PLT202: DME and DME Arcs
What code PLT202 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study DME and DME Arcs before your checkride.
Recall DME - characteristics / accuracy / indications / Arc
What this means for your checkride
DME shows slant-range distance to a station, and a DME arc is a curved course flown at a constant distance from it, used to join an approach or route. You fly the arc by keeping the distance constant with small, repeated heading changes, the classic turn-ten, twist-ten technique with the bearing pointer.
DME and DME arcs appear on approaches and routes, so the FAA tests DME indications, slant-range error, and how to fly an arc.
Pilots read DME as ground distance. It is slant range, largest in error when high and close to the station, where it can read your altitude above it rather than near zero.
Where to study it
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.