3 miles off track with 30 miles to go.

Therefore, 2 multiplied by 3 miles off track gives you a correction angle that is a further 6 degrees to the right. So, when you combine the track error with the correction angle, this gives you a 15 degree heading correction to the right for a direct track to your destination. In trickier situations, you may use these equations to obtain your track error and correction angle.

In this final example, you planned a direct flight that is 88 miles long. The lake is 63 miles out from home, and you find yourself 4 miles off track to the right of the lake. By using the 1 in 60 equation, you determine that your track error is 3. 8 degrees, which you round off to 4 degrees to the left.

You still have 25 miles to go, and you determine your correction angle to be 10 degrees. So, when you combine the track error with the correction angle, this gives you a 14 degree heading correction to the left for a direct track to your destination.