B747 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100; Flight Crew Total 15000; Flight Crew Type 3000
Situational Awareness; Distraction; Communication Breakdown; Human-Machine Interface; Troubleshooting; Workload
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation - Track / Heading All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Clearance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft; Procedure
ADIZ crossing is planned into the Anchorage FIR at OMEKA; N7810.6 W14100.0.  Entry into Russian airspace is planned at ORVIT; N7900.0 W 16858.4.  1.  Called ANC Center via SATCOM prior to crossing the ADIZ for permission to cross the ADIZ and enter the USA as HF and satellite phone radios were useless yet again for voice or data communications.  No solar problems forecast.  SATCOM worked perfectly.  Same action required with SATCOM for permission to enter Russia at W169; as required per the Russian AIP.2.  Ability to audit the navigation log once again questionable due to failure to have correct IRS magnetic variation database installed in the aircraft.  Reasonable navigation check was unable to be made while crossing the USA ADIZ OMEKA on course to the Russian defined point where permission must be obtained to enter Russia; in this case planned at ORVIT.  Two country border crossings are involved.The aircraft was navigating in automatic magnetic mode; LNAV; on a magenta course line between OMEKA and ORVIT.  OMEKA to ORVIT; initial course crossing OMEKA.  Flight plan 292 true;  269 magnetic;  23 E variation applied on FP International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) and World Magnetic Model (WMM) earth magnetic variation models show magnetic variation at OMEKA to be 23 degrees East on January 2015. Course on map 292 true; 262 magnetic (using 30 E variation- map) March; 2014 revision Jeppesen Arctic Map uses 2010 Isogonic Lines.  IGRF model predicts magnetic variation at OMEKA to be 30 degrees east on January 2010. IRS course 290 true 248 magnetic 42 E variation database IGRF model predicts this 42E magnetic variation to be 1995 era.  Two revisions of magnetic variation issued by Boeing in 2004 and 2014 appear not to be installed in the Honeywell IRU installed in the aircraft. Today the IRS steering the plane down a magenta line to the active waypoint and providing heading is 21 degrees in error compared to the flight plan magnetic course and published planned heading.  Heading is also 21 degrees in error.  Unable to conduct an FAA; Canadian CAA and ICAO course reasonableness audit for a cockpit flight display course and heading number after crossing a waypoint.  SAE 8013A equipment build tolerance for the HG1050 is also 2 degrees.  Display information today has a 21 degree onboard equipment error for heading and course.
A Captain on a high latitude polar track reported an out of date magnetic variation database in his aircraft caused heading errors.