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GlossaryNavigation & Charts
Navigation & Charts

Magnetic Variation

Also: variation, magnetic vs true

The angular difference between true north and magnetic north at a location; pilots apply it to convert between true and magnetic courses when navigating.

“Compass error caused by the difference in the physical locations of the magnetic north pole and the geographic north pole.”
FAA-H-8083-25C · Glossary, Variation

Tested on

Private PilotCommercialInstrumentPart 107

Practice with

E6B Wind Triangle & Cross-Country CalculatorSectional Chart Symbology Decoder

Related terms

Sectional Chart

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