LESSON 1

VOR Radio Navigation Primer

 EPOCH IFR Lesson # 1
Purpose: To familiarize yourself with VOR radio navigation.

VHF omnidirectional radio range (VOR), is a type of short-range radio navigation

system for aircraft, enabling aircraft to determine their position and stay on course by
receiving radio signals transmitted by a network of fixed ground radio beacons, with a
receiver unit. It uses radio frequencies in the very high frequency (VHF) band from 108 to 117.95 MHz.

This line of position is called the "radial" from the VOR. The intersection of two radials from different
VOR stations on a chart provides the position of the aircraft. VOR stations are fairly short range: the
signals have a normal range of between 25 - 200 miles. Below are the 3 types found on charts.

VOR (No DME) VOR/DME (VOR with DME) VORTAC (VOR with TACAN)

Aircraft Receivers: VOR HSI

=======================================================================

Scenario: You are at KSPI (Springfield, ILL) and you wish to fly to KCMI (Champaign, ILL). The
weather is just above basic VFR (Visual Flight Rules [1000' & 3sm]), but you don't want to fly
that low, so you file an IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) flight plan so you can make the trip at a
higher altitude. You plan to descend to VFR conditions upon arrival and land visually.

You will follow Low Altitude Airways ("Victor" Airways - as they are preceded by a "V" on the
Low Charts). I.E.> V10.

SETUP:

1. Route: KSPI.V50.AXC.V251.KCMI

2. Altitude: Between 5000 - 17,000 feet. Your choice depending on aircraft.

3. Weather: Your choice. No wind. (suggest you fly this several times with progressively
lower weather). Try using a Ceiling of 3000 feet and a Visibility of 3.5 miles when you
think you have it mastered.

4. Aircraft: Any airplane.

 KSPI Airport Chart:

Low Altitude Enroute Chart (Segment between KSPI - KCMI): Chart L-27
LINK for Charts (SkyVector).

*I suggest you print out a clean copy of the Low Chart segment for this flight. Chart: L-27

VFR Sectional Chart - with route plotted. Link to NavPlan Flight Planner site.

Build your own paper E6B aviation computer. (Or, buy cheap at Amazon.com)

Free on-line aviation calculations.

SPEEDS: IAS + Altitude/Temp corrections = TAS + Wind corrections = Groundspeed.

Flight Log: From NavPlan site ( Link above).

KCMI Airport Chart:

Default XPlane C-172 panel:

***** THE FLIGHT *****

Departure:

Panel Setup:

 HDG Bug set to - 040 (runway heading).

 NAV #1 set to SPI VOR (112.7)

o SPI VOR OBS (Course) set to 100˚ (Radial outbound from SPI
VOR for V50 (Airway) - see chart).

 NAV #2 set to AXC VOR (117.2) your next nav-aid on V50.

o AXC VOR OBS set to 096˚ (inbound course to AXC) *the

reciprocal of the 276˚ Radial shown on the chart. (you are
flying east - inbound to the AXC VOR).

AFTER TAKEOFF:

 *Note Takeoff time! ____:____.

 Fly runway HDG until leaving 500' AGL (Above Ground Level), then
turn right to HDG 140 to join V50 (100˚ Radial from SPI VOR).

o When established on HDG 140, select the Autopilot NAV

mode. The AP will now intercept and track the SPI 100˚ Radial.
Map pic showing takeoff from KSPI and turn to intercept V50.

Turn angle to intercept on course Radial depends on distance to intercept.

Normal is 45-30 degrees.

CRUISE:

 When level at Cruise Altitude, set power to cruise setting in

accordance with your aircraft POH.

 When half way between SPI VOR and AXC VOR, select AXC (117.2) on
NAV #1 for navigation to AXC.

CHANGEOVER POINT: - Point at which you switch from navigating off the nav-aid
behind you to the one in front. Normal is half way between VOR's.

 Preferred method is to use DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) IF

total distance between SPI and AXC is 38 nm, then half is 19nm.
 IF no DME, then use elapsed time. NM (= nautical miles) / GS (=
groundspeed).

o Formula for time: (NM / GS X 60 = time)

 19(nm) / 120(gs) X 60 = 9.5 minutes +

 "+" Allow an extra minute or so because you were

climbing -depending on Cruise altitude and speed
difference from that at Cruise.

 OR, use a crossing bearing. If one exists. (below)

 Don't forget to adjust your CRS to 096˚ (inbound CRS to AXC).

TURNING THE CORNER AT AXC VOR:

 If DME equipped turn to the outbound HDG prior to reaching the

VOR. Do this so as to roll out close to your desired outbound course.
The distance depends on your Ground Speed. ← rule of thumb is
10% of your speed. (180 kts = about 1.5nm) for a 90˚ turn.

 IF no DME, then you must wait for the "TO/FROM" flag to reverse
and show "FR" to know you have passed AXC VOR.

o To be ready for this: Set NAV #2 to CMI (110.0) and set 054 on
the OBS (V251 to CMI). When the needle starts to move you
know you are getting close to the AXC VOR because the Radial
from CMI VOR should pass near the AXC VOR. At this time
switch to HDG mode on the AP. When the VOR indicator
changes to "FR", turn your HDG Bug to 030 and change your
CRS selector to 053 (Radial for V251). When steady on 030
HDG select NAV mode on the AP. It will now intercept and
track the 053 Radial out from AXC VOR (V251).

 *Note your time passing AXC VOR! ___:____!

CHANGEOVER POINT BETWEEN AXC VOR & CMI VOR:

 Use the same procedure as above, except the distance is now a total
of 32nm, so half is 16nm. And, your speed should be a bit faster as
you are no longer climbing, but may be descending.

o Groundspeed = ???

o Therefore minutes to fly from AXC before changeover is: ???

START DESCENT - When?:

 The weather reported at KCMI is 3500' broken and 3.5 sm (Statute

Miles) visibility. Surface visibility is given in SM.

 Airport elevation is: 755' (as noted in the brown diamond around
KCMI on the Enroute chart (Pg 3).

 Your present altitude is _______'.

 Minimum altitude on V251 is 2500' (Pg 3 - orange square).

 Desire: descend to VFR below the clouds in time to make a normal

landing in VFR conditions on rwy 32R at KCMI.

 Descent rate: Normal.

o For a non-pressurized aircraft = 500fpm

o For a pressurized aircraft = 1000 - 1500 fpm

o For a jet aircraft = 1500 - 3000 fpm

  Example: When to start descent? (CMI VOR on the Field).

o For non-pressurized aircraft:

o From 5000'(Cruise alt) - 755'(Field Elevation) = 4245' / 500fpm

= 8.5min + 1 for speed reduction = 9.5 to 10 min out from CMI.

 Remember to enrich the mixture as you descend.

* When you break out of the clouds be looking for the airport. When spotted
check your airport diagram and proceed to land on rwy 32R.

Trick: Even when landing VFR put your course selector on the rwy hdg to help
align yourself with the proper rwy. Especially at airports with more than one rwy.

NOTES: Things to try -

1. Try flying all or part of the trip using the HDG Bug to remain on course
rather than the AP NAV mode.

2. Try adding a crosswind.

3. Lower the weather with each flight until successful completion with
3000'/3.5 sm vis.

4. Try a faster airplane

5. Try an airplane with an HSI or VOR (whichever not used the first time).

We hope you enjoyed your flight ;-)

Please see the addenda at the end of this document for more information!

- Provided by:

jetjerry & ottopilot9

BASIC INSTRUMENT FLIGHT

The HSI

The horizontal situation indicator (commonly called the HSI) is an aircraft instrument normally mounted
below the artificial horizon in place of a conventional heading indicator. It combines a heading indicator
with a VOR/ILS display, reducing pilot workload by lessening the number of elements in the pilot's
instrument scan to the six basic flight instruments.

On the HSI, the airplane is represented by a schematic figure in the center of the instrument – the
VOR/ILS display is shown in relation to this figure. The heading indicator is usually slaved to a remote
compass, and the HSI is frequently interconnected with an autopilot capable of executing an approach
by following the localizer and glide slope.

When an HSI is tuned to a VOR station, left and right always mean left and right and TO/FROM is
indicated by a simple triangular arrowhead pointing to the VOR. If the arrowhead points to the same
side as the course selector arrow, it means TO, and if it points behind to the side opposite the course
selector, it means FROM. The HSI illustrated here is a type designed for smaller airplanes, and is the size
of a standard 3-1/4 inch instrument

*A video about the HIS on you tube.

*Using a VOR - animation video.

*Navigation using a VOR.

*A video about the KAP140 autopilot.