Question about practice tests on Sportys re: cross country section

[Bob Dingley]

I'm taking practice tests every once in a while in prep for taking the written @ Sportys free website. 60 questions with a 3 hour timer, which seems to be about 2 hours more than one should need. When a question comes up with a VFR chart vignette asking how long of a flight time will it be from Airport "A" in area 3 to Airport "B" in area 1, I have no idea HOW you are supposed to arrive at an answer. There is no way to measure distance, short of using the length of my finger from joint to joint on the scale above, and saying "weeeeeelllll.... it looks like my first and second index finger sections looks to equal about 10 nautical miles, and it looks liiiiike.... let me scroll the screen up to finish measuring.... 7.5 finger lengths. So 75 miles." Which sometimes ends up being off enough to get the wrong answer.

Those of you who have any knowledge of testing by computer please tell me the "real deal" at the testing center has a way to determine distance, length, angles/headings, etc. This problem also crops up when they ask to figure the total landing distance under certain wind and temperature conditions on a chart that has four different segments that you are supposed to go up, hit an angled line, follow that over to a sloped line, follow that down to the next section, etc. etc.... you get the idea.

Thanks for any responses!
George

Welcome to performance charts. Headings & courses maybe can be approximated by stepping off parallel lines from a nearby Vortac. Sorta like its done in maritime navigation. Lot of folks are not aware that the tic marks on the longitude (n/s) lines on a sectional are constant one NM apart. Longitude (NS) converge and vary. Latitudes are totally parallel.