Flight Simulator Navigation https://web.archive.org/web/20200228040507/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Flight Simulator Navigation

What a beautiful sight—a DC-3 coming in for a landing.

Welcome to this navigation tutorial devoted to Flight

Simulator enthusiasts. This opening picture attests to my
not-well-hidden love affair with the DC-3. You'll see more
DC-3 pictures as you progress through this site, but not
exclusively.

Navigation is quite easy to learn and understand.

Thousands of aviation students throughout the world are
doing that right now either in aviation ground schools, at
home with video-taped lessons, or with self-study books.
Understanding and using basic navigation concepts is
important to fully enjoy flight simulators, too.

But, darn, I found no single site on the web for flight-sim

enthusiasts that addresses everything from basic navigation, to low frequency navigation using the NDB
(Non Directional Beacon), to VOR navigation, and the full range of instrument approaches. So this is my
attempt to fill that void.

And we're very proud to have received CompuFlight's Select Site Award.

You'll do plenty of flying as you venture through the various subjects that follow, plus have the dubious
honor of meeting the irrepressible Mr. Benjamin Counter. Counter, a captain of industry, is your best charter
customer. There's never a dull moment when he schedules your services. He is, of course, a totally fictitious
character. That's good because he gets into more situations than any mortal I've ever met. His Modus
Operandi is "I need to fly now." He arrives in the "Plot a Course" section.

I've also included some historical notes on early navigation systems. You'll discover how far we've come and
what pioneers the early pilots were.

This tutorial contains so many graphics that you may have to click your browser's reload button to bring up
all of the images the first time that you visit each page. As a minimum, you must be patient while they load.
Didn't want to cheat you out of the details.

To the best of my knowledge and ability, the stuff posted on these pages is accurate. Here follows the
regrettable legal mumbo jumbo that we car- and home-owners feel obliged to post on websites these days.

For any wounded souls who may have imagined that this website in any way degraded them or their
computer, understand that, like life itself, there are no warranties expressed or implied. This website is for
entertainment only. Also, in no way is it meant to substitute for a full-fledged ground school course if you
are a candidate for a "real" pilot's license.

Enjoy and learn ... it will enhance your flight simming experience.

And finally, the talented efforts of many people are liberally sprinkled throughout these webpages. To the
last they were generous in granting permission to use their designs or photographs or artwork and
descriptions. Please click on the credits button below to learn of their contributions. And then get
Navigating!

Charles Wood

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

Entire website © 1999 – 2011, Charles Wood.

1 of 1 25-05-2022, 17:59
Aircraft https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041129/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Aircraft

Welcome to the Cessna Nav Trainer! This tutorial is setup for users of Microsoft's Flight Simulator,
versions FS2002, fs9 or FSX. To be compatible with these flight simulators, as well as future versions, I
chose the default Cessna 172 for the practice flights, however with modifications.

Cessna Nav Trainer, N911, departing with Mr. Benjamin Counter.

A new panel was the most significant change. Not only is this panel more suitable than the default for
navigation training but it increases the view out that Cessna windshield by nearly fifty percent.

Plan on a 110 knot cruise speed for your Cessna Nav Trainer.

Most of the panel gauges already reside in your Gauge folder which greatly reduces the size of the file to
download. In memory of the World Trade Center attack of 2001 in New York City, the Cessna Nav Trainer
carries the registration number of N911.

How to install the Cessna Nav Trainer

Installing the Cessna Nav Trainer is simplicity itself. Here is how you do it:

1. First, download the main file, either from the links below, or from the download page. Please choose
the correct version to match your Flight Simulator!

Download the FSX Cessna Nav Trainer

Download the FS2004 Cessna Nav Trainer

Download the FS2002 Cessna Nav Trainer

2. Create a temporary folder with any name.
3. Extract the files from the ZIP file that you just downloaded into the temporary folder ... There you
will find a Readme.txt file. Open that file.
4. Follow the Install instructions in the Readme file.
5. That's all there is to it. You're finished!

1 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:01
Aircraft https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041129/http://www.navfltsm.add...

This is the upgraded FSX panel. The fs9 panel is similar except for the light switches, which are on a
pop-up panel rather than on the main panel as seen here. Click image for larger view.

A few Notes about the Panel

The first thing you'll notice once you climb into the cockpit of this trainer is the digital readouts. Standard
aircraft instruments are 3.5 inches in diameter (about 9 cm) and because of their size, easy to read.
However, unless you have a 32 inch monitor, these flight-sim gauges will be smaller than real life. I added
the digital readouts to overcome that liability. Thanks to Ike Slack for creating them for us. Dave Bitzer,
Norman Hancock and Daniel Collins created the FSX versions.

These are the various digital readouts:

The digital readouts for the VORs display the OBS Settings. Here we are on an ILS Approach to Boston
Logan's Runway 22L. VOR 1 is set to 215° as a reminder of the approach heading and VOR 2 is set to the
radial to BOS VOR on the field.

The digital readout for the Directional Gyro displays the Magnetic Heading of the aircraft. With no
wind, our heading during the ILS Approach to Boston's Rwy 22L is 215°.

Here are the fs9 RMI (Left) and the FSX RMI (Right). The digital readout for the RMI, Radio Magnetic
Indicator, displays the Magnetic Bearing to the NDB. Here the RMIs show that the Locater, Outer
Marker, LOM, is still in front of us as we approach Boston's Rwy 22L.

Digital Timer ... This Digital Timer is a great instrument and

should be on every aircraft panel. No handbook is needed to learn
how to use it or to figure out the meaning of the digits. The Start/Stop

2 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:01
Aircraft https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041129/http://www.navfltsm.add...

button is on the right side; the Reset button is to the left. It times flights up to 1:59:59; or 1 hour, 59 min; 59
seconds .... definitely past the time I will spend on a single flight. The 29 min., 49 sec., shown here was the
time from New Bedford, Massachussetts to Fishers Island ... your first practice flight.

Tom Goodrick's Flight Timer ... solves a problem that I have never
completely overcome in my many years of flight-simming ... remembering to start
or stop my flight-trip timer. Tom's timer does this automatically! Thank you, Tom.
It starts when airspeed exceeds 35 kts indicated and stops when airspeed falls below that value. His timer is
in a nice case but because of panel space limitations I changed that to a transparent image. This is an XML
gauge designed for fs9 but works great on FSX, too.

Note the reading here, 32.75. That is minutes and hundredths of a minute, or 32 minutes and 45 seconds.

Hidden Panels

Three "panels" are not normally visible. Here are the key strokes to access those panels:

Shift-2 ... The Radio Stack

Shift-3 ... Switch Panel for Lights, Pitot Heat,

and Fuel Pump
Shift-4 ... Magnetic Compass

The FSX Panel

The FSX panel is very similar to the fs9 panel. Differences mainly are in the upper right portion of the
panel. We now have a pitch-trim wheel with adjacent digital readout, a more-readable DME, and a slightly
different arrangement of the flaps switch.

The Radio Stack

The Radio Stack was the easiest decision for the Nav Trainer panel. The
Bendix-King radios, with their Ugly Red Digits, would NOT be in it!

The FSX panel uses the Boeing 737 radios, while the FS2002 and fs9
panels use the Boeing 777 radios. These radios are easier to set and read
than the Bendix-King units.

The Audio-Switch panel is at the bottom of the stack.

What's NOT on the Panel

This panel-aircraft combination was assembled solely to enhance learning the principles of Navigation. The
basic model is the Cessna 172. It was not designed as a stand-in for other, more complete aircraft and
panels. Of course, you may use this aircraft and panel to fly any flight you wish, but be forewarned that
some common panel items are not included here that are on Microsoft's default Cessna 172 panel. Here's
what I have left off of the Nav Trainer's panel:

Throttle and Mixture Controls

Fuel Gauges
Fuel Flow Gauge
Fuel Tank Selector Switch
Oil Temperature Gauge
Oil Pressure Gauge
EGT Gauge
Ammeter
Voltmeter
Clock

Flying The Cessna Nav Trainer

3 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:01
Aircraft https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041129/http://www.navfltsm.add...

The only method to achieve a high level of flying, is "flying by the numbers." Without consistency little
success can be achieved. While flying, keep a chart near at hand that contains the important flight settings.
Here's the chart that I use for the FS2002 Cessna Nav Trainer. Note that the power settings are only
approximate and will vary with altitude, but they are a good place to begin.

Cessna Nav Trainer Flight Settings (FS2002)

Cessna Nav Trainer RPM Flaps KTs FPM
Maintain
Climb 2700 – 90
90 kts
Cruise-Level, 5000 ft 2500 – 110 –
Cruise-Descend 2170 – 110 500
Approach-Level 2130 one notch 75 –
Approach-Descend 1660 one notch 75 500
Approach-Glide Slope 1800 one notch 75 400

Click here to print the table. Note that your flight settings may vary slightly.

© 1999 – 2009, Charles Wood.

4 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:01
Supplies https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003218/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Supplies

You'll maximize the return from this tutorial if you purchase or borrow three inexpensive items. They are:

1. A "New York" Sectional Chart. Many of the practice flights take place in the area covered by that
chart. The Sectional Chart is fully explained in the section titled "VFR Charts."
2. An IFR Enroute Low Altitude Chart. You'll want Chart L–25/L–26. IFR stands for Instrument Flight
Rules and broadly covers flying in poor weather conditions. More on this in the IFR Charts Section.
3. A plotter to draw courses on the Sectional Chart and to determine the true course and distance to fly
from point A to point B. This is described below.

These items are all available either from your local airport at the general aviation terminal, or through the
Internet. Enter "pilot supplies" into your search engine to find them on the Internet.

Lastly, get a three-ring binder. A lot of material will be printed out in the course of the instruction, and your
flight deck will become a hopeless clutter if you don't have a reliable method to organize all of that paper.
Note: This advice falls under the category of do-as-I-say, not do-as-I-do. I am an unsurpassed expert on
clutter.

Sectional Charts

When the federal government undertook the responsibility in 1930 to provide aviation charts, they divided
the then-48 states into 37 sections for chart-making purposes. Ever since that time those charts have been
called Sectional Charts after the section that they mapped. Each chart is named after a large city contained
within its coverage area.

A Sectional Chart is used for VFR flight. VFR stands for "Visual Flight Rules" and identifies the weather
conditions that a pilot may fly an aircraft based on ability to see ground features and remain clear of clouds.
It is euphemistically referred to as "good-weather" flying, but some VFR conditions are downright difficult
to fly in without resorting to flying the aircraft by instruments, which requires a separate rating.

Sectional Charts show features that a pilot might see from the air, such as airports, rivers, lakes, power lines,
railroad tracks, city outlines, etc. It also shows common routes between Navigation Aids. Typically, these
routes are between VOR Navaids, and hence will carry a designation beginning with the letter "V." They are
called Victor Airways.

IFR Enroute Low Altitude Charts

The "IFR" charts differ from Sectional Charts, or VFR charts, in their lack of ground features. Airports, of
course, are shown, and some very major geographical features such as large rivers, etc. But IFR charts
principally provide the sort of navigation information a pilot needs when flying from point A to point B
without the ability to see the ground. The pilot flies the aircraft solely by reference to the gauges on the
instrument panel.

At first glance, the information on an IFR chart appears confusing. But as you will discover later in this
tutorial, interpreting IFR charts is relatively straight-forward.

The IFR Enroute Low Altitude Charts carry the designation "L" followed by a number. This both
distinguishes it from Sectional Charts, but also from the High Altitude Charts (above 18,000 ft) used by
jetliners, which begin with the letter "H."

Plotter

Before you can plot a course on a sectional, you should buy or borrow a plotter, shown below.

A plotter is a transparent scale with a built-in protractor.

You can do all of your course-planning by filching a protractor and ruler from your son or daughter's
bookbag. But that greatly increases the pain of flight planning and increases the probability of error, not to
dismiss your child's justifiable ire at school when he or she notices that these items are missing.

A plotter is calibrated on both sides. One side is in nautical miles, and the other side is in statute miles. And
more, yet. Each side has two scales: one for sectionals, 1:500,000, and one for world aeronauticals,
1:1,000,000. Hold a plotter in your hand and all becomes clear.

1 of 2 25-05-2022, 18:01
Supplies https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003218/http://www.navfltsm.add...

The scale for each side of a plotter is clearly marked, but always check that the correct side is up before
measuring any distances. Either side is OK when measuring true course headings.

The specific use of the plotter is discussed in a later section when you plot your first course.

With supplies in hand, it's time to move on to the fundamentals of Navigation. Click on the Air Navigation
button below to get to the first section.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

2 of 2 25-05-2022, 18:01
Basic Navigation-General https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041134/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Some Basics
Wallace over there by the white-board really got carried
away when he overheard the word "Basics." I think we'll
risk skipping his first lecture.

We all intuitively know what Aviation Navigation means—

it means knowing where you are, where you want to go,
and having a good idea of how much time and fuel it will
take to get there. Navigation means finding your way.

The two most fundamental methods of finding your way in

an airplane are pilotage—the identification of present
position and direction of flight by seeing features on the
ground, and Dead Reckoning.

Dead Reckoning—an intriguing title. I was once told that

the name stems from "You're Dead if you don't Reckon
properly," but I think they were pulling my leg.

Dead reckoning is the navigation procedure to plot and fly (in this case) a course based solely on
mathematical calculations.

UPDATE! UPDATE! Many Flight Simmers took pity on my pathetic lack of knowledge and patiently
explained to me the origins of "Dead Reckoning." This one, from Norm Herrin (with permission),
particularly covers the topic well.

"Certainly, the greatest pioneers in navigation were those who navigated on the high seas
centuries ago. With no knowledge of geography or ocean depth (or lack thereof), these
adventurers had to share their knowledge with others - meaning they had to keep intricate logs
of their routes in order to create accurate maps. When making entries in their journals they had
to provide in the margin the source of their navigation/conclusions, such as visual sightings, etc.
One common entry pertained to direction, distance and elapsed time and had the standard entry
of deduced reckoning. As time went by, the commonly accepted abbreviation for this entry was
d'ed reckoning. As more time went by, the apostrophe was lost (ded reckoning) and eventually,
others corrected this perceived misspelling to result in the phrase dead reckoning."

UPDATE No. 2 ... Carl Inglis from the UK wrote to say that according to The Straight Dope website, those
who buy into the above popular explanation of Dead Reckoning have been duped. You may want to check
out that website and decide who is right.

UPDATE No. 3 ... More on Dead Reckoning and Knots from Mike Concannon,
a Bona Fide Expert.

Okay, Guys, we really got lucky here. Here is what Mike Concannon has to say on this subject: (You will
note in his first few sentences why he sits alone in the category of "Bona Fide Expert").

I would like to offer some additional insight into the subject of dead reckoning. This process
was picked up by early aviation from ancient sailors, who had used it for HUNDREDS of years
before the airplane was invented. As a graduate of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis with 30
years experience as a Carrier aviator and a qualified Ship’s Navigator, I think I have at least
some credibility.

(Earlier, Mike had also told me that as an Annapolis graduate, he had studied navigation for four
years and can still use a sextant properly.)

In the northern hemisphere, latitude is ideally determined by the “elevation angle” of the “north
star” POLARIS above the horizon. The Earth’s geometric north pole points directly at this star
(for all practical purposes), and if viewed accurately, the elevation angle above the horizon
equals the observer’s latitude. HOWEVER, the measured height of POLARIS above the horizon
must be corrected to account for the observer’s height above the horizon; this is a simple
process.

In the southern hemisphere, POLARIS is not visible above the horizon. Although this small
group of stars does not sit directly above the South Pole, the “SOUTHERN CROSS”
constellation is used to find a directional bearing to the south, and by finding one particular star
in this constellation, latitude can be measured as in the case of POLARIS. Some additional
corrections must be made, but are still relatively quick.

Either of these methods would obviously be affected by cloud cover. However, the length of
night time and a ship’s movement often give at least a few chances to make an observation.

Although the sun CAN be possibly used to determine latitude, it is a very cumbersome process,
and also requires an accurate observation of the sun’s point of highest elevation above the
horizon.

This is not easy; typically several observations are made to average out the elevation of the sun
because it is moving relative to the horizon, and would require a great deal of luck to catch it at

1 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:02
Basic Navigation-General https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041134/http://www.navfltsm.add...

its highest point. Again, cloud cover would play an important role, and the “window of
opportunity” to make observations would be relatively short. Even with good luck in making a
good measure of the highest elevation a lengthy set of calculations are required to arrive at a
reasonable answer as to the ship’s latitude.

However, the sun is a very important tool in measuring LONGITUDE. Since the Earth rotates
15 degrees of longitude in one hour (360 degrees divided by 24 hours), one only needs a
reasonable measure of Greenwich Mean Time and an observation of the sun’s highest point of
elevation to get a good determination of longitude.

In fact, early sailors routinely used the “latitude navigation method” or “east-west sailing” when
sailing repetitive routes in commerce. They would get their latitude reading from Polaris or the
Southern Cross, estimate their speed, sailed north or south by the magnetic compass, then turned
east or west when they believed they were on a latitude parallel to the intended port or other
destination. Obviously, enroute cross checks such as islands or capes of land, were a big help as
updates, and the navigator could update his “speed of advance” and other information, including
rough estimates of wind and current effects.

The old sea story of sailors tying knots in a rope to measure speed is cute, but was seldom used,
and considered terribly inaccurate and essentially useless. In reality, the term “knots” likely
came from Arab and other Mediterranean sailors who tied evenly spaced knots in a piece of
string to make a crude sextant to measure elevation angles of Polaris and the sun. Instead of
degrees, this was a crude standard of let’s say, two finger widths equaled one knot spacing, etc.
However, they DID understand the significance of their equivalent of the “nautical mile” and the
Earth’s geometry (to a reasonable degree).

Later, the string method was replaced by the alidade, using angles measured in degrees. Even
later the “bubble sextant” included a small telescope, and allowed better sighting of heavenly
bodies and a level horizon for more accurate readings.

I hope this adds some interesting information on this fascinating subject.

Mike Concannon
Captain US Navy (Retired)
Buffalo, New York

Dead Reckoning and Pilotage are so interdependent, though, that they are essentially one method. Ask a pilot
how he intends to navigate to his destination, and if he says "by Dead Reckoning," one knows that he also
intends to look out the window at the ground features to check his progress.

Neither Pilotage nor Dead Reckoning require assistance from electronic aids to navigation, thank you very
much. If the weather is good, and it's daytime, and you can see the ground at all times, Pilotage can be very
satisfactory. But change any one of those variables and the excitement level can quickly escalate beyond
what a mortal cares to handle.

Dead Reckoning, on the other hand, is a satisfactory navigation procedure whether you can see the ground or
not. After all, both Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart soloed across the Atlantic navigating with Dead
Reckoning.

Three properly-performed actions are necessary for dead reckoning navigation to get you to your destination,
at the estimated time of arrival:

1. The pilot must properly calculate the course and fuel consumption.
2. The pilot must accurately fly the aircraft
3. The weather service must correctly predict the winds-aloft.

Omitted is "Put enough fuel in the tanks for the journey, and then some." That slight oversight has ruined
more than one perfectly-navigated flight. Few will argue that if the aircraft is running low on fuel, the fuel
indicator becomes the most fascinating gauge on the panel. Yes, indeed, it does.

The first two items in the list are under the pilot's control and most pilots have the good sense to do them
right. The third criteria is the one that notches up the interest level. Winds-aloft predictions are seldom
accurate, and may never be. Sometimes the miss is huge. No big deal, though, if you can see the ground,
have chart in hand, and it is properly oriented to follow your flight. You simply adjust for the wind based on
landmarks spotted below.

Assume that your estimated course was to take you directly over the power company with its 100-ft. tall
smoke stacks. But there it is a mile or so to your left, its plume of white smoke laying down horizontally
blowing towards you. Obviously, you must turn left some few degrees to get back on course plus make a
heading correction once back on course to accommodate those strong winds.

After returning to course you check the next landmark to see how good your heading correction was, and so
on for each landmark, until you reach your destination. Very simple in theory.

There is nothing inherently inaccurate about dead reckoning; it is limited only by the information provided.
Dead reckoning is, in fact, the basis of all navigation.

Longitude and Latitude

The equator is an imaginary circle equidistant from

2 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:02
Basic Navigation-General https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041134/http://www.navfltsm.add...

the poles of the earth. Circles parallel to the equator

(lines running east and west) are parallels of
latitude. They are used to measure degrees of
latitude north or south of the equator. The angular
distance from the equator to the pole is one-fourth of
a circle, or 90°. Thus latitude would run from 90°
North to 90° South of the equator.

Meridians of longitude are drawn from the North

Pole to the South Pole and are at right angles to the
equator. The "Prime Meridian" which passes through
Greenwich, England, is used as the zero line from
which measurements are made in degrees east and
west to 180°.

Any specific geographical point can thus be located

by reference to its longitude and latitude.

From the earliest days, determining latitude was relatively simple; measure the height of the sun with a
sextant. Longitude was a different matter. Greenwich Observatory was set up by King Charles II in 1675 to
study means of fixing longitude, and the observatory became the acknowledged world authority on the
subject. The telescopes and other instruments there determined the exact position of the meridian, and in
1884 an international conference in Washington agreed that Greenwich should be sited at zero longitude

By using meridians, direction from one point to another can be measured in degrees, in a clockwise direction
from true north. Draw a course line on a chart and measure the angle which this line forms with a meridian.

When moving north or south by one degree of latitude, the distance remains approximately the same whether
the observer is at the equator or in London, New York, Tokyo, or Sydney. That number would be unchanged
vs. latitude if the earth were a perfect sphere, which it isn't. The earth is somewhat flattened at the poles.

The distance situation is quite different when moving east or west.

Note the convergence of the meridian lines at the poles. Thus moving east one degree at the equator is a
greater distance in feet or meters than moving one degree east in London, New York, Tokyo, or Sydney.

Nautical Miles and Knots

The circumference of the earth is divided into 360°. Each degree is further divided into 60 minutes. If you
move one minute east or west on the equator, you have gone one nautical mile. Thus a nautical mile is the
circumference of the earth divided by 360, giving the distance in one degree, and that is further divided by
sixty for the distance in one minute of arc.

Earliest estimates of the earth's diameter was 18,000 statute miles. As methods of measurement improved
over the years, the earth's circumference "increased" to 24,901.55 statute miles. Hence the distance of a
nautical mile similarly increased with time, too. What a nightmare that must have been for cartographers and
navigators.

Regardless of calculations of the earth's circumference, the nautical mile has been standardized at 6076.113
feet, plus another gazillion decimals. One nm = 1.15 statute miles for the purposes of estimating. Again,
there are a gazillion decimals in the actual conversion. Using 1.15 will not fly you into a mountain.

There is a lot of lore behind the knot ... tying knots into lines and clocking the time for each to pass a sailing
ship, etc. Suffice it to say that a knot is one nautical mile per hour and hence is 1.15 statute miles per hour.

Two further subjects should be understood before going on to charts.

VFR vs. IFR

The first is VFR weather vs. IFR weather. If the weather is "good," which the FAA defines as a visibility of
at least three statute miles and that you can maintain at least 500 ft. clearance from the clouds above you,
then you may fly by Visual Flight Rules. Flying at VFR minimums is not very comfortable and you better
know where those 1000 ft. TV towers are, because you'll never see them in time to avoid them. They are
marked on your charts.

In practical terms, VFR is 3 miles visibility and 1000 ft. ceiling, because the minimum altitude one can fly in
an uncongested area is 500 ft. above the surface. But that minimum altitude increases to 1000 ft. above
obstacles near cities. So, if you depart VFR from Podunk Hollow Airport, with reported ceilings of 1200 ft.,
you're not going to be legal with that ceiling flying above New York City with all of its skyscrapers reaching
for your landing gear.

3 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:02
Basic Navigation-General https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041134/http://www.navfltsm.add...

VFR flight requires more than just staying clear of the clouds by 500 ft.
Courtesy of and copyright Mark Gross and Trade-A-Plane, Crossville, TN.

Pilots must fly by Instrument Flight Rules, or IFR, if the weather is below VFR minimums, or if they are in
Class A airspace, which is anything above 18,000 ft. MSL. A pilot must be instrument rated to fly IFR,
which requires passing a written test plus demonstrating the ability to safely fly and land the aircraft solely
by reference to the instruments.

Before an IFR flight, an IFR flight plan must be filed with Air Traffic Control (ATC) and it must be
approved. Normally ATC personnel read back the approved flight-plan shortly before departure. It can be
brief and pleasant, such as "Approved as Filed," or, still brief, but less pleasant such as "Approved as Filed
with the following changes ..." and then they completely modify your routing.

Pilots may file an IFR flight plan no matter what the weather. There are times when it is prudent to file IFR
even in VFR weather. For instance, it might be wise to file IFR if one were to fly a small, single-engine
plane over a large body of water after dark when the horizon is difficult to discern. Not supposed to file IFR
though if you're not IFR rated.

All U.S. commercial airliners file IFR for every flight.

Flight Altitudes

The second subject worth mentioning is flight altitude. A pilot doesn't hob-nob about in airspace at whatever
altitude most eases his lumbago. The FAA has a set of rules for flight altitude. And, wouldn't you know,
there is one set of rules for VFR flight and a slightly different set of rules for IFR flight. So here goes. In a
moment you'll learn an easy way to remember these rules.

If your VFR flight is above 3000 ft. AGL (Above Ground Level) when flying a magnetic course of 0° to
179° fly at ODD thousands of feet plus 500 feet. In non-gov't. language, fly at 3500 ft. or 5500 ft., or 7500 ft.
and so forth if your magnetic course is from 0° to 179°.

And of course, from 180° to 359° magnetic course, your altitude should be EVEN thousands plus 500 ft.—
like 4500 ft., 6500 ft., 8500 ft., etc.

How does one remember that rule? It's easy. "Easterners are Odd" will do it. If your VFR course is easterly,
i.e., from 0° to 179° fly at odd thousands plus 500 ft.

If one leg of your flight is easterly and you are at 5500 ft., and the next leg is to the northwest, need you
change your altitude to adhere to the rule? You sure do.

Notice that the term "magnetic course" has been carefully used throughout this altitude discussion. With a
crosswind, the aircraft's magnetic heading will differ from the planned magnetic course.

4 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:02
Basic Navigation-General https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041134/http://www.navfltsm.add...

VFR flight altitudes vs. magnetic course, above 3000 ft.

For example, suppose your planned magnetic course home from a weekend at the racetrack is 005°. But a
strong crosswind forces you to steer 355°. Your altitude will be determined by the magnetic course of 005°,
i.e., follow the easterly rule to choose your altitude.

How does IFR differ? Forget the "plus 500 ft" adder. So from 180° to 359° on your IFR flight, fly at 4000 ft.,
6000 ft., 8000 ft., etc. All of this is a moot point on IFR, though, because ATC assigns your altitude, at which
you are obligated to fly even if it violates this altitude rule.

Not to worry, though, ATC won't assign your Cessna 172 to 17,000 feet. The IFR flight plan that you filed
includes your aircraft type, and since computers never make mistakes ...

The pilot must set the aircraft's altimeter to the local barometric pressure or else it will not show the correct
altitude, which is vital to know when near the ground.

Rules, Rules and more Rules. To further complicate the airspace issue, in the U.S. the FAA has designated
six classes of airspace; Class A, B, C, D, E, and G. A chapter would be required to explain each class, and
will not be attempted here. It's enough to remember that a pilot must be in contact with ATC to fly in Class
A, B, C, or D airspace.

Sectional charts show the location of each type of airspace and the altitude limits for each class. For those
interested in more information, borrow an Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) from your local library.

At 18,000 feet and above, pilots no longer need worry about local barometric pressures. They uniformly set
their altimeters to 29.92 in. Hg. and adhere to the altimeter reading regardless of the actual barometric
pressure.

Also, from 18,000 feet and above, the term Flight Level is used, rather than actual altitude. Drop the last two
zeros of the altitude for the Flight Level. Thus, 24,000 feet becomes Flight Level 240, written FL240, and
spoken Flight Level Two-Four-Zero.

Compass Errors

A compass is one of the pilot's dearest friends, if not always one of his or her "truest" friends. There are
times when a pilot must wonder whether a compass is working for him or against him.

The wily compass can find so many ways to lie to a pilot. It's readings will be wrong, if:

1. the aircraft is turning—it can even swing in the opposite direction of the turn!
2. the aircraft is climbing or descending.
3. the aircraft is accelerating or decelerating.
4. the aircraft is flying through rough air.
5. there are metallic objects near the compass.
6. the radios are turned on vs. turned off.

The bottom line is that a pilot can only rely on the compass when the aircraft is in smooth air and flying
straight and level. Due to its potential for errors, the magnetic compass is normally used as a backup source
of heading information.

The Directional Gyro, more frequently called the DG, provides reliable heading information even in the
event of the first four conditions in the list above. For this reason pilots use it as their primary heading
indicator. A DG may be electrical-powered or vacuum-powered. In either case, loss of its source of power
results in a non-operating DG.

Some call the DG a gyro-stabilized compass. It isn't. It's not a compass at all. It is a gyro-stabilized heading
indicator. Before a flight, the pilot must set the DG heading to match the aircraft's compass reading.

5 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:02
Basic Navigation-General https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041134/http://www.navfltsm.add...

The DG does not display accurate heading information for a limitless period of time. Because of
"precession," the DG should be checked against the compass about once every fifteen minutes, and its
heading indicator reset if necessary.

A compass correction card is the solution for the last two items in the list. A technician manually calibrates
the aircraft compass in 30° increments around a circle. He then enters the corrected compass headings on a
compass correction card which is then mounted on the aircraft's panel.

FOR (MH) 0° 30° 60° 90° 120° 150°

STEER(CH) 359° 30° 60° 88° 120° 152°

FOR (MH) 180° 210° 240° 270° 300° 330°

STEER (CH) 183° 212° 240° 268° 300° 329°

Typical Compass Correction Card.

This compass requires the greatest correction when the aircraft is on a southerly heading. To track the 180°
magnetic course, the pilot must steer a 183° compass heading.

Existing versions of Flight Simulator have no provision to incorporate this correction, since their compasses
do not have this sort of error in them. Future versions may, though, in their quest to be "as real as it gets."

Magnetic Variation

The most significant "compass error" is variation. The magnetic north pole and the true north pole are at
different locations on earth. Variation is the angle between true north and magnetic north. Therefore, a
correction must be made to the compass heading to track a true course, or one based on true north. This
correction is called variation.

Variation is discussed in the later section, "Plot a Course."

Miscellaneous Stuff

... that didn't seem to fit anywhere else.

All headings in aviation are given in three digits. So a heading of 15° is referred to as 015°. In
communications each digit is always pronounced separately, so this would be zero-one-five degrees.
Runway headings are always magnetic.
To determine runway numbers, divide direction of runway by ten and round off. Thus a runway with a
253° orientation would be runway 25; if the orientation were 257°, it would be runway 26.
Add or subtract 18 from the runway number to get the runway number in the other direction or to
determine the downwind leg.
A due-north heading in aviation is 360°, not 0°, hence the runway 36 at airports.
When turning right, either the aircraft or plotting a course, add numbers. For example, heading is 083°,
turn right 30°, the new heading will be 083° + 30°, or 113°.

Navigation procedures aren't useful if you can't fly

When I first started with Flight Simulator, my most common complaint was "I can't trim this aircraft to
maintain altitude." Well, as usual, I was my own worst enemy. It was so much fun flying so many different
types of aircraft that I never learned anyone of them very well. Once I decided to concentrate on a single
aircraft, the C172, and decided to learn its "numbers," flying became more accurate and enjoyable.

So start out by selecting an aircraft to fly and stick with it. I recommend the Cessna Nav Trainer, just
mentioned, that can be downloaded from this site. It is a fixed gear, fixed pitch prop plane that is nice and
simple to fly when you are learning the fundamentals of navigation.

Then take out pencil and paper and write down the power settings for the following configurations:

Straight and level cruise at 125 kts.

Descend at 500 fpm, 125 kts.
Climb at 500 fpm, 100 kts.

Keep the paper nearby with these reference power settings written on it and refer to it whenever you change
configuration.

Practice, Practice, Practice

This is a simple practice session incorporating airspeed control, level turns, descents and climbs. Fly the
practice pattern with the FlightSim visibility and ceiling set to minimums so that you have only the
instruments for reference. All later flight maneuvers will be simple once you have mastered this pattern.

6 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:02
Basic Navigation-General https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041134/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Seven minutes is all it takes to fly this practice pattern.

It's easiest to fly this practice pattern if you first click here to download the picture and flight instructions.

Begin the flight at 1000 ft AGL, then:

A. Slow to approach airspeed, and fly straight and level for one minute.
B. Begin a descent for one minute at approach airspeed and a 500-fpm rate of descent.
C. Level off at 500 ft, and fly one minute at approach airspeed.
D. Make a level, standard-rate turn. Remember that a standard-rate turn is 3 degrees per second. Make
this turn for one minute, which should result in a turn of 180 degrees.
E. Climb for one minute at climb airspeed and a 500-fpm rate of climb.
F. Here you should be at your initial 1000 ft altitude. At this point, accelerate to cruise airspeed and
cruise power.
G. Make a standard-rate level turn for one minute, rolling out on your initial heading.

When you fly this pattern the second time, make the turns in the opposite direction, and alternate the
directions of the turns from then on.

Although the Nav Trainer is a fixed-gear plane, the description below mentions gear settings so that it can be
followed when you transition to a high-performance aircraft. Ignore those references with the C172.

During the descent segment—B—you should use as many different aircraft configurations as you can. In
other words, make one simulated approach in the clean configuration, using only power to adjust the rate of
descent. Then, make a descent by lowering the gear, adjusting power as necessary to maintain a 500-fpm
descent. Finally, use various flap settings, with and without the gear, paying attention to the specific pitch
attitude and the approximate power setting needed for each type of descent. This sounds complicated, but the
variations are only for one segment, B.

Next, fly the level turn segment—D—with the gear down and the flaps in the clean and the proper
maneuvering position. No matter what configuration you are using in segment D, you have to remember to
clean up the aircraft—raise the flaps and gear—when you begin the climb in segment E.

Learn the Cessna Nav Trainer thoroughly. Practice this pattern once a day until controlling the aircraft
becomes second nature, which will happen sooner than you think.

Practice until:

You can change the gear and flap configurations without gaining or losing any altitude.
The airspeed remains nailed where you want it.
One minute of descent results in a loss of exactly 500 feet, one minute of climb results in a gain of
exactly 500 feet, and the one-minute turns come out to exactly 180 degrees.

That's plenty of background with an excellent practice flight session. With all of this that as a background,
let's move on to charts. The VFR chart will be first. Get to its description by clicking on the VFR Charts
button below.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

7 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:02
VFR Charts https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041231/http://www.navfltsm.add...

VFR Charts

It is impossible to navigate without a chart.

In the first days of air transportation, airways only

connected major cities. In the daytime pilots navigated
along these airways with dead reckoning and after dark
followed a series of flashing beacons spaced about ten
miles apart.

The first aviation charts were strip charts, and displayed an

80-mile wide corridor about these established airways.
Adequate if one remained on the airways, pilots reached for
a road map if they had to deviate from their course because
of storms, or needed to fly to a destination not on a primary
route. Or if they got lost.

In 1930, area charts were developed to provide coverage for the entire United States. These charts divided
the now lower 48 states into 87 sections. They have since been reprinted on two-sides and now 37 sectional
charts cover the same area.

The Sectional Chart

The Sectional Chart is for VFR flight only. Canadians have their VNC, the VFR Navigation Chart.

Each Sectional Aeronautical Chart carries the name of a principal city within its coverage area. Hence the
New York Sectional, or the Miami Sectional, or the Chicago Sectional, etc.

Here are the available U.S. sectionals for the "lower 48" and their coverage area. Note that the New York
sectional coverage area is grayed out. Each chart grays-out its own coverage area so that the user can quickly
identify that coverage area.

Coverage chart of available sectionals taken from New York Sectional. Click image for larger view.

Notice the shaded rectangles in the illustration that are within some of the coverage areas. They designate
Terminal Area Charts, large scale charts for major, congested cities. Features on these charts are the same as
on a sectional chart.

Flight-simmers would do well to purchase a sectional chart for the area where they live or an area where they
want to "fly." Also buy a Terminal Area Chart if you live near one of those large cities. Both are available at
your local airport, or through the Internet (enter "pilot supplies" into your search engine.) Spend some time
learning what's on them. It will help you better understand navigation and if you're a flight-sim enthusiast,
you'll find them fascinating.

Before delving inside a sectional to begin your flight planning note two things on the chart's front panel: the
date of issue and the highest terrain figure.

Sectionals expire six months after their date of issue. Sometimes the changes are small, others are significant
like a change in VOR or control tower frequencies. Perhaps a 1000 ft. TV tower was erected near the
approach path to your destination airport. Charts are inexpensive, keep them current. The scheduled issue
date of the next edition is printed on the front panel of the sectional.

The highest terrain point on a sectional is noted on the front panel of the chart, too, along with its location.
Miami sectional's 305 feet is not much of a factor, but you may want to ponder the 6288 feet for the New
York sectional.

Sectionals contain a wealth of information. Far too much to fully describe here. The correct time to study a
chart in depth is during flight planning, not after the aircraft is in the air. Accident reports indicate that this
common-sense rule has not always been followed.

1 of 5 25-05-2022, 18:04
VFR Charts https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041231/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Remember, sectionals are for VFR flight only and so they feature landmarks that are visible from the air:
railroads, lakes and rivers, especially prominent buildings, cities, power lines, and towers and other
obstructions.

Ground elevations are shown, with the color code for different terrain levels depicted on the front panel.

Naturally, all airports appear on the sectionals. Their symbol color is red if an uncontrolled field (no control
tower) or blue if a controlled field. The airport symbols show the runway layouts, too.

The sectionals present an amazing amount of airport information, including the availability of ATIS.

ATIS, Automatic Terminal Information Service, is a recorded announcement broadcast 24 hours a day. This
announcement gives the current weather and surface winds, the altimeter setting, active runway in use,
frequencies for initial contact with the airport and other advisories, such as if a runway is closed—or the
airport is closed! The broadcast information is updated hourly, unless local conditions warrant more frequent
updates. Each update is given a letter, and the voice announcement might end with "inform approach control
that you have Information Delta."

A portion of the pilot's initial contact with approach control could be "Nantucket, this is Barn-Burner 3343-
Alpha (type aircraft and registration number), with Delta."

Normally, that would end the reference to ATIS. On occasion, though, approach control might respond,
"Roger 3343-Alpha, radar contact ... Echo is current," lightly slapping the pilot on the wrist for last tuning in
ATIS too long prior to initial contact.

Oddly, though, I've never heard approach control utter those words of remonstration when Air Force One
initially reports in.

The sectional shows the established airways, called Victor airways, as well as all nav-aids.

Below is an excerpt from the New York sectional centered about the Nantucket, Massachusetts airport. The
paragraphs following the image describe many of the features on the chart. I recommend that you click on
the image below to print the sectional excerpt (its not color), a pdf file, to use while following the
descriptions. If you don't have Adobe's Acrobat Reader, a free program needed to read pdf files, then click
here to get that.

An excerpt of the New York Sectional near the Nantucket, Massachusetts Airport.
Click image to download and print the pdf file, then continue below.

Focus on the Nantucket Memorial Airport. The airport symbol is blue, so it's a controlled field. The symbol
also shows the orientation of the three runways. The star above the airport symbol indicates that a rotating
beacon is present.

Notice the dashed blue circle surrounding the airport symbol. This circle defines the Class D airspace. All
aircraft in Nantucket's Class D airspace, which is the surface to 2500 ft. MSL (learned from the "25" in the
dashed box), are required to be in radio contact with the tower.

The white "R" in the blue circle before the airport name, Nantucket Memorial, denotes that radar is
available.

CT – 118.3 identifies the Control Tower frequency as 118.3 MHz.

ATIS 127.5 is next, which signifies that Automatic Terminal Information Service is available on the field,
and at Nantucket it broadcasts on 127.5 MHz.

A number-chain near each airport symbol designates the field elevation, whether runway lighting is available
and the length in hundreds of feet of the longest runway.

2 of 5 25-05-2022, 18:04
VFR Charts https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041231/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Nantucket's number chain is 48*L63. The field elevation is 48 feet, it has lighted runways, and the longest
runway is 6300 feet. The "star" before the "L" means "some lighting limitations exist—refer to the
airport/facility directory." Yep, that's another publication a pilot must buy and keep current—see later for
more info.

VORs and NDBs are both shown on a sectional chart. The large compass rose with an arrow pointing
towards magnetic north identifies a VOR. A red circle filled with dots portrays an NDB. In this case, both
the VOR and the NDB are appropriately named Nantucket.

The navigation box near the top shows Nantucket's VOR frequency is 116.2 MHz. Its identifier is ACK. The
Morse code for ACK also appears in this box.

CH 109 is channel 109. Sometime one or two centuries ago, a higher power decided that aviators couldn't
handle such complexity as 116.2 MHz. So channel numbers were assigned to the frequencies, thus CH 109 is
116.2 MHz. Surely there is some sort of prize available for the first person to find an aircraft with a Nav
receiver that requires channel number settings. If I'm way out in left field on this one, please e-mail me and
set me straight. Meanwhile, channel numbers continue to clutter up VOR navigation boxes on charts.

The navigation box to the left, half-way down, identifies the NDB. Its frequency is 194 kHz and the three-
letter identifier is TUK. Again the Morse-code is shown. The underline on the frequency means that no voice
transmissions are available.

All Victor Airways are marked on sectionals. These are airways defined by VORs, hence the beginning letter
of V. Aviation communication extensively uses the phonetic code, so airway V 146 on the 300° radial of the
"ACK" VOR would be identified as Victor 146.

The "boxed" 27 above the letters V 146 indicates 27 nautical miles from the "ACK" VOR to the next VOR
on the airway.

The bold "06" in the lower left of the illustration is the Maximum Elevation Figure for that grid-square. The
large digit(s) on the left, here a zero, is the thousands of feet above MSL and the digit on the right is the
hundreds of feet above MSL. For this grid the highest elevation of anything, terrain, obstructions, towers,
antennas, etc., is 600 feet MSL. Every grid square on a sectional chart has such a notation.

The inverted "Vs" near the airport symbol are obstructions, usually towers. Two numbers are printed next to
these obstructions: its height above sea level, and its actual height in parenthesis. You will note a popular
obstruction location is near airports.

Don't bother trying to memorize all these symbols and notations. The ones that you frequently use you will
learn quickly enough. You can look the others up on the legend panels of the sectional chart.

Each sectional also shows and lists areas of restricted flight. For example, flight is prohibited over the U.S.
Capitol or the White House or the Washington Monument. Surface-to-Air Missiles probably don't await you
if you violate that airspace, though. It's the bevy of fast-approaching F-16's flown by pilots who, for the
moment, have lost their sense of humor that should cause concern. German pilot Matthias Rust ruined it all
in 1987 when he flew his Cessna 172 from Germany to Moscow and landed on the grounds of the Kremlin,
undetected by the vaunted Soviet air defense.

The next illustration shows prohibited area P-67, here a circle with inward radial lines.

P-67 normally prohibits flight from the surface up to 1000 ft. AGL, unless a certain very important
visitor is present.

A pilot should contact a Flight Service Station (FSS) for the latest NOTAMS (Notices To Airmen) if he will
be venturing near P-67. It's coverage could greatly expand, and ignorance of that fact is no excuse for being
in it.

Next is a Restricted area, R-4105, also enclosed with blue hatched lines.

3 of 5 25-05-2022, 18:04
VFR Charts https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041231/http://www.navfltsm.add...

R-4105 protects a national wildlife refuge. This coverage area extends from the surface up to, but not
including 18,000 ft.

To overfly R-4105 permission must be requested 48 hours in advance—unless you're at FL180 or above. Just
because permission can be requested to overfly a Restricted area doesn't mean it will automatically be
granted. The pilot needs a rather compelling reason.

Pilots should also be aware of any Warning Areas in their path of flight. These are identified in the same
manner as a prohibited area or a restricted area, with a blue border with hatched lines extending inward.

The notation for Warning Area W-104B should be enough to keep you out:

Warning, National Defense Operating Area. Operations hazardous to the flight of aircraft
conducted within this area.

The sectional-chart scale is 1:500,000. That means lay a one-foot ruler on the chart and you will have to pace
off 500,000 feet of real ground—almost 95 statute miles—to cover the same distance.

It's only important to know this number because the scale of a Terminal area chart is1:250,000, and the scale
of a World Aeronautical Chart is 1:1,000,000. When flight planning, use the proper scale on your plotter
when measuring distances. Oh yes, and the sectional-chart scale question has been on the private-pilot
written exam for decades.

Terminal Area Charts

Terminal area charts support Sectionals in the same manner that city street maps support state road maps.
The Terminal chart is an expanded view of the terrain and aeronautical features in the vicinity of a major
city.

Terminal Area Charts usually carry the same name as the sectional. Sometimes a terminal area chart is
available for a second city within a sectional chart, such as the Boston Terminal Area Chart in the New York
sectional. Terminal area charts are valid for 196 days (someone must have won the lottery on that number).

As already mentioned, a Terminal Area Chart's features are identical with a sectional chart except that they
are one-half the scale to show details more clearly.

World Aeronautical Charts

World Aeronautical Charts—WACs—as the name implies, are available for coverage areas extending
beyond the U.S. and Canada. You can get them for the U.S. and Canada, too. Again, buy them at your local
airport or through the Internet.

World Aeronautical Chart coverage for the United States.

4 of 5 25-05-2022, 18:04
VFR Charts https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041231/http://www.navfltsm.add...

WAC titles are based on the latitude band they are in. Each WAC coverage is nominally an eight-degree
latitude band. As you can see, the CJ series is from 16° to 24°, while to the north, the CF series covers 40° to
48°. As in the sectional chart, the area of coverage of each WAC is grayed out on the front panel for quick
reference.

WAC features are identical to sectionals, with two exceptions. The scale is one half, already mentioned, and
the validity period differs. World Aeronautical Charts are valid for one year. The date the next edition is
scheduled is printed on the front panel.

Airport – Facilities Directory

The Airport – Facility Directory is a comprehensive descriptive listing of every airport, heliport, and
seaplane base in the U.S. that is open to the public. It is published every 56 days by the National Ocean
Service (NOS). There is so much information in these documents that seven regional volumes are required to
cover the lower 48 states. It's indexed by state then city.

The illustration below is part of the header in the Directory for the Nantucket, Mass. Memorial Airport.
Everything you ever wanted to know about an airport is contained in this publication: airport sketches,
Navaids, communications data, weather data sources, airspace, special notices, and operational procedures. It
includes data that cannot be readily depicted in graphic form: e.g., airport hours of operation, types of fuel
available, runway data, lighting codes, etc.

It also provides a means for pilots to update visual navigation charts between editions dates; i.e., the
Airport/Facility Directory is published every 56 days while the VFR Sectional and Terminal Area Charts are
generally revised each six months. This is an inexpensive publication, like charts, and is worth purchasing.

This is a portion of the Nantucket Memorial header in the Airport Directory.

The narrative for the first line is, Airport name, three-letter airport designator, airport is 3 nm. south-east of
Nantucket city center, and the local time is five-hours earlier than UTC (four hours earlier when daylight
savings is in effect). Not shown, but farther to the right on the first line is the longitude and latitude of the
airport and the identifying numbers for the sectional chart, the low-altitude IFR chart, and the high-altitude
enroute chart that contains Nantucket.

The second line: the airport elevation is 48 ft. above MSL, B means a rotating beacon is present, S4 is the
level of aircraft maintenance available (nice to know in case the rubber bands break under the cowling), 100
Low Lead gasoline available, Jet A kerosene fuel available, and ARFF index A indicates the level of fire-
fighting and rescue equipment that is available.

Then follows nearly a full page of additional information. Click here to download the full description for
Nantucket plus the directory legend explaining the header data.

An unofficial version of the airport/facilities directory is available online. I'm not certain if it's suitable for
"real" navigation, but it's great for flight-simmers. The website is at www.airnav.com.

IFR charts are the next topic. Use the IFR Enroute Low Altitude Chart for IFR flight below 18,000 feet
(same title in Canada) and the high altitude enroute chart above that. Click on the IFR Charts button below
to move on.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

5 of 5 25-05-2022, 18:04
IFR Charts https://web.archive.org/web/20200127132210/http://www.navfltsm.add...

IFR Charts

As might be expected, IFR Enroute Low Altitude charts

differ significantly from their VFR counterparts. Since an
aircraft on an IFR flight plan is likely to be touting about in
the soup, terrain features are not too important. A quick
glance at an IFR chart verifies this. Lakes and rivers are
vaguely visible; essentially no other terrain features are
shown.

The IFR chart and the VFR chart differ to the degree that
one could almost believe that the two issuing departments
don't speak to each other. Start with the coverage map on
the front panel.

Coverage of Low Altitude Enroute Charts. Click image for larger view.

To begin, gone are the symmetrical areas covered by sectional charts. Some charts cover very large areas,
such as L-9, while others cover a small area, see L-3. No grayed-out areas to indicate which chart is in hand,
either—been replaced with a heavy border.

Note that low-altitude chart titles begin with the letter "L," and of course the high-altitude chart titles start
with the letter "H." Forget about a cool name to help understand the coverage area, too. Just numbers.

Maybe not so surprisingly, IFR Area Charts are also available. The note below explains: (More easily
understood viewing the larger image of the chart coverage.)

This note is on the lower left of the coverage chart.

Looking at the expanded view of the coverage, note that twelve area charts are available. Surprisingly, there
isn't one for the New York area. Presumably all traffic is under such rigid ATC control there that an area
chart would only be an amusement.

One very important point before moving to the inside. The scale of IFR charts. No more 1:500,000, etc. L-25
is one-inch equals eight nautical miles. At last, distances that can be measured with a common ruler. But
wait. L-26, which is on the reverse side of the chart, has a scale of one-inch equals sixteen miles.

L-26 has a Boston – Nantucket – Yarmouth inset with a scale of one-inch equals 40 nm.

Not to worry, though. All pertinent distances (in nm) are printed on an IFR chart. Just be careful when
"eyeballing" distances because of the way the scale bounces around from chart to chart.

On to the inside. Like the sectional, IFR charts are printed on both sides, but with a difference. One "L" chart
is on one side, and another "L" chart is on the other side. Unlike the sectional chart, which one flips
vertically when navigating from the front of the chart to the rear, one flips an IFR chart horizontally. Flip it
vertically and you'll be reading it upside down. Well, maybe "reading" is too strong of a word. Cussing may
fit better if you fly both VFR and IFR. Apparently what's good for the goose is not good for the gander.

Let's stay near the Nantucket airport.

1 of 2 25-05-2022, 18:04
IFR Charts https://web.archive.org/web/20200127132210/http://www.navfltsm.add...

IFR Chart excerpt near Nantucket. Click on image to download and print
high-resolution pdf file.

Many of the features on the IFR chart are similar to those found on the sectional chart. Compass roses are
shown for VORs and the NDB symbol remains unchanged, also.

The navigation boxes for ACK VOR and TUK NDB are very similar to sectional chart notation, but with one
addition. The longitude and latitude of these nav-aids are listed so that pilots may enter that data into their
GPS receivers.

The information adjacent to the Nantucket Airport is in slightly different format, but still easily deciphered:
name, Nantucket Memorial, it's in Class D airspace, 48 ft. field elevation, lighted runways, longest runway
6300 ft., ATIS available on 127.5 MHz.

Restricted area R-4105A,B is shown southwest of Martha's Vineyard.

The Bold 2o NE of Martha's Vineyard is the obstruction clearance altitude for that grid on the chart.

The Victor airways are identified. Note V 146. Still shows the 27 nm. from ACK to MVY. The 2000 above
the V 146 is the minimum altitude on that airway to guarantee obstacle clearance and reception of signals.

The triangle along V 46, the 270° radial from ACK VOR is an intersection. It is named "CLAMY" and is
defined by the 180° radial from MVY. It is 24 nm. from ACK.

The next feature is not seen often. Move to just west of the ACK VOR, to the TUK NDB. Note the airway
inbound to the NDB with a 324° bearing. It is named A632. That is a Low Frequency Navaid airway. In this
case, an oceanic airway. Minimum reception altitude is 18,000 feet and it is 195 nm. to the SLATIN
intersection.

Move to the 349° radial of ACK. Note the GROGG intersection on that radial, 12 nm. out from ACK.
CRACO is the next intersection on the same radial, another 5 nm. out from the VOR. The distance of the two
segments, 12 nm. to GROGG and 5 nm. to CRACO is 17 nm. CRACO intersection can be established two
ways: the intersection of the 080° radial from MVY with the 349° radial from ACK, or the 17 DME point
from ACK. The 17 enclosed in the box as shown near CRACO denotes a DME fix.

Any intersection with an arrow adjacent to it can also be established by the DME mileage from the VOR.

It's time to plot a course and do some flying! Click on the Plot a Course button below to move on.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

2 of 2 25-05-2022, 18:04
Plot a Course https://web.archive.org/web/20200127132233/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Plot a Course
I'm not lost, I'm just uncertain of my position.

Not a good feeling. Good preflight planning helps keep that

sinking feeling from your stomach.

In this section, you'll learn the basics of plotting a course.

Two routes are proposed, one in a no-wind situation and the
other with a serious wind. After plotting each and
calculating the various factors, you'll fly the respective
course.

Once you learn the basics, you can download (Downloads

section) the software that will flight-plan for you.

Enter Mr. Benjamin Counter

The line boy pulled the fuel truck alongside as I cut the
C172's engine. I had just taxied in after a flight to Boston to
pick up some badly-needed spares for our charter aircraft
fleet. I was looking forward to relaxing with a Coke in the
Pilot's lounge when the line boy waved me over, reeling the
fuel hose from the truck.

"The Boss told me you should see him the moment you landed," he shouted.

I thanked him and groaned inwardly. The Boss missed his calling—should have been a drill sergeant. He was
strictly a "type-A" guy ... "Those who agree with me say I, those who disagree, say I resign." Some call his
management style "My Way or the Highway."

"Expected you earlier," was his greeting as I walked into his office. I sat down without responding. As chief
pilot of this all-charter operation, I knew that silence in these situations was the only thing that kept me
employed.

"As soon as your ship is fueled, I want you to pick up a Mr. Benjamin Counter at New Bedford and fly him
to Fishers Island. He's the CEO for an airline here in New England and is a workaholic. He's looking for
some property for a second office, to get away for some undisturbed weekends. Supposedly does his best
work then—no phones or people to disturb him. Difficult guy to work for, I heard. It’ll be just him and an
administrative assistant to help with whatever duties may arise."

"He could be a good customer for us if we treat him right," he commanded. "Apparently three other charter
outfits didn’t because he fired them all. Keep him happy." On that optimistic note he dismissed me with a
wave and returned to his mound of paperwork.

So there it was; a flight from New Bedford, Massachusetts to Elizabeth Field, on Fishers Island, just south of
New London, Connecticut—your first opportunity to plot a course and test your skills by flying it. The
figure below shows the flight path.

Portion of New York sectional used for first flights. Don't have that sectional?
Click on the image to download the gif file—without the course plotted.

If you don't have a New York sectional, click the image to download a gif file—zipped—of the portion of the
chart needed for this flight. It was scanned at 300 dpi, and is 7.0 in. by 9.5 in. Most likely you will need to
resize it before you can use it. Here's how to do that.

Print the gif file at 100 pct size. For the scale to exactly match a sectional's, the distance between the two

1 of 12 25-05-2022, 18:06
Plot a Course https://web.archive.org/web/20200127132233/http://www.navfltsm.add...

vertical grid lines, marked A and B, should be 167 mm, or 6-9/16 inch.

Now, suppose the distance on your printout between those grid lines is 164 mm. You must resize the picture
to make it larger ... 167 mm / 164 mm = 1.018. Resize the image by that factor and print it out again. It
should be right on the money.

Flight Planning Worksheet

Use a Flight Planning Worksheet to organize all of the pertinent flight information. Print out the blank forms
by clicking here. Acrobat will pop-up with the form, then open it, click on "File," then "Print."

The first entry on the form is at the top-right. Put the aircraft's True Air Speed here. For the Cessna Nav
Trainer, that will be 110 kts. Note that all speeds are in knots. Then fill in the date, the Departure Airport
(New Bedford), and the Destination Airport (Elizabeth Field).

Lastly, enter the destination airport information on the bottom of the form. You don't want to be searching for
this information while flying, as you are setting up for the approach. Go to www.airnav.com for the Elizabeth
Field info. Retrieve the three-letter airport designator (0B8), the field elevation (9 ft), and the runway
information (Rwy 7-25, 1792 ft. and Rwy 12-30, 2328 ft.). Record this information on the bottom of the
worksheet.

Click here to view the worksheet with the preliminary information filled in.

Let's plot the course and continue filling in the Flight Planning Worksheet.

1. Draw a course line on the chart from New Bedford Airport to Elizabeth Field. Run this line through
the center of the two airport symbols. Use a soft black pencil for good visibility of the course line and
so that you can easily erase the line when ready to plot another flight.
2. Measure the distance along the course-line between the centers of the airport symbols. Be certain that
the nautical-mile side of the plotter is up.
3. The distance should be 54.5 nm. Record this as leg 1 on your flight log.
4. Position the top edge of the plotter, where the mile marks are, along your course line of flight. Move
the plotter left or right along the course line until the center-point of the protractor lays exactly on a
meridian line. A meridian line is one of the north-south grid lines. The center-point of the protractor is
the zero-miles point on the distance scale, in the middle of the ruler. Then read the angle from the
outer scale of the protractor where it overlays the meridian line. Use some thought in interpreting this
number. See the figure below.
5. For our flight, the meridian line is under the 241° point. This is the TRUE course of our flight. Record
it on the worksheet under the heading "TC."
6. For flights that are too northerly or southerly for the protractor to fall on a meridian line, read the angle
from the smaller protractor inside the main protractor. Again, position the plotter on the course line.
Move it left or right until the center point of the protractor exactly falls on a HORIZONTAL grid line.
Then read the angle from the small protractor that overlays the horizontal grid line.
7. The main protractor is marked E-W, meaning use it for flights that are generally easterly or westerly.
The inner protractor is marked N-S meaning use it for flights that are mainly northerly or southerly.
Keep your wits about you though, and think about the protractor reading to be generally satisfied that
you have the correct number.

Measuring the true course, New Bedford to Elizabeth Field.

There now are two more data points for the worksheet: the distance, 54.5 nm. and the true course, 241°.

Determining the effects of the wind on the course would normally be the next calculation, but this first flight
is in calm air. So put dashes in the wind speed and direction columns, as well as in the wind-correction-angle
column, "WCA." The next flight will consider these factors.

With no wind to contend with, there is no wind-correction angle, and the True Heading (TH) is the same as

2 of 12 25-05-2022, 18:06
Plot a Course https://web.archive.org/web/20200127132233/http://www.navfltsm.add...

the True Course (TC) or 241°.

Similarly, since there is no wind, the Ground Speed (GS) will be the same as the TAS, or 110 kts.

Let's take a look at how the worksheet looks up to this point. We'll use Adobe's Acrobat Reader to view the
progression of the worksheet. by clicking here.

Magnetic Variation

As most will recall, either from the old days in school, or more recently, the Magnetic north pole on earth is
not the same place as the True north pole. Since we fly by the compass, which points to Magnetic north, we
have to adjust the aircraft heading, which is based on the compass reading —the Compass Heading—to be
on the correct True Heading.

The map below shows the variation in the U.S. between a compass reading and true north.

Magnetic Variation, isogonic lines, across the U.S.—Westerly variation

means that the compass points west of true north.

Sectional charts show isogonic lines for every one degree of magnetic variation. An isogonic line is a line
drawn through points of equal magnetic variation. On the New York Sectional an isogonic line passes
through Block Island Airport.

The magnetic variation for an isogonic line is written along

the line, as this illustration shows, and is normally
positioned near the bottom of the chart.

The isogonic line shown also is the one that crosses our
flight path from New Bedford to Elizabeth Field. So we
have to factor this into the aircraft compass heading to track
the true 241° course plotted from the chart.

The question is, add the magnetic variation to the compass

heading, or subtract it? Well, there is a rule for that, and
another memory aid. But there is an easier way to decide.
The clue lays right in front of you, on the sectional chart.

Recall in the sectional chart discussion in a previous section

the mention that the symbol for a VOR was a compass rose
with an arrow pointing towards magnetic north. A glance at
a VOR near our flight path will give us the add or subtract
answer.

Note the Sandy Point VOR in the illustration at Block

Island. The isogonic line passing right over the airport is 15° west. Since it is a west variation, magnetic
north points west of true north, and that is evident in the illustration.

3 of 12 25-05-2022, 18:06
Plot a Course https://web.archive.org/web/20200127132233/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Sandy Point VOR compass rose, Block Island airport. The VOR 0° radial
always points to magnetic north.

Assume your aircraft is flying over Block Island airport along the 0° VOR radial, which is magnetic north.
True north is indicated by the meridian line just east of the airport. For the aircraft to head true north, it must
turn right to parallel the meridian line. Right turns always adds numbers, so the 15° that the aircraft had to
turn is added to its true heading. In this case the compass will show 15° when the aircraft is flying true north.

Just look at a VOR, decide whether to turn right or left from the 0° radial to head true north, then add the
magnetic variation if it's a right turn or subtract if it's a left turn.

The easily-remembered memory aid is "East is Least," meaning if the variation is East, subtract the variation
from the true course to get compass heading.

The compass heading from New Bedford to Elizabeth Field will then be 256°, or 241° true course plus 15°
magnetic variation west.

Choose an altitude. If the flight is long, consider the effect of the winds aloft when choosing an altitude. For
the moment, we'll ignore them and just choose the altitude based on magnetic heading, westerly. The flight is
brief and VFR, so fly at 4500 ft.

Estimated Time En Route

The final steps in the flight plan is to calculate the Estimated Time En Route, ETE, and fuel used.

Distance [nm.] × 60
Estimated Time En Route [Minutes] =
Ground Speed [kts.]

First, the data needed:

First leg distance: 54.5 nm.

First leg true heading: 241°.
Cruise altitude: 4500 ft.
True Air Speed at 4500 ft.: 110 kts.
Climb speed, 90 kts.
Rate of climb: 700 fpm.
Descend airspeed: 110 kts.
Descend rate: 500 fpm.
Fuel consumption, cruise, 20 gallons per hour.
New Bedford field elevation: 80 ft.
Elizabeth Field elevation: 9 ft.

There are two methods of calculating ETE, Estimated Time En Route. The first method is for the
purists, or for those who have pulled their 747 out of the garage for a weekend flight and will be
cruising at FL390.

1. Calculate the time to climb to cruise altitude.

2. Calculate the time to descend to the destination runway.
3. Calculate time for the remainder of the flight at the cruise altitude.

4 of 12 25-05-2022, 18:06
Plot a Course https://web.archive.org/web/20200127132233/http://www.navfltsm.add...

4. Add the three time calculations for ETE.

Since this first flight is assumed in a zero-wind situation, the ground speed will be the same as the air
speed, and the course heading is not a factor in the ground speed. Also, since the departure and
destination field elevations are less than 100 ft., they will be ignored for ETE calculations, too.

Time to climb to cruise altitude = 4500 ft. / 700 fpm = 6.4 minutes or 0.11 hrs.

Distance covered during climb = 0.11 hrs. × 90 kts. = 10 nm.

Time to descend = 4500 ft. / 500 fpm = 9 minutes or 0.15 hrs.

Distance covered during descent = 0.15 hrs. × 110 kts. descent = 17 nm.
NOTE: Since we descend in the Nav Trainer at 110 kts, also the cruise speed, we wouldn't calculate
descent time separately.

Balance of flight at cruise altitude = 54.5 nm. minus (10 nm. climb, + 17 nm. descent), = 27.5 nm. at
cruise altitude.

Time at cruise altitude = 27.5 nm./110 kts. = 0.25 hrs., or 15 minutes.

Therefore, the ETE is:

Time to climb 6 minutes

Time to descend 9 minutes

Time at cruise altitude 15 minutes

ETE 30 minutes

ETE ... Method 2

35 minutes
D / TAS plus 5 minutes

Second method to calculate ETE: calculate the time to fly entire distance at cruise speed.

= 54.5 nm. / 110 kts. = 0.495 hrs. or 30 minutes.

Add 5 minutes for climb and descend. With this method, the calculated ETE is 35 minutes; 5 minutes
longer than the "precise" calculation. For longer flights, this second method of calculation becomes
more accurate.

At low cruising altitudes in VFR weather, the second method is very acceptable for calculating ETE.

The final calculation is the fuel consumption. The second method of calculating ETE will suffice for
the time aloft to calculate fuel consumption. If you're piloting an airliner flying at high altitudes, as all
airliners do, the fuel consumption should be calculated for climb in addition to cruise, as the climb fuel
consumption rate is much higher than the cruise consumption rate.

ETE = (54.5 nm / 110 kts) + 0.083 (5 min. for climb and descent) = 0.58 hrs.

20 gph × 0.58 hrs = 11.6 gallons of fuel used for the flight.

Now click here to see the completed Flight Planning Worksheet for the first flight, New Bedford to
Elizabeth Field.

Flight Planning Summary

1. Enter route information on planning sheet.

2. Enter destination airport information on planning sheet.
3. Plot the true course on the sectional.
4. Measure the distance in nautical miles from the departure airport to the destination airport. (Or
between checkpoints.)
5. Determine the true course heading with a plotter.
6. Change True Course to Magnetic Course using the Magnetic Variation.
7. Select the cruising altitude (based on magnetic course).
8. Determine the Wind Correction Angle (WCA) and then the Magnetic Heading (MH).
9. Calculate the ETE—Estimated Time En Route.
10. Calculate the amount of fuel used.

Follow those ten steps for each leg of a flight.

Now let's fly the course!

Start the panel-mounted timer as you lift off from New Bedford's Runway 23 and stop it as you
touchdown on Elizabeth Field's Runway 25. Compare your actual flight time against your calculations.
You'll enjoy flying this aircraft with the oversize gauges.

Well, that was an interesting flight and mathematical exercise, but hardly one shrouded in realism. It

5 of 12 25-05-2022, 18:06
Plot a Course https://web.archive.org/web/20200127132233/http://www.navfltsm.add...

was, though, a good stepping stone to handle the real-world issues of winds aloft, and their affect on
navigating from point A to point B.

Winds aloft affect both the ground speed of the aircraft, and the heading that the aircraft must fly to
stay on the desired true course.

Time to Debunk Another Myth

Some pilots contend that a strong headwind is not a concern because the lost time will be gained on
the return journey, when benefitting from the tailwind. The truth is, for a constant wind situation, the
effects of a headwind cannot be reversed by the tailwind on the return trip. A simple calculation will
end the discussion on this subject.

For illustration, assume a 180 nm. journey, a 60 kt. headwind, and an aircraft that cruises at 150 kts
TAS.

The ground speed into the headwind will be 150 kts. minus 60 kts. wind or 90 kts. Time to fly the 180
nm. will be 180 nm. / 90 kts. ground speed, or 2.0 hrs.

For the return trip, ground speed will be 150 kts. plus 60 kts. tailwind, or 210 kts. Time to fly the
return trip will be 180 nm. / 210 kts., or 0.86 hrs.

Total flight time with this wind situation = 2.0 hrs. + 0.86 hrs. = 2.86 hrs.

Now consider the no-wind journey. Still 180 nm. each way, total 360 nm. TAS of aircraft is 150 kts.
Therefore total round-trip time, with no wind, will be 360 nm. / 150 kts. TAS, or 2.4 hours—0.46 hrs.
shorter than flying with the headwind and tailwind.

Try the calculation for any distances, any TAS, and any wind speed. The results remain the same. The
effects of a headwind can not be overcome by the same tailwind.

The Second Flight and more of Mr. Benjamin Counter

"What did you do to Mr. Counter?" the Boss shouted. "He gave me an earful about your violent antics
while landing at Fishers Island. Said your jerky maneuvers almost threw him out of the plane."

'Violent antics?' If I knew it would come to this I'd have barrel-rolled out.

"The deer that ran onto the runway as I was about to flare out left me with two choices," I replied,
evenly. "It was either venison steaks ŕ la propeller blades at the expense of your sparkling-new Nav
Trainer, or go around from a near-stall and put up with Counter’s complaints—tough decision, but I
chose the latter."

"He didn't mention a deer. Anyway, he’s giving us, you, one more chance, so don’t botch it. He needs
to get from Lawrence Airport to Worcester—this afternoon. His stock broker is in the Worcester office
with a hot trade recommendation, but Counter wants to talk to him about it in person before the market
closes.

"So give Counter a nice smooth flight and we might keep him as a customer," the Boss finished.

A nice smooth flight? A strong cold front had just raced through early this morning leaving very brisk
north-westerly winds in its wake. Flying low and slow will be very bumpy.

Can't worry about that now. The flight originates at Lawrence, Mass., airport ID KLWM, then
southwest to Worcester, airport ID KORH. Time to plot it and move on.

The illustration below shows the route of flight, which is still wholly contained on the New York
sectional chart. A click on the image will download a zipped file of the same portion of this sectional
for those without the chart. Go to the Downloads Section if you have a color printer.

6 of 12 25-05-2022, 18:06
Plot a Course https://web.archive.org/web/20200127132233/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Second flight, Lawrence, Mass. to Worcester, Mass. Click the image for the GIF file, without the
course plotted, if you don't have the New York sectional.

Again, check the print-out of the sectional for faithfulness in size. The distance across two grid-
squares should be 166 mm.

Print and begin a new Flight Planning Worksheet for this second flight. On the sectional plot the true
course from Lawrence, Mass., KLWM, to Worcester, Mass., KORH.

Enter that information, along with the Worcester Airport, KORH. data onto the worksheet.

The winds aloft are 315° at 40 kts. That goes on the worksheet, too. Note, winds aloft commonly vary
depending on altitude, but for this example they are considered constant regardless of altitude.

Now click here to see the Worksheet containing this initial data. If your results differ, recalculate or
remeasure to find the problem. If your work is OK, and I messed up, please e-mail me and I'll correct
whatever is wrong.

The Famous Wind Triangle

We draw a triangle on a sheet of paper to determine the wind correction angle (WCA) and ground
speed (GS). It is a simple, six-step process that takes less time to do than to describe. Best of all, it's an
approach that works whether the flight is simple or complex.

Begin by orienting the paper in the direction of the flight. For an east or west flight, the long side of
the paper should be horizontal. For a north or south flight, turn the long side vertically. Use a separate
sheet for each leg of the flight.

A conventional ruler or scale and a protractor will work fine for this work.

Now the steps of the wind triangle.

1. Draw a vertical line representing a meridian line. In this instance, the line is to the right of the
paper and to the top since the aircraft's true course on the first leg is south-westerly. Want to
leave room on the page for plotting.

7 of 12 25-05-2022, 18:06
Plot a Course https://web.archive.org/web/20200127132233/http://www.navfltsm.add...

2. Next draw the vector for the wind. Use any scale, but keep it consistent for all vectors. I find 1
mm = 1 kt a workable scale. Wind FROM the north-west, 315°, is wind going TO the south-east.
Measure all angles carefully.

3. Draw the vector for the Magnetic Course. Here it is 245°. Remember, FS Winds are Magnetic
North. The line should be "long" as the pertinent length will not be known until the third side of
the triangle is entered, on the next step.

4. Put in the TAS vector. In this example, it is 110 units long for 110 kts. Hold the "zero" of the
ruler at point A and rotate the ruler until the 110-unit mark intersects the Magnetic-Course
vector, here at B. Draw the line from A to B. The triangle construction is now complete.

8 of 12 25-05-2022, 18:06
Plot a Course https://web.archive.org/web/20200127132233/http://www.navfltsm.add...

5. Measure the distance along the Magnetic-Course vector, from point X, the origin, to point B,
where the TAS vector intersects. This distance is the aircraft's Ground Speed. In this case, it is
90 knots.

6. To determine the Wind Correction Angle measure the inside angle at B, between the Mag-
Course Vector and the TAS vector. Here the angle is 20°. If the wind is from the right of the
aircraft, add the WCA; if from the left, subtract the WCA. In this case, the wind is from the
right, so the WCA is plus.

In summary, here are the steps to build a wind-triangle and then determine the aircraft's Ground Speed
and Wind Correction Angle:

1. Draw a vertical line on a sheet of paper to represent a meridian line.

2. Draw the wind vector, faithfully reproducing its velocity and wind direction. Remember that
winds are reported "from" a compass heading and 180° must be added to that when drawing the
vector.
3. Draw the Mag-Course vector from the point of origin between the meridian line and wind
vector.
4. Draw the TAS vector with its origin at the end of the Wind vector. The ruler should be rotated
about that point until the no of units of TAS intersects the Mag-Course Vector.
5. Measure the distance along the Mag-Course vector between the two points of intersection. That
will be the Ground Speed.
6. Measure the angle inside the point where the TAS vector intersects with the Mag-Course vector.

After you've drawn two or three wind triangles, you'll find you can complete the process in about 3
minutes.

Download the completed worksheet, flightplan-lwm1.pdf, from the Downloads Section.

Now climb into your Nav Trainer, with the Flight Sim weather set for a wind of 40 kts from 315°, note
the headings, etc., in your Flight Planning Worksheet, and be on your way. Start the panel stopwatch as
you roll down Lawrence Airport's Runway 33 and stop it after touchdown at Worcester. Compare your
flight time with the predicted flight time.

Be sure to use the proper runway at Worcester. Land on Runway 33, not Runway 29. With
this very strong wind, you could not keep the aircraft on the runway using any runway

9 of 12 25-05-2022, 18:06
Plot a Course https://web.archive.org/web/20200127132233/http://www.navfltsm.add...

except 33.

And enjoy the flight. Give Ben Counter a nice ride.

Alternatives to the Wind Triangle

While pencil, paper, ruler and protractor offer a simple, accurate, and quick method to calculate
Ground Speed and Wind Correction Angles, more convenient devices have evolved over the years.
Probably the most well known is the Dalton E6-B flight computer. The E6-B is basically a circular
slide rule with a sliding tab for wind calculations. With practice, it can be manipulated with one hand,
certainly a consideration when piloting an aircraft faced with an unplanned change of route.

Millions of pilots have trained on the E6-B flight computer.

The E6-B has been around a long time. Philip Dalton invented it in the early 1930s. During WWII, it
was engraved brass, later plastic. Today, one can purchase aluminum, plastic, or cardboard models.
Buy one if you are into realism and nostalgia. Try eBay and other auctions for better quality units at
decent prices.

The Virtual E6-B

For ease, simplicity, accuracy, and speed, the flight-simmer should try the virtual E6-B. It is a freeware
software program that calculates the Wind Correction Angle, Ground Speed, and a host of other
things. See the illustrations below for the calculations just performed using the wind triangle.

Click here to download this handy utility.

The opening panel of the Virtual E6-B shows the many options available.

On the left, input numbers have been entered. On the right, results computed. Note that even
though the Course window is labeled True, for FS we enter magnetic since the winds are
magnetic. In the Flight Simulator case the computed heading would be magnetic, too.

10 of 12 25-05-2022, 18:06
Plot a Course https://web.archive.org/web/20200127132233/http://www.navfltsm.add...

With the basics of plotting and flying VFR courses behind us, the next step is instrument work. We'll
begin with the Non Directional Beacon, NDB, because once you have mastered that work, you can
handle all of the other IFR work with ease.

True Air Speed Vs. Indicated Air Speed

By now you will have noticed that all of the flight calculations involve "True Air Speed," TAS. Air
Speed Indicators routinely display "Indicated Air Speed," IAS. The ASIs on Flight Simulator default
into the IAS mode. ASIs become inaccurate as an aircraft climbs primarily because the air becomes
thinner. So if your ASI displays 110 kts at 7500 ft altitude, your True Air Speed is actually higher.

Here is the rule of thumb to convert Indicated Air Speed to True Air Speed

Add two percent to the IAS for every 1000 ft above sea level.

Assume that your IAS is 110 kts, and you are flying at 4500 ft.

1. At 4500 ft, two percent for every 1000 ft would be 9 percent.

2. Nine percent of 110 kts (your IAS for this example) is 9.9 kts

3. Thus, at 4500 ft cruise altitude, your TAS is 110 kts + 10 kts, or 120 kts!

For short flights, the difference between IAS and TAS will not significantly impact your ground speed
or Estimated Time En Route, ETE. For longer flights, it has a dual impact:

Using IAS instead of TAS will give you the wrong ground speed and the wrong Estimated Time
En Route

Using IAS instead of TAS will give you the wrong Wind Correction Angle, WCA

Compare the differences below when using IAS vs TAS for the calculations in the example flight from
Lawrence, Mass. to Worcester, Mass.

The flight conditions for these calculations are:

Wind: 315° at 40 kts

4500 ft. cruise altitude
245° Magnetic Course
IAS at 4500 ft: 110 kts.

Using 120 kts

Flight Calculation Using 110 kts IAS
TAS

Ground Speed 90 kts 100 kts

Wind Correction Angle 20° 18°

If your destination airport is 120 NM distant, using the 110 kts IAS for calculations instead of the
correct 120 kts, you will arrive eight minutes earlier than planned. More significantly, you will be two
degrees off course, which is about 4 NM. That's not real serious in good visibility when landing at an
easy-to-find major International Airport. Missing a small grass airstrip by four miles in reduced
visibility means you may not find it at all. More than a little embarrassing if it's an FAA examiner
sitting next to you.

A Note to Users of FS before FS2004

Some versions of Flight Simulator before FS2004 expressed winds aloft as True direction. If that is
your sutuation, simply change the True winds to Mag winds for the wind triangle calculations. Do that
by adding or subtracting the Magnetic Variation to the True directions.

Winds in the Real World of Aviation vs Microsoft

As noted, winds in Microsoft's newer Flight Simulators are based on Magnetic north. In the real world
of aviation, life is a bit more complicated. Surface winds are reported based on Magnetic north and
winds aloft are reported based on True north. Thus WCA's are calculated using True Course and the
winds aloft reports.

In early Flight Simulators, MS also showed winds based on True noirth. But since we flight sim pilots
basically obtain magnectic course info when flight planning, magnetic north for winds aloft eased our
calculations by eliminating one conversion factor.

The Earliest Navigation Aids

NDB navigation is the next topic. It was a major breakthrough for airlines and enabled them to meet
schedules almost without regard to weather. But there were aids to navigation before the proliferation
of NDBs. Read how it all began in the next section. Learn about the early progression of navigation

11 of 12 25-05-2022, 18:06
Plot a Course https://web.archive.org/web/20200127132233/http://www.navfltsm.add...

aids. I think you'll find it fascinating and you'll marvel at how well the early pilots did with these
systems. Pioneering will have a new meaning.

Click on How it Began below to move on.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

12 of 12 25-05-2022, 18:06
How it Began https://web.archive.org/web/20200201172548/http://www.navfltsm.add...

How it Began

Flashback to May 15, 1918, to Washington, DC. It’s

early Wednesday morning, a blustery day. President
and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson are in the grandstand. So
is Assistant Navy Secretary Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The Postmaster and second assistant Postmaster
wouldn’t have missed this day for anything.
Members of Congress arose early to be there, too,
pondering whether to allocate additional funds for
this new service.

Lt. Boyle has just mounted his Curtiss Jenny

biplane, four sacks of mail weighing 150 lbs
secured in the front cockpit. All eyes are on the frail
World-War-One aircraft in Washington’s Polo
Grounds, anticipating the great event.

Airmail service will be inaugurated on this day. And the Army and Post Office Dept. have been jointly
charged to provide that service.

In only moments flights will simultaneously disembark from Washington and New York’s Belmont Park
Race Track. Each will stop at Philadelphia to deliver and pick up mail, refuel, change pilots, and then
continue on to the other destination. A large crowd mills about at Philadelphia’s Bustleton field, too, excited
to be part of this highly-publicized history-in-the-making.

In Washington, mechanics hover near Boyle's aircraft, ready on the signal to "prop" the plane, to bring the
engine to life. Boyle gives the thumbs-up, shouts "Clear," then "Contact!" The mechanics take their cue with
a swift pull on the prop ... nothing. They try again ... still no roar of the engine. Repeatedly they try, without
success. The honored guests in the grandstand become restless.

A holler comes from the side "Check the fuel!"

The mechanics do and, embarrassed, find the tanks dry. Quickly filling the tanks, they again prop the plane.
The engine’s roar reaches the grandstand. A cloud of blue smoke envelops all standing nearby. Worried
frowns by those from the Post Office Dept. turn into broad grins. Army personnel reappear from behind the
grandstand. Everybody is friends again.

In but moments, the Jenny leaves the ground, struggling for altitude, anxious to clear the trees that rim the
sports park. News reporters and photographers race back to their offices to begin work on the front-page
coverage planned for the afternoon editions.

Less than twenty minutes into the air on his way to Philadelphia, Boyle gets lost, lands in a farmer’s field,
and severely damages the plane's prop. The Army rushes a new prop to the site. But the airmail will not go
through that day. It is returned to Washington.

The press is generous with its praise of the newly-

inaugurated service. It dismiss the crash in a single
sentence—"With the exception of an accident to one
of the airplanes between Washington and
Philadelphia, it was a complete success." That
Boyle took off in the wrong direction and crashed
south of Washington apparently was considered un-
newsworthy.

The south-bound aircraft had left Belmont Park as

scheduled, and flew uneventfully to Philadelphia.
Six minutes were consumed there transferring mail,
refueling, and changing pilots and then the Jenny
successfully continued its journey to Washington, to
little publicity, other than a small headline.

Three months after the inauguration of service the

Post Office was delegated full responsibility for
Airmail service.

The Transcontinental Route

The Washington to New York route proved a

commercial failure.

Once the novelty wore off of posting an airmail

letter from Washington to New York or back
business dropped drastically. The distance covered,
218 miles, was too short to permit any substantial time saving over existing surface transportation. Twenty-

1 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:11
How it Began https://web.archive.org/web/20200201172548/http://www.navfltsm.add...

four cents was a hefty price to pay for a few hours saved in mail delivery time.

On average mail planes were carrying only seven pounds of special airmail per trip; the rest was selected
first class. The Post Office lowered the postage to 16 cents. Still expensive, business only increased slightly.

The Post Office Dept realized that Air Mail's value lay in cross-country delivery where significant time
could be saved. The New York to San Francisco route was chosen to test transcontinental Airmail service.
By 1920 fifteen fields spaced approximately 200 miles apart over a 2680-mile route made up the airway.

The transcontinental airmail route ran from New York to San Francisco. Intermediate stops were:
2) Bellefonte, 3) Cleveland, 4) Bryan, 5) Chicago, 6) Iowa City, 7) Omaha, 8) North Platte,
9) Cheyenne, 10) Rawlins, 11) Rock Springs, 12) Salt Lake City, 13) Elko, and, 14) Reno.

Air Mail Service pilots were the unsung heroes of early aviation. In their frail biplanes, they battled wind,
snow and sleet to pioneer round-the-clock airmail service along the world's longest air route, the U.S.
transcontinental. In the process, thirty-four pilots lost their lives.

Since September 1920, the Post Office Dept. had flown the mail from New York to San Francisco, but
during daytime only, transferring it to trains at night. As a result, elapsed time was 72 hours at best, or a mere
36-hour saving over the fastest all-rail trip.

Flying the mail was risky business. During the nine years the Post Office Department operated the Airmail
Service, there were over 6,500 forced landings. On the average, airmail pilots had a life span of only about
900 flying hours.

The Post Office Dept. increased the pressure on its pilots by announcing that the air mail flights could be
conducted on a schedule 93% of the time.

Flying in open-cockpit biplanes, exposed to the bitterly cold air and harsh weather conditions, the pilots
often became so numbed and exhausted that they couldn't think clearly or make decisions quickly. Not
publicized by the Post Office Dept. was the fact that in order to fight the cold and the constant pressure of
deadlines, with on-time delivery expected under even the worst of flying conditions, many of the pilots
carried bottles of liquor along when they flew.

Carrying the mail was not the only business of aviation. In 1914 the world's first regularly scheduled air-
passenger service opened up along a 22-mile route from Tampa to St. Petersburg, Florida. The service could
carry only one passenger at a time and cost $5 for the 23-minute flight. It was a financial failure and lasted
only a short time.

These early days of aviation presented a unique set of problems and the inability of aircraft to navigate in
rough weather and darkness topped the list. The government became involved in 1926.

The first navigation-aid system consisted of flashing

beacons. These high-intensity lights, located along
popularly-flown airways, literally shone into the air like a
connect-the-dot puzzle, winking and blinking a friendly
invitation to come ahead.

The beacons, of course, did not flash, but rotated through

a complete circle giving the impression of flashing.

In October 1931, D. C. Young of the Airways Lighting

Sub-Committee recapped the progress of lighted airways
at a lighting conference in Pittsburgh, Pa.

"Ten years ago, a scheduled night flight by airplane across

the United States was only a dream. Now, such flights
occur nightly, and on scheduled time. The converting of
this hazardous journey into one of comparative safety ... is
the achievement of constructing aerial highways for the
airman.

2 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:11
How it Began https://web.archive.org/web/20200201172548/http://www.navfltsm.add...

If air travel were confined to daylight hours only, the

speed and directness of route would give the airplane little
or no advantage over fast trains operating on 24-hour
schedules. The Post Office Dept. realized this in 1922
when it was transporting the mail by air. So it established
facilities for the airmail pilot to follow at night and
succeeded in showing a remarkable improvement in speed
on the coast-to-coast route.

In the four years since 1926 when the government took over the airways 14,500 miles of lighted highways
had been created for the airmen.

High-intensity beacons are established approximately 10 miles apart along these civil airways . The beacon
consists of a 24-inch parabolic mirror and a 110-volt, 1000 watt lamp. The beacons, which rotate at 6 rpm,
show a one-million candlepower flash every 10 seconds for 1/10th second duration.

Pilots often stopped at McGirr Field, on the Omaha–Chicago route, when they had an "emergency,"
knowing that the food was excellent and that they would be well cared for.

Intermediate landing fields are provided every 30 miles along these routes, in the absence of suitable
commercial or municipal fields, and each is equipped with beacon, boundary, approach, obstruction, and
wind-cone lights.

The beam from the airways beacon is a high-intensity pencil of light of

about 5-degree beam width visible 20 to 40 miles in clear weather. The
beam is aimed 1.5° above the horizon. A small percentage of the beacon’s
light is reflected upward to provide close-range visibility.

Two course lights are mounted on the tower just below each searchlight;
one points forward along the airway and the other points backward. These
500-watt searchlights give a 15 degree horizontal beam width.

The course lights are fitted with either red or green lenses. Every third
beacon has green course lights signifying that it is on an intermediate
landing field. Thus the pilot knows at a long range the availability of
landing fields. (This is the forerunner of today’s airport rotating beacons
which alternately flash green and white.)

All other beacons had red course lights.

As the mechanism revolved and the clear flash of the beacon passed from
the pilot’s vision, the red or green flash of the course light came into view.
Course lights flashed coded dot-dash signals to indicate the beacon’s
position on the airway. Code signals ran from 0 to 9; thus, if a pilot
received a signal for the number 4, he knew he was flying over the fourth beacon of a particular 100-mile
stretch of airway. But he could not determine his precise position merely by receiving a course-light signal if
he did not know independently over which 100-mile stretch he was flying.

Letters designated the airways, the first letters of their terminal cities. The order of
the letters was established as south to north and west to east. Thus Omaha to
Chicago was Airway O-C. LA-SF defined the Los Angeles to San Francisco
airway, and so forth.

Regular maintenance of the airway beacons and intermediate fields was crucial.
This duty was entrusted to Airway Caretakers. Daily they climbed the 51-ft. steel
towers to check every beacon within their territory, cleaned dirty lenses, replaced
burned-out bulbs, etc. Repair problems requiring more expertise or equipment and
tools not locally available were referred to "mechanicians," who serviced a 175-
mile route with a half-ton pickup truck.

Caretakers at intermediate fields were on duty from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am. If a pilot
"dropped" in to one of these emergency fields, caretakers were expected to provide transportation to and
from town, furnish them with meals, and assist in repairing their aircraft.

3 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:11
How it Began https://web.archive.org/web/20200201172548/http://www.navfltsm.add...

To "Plane Post" a letter cost 24 cents an ounce in 1918, which included special delivery.

With airways on the transcontinental route now lighted, airmail could be delivered in one-third the time of a
train.

Click on the On the Beam button to learn how radio navaids further simplified the pilot's navigation chores.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

4 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:11
ADF History https://web.archive.org/web/20200210084222/http://www.navfltsm.add...

On the Beam

The old-timer sat in the pilot's lounge with his coffee,

listening to the student pilots discussing their navigation
assignment. Like dolphins bounding to the water's surface,
keywords occasionally reached his ears: "Waypoints,"
"VORs," "GPS," "Radials" "OBS," "Compass locators,"
"DME," "Victor-Airways."

He shook his head smiling wistfully and stared at his

coffee. So much has changed, he thought. Student pilots
don't even get sent to the hangar for a bucket of prop wash
anymore.

The old-timer's mind drifted back to the '40s, when he was

a young airline pilot. Radio navigation was so different then. "A" and "N," which side on this leg?

While early flashing beacons were economical and a great aid for night-time navigation in clear weather,
they were of no value in overcast conditions, or during the day when they weren’t even turned on. And they
were sometimes difficult to locate in the distracting light of urban sprawl. These handicaps hastened the
development of the LF navigation system.

Radio beacons in the 190 to 535 kHz radio band had formed the earliest LF navigation system. These
powerful, 1500-watt beacons were spaced about 200 miles apart and defined electronic airways. A pilot flew
for 100 miles guided by the beacon behind him and then tuned in the beacon ahead for the next 100 miles.
The beam width was about 3° so it was important that the pilot promptly tune in the station in front. At 100
miles and a 3° beam width, the aircraft was "on course" if it were within ±2.6 miles of the airway centerline.

The beacons transmitted two Morse-code signals: the letter "A," • – , and its opposite, the letter "N," – • .
When the aircraft was centered on the airway, or electrical beam, these two opposite Morse-code signals
merged into a steady, monotonous, hypnotizing tone. Broadcast of the beacon's Morse-code identification
interrupted these tones twice a minute.

If the aircraft drifted off course to one side, the Morse code for the letter "A" could be faintly heard. The
greater the drift, the stronger the "A" Morse code signal. Straying to the opposite side produced the "N"
Morse code signal.

The four-course radio range. One antenna's figure-eight pattern transmits Morse-
code "A," and the other antenna's figure-eight pattern transmits Morse-code "N."
The "On-Course" signal develops where the two figure eight-patterns overlap
(shaded) and the two Morse-code signals interleave to provide a constant tone.

The illustration shows the beacon's two figure-eight transmission patterns. Where they overlapped was "the
beam." One can see that technically, beams weren't actually transmitted. But the term "on the beam" was so
entrenched with pilots that it became common usage.

Because of the dual loop-antenna system used, each beacon defined four airways, and hence this system was
named the four-course radio range. With the letter "A" to the aircraft's left heading towards the beacon on
two of the courses, and to its right on the other two courses complicated navigation. Worse, the letters didn't

1 of 3 25-05-2022, 18:12
ADF History https://web.archive.org/web/20200210084222/http://www.navfltsm.add...

stay put. When the aircraft passed over the beacon, from inbound to outbound, the letters switched from one
side of the airway to the other.

Station passage was marked by a "cone of silence," where the aural tone briefly disappeared as the aircraft
flew directly overhead.

When possible, radio-range stations were located near an airport, and situated so that one of the four beams
lined up with the principal runway, "thus facilitating radio approach landings under conditions of low
visibility."

While not pin-point accurate, the radio-range system was a great leap forward over simple dead-reckoning
navigation or flashing beacons.

Pilots became very skilled at flying the four-course radio range. As mentioned, a station identified itself
every half-minute. It first broadcast its call letters in the "N" quadrant and then in the "A" quadrant. Pilots
could hear both broadcasts. If the two signals were equal volume, a pilot knew that he was "on course." But,
for example, if the call sign from the "N" side was louder, he knew that his aircraft was off center and he
should adjust his heading towards the other side of the airway. Many pilots found it easier to stay on course
by monitoring the call-sign transmissions than by listening to the steady tone.

In fact, a pilot was encouraged to fly off-center from a radio-range beam, to fly the right-hand edge of the
beam. This reduced the possibility of encountering an aircraft coming from the opposite direction,
particularly when flying IFR in the days before ATC assigned altitudes.

Eighteen months after the four-course radio range system was launched it was deemed essential to aviation.
This navigation system revolutionized airline transportation as much as the introduction of the DC-3. For the
first time, scheduled air service meant just that. Only infrequently did poor weather or low ceilings or limited
visibilities cancel a flight.

When flying through mountain passes in IFR weather or on a dark night, the pilots paid close attention to the
tones in their headphones. Palms became moist in the cockpit when static from electrical storms interfered
with the reception of those crucial signals—or when beacon signals bounced off the canyon walls and gave
false information.

Radio Direction Finding

There are several types of equipment under this

general head. In each case, however, use is made of
the directional characteristics of a loop antenna. The
loop may be either fixed or rotatable.

The LF radio-range system had two principal

drawbacks: it provided no information on the
aircraft's position nor whether it was flying to or
from a beacon. If a pilot were flying along a known
airway he could extrapolate the to/from situation
with a drift off course slightly to pickup the "A" or
"N," then deduce from the charts whether the
beacon was in front or behind him.

A number of maneuvers were available to a pilot to

eliminate the ambiguity of which direction the
beacon was relative to his heading, or to determine
which quadrant of the radio range he was within, or
identify which beam of the range he was
intercepting. These maneuvers had names such as
the 90° turn method and the parallel method. Useful
as they were, they each required a significant
deviation from the aircraft's intended course, sometimes even a 180° turn away from the station.

The installation of marker-beacons every 20 to 30 miles along the airway partially informed the pilot of his
position. Each beacon transmitted a distinct identification signal and so on passage a pilot could mark his
progress to the next four-course station.

The old-timer shook his head again, his thoughts deep into the past.

The Radio Compass was the first glimmer of hope in determining bearings to a radio station, of filling the
information void of the four course radio range. It added a fixed loop antenna and visual indicator to the
receiver system. With this system, as long as the aircraft was headed directly toward a radio station the
needle of the indicator remained centered; headings to the right or left of the station resulted in a
corresponding deflection of the needle.

The radio compass was chiefly used as a "homing" device, and bearings of radio stations off the line of flight
could be obtained only by turning the aircraft toward the station and noting the magnetic compass heading
when the needle was centered.

Replacing the fixed loop antenna with a rotatable loop eliminated this cumbersome maneuver. This system
was called a Radio Direction Finder. With the rotatable loop, bearings could now be obtained without turning
the airplane itself. The pilot or navigator would rotate the loop, usually mounted on the fuselage below the
cockpit, to the position of minimum signal strength, or "null." The bearing to the radio station was then read

2 of 3 25-05-2022, 18:12
ADF History https://web.archive.org/web/20200210084222/http://www.navfltsm.add...

from a graduated, mechanical dial.

By repeating this procedure with a second beacon an aircraft's position could be determined by triangulation
after locating the two stations on the flight chart.

The Automatic Direction Finder, a marvelous invention, followed

the RDF. Finally, a self-contained apparatus for aircraft navigation
was available. Gone were rotatable loop antennas and guess-work
readings from mechanical azimuth dials. The ADF indicator needle
always points directly towards the beacon, which now could be a
Non Directional Beacon—NDB. Rick Covington's photograph of a
Piedmont DC-3 shows the ADF antenna mounted below the cockpit.

The NDB provides good, basic navigation capabilities. An aircraft

can follow the ADF needle to home to the station, although this is
poor navigation practice—see later. The aircraft can track a specific
NDB radio radial—electronic highway—to fly a specific course to
or from the NDB station. The pilot can use two crossing radials to
triangulate a position for a navigational fix. With a timer, it’s even
possible to determine time and/or distance to and/or from an NDB
station.

In addition, and probably the most prominent use of the NDB, it can
provide an instrument approach procedure for landing. A pilot could now locate a runway without actually
seeing it, to descend through overcast and/or low visibility conditions and land the aircraft by reference to
the ADF indicator, the compass and the clock or a timer.

Yep, mused the old-timer, as he refilled his coffee, the ADF sure simplified navigation.

Click on the ADF Basics button to see what the old-timer meant.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

3 of 3 25-05-2022, 18:12
ADF Basics https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003149/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Navigating with the ADF

The LF navigation system was so durable that for twenty years it had no
competition. It was widely used long after VOR installations began to
sprout up throughout the country. It has the major advantage over a VOR
in that reception is not limited to line of sight distances. The LF signals
follow the curvature of the earth, and thus the maximum distance that an
ADF is usable depends only on the power of the beacon.

Additionally, the ADF indicator provides more information than the VOR
indicator. Here it shows that the aircraft is on a 345° heading and that the
magnetic bearing to the NDB is 060°.;

When I was doing my Instrument Flight training many students dreaded

NDB procedures. They hoped that the FAA examiner would "forget" to
test those skills. To my knowledge they never "forgot." Currently, it is
mandatory to successfully demonstrate an NDB approach on the instrument flight test.

On reflection, one wonders why emotions ran—and run!—so negatively towards ADF procedures. In some
aspects it is simpler to track to or from an NDB than to or from a VOR. The VOR, of course, offers the
advantage that one can set in the desired radial with the OBS, leaving little doubt that the track to or from the
station is correct.

Six ADF navigation procedures will be reviewed here.

ADF Time- and Distance-to-Station checks.

Intercepting a bearing.
Homing.
Tracking inbound to an NDB.
Tracking outbound from an NDB.
NDB Approaches.

On first reading the descriptions, ADF procedures could appear difficult. With modest practice on your
Flight Simulator, though, they become routine. They even make sense! The key to successful ADF
navigation is to know where you are at all times. Visualization is a must to make the right moves.

Four types of ADF Indicators are in use. In every case, the needle points to the navigation beacon.

Fixed Compass Card.

Rotatable Compass Card.
Single-needle Radio Magnetic Indicator.
Dual-needle Radio Magnetic Indicator.

Fixed Compass Card

The Fixed Indicator's compass card is exactly as the name says. It is fixed to the
face of the instrument and cannot rotate; 0° is always straight up—the nose of
the aircraft. Visualizing the situation with this type of indicator can be daunting.

Consider the present situation. Remember, all numbers are relative to the
aircraft's magnetic heading. From before, the aircraft is heading 345°. The ADF
indicator shows the beacon 75° relative to the aircraft's heading. Since the
beacon is to the right, add numbers: 345 plus 75 equal 420. Subtract 360 and the
magnetic bearing to the beacon is 060°. It's enough of a mental calculation
sitting at a desk; in a pitching aircraft glopping about in the soup, the math can seem impossible. Some
consider using this type of ADF Indicator as cruel and unusual punishment: great as an emergency backup,
very unsatisfactory for every-day use.

The fixed-indicator can still be found on many aircraft panels, but seldom in planes where the pilot actually
uses the ADF.

Rotatable Compass Card

The Rotatable Compass Card Indicator was a big step over the fixed-card
indicator. The pilot can now rotate the compass card with the heading knob to
display the aircraft’s magnetic heading "straight up." Then the ADF needle will
directly indicate the magnetic bearing to the NDB. For example, again the
aircraft is on a 345° heading. The pilot manually rotates the ADF card to show a
345° heading as shown here. The magnetic bearing to the beacon now correctly
shows as 060°.; Now, to track to the beacon simply turn the aircraft to a heading
of 060°—ignoring any wind correction requirements for the moment ... just
remember to rotate the compass card to the new aircraft heading of 060° after
the turn.

1 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:13
ADF Basics https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003149/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Single-needle Radio Magnetic Indicator

The Single-Needle Radio Magnetic Indicator is the best of all worlds. The Radio
Magnetic Indicator, as its name implies, is an instrument that combines radio
and magnetic information to provide continuous heading, bearing, and radial
information. It is an extremely simple indicator.

The Indicator’s compass card is a directional gyro and so it rotates automatically

as the aircraft turns. Thus it always accurately indicates the magnetic heading of
the aircraft as well as the magnetic bearing to the beacon. Although it's a
"hands-off" instrument, its compass card should be checked against the
magnetic compass every fifteen minutes or so and adjusted with the heading
knob to correct for any precession errors common to directional gyros. The face
of the single-needle RMI is similar to that of the rotatable card ADF just shown.

The ADF gauge on the Cessna Nav Trainer panel is a single-needle Radio Magnetic Indicator. The
illustration here includes the digital display added to the RMI which indicates the bearing to the station. The
digital display is not a standard feature on an RMI. It was included here because precisely reading the RMI is
such an integral part of the practice flights.

Dual-needle Radio Magnetic Indicator

The dual-needle RMI is similar to the single-needle RMI except that it has a
second needle. The instrument here presents the same information as the two
previous instances: aircraft heading is 345°, and the magnetic bearing to the
NDB is 060°—the yellow needle. The second needle, green here, typically
points to a VOR station tuned in on the Navigation Receiver—in this case, fly
303° to get to the VOR. The dual-needle indicator is particularly useful in fixing
the location of an aircraft. The two lines of position appear right on the face of
the gauge.

Sophisticated RMIs show magnetic bearing to any two nav stations chosen by the pilot: ADF and VOR#1,
ADF and VOR#2, or VOR#1 and VOR#2. Military pilots routinely navigate with an RMI and wonder why
the rest of us fool around with a standard VOR indicator.

Characteristics of ADF Navigation

Please note, that from here on, all ADF discussions and mathematics is limited to navigation using a single-
needle RMI.

The most important concept in ADF navigation is that the needle always points to the station. There are three
implications to this.

First, when tuned to an ADF station for homing, tracking, intersections, holding or an approach, you
never have to touch the system. Unlike the VOR, there’s no OBS to think about, no need to "twist"
anything in station passage or at any other time. This makes the ADF much simpler to use.
Second, with an ADF you always know where you are in relation to the station. There is no TO-
FROM to interpret, no confusion about radials and bearings, no way to set the wrong OBS numbers.
Third, ADF orientation is much simpler than VOR orientation. With an RMI the head of the ADF
needle always indicates the bearing to the station. Simply turn to the heading under the arrow head to
fly towards the beacon.

Low frequency beacons can sometimes be received at great distances. It is very important to verify the
Morse-code identifier of the station to be certain you are navigating from the proper beacon—even in your
Flight Simulator.

ADF Time and Distance Checks

Good exercises to develop NDB awareness are the ADF Time and Distance Checks. Tune in an NDB station,
verify its Morse identifier, (Click the ID label in the center of the radio face) and then position the aircraft so
that the needle points directly to the left or right, indicating that the station is directly off the aircraft’s wing.

Note the bearing to the station and also the time, or set the timer. Then fly a constant heading until the
bearing changes 10°.; Note the number of seconds it takes for the bearing to change this 10°.; Then simply
divide that elapsed time by ten to determine the time to station in minutes.

Time in seconds
Minutes to station =
(Degrees of bearing
change)

You can then estimate the distance to the station:

TAS [kts] × Minutes flown

Nautical Miles to station
=
(Degrees of bearing
change)

2 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:13
ADF Basics https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003149/http://www.navfltsm.add...

A Time and Distance Example

A. You’re en route from New Bedford, Mass. to Manchester, N.H., tracking the 005° bearing to the Haget
beacon. Company-President Mr. Benjamin Counter is your sole passenger. Part-way into the flight Mr.
Counter decides that a face-to-face meeting would be appropriate with the principal-stockholder, Mr.
Well Thee. Mr. Thee is vacationing in Provincetown, on Cape Cod, with his administrative assistant.
This working arrangement was mentioned in the Route-selection section.
B. For the Time and Distance to Provincetown, tune in and verify the Provincetown beacon. Then—in
this case—turn to a 025° heading to put Provincetown’s beacon directly off your right wing. The ADF
indicator shows a 115° bearing to the beacon. Start the timer.
C. Maintain a 025° heading. When the ADF needle has shifted ten degrees, to a 125° bearing to the
station, note the time—three minutes and forty seconds, or 220 seconds.

Plugging the numbers into the formulas above:

The time to station is:

220 seconds
= 22 minutes to station.
10 degrees

You can then estimate the distance to the station:

With Mr. Counter on board—"Bean" Counter to all who are out of his hearing range, the aircraft is cruising
at an economical 110 kts. The distance to Provincetown's beacon is then:

110 kts × 3-2/3 (3 min 40 sec., 220 sec.)

= 40 nautical miles to station.
10 degrees

One can only hope that Mr. Counter is not inspired to again change your destination before reaching
Provincetown.

As seen, the calculations for time and distance to station are quite simple. What's even easier is to read those
numbers from a table. Since you're flying the Cessna Nav Trainer which cruises at 110 kts, a table can be
prepared with a spreadsheet showing both time to station and distance to station for any value of time to
cross 10°. The table below is for 20-second increments of time to cross 10° but it is just as easy to use your
spreadsheet and prepare it for 10 or 15 second increments, interpreting for the in-between values.

If your aircraft differs from the Cessna Nav Trainer, just redo the Distance to Station columns for the
appropriate cruise speed. The Time to Station column is independent of speed.

Time and Distance to Station vs. Time to cross 10° for 110 kts
Time to Time to Distance Time to Time to Distance
cross 10° Station to Station cross 10° Station to Station
(Seconds) (minutes) (nm) (Seconds) (minutes) (nm)
20 2 4 180 18 33
40 4 7 200 20 37
60 6 11 220 22 40
80 8 15 240 24 44
100 10 18 260 26 48
120 12 22 280 28 51
140 14 26 300 30 55
160 16 29 320 32 59

Intercepting a Bearing

Probably the most common ADF navigation procedure is intercepting a specific

3 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:13
ADF Basics https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003149/http://www.navfltsm.add...

bearing of a Non Directional Beacon. The technique is similar whether

intercepting an inbound bearing or an outbound bearing.

Until this easily-understood maneuver is learned, VFR approaches to an airport

will be sloppy, and all but impossible in IFR conditions. This procedure
becomes second nature after a few Flight Simulator practice sessions.

The illustration above shows the aircraft nicely tracking inbound—no wind—on
the 075° magnetic bearing to the Provincetown—PVC—beacon. Three simple
flight maneuvers, as shown in the illustrations below, will accurately put you on
any inbound or outbound NDB bearing. Here, the desired bearing is 075° to the PVC beacon to line up with
Provincetown's Runway 7.

A. Turn to the desired bearing (075°), and note the number of degrees of needle deflection to the left or
right—in this case it's 50° (125° bearing minus 075° heading). Then double this amount to determine
the interception angle (100°).
B. Turn toward the needle the number of degrees determined above (100°). Adding that to the desired
bearing—right turns, add numbers; left turns, subtract numbers—gives an intercept heading of 175°.;
C. Maintain the new intercept heading (175°) until the needle points to the desired bearing (075°). Then
turn to the (075°) bearing. Of course, the turn should be started shortly before the desired bearing is
reached so as to roll out on the correct heading without any overshoot.

With no wind you need only continue on the 075° inbound heading to Provincetown. But there is always
wind. The next chapter provides you with the techniques to correct for the effects of the wind.

But first, open up your Flight Simulator and randomly select an NDB. Then choose a bearing to that NDB
and practice intercepting it from several positions around the NDB. Do this for several other randomly
chosen NDBs until you can comfortably and accurately intercept any bearing to an NDB no matter where
you are or your direction of flight in relation to the NDB.

And Finally

Nothing is quite so important as recognizing when your RMI cannot receive

signals. The situations that create that dilemma are:

1. The ADF Receiver is turned off.

2. The ADF Receiver is not tuned to the station.
3. The NDB is too distant to provide a reliable signal.
4. The aircraft's altitude is too low (reception is generally reliable at and above
1000 ft AGL).

When "Off," or receiving no usable signal, the RMI needle points directly to the
right, 90° away from vertical. In addition to that, the digital bearing indicator on
the Nav Trainer's panel also displays three dots as shown in the illustration.

Now, click on the Tracking button to learn how to get to and from an NDB as
easily as if it were a VOR station.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

4 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:13
ADF Tracking https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003228/http://www.navfltsm.add...

ADF Tracking

See that critter to the left? That's a homing pigeon. They're

also bred and trained for racing. For him, homing is good.
For an aircraft, homing is not good. Let's take that
procedure off the table right now.

Homing is Unacceptable

Homing is easy and instinctive, but it is also inefficient and

potentially dangerous. Homing to a station simply means
pointing the aircraft in the direction of the station. The
easiest way to do this is to turn the aircraft in the direction
of the ADF needle until the needle points to the top of the
indicator.

The pilot compensates for the wind by keeping the ADF

needle centered with heading adjustments. With the wind
constantly pushing from one side, the pilot has to constantly change the heading as he proceeds toward the
station to keep the needle on the nose. With homing the crosswind pushes the aircraft away from the direct
course and the resulting path to the station will be curved.

The series of illustrations below graphically show why homing is undesirable. To the left the aircraft begins
homing to the 090° NDB bearing with a 090° heading. The crosswind from the north blows the aircraft off
course, to the south. The following images of the aircraft show how it's heading has to be adjusted to
maintain the ADF needle on the nose as the wind blows from the North. As it nears the NDB the wind has
blown the airplane so far off the inbound bearing that, to keep the needle on the nose, it must fly a heading of
020° instead of the desired 090°.;

With a crosswind, homing results in a curved flight path to the NDB.

Homing is unacceptable for IFR navigation because the aircraft strays too far from the intended course. The
wide, looping course shown in this illustration could take it into a hill, a radio tower, or other obstruction at
the minimum altitudes of an NDB approach.

Continually turning towards the wind to keep the needle centered as the aircraft approaches the beacon is
sometimes called "Birdogging." In strong wind conditions ADFs gradually drift your aircraft heading toward
the wind direction as you approach the station.

Tracking

The only way to fly a straight course to a station is to track to the station.
Tracking means to establish a wind-correction angle that negates the drift
caused by the crosswind.

Again, rely on the rule to turn toward the pointer to intercept any course being
paralleled. This rule applies whether flying inbound or outbound.

Once you have intercepted the desired bearing, hold that heading and see what
effect the wind has. Let's continue with the previous example, intercepting and
tracking the 075° bearing to Provincetown's Runway 7—and see what happens.

The ADF gauge above shows that a crosswind from the left has blown our aircraft off course. Our heading is
still 075°, but the airplane has drifted off the bearing by 10°.; The bearing to the PVC beacon is now 065°—
the needle points to 065°.; A turn to the left, towards the needle, is necessary to return to the desired 075°
bearing. But how much correction is needed to stay on course?

1 of 5 25-05-2022, 18:16
ADF Tracking https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003228/http://www.navfltsm.add...

A. To get back on course, double the drift first noted and turn toward the needle by that amount, in this
case 20° relative, or to a 055° heading. You are reintercepting the bearing.
B. Hold the intercept heading of 055° until the needle returns to 075°, the desired bearing to the station.
Now reduce the correction by half—10° in this case—to a heading of 065° to compensate for the
wind. You should also lead the turn back on track by two to five degrees, depending on how far you
are from the station.
C. This method of correcting for wind drift is called bracketing. You may have to "bracket" several times
to establish a reference heading that keeps you on the desired bearing, especially if a long distance
from the station. The initial wind correction may be too large or too small to stay on the bearing. If so,
adjust the correction. In example C, if the 10° correction (065° heading) proves too much, reintercept
the bearing and try a 5° correction with a 070° heading.

Chasing the needle is a common mistake in ADF intercepts, tracking and bracketing. It is so tempting to
follow that moving needle. Resist that temptation! Hold the heading steady until the needle reaches the
relative bearing that you want, then make the turn.

Near the station the ADF needle will become "nervous," start wiggling and become more sensitive. Again,
don't chase the needle, just fly the reference heading. The needle will start to swing to the left or right on
passing over a station.

Wait until the needle has definitely swung around to verify station passage—at least five to ten seconds past
the ADF station. Then turn to the outbound magnetic heading to determine which side of the bearing you are
now situated and how much you will have to correct.

Practice flights, tracking inbound

Tracking inbound really is a simple procedure as you have just read. The two flights next described will
polish up your inbound tracking skills. Complete the Flight Planning Worksheet before beginning each
flight.

Long Island to Meriden, Connecticut

"What's going on in Long Island?" I asked the Boss. His message on my

pager said to call, urgent.

"It's Counter, again," he replied. "Seems his Administrative Assistant is

threatening to quit. His A.A. has a passion for hand-made silver and so
Counter wants to fly to Meriden this afternoon."

"Meriden?"

"Yeah," the boss interrupted. "It earned the title of 'Silver City of the
World' for the great hand-made stuff there. Counter figures if he can get
there fast enough and buy something really cool, his A.A. won't quit. I
don't understand the big deal, I mean, isn't the A.A. a clerk, a dime a
dozen?"

"I think Counter's A.A. has more talents than that," I suggested. I had seen
her and she was a knockout. Scuttlebutt had it that she had been a finalist
in a local beauty-queen pageant a year or so back.

"Yeah, you're probably right. They get to know the inner workings of the
company—that increases their value."

I didn't see the need to bring him up to speed. "The weather on the Sound
isn't looking too good ... overcast and lousy visibility."

"Counter said he'd pay a bonus if you get him there and back today," the Boss offered, sensing my
reluctance.

I hung up and headed for the airport. It seemed like I was now Mr. Benjamin Counter's private airline.

1. Today's weather is poor. Set in 1500 ft. overcast with a visibility of 3 miles. Start the timer at the
beginning of your takeoff roll. Depart from The Gabreski airport, KFOK, on Long Island, New York,
using Rwy 33. Your destination is Meriden, Connecticut, KMMK. Tune in the Meriden
NDB—"MMK"—on 238 kHz. On departure turn right to the 001° bearing to MMK, 41 nm. distant.
You may not receive the MMK NDB until three or four minutes after departure. Climb to 3000 ft.
Your flight time will be 25 minutes at 110 kts. cruise. Fifteen minutes into the flight begin a 500 fpm
descent, maintaining 110 kts. Slow to approach speed on reaching 1000 ft., 500 ft. below the overcast.
Continue tracking inbound on the 001° bearing until sighting the airport and Rwy 36 then execute a
visual landing. Field elevation is 101 ft.

2. Same route, same weather, but the wind has picked up. It's now 30 kts from 310°. Note: prior to
starting your takeoff roll your airspeed indicator will read about 28 kts. That is from the strong surface
headwind which will considerably shorten your takeoff run (but lengthen the flight).

Hopefully, by now you have downloaded and installed the Virtual E6-B Computer. If so, here are the
numbers that you should have calculated for climb (90 kts IAS) and Cruise (110 kts IAS):

2 of 5 25-05-2022, 18:16
ADF Tracking https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003228/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Total Distance of flight 41 NM

Time to climb to 3000 ft @ 700 fpm 4.2 minutes
Ground speed during climb 68 kts
WCA During Climb 15° L
Magnetic Hdg during Climb 346°
Distance during climb 5 NM
Distance for Cruise & Descent 36 NM
Ground Speed during Cruise & Descent 89 kts
WCA during Cruise & Descent 12° L
Magnetic Hdg during Cruise & Descent 349°
Time to Cruise 36 NM at 89 kts 24 minutes
Total Time En Route 28 minutes

With these numbers, now proceed as in the previous flight.

NOTE: Obviously one doesn't descend at 110 kts all the way to the runway threshold, but slows to enter the
traffic pattern. Adding five minutes to the calculated ETE gives a good approximation of your actual flight
time.

Click here to print the information for these two flights.

These flights will be pretty well under control after you fly each of them two or three times. You will be a
busy pilot en route, too.

It is extremely important that you listen to the Morse-code identifier for any beacon that you are tracking to
or from and verify that it is the proper NDB. Since NDBs operate in the LF band they can have great range.
Click the center of the face of the radio for the ident function. A second click discontinues the ident.

The words GUESS and KNOW when used in

flying may produce entirely opposite results.

Outbound Bearings from the NDB

The procedures to intercept, track, and bracket outbound NDB bearings are very
similar to those used on inbound bearings. The difference is that we work with
reciprocals of the headings.

Limit outbound maneuvers to course corrections to compensate for crosswinds.

It's not smart to intercept an outbound bearing en route because no information
exists on where you are ... one nm. from the beacon or 30 nm. from the beacon?
One traditionally enters an outbound leg at station passage, i.e., from a known
position.

Assume that the last leg of your flight tracks outbound on the 078° bearing from
the FFF beacon to Provincetown's Runway 7. The bearing from your aircraft to the beacon will be the
reciprocal, or 258°, which is where the ADF pointer should be. Here the ADF indicator shows the aircraft's
heading is 078°. But the ADF needle, pointing behind you to the FFF beacon, isn't on 258°. It's on 278°—
you've drifted 20° off course.

Point number one. Just as tracking inbound to a beacon, if you are paralleling the desired path outbound, the
pointer arrow shows you which way to turn to get back on course. Here the arrow points to the left so turn
the aircraft to the left

Follow the same procedure as when intercepting an inbound bearing, Double your 20° error and turn towards
the POINTER of the ADF needle, to the left by 40°.;

A. With a 40° turn to the left for intercept, the aircraft heading will be 078°–040° or 038°.; Notice that the
pointer has swung farther away from the tail of the plane. That confirms that your turn was in the
correct direction when flying outbound.
B. Maintain a 038° heading until the ADF needle nearly reaches the desired 258° bearing from the
aircraft to the beacon.

3 of 5 25-05-2022, 18:16
ADF Tracking https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003228/http://www.navfltsm.add...

C. Turn right to 058°, one-half of the initial correction angle, and track outbound with the pointer on 258°
to the station. If you continue to drift off course, repeat the bracketing steps until the track is correct.
Bracket outbound the same as on an inbound leg, except determine the wind correction necessary
using reciprocals.

In actual practice, one would not drift so far off course as this example, to require a 40° intercept angle.
Large numbers were used here so that the procedures would be clearly visible on the ADF indicator. Run
through these procedures two or three times on your Flight Simulator to make everything click together.

Remember that the needle always points to the station. Never put the needle on the tail by changing the
heading. This will cause you to miss the bearing completely and, as you will see during an NDB approach, if
you lose that outbound bearing, you miss the airport.

Norwood, Massachusetts to Falmouth, Massachusetts

I was in the pilot's lounge relaxing after a tough IFR flight. We had
been in the soup the whole time. I lapsed into a day-dream about
my last CAVU flight—Ceilings and Visibility Unlimited—when
our receptionist tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up and she
nodded in the direction of the Boss's office. Without a word I got
up and walked over.

"Is your aircraft fueled?" he asked before I could sit down.

"Yep, topped up, oil checked and windscreen polished," I replied,

lowering myself into a battered chair.

"Good," he responded. "because I just got off the phone with Mr. Airline-CEO Counter. He missed his
commuter flight to Falmouth, Massachusetts this morning, and there won't be another until tomorrow
morning, which would be embarrassing."

I contemplated that for a moment but nothing came to mind that would embarrass Counter.

The Boss went on, "Counter is the scheduled Commencement speaker tonight at his alma mater, Downhome
University of Hillsdale. They requested him to speak because of his rise in industry and his insistence that
business success is directly tied to punctuality. It will not send a good message if he misses that commitment
because he over-slept his flight. He requested your services because you can keep your mouth shut, whatever
on earth that's all about."

A picture of his administrative assistant flashed across my mind and some of the destinations where the two
had met for "business" purposes.

"He's in Norwood, Mass., so leave for there as soon as you can get the engine cranked up and get him to
Falmouth. There's a bonus for both of us if you can make it look like the charter was planned from the start,"
the Boss said with finality.

I rose to leave when the Boss added, "And it doesn't help his humor or increase his desire to charter our
services if you remind him of his alma mater's initials."

Downhome University of Hillsdale. What could I say?

Practice flights, tracking outbound

Two practice flights are listed below that will sharpen your skills at intercepting and tracking an outbound
radial using the ADF. Although the routes are the same, the flights differ. Try to fly each flight once a day
until you have nailed the procedures. That will happen very quickly.

Concentrate on staying on the 151° outbound bearing. In case your calculator is broken, the reciprocal of
151° is 331°. A one-degree deviation puts you off course by 0.6 NM. at the end of the 38 NM outbound leg
from OW NDB. This is a long distance to track outbound, especially to arrive at a runway. That's why these
are such good practice flights.

Enjoy the flights. It will be a busy 24 minutes.

1. Tune your ADF to 397.0 kHz, STOGE NDB (OW), and tune Nav-1 to 115.8 MHz, (FMH). FMH is a
TACAN Station, and your VOR needle will not respond; we use this signal for DME information only.
Wind is calm. Start the timer at the beginning of your takeoff roll. Depart from Rwy 17, KOWD,
Norwood, Massachusetts, climbing to 3500 ft. Destination is Otis Air National Guard Field, KFMH,
Falmouth, Massachusetts, with field elevation of 131 ft. Fly direct to OW NDB, then turn left and
track the 151° radial outbound from STOGE NDB to Otis ANG Field. RMI Needle will point to 331°.
You will track almost 38 NM outbound from OW NDB, landing Otis Rwy 14. ETE from Norwood
Memorial Airport is 24 minutes. Begin your 400 fpm descent 15 DME from FMH VOR (TACAN).
Leave your ILS OFF during this flight!

2. Same route as above, except that we add some complexity and reduce the visibility to 3 miles and the
cloud cover to overcast, base at 1100 ft. Set in a 20 kt wind, from 130°. Calculate your WCAs and
Ground speeds for Climb and Cruise before departure. Same en route details as previous flight, except
altitude will be 3000 ft. and begin your 400 fpm descent 13 DME from FMH VOR (TACAN). Land
Rwy 14. Leave your ILS OFF for this flight!

4 of 5 25-05-2022, 18:16
ADF Tracking https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003228/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Click here to print the information for these two flights.

After successful completion of these two flights, you'll easily master the next piece, NDB approaches.

NDB Approaches

There are two types of NDB approaches: an inbound approach, if the station is on the field; and an outbound
approach if the station is some distance from the field. The next section discusses each of these approaches
in detail.

Holding Patterns

Holding patterns, you may remember, was not among the navigation procedures listed earlier that would be
reviewed. In the late 1940s they were important and frequently used. Circumstances still exist today when
they are required. But holding patterns are not covered here because they usually are in response to an ATC
instruction or, in the event of a missed approach, while awaiting an ATC instruction. Since interactive voice
communication with Flight Simulator is limited to On-Line Flying, VATSIM, holding procedures in response
to an ATC instruction will not be reviewed here.

Click on the NDB Approaches button for your first instrument approaches.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

5 of 5 25-05-2022, 18:16
Instrument Approach Plates https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003528/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Instrument Approach Plates

The ADF is King!

What an incredible advance the NDB and ADF brought to

instrument flying. Their capability went vastly beyond that of
the four-course radio range. For the first time, an aircraft
could now approach an airfield that it could not see, to a
runway that it could not see until very near, and safely land.
What a boost that gave to airline on-time performance.

Using the ADF with the NDB, flights can routinely land in
prevailing weather of 600 ft ceiling, or less, and only one-mile
visibility. Compare that with the nominal 1000 ft ceiling and
three-mile visibility requirement of a VFR flight.

The FAA publishes approved instrument approaches for U.S.

airports. Aircraft performing instrument approaches must
conform to these published procedures. Instrument Approach
Plates, as these charts were once officially called but now
Instrument Approach Procedures, are published for and named
after the Navaid used for the approach. This could be an NDB,
VOR, ILS, LOC, RNAV, or GPS. Some approaches also
require DME or availability of airport radar.

Only NDB approaches will be discussed here. Master them

and all of the other approaches follow easily.

Note that the entire discussion pertains to approaches to airports in instrument conditions. Nowhere is
the word "landing" used. That is the pilot's decision within the limits of each published approach
procedure.

Yes, despite the emphasis that follows on IFR approaches, aircraft do take off in IFR conditions, too. In
the absence of countermanding limits at specific airports, a one or two engine aircraft must have at least
one-mile visibility to take off. Aircraft with more than two engines require only a half-mile visibility. In
neither case are ceilings specified. Individual airports may have minimum ceiling requirements, with
300 ft. being very common.

A pilot is advised to carefully consider whether to takeoff at these minimums. If the minimum conditions
for takeoff are 300 ft. and one-mile, but the only IFR approach procedure requires 500 ft and one-mile, a
return to the airport for whatever reason would not be possible.

The Approach Plate

The layout and content of all U.S. approach plates is identical. The easiest way for a flight-simmer to
download official U.S. approach plates for free is to go to AirNav.com and enter the ICAO code for the
airport of interest (like KBOS for Boston Logan International). Then scroll down the airport page where
you will find individual links for each approach plate and departure procedure for that airport.

One may also purchase paper versions, eiither bound in volumes or in loose-leaf format, from a multitude
of online retailers (search Aviation Charts) or directly from the FAA.

The FAA has divided the U.S. into twenty-four regions as shown in the illustration below. In 2008 the
publication price for any one region is $4.60.

In the meantime, click on the Millville NDB approach plate at the top of this section for a full-detailed
print.

1 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:18
Instrument Approach Plates https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003528/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Twenty-four volumes of Terminal Procedures cover the contiguous 48 states.

One brief note on the ILS, the granddaddy of all of the instrument landing systems, before moving on. The
ILS, or Instrument Landing System, is a precision approach system. It provides glide-path information in
addition to a localizer signal to guide the aircraft to the runway. None of the other approach procedures
provide glide-path information and hence are called non-precision approaches. ILS landing minimums are
lower than all of the other approach procedures.

Approach Plate Features

The most efficient way to explain the features of an approach plate is to work from the top-left to the
bottom-right. Following the explanations will be easier, though, if you first print Millville's NDB Runway
14 approach plate.

The Left Header

The left header identifies the City and State where the airport is located, here Millville, New Jersey. Below
that, from left to right, is important Instrument Approach information:

NDB RNB 363 is the Navaid information for this approach ... NDB identifies this as an Approach
Procedure using an NDB, RNB is the three-letter identifier of the NDB, and 363 is the NDB
frequency, here 363 kHz.

APP CRS 147° is the Magnetic Course to the runway for this Instrument Approach.

Rwy ldg 5057 is the available length of runway for landing, here 5057 feet.

TDZE 81 is the Touch Down Zone Elevation of the runway, above Mean Sea Level, MSL. Here it
is 81 feet. The TDZ is that portion of the runway where an aircraft's landing gear normally first
contacts the runway when landing.

Apt Elev 85 is the Airport Elevation at some central point. Here it is 85 feet, or four feet higher
than the TDZE of Rwy 14.

The Right Header

The right header identifies the specifics of the approach: The Type of Approach, which Runway, and the
Airport Name.

This Instrument Approach Plate (IAP) describes the procedure for an NDB approach to Runway 14.

Below that is the airport name, Millville Municipal, followed by its three or four letter airport designator,
MIV. The airport name is important for cities with several airports. Be certain you've got the right
approach plate in front of you.

In some cases, a runway is not listed in the header, for example, VOR–A. That means that the published
approach path is not aligned within 30° of any runway heading. In that case, once the airport is in sight the
aircraft must turn to line up with the desired runway.

Second Row – Left Side

The next box down is general flight information related to the airport. Millville Municipal Airport is a
small field, two paved runways and no control tower. With only 164 flight operations per day one would
not expect many airport remarks.

The white "T" in the black triangle indicates that the takeoff minimums are non-standard, that there is a
published departure procedure, or some other issue demands the pilot's attention. You will find this
information in the front of the paper approach chart booklet, or if you download the approach plates, the

2 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:18
Instrument Approach Plates https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003528/http://www.navfltsm.add...

departure info will also be linked there.

At Millville, the take-off minimum is 300 ft ceiling and one-mile visibility for all categories of aircraft. A
published departure procedure also exists, named LEEAH THREE. Here is the LEEAH THREE departure
route description when take-off is from Runway 10 or 14:

Turn left to heading 109° and intercept OOD R–154 (OOD VOR, 154° radial) to LEEAH
INT, then via your assigned route ... Maintain 1800 ft., expect filed altitude 10 minutes after
departure.

The standard takeoff minimums are for aircraft with two engines or less is one statute mile. For aircraft
with more than two engines the take-off minimum is one-half statute mile. In both cases, no ceiling is
specified.

And finally, the note in the box above ...

When VGSI inop, straight-in/circling

Rwy 14 procedure NA at night.

informs pilots that if the Visual Glide Slope Indicator (red and white lights adjacent to the runway) are
inoperative that straight in or circling approaches to Rwy 14 are not authorized at night.

Second Row – Center Section

The center section of the second row defines the Approach Lighting System for the specific runway listed
on the approach plate that you are using. Runway 14 at Millville, while lighted for night operations, has no
approach lighting system on that runway. So let's take a look at the header information, second row, for the
ILS RWY 17 approach at Manchester, New Hampshire, KMHT.

MALSR designates a Medium intensity Approach Lighting System with Runway

alignment indicator lights. The dot on the A5 symbol denotes the presence of
sequenced flashing lights ... a "Rabbit." Explanations of the various approach
lighting systems, and there are many, appear in the Instrument Approach Plate
booklet.

Second Row – Right Side

Looking again at the NDB RWY 14 approach at Millville, New Jersey, the right side of the second row of
header information provides the Missed Approach Procedure.

Third Row – Communication Frequencies

There are five sections in the row of communications frequencies. They are placed in the order that an
arrival aircraft would need them:

1. Weather
2. Approach Control
3. Tower
4. Ground Control
5. Clearance Delivery

Again we will look at two different examples, Millville, New Jersey and Manchester New Hampshire.

Uncontrolled Field ... No Control Tower

First Millville, an airport with no control tower. From left to right in row three of the MIV NDB Rwy 14
Approach Plate here is what is provided:

ASOS is Automated Surface Observation System, which continuously measures and

broadcasts, minute by minute, the surface weather conditions at an airport. The
Millville information is available on 128.125 MHz.

Approach Control Service is provided by Atlantic City Airport, KACY,

23.6 nm east. Contact Approach Control on 124.6 MHz (327.125 MHz
if military).

Millville Radio is an Automated Flight Service Station, AFSS,

connected to a distantly-located service center. File, open and close
flight plans, get in-flight weather btiefings.

Pilots use Unicom to contact an operator at the field for airport info; active

3 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:18
Instrument Approach Plates https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003528/http://www.navfltsm.add...

runway, winds, what sort of operations are currently underway, etc.

Common Traffic Advisory Frequency ... The frequency to use when

announcing your intentions to land, takeoff, enter the traffic pattern, etc. at this
uncontrolled field. Other aircraft using Millville will also have their Comm
radios tuned to this frequency. The "L" in the black oval indicates that the
airport lights can be turned on by the aircraft radio (by clicking the Mic button a designated number of
times).

Controlled Field ... Control Tower available

Here is the radio frequency information contained in the five boxes of row three on the approach plate for
a field with a control tower. This example is for the ILS Rwy 17 approach to Manchester airport, New
Hampshire, KMHT. Again it is in the order that arriving aircraft needs it.

Automatic Terminal Information Service broadcasts recorded information

pertaining to the airport. Typically this includes sky conditions, ceilings, winds,
runways in use and any important NOTAMS. ATIS information is updated hourly
and the reported name changes each hour. The name is the phoenetic alpahabet,
Alpha to Zulu. ATIS ends with the announcement "Inform the controller that you have 'Information Bravo'
(or whatever happens to be the current phonetic letter.)

Approach Control Service, like Millville, N.J., is provided by a

distant facility. In this case it's from Boston Logan International
airport although Manchester has its own frequency. Boston Logan is
39 nm SE.

The Control Tower manages and controls all aircraft operations on

the active runways including takeoffs, landings, and exit and entry to
the active runway while on the ground.

Ground control manages and controls all aircraft operations on the airport
property except on active runways. Principally taxi information and authorization
to and from runways.

Frequency for filing, opening, closing or receiving

a flight plan.

Plan View Panel

We're back to the NDB RWY 14 approach at Millville, New Jersey. The largest section of an approach
plate is the plan view, or "top view" of the approach.

4 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:18
Instrument Approach Plates https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003528/http://www.navfltsm.add...

The Plan View Panel has two components: the Minimum Safe Altitude within a 25 nm radius in the lower
right-hand corner (can be in any corner) and the plan-view, or overhead view, of the approach in the
center.

Minimum Safe Altitude—MSA

The minimum safe altitude—MSA—within 25 nm is shown inside a circle on the plan view. MSA
provides 1000 ft. of clearance from all terrain and known obstructions. The 25 nm radius circle is centered
on the Navaid used for the approach. For Millville that's the RNB NDB, and for Manchester it's the MHT
VOR. RNB and MHT are the three-letter designators for the respective Navaids.

Note that the center symbol in the MSA diagram corresponds to the type Navaid used for the approach, or
will be a waypoint symbol if flying a GPS approach.

If you are within 25 NM of Millville, you must fly at or above 2100 ft to clear all obstructions by at least
1000 ft. This MSA is independent of your magnetic heading towards RNB NDB.

More than one MSA can be designated for any given approach Navaid, as the Manchester diagram shows.
Here are the three MSAs for the MHT VOR:

3500 ft if approaching from the North, magnetic course between 046° and 226°.
2600 ft if approaching from the East, magnetic course between 226° and 316°.
2000 ft if approaching from the South, magnetic course between 316° and 046°.

Note that the direction of fligh for multiple MSAs is defined by your Magnetic Course not your heading.

Approach—Plan View

5 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:18
Instrument Approach Plates https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003528/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Click the image to print this plate imprinted with the identifying letters.

Centered in the plan view are the "horizontal" details of the instrument approach. Horizontal details mean
that no altitude information can be obtained from this portion of the plate. That information appear in the
profile view, in the next-described panel.

The plan-view features are explained below in the order that a pilot confronts them. Letters "A" through
"K" defines this sequence. Click on the image above to print the approach plate imprinted with these
identifying letters to follow the explanation.

A. Identify the NDB—be certain that you are approaching the correct beacon. Frequency indication on
the receiver is not sufficient because LF beacons can have great range. Listen for the ident Morse
code as shown in the Navigation box. The IAF at the top of the box means that this Navaid is the
Initial Approach Fix for this instrument approach. All approaches start somewhere, and that place is
the IAF.
B. The Navaid here is Rainbow NDB, ident RNB. Approach the airfield by tracking to the NDB.
C. On reaching the IAF, turn OUTBOUND from the airport. In this case, the track (compensating for
wind) should be 327°.
D. Track outbound from the IAF for two minutes, then start the procedure turn. Here it is a left turn to
282°. Note that the line with a half-arrow head indicates that a procedure turn is a mandatory part of
the approach procedure.
E. Proceed on the 282° heading for a minute or so, then turn AWAY from the airport to the reciprocal
heading of 102° to return back to the approach course to the field.
F. As the ADF indicator nears the 147° bearing to the NDB, turn inbound, right in this case, and track
to the NDB on that bearing.
G. Continue inbound until the field and runway 14 is in sight. The miniature airport plan "G"
accurately portrays the runway layout in relation to your inbound track.
H. If the runway is not in sight when it should be, a missed approach is mandatory. "H" shows that a
right turn is required to perform a missed approach.
I. The missed approach procedure generally sends the aircraft to the Navaid and into a holding pattern
to await further instructions from ATC. "I" shows the holding pattern and the proper headings. It
also shows, in this case, that the holding pattern requires right turns.
J. Before beginning the approach, take note of the obstructions. By now you are aware that antenna
towers seem to cluster near airports. Know generally where they are and their height.
K. The circle surrounding the plan view of the approach procedure is 10 nm in radius, centered on the
Navaid. You are expected to remain within this 10 nm. distance from the beacon while performing
the approach. i.e., don't fly a 20 nm outbound leg, or 15 nm after turning into the procedure turn.
You only own the airspace within the 10 nm radius circle.

OK, I give up—what's a procedure turn?

Looking again at the approach plate, your flight path brings you to the beacon, RNB, then you fly
outbound from the beacon, away from the airport and runway. Obviously you have to get turned around to
return to the airport, and the procedure turn is a standardized way of doing that.

It's common to execute the procedure turn about two minutes out from the beacon. That time is flexible,
but too little rushes you too much on the return to the beacon and too long may take you outside the
mandatory 10 nm. radius that you must remain within.

There's an unpublicized hazard, too, with a procedure turn that begins a loooong way out from the beacon.
That's the bevy of pilots of high-performance aircraft asking to see you, the ones that you delayed while

6 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:18
Instrument Approach Plates https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003528/http://www.navfltsm.add...

you moseyed that long distance back to the beacon at a nice leisurely pace.

The procedure turn begins with a 45° turn away from the outbound track. Fly that heading for a minute or
so, nothing hard and fast about that time, then execute a 180° turn away from the airport to return to the
desired bearing to the beacon.

When you intercept the desired inbound bearing to the beacon, actually just shortly before that point, you
make another 45° turn, this time toward the airport, nicely rolling out on the specified track back to the
beacon.

The approach plate defines the direction of the procedure turn from the outbound track. There is no
freedom in that: what the chart shows is mandatory.

Approach—Profile

As just seen, the plan view on the approach plate gives no altitude information. That information is on the
profile view.

Considering the approach again, the aircraft flies outbound, tracking 327° from the NDB. Notice the
underlined 2000 in the profile view. That indicates that the aircraft may not descend lower than 2000 ft
MSL while outbound and in the procedure turn.

Once the aircraft is inbound, tracking 147° to the beacon, it may descend further, but no lower than 1300
ft. until it reaches the beacon, also referred to as the FAF or Final Approach Fix. From that point it may
begin its descent to the MDA, or Minimum Descent Altitude, which is discussed on the next part of the
approach plate.

The heavy line to the right of the beacon signifies the runway. Here, it is 3.7 nm from the beacon, a crucial
number to know in a non-precision approach, where distance is gauged by time.

How low can you go? What are the minimum visibility requirements? Read on.

Minimums

The minimums table is immediately below the profile view.

Landing minima are established for six categories of aircraft; ABCDE and COPTER. An aircraft fits into
one category or another based on its maneuvering speed. Maneuvering speed is defined as 1.3 times the
stall speed at maximum gross weight in the landing configuration. The table below identifies the Category
vs. Maneuvering Speed.

Approach Category A B C D E
Speed (Knots) 0–90 91–120 121–140 141–165 Abv 165

Note that approach plate lists only the first four categories.

The next two rows list the minima for the two possible types of landing with this procedure: Straight in to
runway 14 (S–14), or Circling to land at any of the other available runways. A Straight landing is defined
as one where the approach course is aligned within 30° of the runway heading.

The straight-in landing minima at Millville for runway 14 is 560 ft. Minimum Descent Altitude (MDA)
and one statute mile reported visibility for Categories A and B aircraft. The MDA remains the same for C
and D, but the visibility minimums increase to 1¼ and 1½ statute miles respectively.

MDA is exactly as the words say. The aircraft may not descend below the Minimum Descent Altitude
during an approach unless the approach-end of the runway is firmly in sight, and a safe, normal visual
landing can be made. No diving to the runway hoping to touchdown on the last quarter of its length.

Ignore the numbers in the parenthesis; they apply to military aircraft only. The small numbers just before

7 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:18
Instrument Approach Plates https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003528/http://www.navfltsm.add...

the parenthesis is the actual height of the MDA above the airport. This may not be the mathematical
subtraction of ceiling and field elevation, because field elevation and airport height can differ by several
feet.

Note that some of the landing minima for a circling approach are slightly higher than for a straight-in
approach.

Airport Plan View

The plan view of the airport is an important feature of the

approach plate. The field elevation is noted in the upper
left-hand corner of this view. Millville's elevation is 85 ft.

This view gives the pertinent details of the runways; their

length and width, and the runway numbers. Note the
"TDZE 81" for Runway 14. That is the Touch Down Zone
Elevation for Runway 14. Recall in the minimums table that
for the S–14 approach with an MDA of 560 ft, the height
above the airport was shown as 479 ft? That was obtained
by subtracting the 81 ft TDZE from 560 ft MDA.

Recall also on the plan view of the approach, that two

runways were in the little diagram at the end of the
approach arrow? The airport plan view shows that runways
10–28 and 14–32 are available.

The airport plan view also reminds the pilot that Rwy 14 is
3.7 nm from the FAF, Final Approach Fix, which is the
NDB, and that the approach course is 147°.

At the bottom of the view is the runway lighting

information. Here MIRL, Medium Intensity Runway
Lights, are available on both runways and are pilot
controlled.

The Black circle with a white "A5" inside of it near Rwy 10 indicates the type of lighting. A white letter in
a black circle denotes that the lights are pilot controlled. The dot at the top of that black circle indicates
sequenced flashing approach lights–called "the rabbit" by pilots because they chase it down to the end of
the runway.

If the airport is large, its plan view occupies an entire page of the approach plate booklet.

Time from FAF to MAP

FAF to MAP 3.7 NM

Knots 60 90 120 150 180
Min: Sec 3:42 2:28 1:51 1:29 1:14

Distances in a non-precision approach are gauged by measuring time. The critical time of a non-precision
approach is from the FAF, or Final Approach Fix (the NDB) to the MAP, Missed Approach Point, or touch
down zone of the runway. The times to cover this distance, 3.7 nm here, are calculated and entered into a
table located below the airport plan view.

It would be nice if our aircraft, considering any wind component, approached the MAP at a speed exactly
listed in the table. Seldom happens, so interpolation is needed. Assume you approach in your Barn Burner
at 75 knots, midway between two entries in the table. Recalculate for your 75 kt approach speed, 2 min.,
58 sec., and jot that time down on your clipboard so that it will be available when you run the approach.
Don't want to be doing those calculations at the final moments of the approach.

It's time to fly the approach. Click on the NDB off Airport button to get into the soup and see if you can
find the runway.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

8 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:18
NDB Off Field https://web.archive.org/web/20200218004337/http://www.navfltsm.add...

NDB Off Field

Some people get all the tough jobs. The Boss
said to fly Mr. Counter to Atlantic City, New
Jersey, in time for the Miss America Pageant,
and then stick around until it's over because
who knows where he will want to go to next,
and when.

Wow! Atlantic City entertains like no other

destination in the country. Why couldn't the
Pageant last all year? This place has thirteen
casinos offering 24-hour non-stop action, world-
class headline entertainers, bright sandy
beaches, a 4½ mile amusement-filled Boardwalk, and championship golf courses.

But after three days Mr. Counter's phone call last night awoke me from a sound sleep. He said to be ready
first thing in the morning to fly him and a guest to Millville to recuperate from all of the noise and
excitement of Atlantic City. While in Millville, he also wants to explore the natural attractions.

The weather is lousy today ... 800 ft and one mile visibility. Maybe Mr. Counter will change his mind. If the
weather gets any lower, Millville will be socked in.

The sound of a car-door slamming turns my head. No, Mr. Counter won't cancel his plans. Here he comes
now, struggling with two suitcases under one arm. The other arm is around Miss Natural Attractions' waist.

The Flight

Time to go to work. Yep, we'll use the same Millville approach plate that we just discussed in the previous
section. Since you're now very familiar with its features, it makes sense to fly that particular approach.

The first approach will be in a no-wind situation, just to get the feel of it. We're going into a small field, no
747's behind us to irritate if we slow up our Cessna Nav Trainer a little way out.

Print the approach plate again, if necessary, by clicking here then we can begin.

Approach Worksheet

Review the information for the approach. I recommend using the Approach Worksheet to get all of the
numbers in front of you for quick, easy reference. Click here to print it. Two approaches can be figured with
one printout. The worksheet lists information in the order that it is needed.

Lets get the FAF to MAP approach time calculation out of the way first. Assume a 75 kt maneuvering speed
for the Cessna Nav Trainer. For 3.7 nm, that time would be 2 min., 58 sec. Jot that at the bottom of the
Worksheet.

1 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:21
NDB Off Field https://web.archive.org/web/20200218004337/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Millville Airport Approach Worksheet

Set the weather on your flight simulator to one mile visibility and cloud cover to 800 ft. MSL "overcast." Set
the wind speed to zero knots.

Now fill in the rest of the data on the worksheet. The completed worksheet is shown in the illustration. PT is
the Procedure Turn information, Left or Right, and the heading away from the outbound course and the
return heading after the 180° turn.

This first flight will originate from Bader Field, KAIY, Atlantic City, New Jersey, where I took my PP check
ride a few decades ago. Tune the ADF receiver to 363 KHz, and verify its Morse code identifier (Click the
center-portion of radio face). The distance to the Rainbow beacon is 31.5 nm. Calculate the ETE for your
Cessna Nav Trainer; plan a cruise speed of 110 kts for the calculation. Reset the panel timer to zero.

Leave the aircraft's autopilot in the off position. We're going to fly this route. Print the KAIY to KMIV flight
plan.

You may want to refamiliarize yourself on how to intercept an NDB bearing, both inbound and outbound. If
so, pause here now to go to that explanation in the NDB navigation section.

Take-off from Runway 29 and start the panel timer. Jog slightly left to intercept the 288° radial from the
RNB beacon at Millville, KMIV. Climb to 4000 ft.

A few minutes before your anticipated arrival at the RNB NDB, begin your descent to 2000 feet. Plan on a
standard 500 fpm descent. You'll be busy enough during the actual approach that it will be good to get this
behind you now.

As the needle begins to swing, announcing arrival at the RNB Beacon, turn right and intercept the 327°
outbound bearing. Reset and restart the panel timer. Maintain the 2000 ft. altitude.

When the timer reads two minutes turn left to a heading of 282° for the procedure turn. Reset and restart the
timer. Maintain your altitude on the turn. All turns should be a standard-rate, two minutes for 360°.

When the timer again reads two minutes, turn right to 102° to return to the inbound track to the beacon.
Reset the panel timer, but don't restart it until intercept of the inbound bearing is complete.

Intercept the 147° bearing with a right turn. Restart the timer after stabilizing your inbound heading. It will
be slightly longer inbound to the beacon from the procedure turn, than it was outbound because the
procedure turn was away from the airport.

Descend to 1300 ft altitude at 500 fpm. Transition to landing configuration: Slow to a 75 kt approach speed
and drop one notch of flaps. Once you reach the FAF, RNB NDB inbound, only one task should remain to
occupy your attention: descend to the MDA and fly to the MAP and land.

2 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:21
NDB Off Field https://web.archive.org/web/20200218004337/http://www.navfltsm.add...

It's important here to establish the concept of a stabilized approach. The aircraft's configuration should be
stabilized before reaching the FAF, i.e., speed reduced to the desired approach speed and flaps properly set.
Again, for the Cessna Nav Trainer we'll use 75 kts. and one notch of flaps.

As the needle swings on beacon passage inbound, reset and restart the panel timer. Immediately descend to
the 560 ft MDA for this approach. At 500 fpm that will eat up about 1:29 of your inbound 2:58 to the MAP.
Don't descend an inch or centimeter below the 560 ft MDA. Keep heading and speed constant as you track
outbound from the beacon to the runway.

Don't chase the needle if it starts to move. Make small corrections in heading to stop the needle movement
and then stay on that heading. Pay close attention to the timer. If everything is OK, continue to the MAP. If
you're not happy with the approach, execute the missed approach with a climbing right turn to 2000 ft and
return to the beacon. Fly outbound and restart the approach again.

Arriving at the MAP

The minimum visibility for this straight-in approach is one mile. That means that you should clearly spot
either the end of the runway or the runway lights about one-mile before reaching the runway. Once they are
clearly in view, transition to a normal VFR, straight in landing.

Be aware that the runway threshold, when it appears, may be a few degrees off from straight ahead on your
approach. Some wiggling may be necessary to line up to land. Don't lose the ship now.

Also, be advised that if you first spot the runway threshold only a few seconds before the time to MAP has
elapsed that you will be 479 feet above the runway. If the runway is 10,000 feet long, not a problem. If it's
3000 feet long, you probably cannot lose that altitude and still have enough runway in front of you to land.

Don't point the nose down and figure "you can make it." More than one captain of a propliner thought the
same, ended up folding up the nose gear on touchdown, as well as his career. Go around and try again.

With these thoughts in mind, your landing should be safe and comfortable. Taxi to the gate and buy yourself
a well-deserved cup of coffee. Presumably Mr. Counter and Miss Natural Attractions can take care of
themselves.

The Teardrop Turn

Not every instrument approach begins with a nice

convenient arrival at the airport as the one just
flown. You arrived at the RNB beacon and then
made an easy 40° right turn to begin the outbound
leg of the approach procedure.

This next flight presents a different challenge.

Belfast, Maine, KBST, to Pittsfield, Maine, 2B7

I still can't believe it. The Boss had sent me to Belfast, Maine to ferry back a nearly-new Cessna Nav Trainer.
But it wouldn't be ready for a week and he had told me to take some vacation while waiting for it.

It was a great week in the heart of coastal Maine. I mingled with seafarers, back-to-the-landers, and always-
on-the-landers. The high point was visiting the Penobscot Marine Museum, Maine's oldest maritime
museum, and famous for its breadth of exhibits

But the week was up, the fun time was over. The Boss had asked me to check in before I left, that he might
have a charter for me. It was with foreboding that I lifted the phone. We hadn't heard from Benjamin Counter
for some time, now.

"You must have done something right," the Boss said. "Counter recommended us to their principal
stockholder, a Mr. Well Thee. Thee needs a hop from Pittsfield, Maine down to Gloucester, Mass. in time to
catch the Casino Cruise. Not to worry, I told him. It's only an hour and a half flight—you'd easily have him
there before sailing time."

"Thee must be a workaholic, too," the Boss continued. "because, like Benjamin Counter, his administrative
assistant will join him to help with the workload when the gaming tables are closed. Beats me how anyone
can do any work on a cruise ship with live entertainment that's a floating casino to boot. All I can figure is
that those uppity-up people just can't ever get their mind off of business."

The Boss hung up before I could explain that business.

The Flight

3 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:21
NDB Off Field https://web.archive.org/web/20200218004337/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Click here to print the NDB approach plate for Pittsfield Muni airport.

Set your weather to 1000 ft overcast and two miles visibility. The wind is calm.

Take-off from Runway 33 at Belfast Municipal airport and pick up the Burnham Beacon (348 KHz, BUP)
23 nm distant. Track inbound on the 338° bearing. You'll notice that your initial arrival at the IAF is broadly
inbound to the airport, the opposite direction to begin the approach procedure.

The teardrop turn was invented for just this

situation.

Fill out the Approach Worksheet for Pittsfield. Just

writing the numbers on the form will enhance your
memory of them later.

Proceed over the NDB on the 338° track established

from Belfast. Altitude should be at or above the
2600 ft. listed for the outbound course of the
approach. Note the 777 ft. obstruction very near the
flight path. Not a good time to get sloppy on
altitude. Drop one notch of flaps and slow to 75 kts.

Don't start the turn back to the NDB so early that

you swing too wide. Best to go out a little farther
than you think necessary, start the turn, and continue
around, intercepting the 189° bearing from the
beacon in the conventional manner. Then track to the
bearing and you're in great shape to start the
approach on station passage because the aircraft
heading is already correct.

The teardrop turn is helpful in another way, too. You

can determine the wind-correction angle needed on
the way to the beacon, and have that under control,
too, as you pass the station.

Pittsfield Muni Airport Approach Worksheet

The flight from Belfast to Pittsfield is very short, so fly that route and approach several times until it is under
control and you're satisfied with the results.

4 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:21
NDB Off Field https://web.archive.org/web/20200218004337/http://www.navfltsm.add...

The Circling Approach

"Perkasie?" I mumbled. Again a ringing telephone had

awakened me from a sound sleep.

"Yeah, the place where they reenact Washington's crossing

every year. I watched it once when I was a kid."

This time it was the Boss. He wanted me in Perkasie

ASAP, 30 miles north of Philadelphia, to collect Mr.
Counter, to save his bacon. Seems like Counter had to beat
a hasty retreat from Millville. As mentally stimulating as
Miss Natural Attractions was, she was not totally
forthcoming. It turned out that the "Miss" part, although
technically correct, was substantively inaccurate. Her Significant Other, a professional wrestler and small at
only 287 lbs, was at that very moment looking for "that creep who stole my gurl."

A circling approach is the only option for Pennridge Airport.

So here I was, at Philadelphia Int'l. airport, as close as I could get to Perkasie, waiting for the weather over
there to lift. It was less than 30 miles from here to the Pennridge airport. I reviewed their approach plate
again and sighed when I glanced at the airport plan view. The approach was broadside to the runway and a
circling approach would be necessary.

Three situations can create the need for a circling approach.

If the instrument approach is not aligned within 30° of the runway heading, as the case in Perkasie.
If the surface winds make it unsafe to land on the runway that the approach procedure is aligned with.
If the straight-in approach procedure forces a dangerously high rate of descent, usually a factor of the
terrain.

Although the MDA for a circling approach brings the aircraft into the vicinity of the field below normal
traffic-pattern altitude, it guarantees 300 ft vertical clearance from all obstacles in the circling area.

Why Perkasie's approach is nearly perpendicular to their only runway is unknown to me. But we have to deal
with it.

NOTE: In all versions of Flight Simulator, the airport code for Perkasie is N70. However, you will note that
the attached approach plate shows it as CKZ. The FAA changed the airport identifier after FSX came out,
and I have tried to use the most current approach plates, hence the difference. The "flight Information" file
attached uses the KCKZ nomenclature for the flight also.

Print the Perkasie/Pennridge approach plate by clicking here and print the flight information by clicking
here, then we can begin.

Since the wind is calm, we'll chose to land on Runway 8.

It provides the full 4215 ft. to land on. If we were to land on Runway 26, only 3855 ft. is available
because of the displaced threshold.
The traffic pattern is standard left turns, and the approach is better aligned for a left-hand pattern into
Runway 8 than flying completely around the airport to enter the left-traffic pattern from the other side.

5 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:21
NDB Off Field https://web.archive.org/web/20200218004337/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Runway 8 has a 1.1% upgrade, which will more rapidly slow the aircraft than the downgrade of
Runway 26.

Set the weather on your flight simulator to two miles visibility, wind, calm and the ceiling at 1500 ft,
"overcast." The NDB is very close to the field, 2.1 nm, so calculate the time to the MAP at 75 kts (1 min.,
41 secs.). Tune your ADF receiver to UKT NDB, 208 kHz.

Just received ATC clearance to leave for Pennridge. Depart Philadelphia Int'l., KPHL, Rwy 35, climb to
4000 ft, direct to UKT, cleared for the approach, Pennridge Airport, KCKZ.

The pertinent information is filled in the worksheet in the illustration.

Pennridge Airport Approach Worksheet

Fly to UKT and start the approach ... down to 2500 ft outbound and to 1800 ft inbound. There is nothing
unusual about the approach up to arriving at the FAF inbound. Then things get very busy, very fast.

It is in thick, not in clear weather,

that airmanship is proved.

Reset the panel timer, and start it at the FAF. Begin your descent immediately to 1240 ft. MDA. That is a
560 ft change in altitude, and the time from the FAF to the MAP is 1 min., 41 secs., so this is not the time to
casually reduce altitude.

Keep the traffic pattern in mind as you head towards the runway. On sighting the runway, turn right to 217°
to the traffic-pattern entry heading. From this point on, fly a conventional left-traffic pattern and land on
Rwy 8, which slopes slightly upgrade.

If you lose sight of the field once you start circling for the desired runway you are required to immediately
execute a missed approach.

You may not descend below the MDA while circling until you are in the actual landing phase, i.e., on base
leg or final.

You should have fun flying these approaches. You'll become proficient at them much more quickly than you
realize which will greatly improve your flying in general. VOR approaches are very similar to NDB
approaches, except for the indicator and some fiddling that you have to do with the OBS knob. You'll find
the transition quite easy.

When the NDB is on the field, rather than located some distance away as they were here, the approach
procedure is significantly different because there is no FAF. Press the NDB on the Field button below to
learn the differences in that sort of approach procedure.

6 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:21
NDB Off Field https://web.archive.org/web/20200218004337/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

7 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:21
NDB On Field https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003105/http://www.navfltsm.add...

NDB On Field
Mr. Counter skipped the Boss this time—called me
directly, at home. Said he was turning over a new
leaf. Wanted to sop up some history.

He called from Plymouth, Mass., from the plantation

where the Pilgrims landed and settled. Said that the
Pilgrims spelled it Plimoth, and who had the nerve to
change the spelling?

I had no answer to that.

Worse, he went on, the Mayflower first landed at

Provincetown, on Cape Cod, four weeks before it
came to Plimoth. How come he never learned that in
school?

I didn't have an answer for that either. Well, I did, but it would probably have cost me the charter.

They had some good history stuff in the museums over there in P'town, he went on. He wanted me to fly him
over there in the morning. He had heard about the sailors on the Mayflower. They had cursed the Pilgrims all
the way across the Atlantic for praying so much.

His kind of people, those sailors, Counter said. He wanted to learn more about those sailors. Never could
understand how this country got started with people working the farms that wore tall black hats and big
shiny buckles. Some of those sailors must have stayed behind.

"Hey," he finished, "any town that is so bad that the Pilgrims had to leave it? I gotta be there."

I was ready to hang up ... "One more thing," he hollered. "Don't get here too early. I'm helping a Holyoke
student with her studies tonight—she's home alone for the weekend."

So much for the new leaf. I wanted to tell him that the professional wrestler's convention was in P'town this
weekend, and they'd all be there. But it wasn't true.

I reached for my charts in the flight bag.

The Flight, KPYM to KPVC

It's a brief flight from Plymouth Municipal Airport to Provincetown: 13 to 15 minutes to the PVC beacon,
the IAF. Smart to fly ... an hour and a half or so to drive out around the hooked arm of Cape Cod.

Print Provincetown's approach plate by clicking here.

Two significant differences are notable on Provincetown's approach plate vs. the ones used up 'til now. There
is no FAF, and the table of times from FAF to the MAP is blank. Since the NDB is on the field, it can't be the
Final Approach Fix, hence there can be no times for FAF to the MAP.

The next two figures compare the Manchester, N.H. approach plate (beacon off the field) with
Provincetown's. The differences are immediately apparent. The Maltese Cross on Manchester's profile
signifies the FAF—the Final Approach Fix, the last electronic fix before beginning the descent to MDA and
the point that you should start timing for the missed approach point. There is no corresponding symbol on
the Provincetown approach profile.

1 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:23
NDB On Field https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003105/http://www.navfltsm.add...

The Maltese Cross on the Manchester approach (top) signifies the FAF. Provincetown has no Maltese
Cross, no FAF. The beacon is on the field.

Manchester, its beacon off the field, has an FAF, and FAF to MAP times. Provincetown's beacon is on
the field, no FAF, and no FAF to MAP times.

Despite Mr. Counter's plea not to depart early, we're ready to go at 8:00 a.m. Provincetown has some low-
lying fog and clouds with calm winds. Set your Flight Simulator weather at two miles visibility and a ceiling
of 800 ft.

Begin, as usual, by completing the approach worksheet.

We'll take-off from Plymouth's runway 6 and have been approved for an NDB approach to Provincetown's
runway 25. For this very short flight we've been assigned to 3000 ft. cruise altitude. Tune your ADF to PVC
NDB, 389. On takeoff fly direct to PVC NDB.

2 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:23
NDB On Field https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003105/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Provincetown Airport Approach Worksheet

Descend to 1600 ft. approaching the PVC beacon. Cross the beacon, start the panel timer and intercept the
067° outbound bearing ... ADF needle will point to 247°. Maintain this track for two minutes, adjusting the
heading as necessary for any wind. At the two-minute point, make the 45° left procedure turn, to a heading
of 022°.

It's your choice whether to reset the timer or not at this time. Continue on the procedure-turn heading for one
to two minutes, then reverse back to 202° with a right turn. The aircraft should be in the landing
configuration at this point. Slow to 75 kts., and drop one notch of flaps.

Intercept the inbound bearing of 247°, reset the panel timer, and immediately descend to the MDA of 500 ft.
Although there is no FAF to MAP time, the timer will generally keep you appraised of your distance from
the airport. You flew outbound for two minutes plus made a procedure turn away from the airport, so
inbound time will be on the order of two and a half minutes.

At this point you have only three tasks: fly the aircraft at the MDA, sight the runway, and land. Don't clutter
your mind with other things.

With no FAF to fly from, your only option is to forge ahead until the runway is sighted or until the ADF
needle indicates station passage. This is not all bad because you are flying inbound to the beacon, to an
increasingly accurate signal. Mind your heading and don't chase the needle.

The MAP is unmistakably clear: station passage.

Without a clear timing fix inbound, the non-FAF procedure has a built-in trap in that the outbound leg (on
the way to the procedure turn) usually starts over the airport, not over a beacon a mile or three from the
runway. Pilots who fly a normal two-minute outbound leg may wind up still letting down to MDA when they
roar across the airport or else descending at a very rapid, unsafe rate when the problem is recognized.

The solution is simple: extend your outbound leg to three minutes so you'll have room to descend on the way
back to the airport. As soon as it's legal, i.e., on course, inbound, head for the MDA; don't hesitate. Grinding
along at MDA for an extra half-minute or so is not sinful; besides it gives you better odds on breaking out of
the clouds and more time in level flight to look for the airport and make a rational decision about when to
start down for the landing.

One final matter. On a non-FAF approach, the runway heading will never coincide with your inbound
heading. Since the beacon is located on the field, it must be located to the side of a runway, not right in front
of it where it would be a hazard. So there will be some last-minute jockeying in position to properly align the
aircraft with the runway heading.

Fly this route several times until you're satisfied with the results. It's really a fairly simple approach.

Next, crank in a stiff crosswind of 20 kts. from 170°. This will shorten the flight across Cape Cod Bay and

3 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:23
NDB On Field https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003105/http://www.navfltsm.add...

give you a serious crosswind to contend with during the approach. Enjoy the challenge.

This ends the NDB work. The next subjects are VOR navigation and VOR approaches. Press the VOR
Navigation button below to move along.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

4 of 4 25-05-2022, 18:23
VOR Navigation https://web.archive.org/web/20200218040805/http://www.navfltsm.add...

VOR Navigation
Part I
The VHF Omnidirectional Range navigation system, VOR,
was probably the most significant aviation invention other
than the jet engine. With it, a pilot can simply, accurately,
and without ambiguity navigate from Point A to Point B.

The widespread introduction of VORs began in the early

1950s and 50 years later it remains the primary navigation
system in the overwhelming majority of aircraft.

If you jumped to this point of the website without

proceeding through the earlier sections, I strongly
recommend that you return to the Air Navigation section
and review the sections on VFR Sectional Charts, IFR enroute low altitude charts, and the basics of plotting
a course. Further, you should go to the NDB Approaches/Approach Plates section and read the basics of
Instrument Approach Plates, now called Terminal Procedures.

The basic principle of operation of the VOR is very simple: the VOR facility transmits two signals at the
same time. One signal is constant in all directions, while the other is rotated about the station. The airborne
equipment receives both signals, looks (electronically) at the difference between the two signals, and
interprets the result as a radial from the station.

The GPS, Global Positioning System, is making inroads onto the navigation scene and offers a flexibility
unavailable with either NDB or VOR systems. However, it is supplementing these systems, not replacing
them.

The RMI indicator used in the NDB navigation exercises is as close to a "hands-off" indicator as you will
find. In an aircraft the RMI compass card must initially be aligned with the compass before a flight begins
and then rechecked every fifteen minutes or so, and that's it.

With VOR, however, course information must be manually entered into the indicator. The VOR indicator
below shows an aircraft heading toward, "TO," the Omni station.

NOTE this very important fact, with more info farther down. The radial signals of a VOR always point
away from the station. The indicator below shows 345°, but since we are heading toward the VOR, see
arrow D, we are actually on the reciprocal radial, or the 165° radial. This aircraft is south of the station. This
will become more clear in a moment.

See the text for details on the four components of the VOR Indicator.
The digital indicator is a separate gauge used on the Nav Trainer Panel.

The VOR display has four elements:

A. A Rotating Course Card, calibrated from 0 to 360°, which indicates the VOR bearing chosen as the
reference to fly TO or FROM. Here, the 345° radial has been set into the display. This VOR gauge
also digitally displays the VOR bearing, which simplifies setting the desired navigation track.
B. The Omni Bearing Selector, or OBS knob, used to manually rotate the course card.
C. The CDI, or Course Deviation Indicator. This needle swings left or right indicating the direction to
turn to return to course. When the needle is to the left, turn left and when the needle is to the right, turn
right, When centered, the aircraft is on course. Each dot in the arc under the needle represents a 2°
deviation from the desired course. This needle is more-frequently called the left-right needle, with the
CDI term quickly forgotten after taking the FAA written exams. Here, the pilot is doing well, and is
dead-on course—or maybe lazy and with the autopilot activated in the "NAV" mode.
D. The TO-FROM indicator. This arrow will point up, or towards the nose of the aircraft, when flying TO
the VOR station. The arrow reverses direction, points downward, when flying away FROM the VOR
station. A red flag replaces these TO-FROM arrows when the VOR is beyond reception range, has not

1 of 5 25-05-2022, 18:25
VOR Navigation https://web.archive.org/web/20200218040805/http://www.navfltsm.add...

been properly tuned in, or the VOR receiver is turned off. Similarly, the flag appears if the VOR
station itself is inoperative, or down for maintenance. Here, the aircraft is flying TO the station.

Radials, Radials, Radials

To grasp the VOR system you must

understanding that it is entirely based on
radials away from the station.

In the Sandy Point VOR to the left, note first

that the arrow on the 0° radial points away
from the center of the compass rose. You'll
remember that this radial points to the west of
true north because of the west magnetic
variation. North on a VOR is Magnetic North.
So, if you overflew this VOR on the 0° radial,
you would be flying away from the VOR.

Similarly, note the arrows by the 30°, 60°, 90°

marks and the rest of the way around the
compass rose. They all point away from the
station. Radials are always away from the
station.

There is only one line on the chart for each

numbered radial for a particular VOR station.
Whether you are flying it outbound or inbound,
or crossing it, a radial is always in the same place.

The only possible complication lies in the reciprocity of the numbers. Whenever you are proceeding
outbound, your magnetic course (and heading when there is no wind) will be the same number as the radial.
Turn around and fly inbound you must mentally reverse the numbers and physically reverse the OBS setting
so that your course is now the reciprocal of the radial. But the radial you are flying on hasn't changed.

Some examples will cement this in your mind.

This aircraft is north of the Omni station, flying on the 345° radial away FROM the station. The left-right
needle shows the aircraft on course and the FROM flag is present, pointing down, toward the station behind.

This aircraft is south of the Omni station. Its magnetic course is 345°. Walk through the steps below to
understand the VOR reading.

1. The aircraft isn't on the 345° radial because that radial extends from the Omni to the northwest as
shown by the arrow.
2. The aircraft is actually on the reciprocal radial, the radial pointing towards the plane. That reciprocal
radial is 165°, away from the station like all radials.
3. If the 165° radial were set into the VOR, the FROM flag would properly show, because the aircraft is

2 of 5 25-05-2022, 18:25
VOR Navigation https://web.archive.org/web/20200218040805/http://www.navfltsm.add...

away from the Omni on that radial.

4. Here is the important point. If the OBS is rotated until the needle centers and the FROM flag shows, it
will always show the correct radial from the Omni that the aircraft is on regardless of the aircraft
heading.
5. To eliminate the confusion of location relative to an Omni, the magnetic course of the aircraft and the
radial setting on the VOR should be the same.
6. Presumably the aircraft is flying in the desired course direction, so its heading will be approximately
the same as the VOR setting, i.e., the magnetic course. The heading may differ slightly from the VOR
because of the correction needed to correct for wind drift.
7. Thus, with the OBS set to 345° the left-right needle shows the aircraft on course and the TO flag is
showing, pointing up, toward the station ahead.

Experiment with this on your FS98 or FS2K to see the effects of the OBS setting on the TO-FROM flag.
Select any Omni, position the aircraft to be flying TO it, then rotate the OBS so that its reading centers the
needle and the TO flag appears.

Next, rotate the OBS to the reciprocal of the course. The needle will again center, but the FROM flag will
appear.

A one-line recap: to know whether you are flying TO or FROM an Omni, the OBS setting must be
approximately the same as the aircraft heading.

Where am I?

This illustration shows the confusion that can result, yes, that the VOR indicator can actually provide wrong
information if the OBS isn't set properly.

Same example as before. The aircraft is south of the Omni, on the 165° radial. It is flying northwest. Observe
the DG. The aircraft is heading 345° as desired. But the OBS was improperly set to 165° and the VOR is
falsely informing the pilot, with a nicely centered needle, that he/she is flying away FROM the Omni. The
aircraft, of course, is flying TO the Omni.

Hate to beat a dead horse, but again, the TO-FROM confusion disappears if the aircraft heading and the OBS
setting are approximately the same which they weren't here. Pay attention to this and you will stay out of
trouble.

This sort of error usually happens when the pilot rotates the OBS, watching only for a centered needle, not
also paying attention that the setting should approximate the magnetic course, or aircraft heading.

Wandering off course?

This aircraft has drifted to the right of the desired course. To be "on course" the aircraft must be on the red
line. Not paying attention to a crosswind (what other kind is there?), or simply letting the heading wander
could do it. In any event, the VOR needle has swung to the left, indicating that the aircraft must move to the
left to return to course. So a left turn is in order. Like the RMI, with the VOR a pilot always turns towards
the needle to return to course, assuming that the OBS setting approximates the aircraft heading.

3 of 5 25-05-2022, 18:25
VOR Navigation https://web.archive.org/web/20200218040805/http://www.navfltsm.add...

This aircraft is 4° off course. Each dot of the arc under the needle is a 2° deviation from the desired course.
Don't confuse heading, the direction of the aircraft's nose, with course, the desired track along the ground.
Only with no wind will heading and course be the same.

"The needle is centered, my flying is perfect"

Nice thought, but not necessarily. The VOR system operates in the
VHF frequency band, from 108.0 to 117.95 MHz. Reception of VHF
signals is a line-of-sight situation. Nominally, you must be 1000 ft
AGL to pick up an Omni within its maximum low-altitude service
range.

The VOR indicator is smart enough to know when a usable signal

has not been received and displays an "OFF" flag, a red and white
barber-pole striped flag in the gauge in the illustration to the left. So
when you are flying to or from an Omni station and you're quite
content at how stable the CDI needle has been, it's worth taking
another glance at the gauge to see if the OFF flag is staring back at
you.

The OFF flag also displays if the Nav receiver is tuned to the wrong
frequency or, blush, if it's properly tuned but you neglected to turn on
the power switch. If you're taking your check ride with an FAA examiner for a real license, that oversight is
likely to get you a quick return to terra firma. And, there's also the possibility of a popped circuit breaker
interrupting power to the Nav receiver, a connector jiggled loose, etc.

VOR Range

Ah, the oft asked and seldom answered question: how far away can I pick up a reliable signal from the Omni
and what altitude need I be at? The FAA neatly skirts the answer by classifying Omnis by an altitude code,
with the ranges vs. altitudes as shown in the table below.

Reception Range vs. Altitude of VORs

Range within Altitude
VOR Class
nm feet

Terminal (T) 25 1000 – 12,000

Low Altitude (L) 40 1000 – 18,000

40 1000 – 14,500
High Altitude (H) 100 14,500 – 60,000,
130 18,000 – 45,000
Data is from the Aeronautical Information Manual, AIM.

These ranges assume, please contain your laughter, that terrain plays no part in VOR ranges of reception. But
terrain, of course, can greatly impact the reliable range of an Omni.

Consider the Bangor VOR, BGR, at Bangor (Maine) Int'l. Airport. Here are the comments in the
Airport/Facility Directory:

"VOR unusable 342°—063° below 2500 ft."

Pretty significant terrain impact, wouldn't you say? So think of the FAA data in the table as a starting point
that may be modified by terrain.

Checking VOR accuracy

The VOR is the most common navigation instrument presently on aircraft panels. We rely on it to accurately
track VOR radials, whether flying between Omni stations, or locating intersections, or arriving and departing
from airports. We accept at face value that what it displays is accurate. Well, on FS98 and FS2000 it is
always accurate. But in the real world, not only can the gauge be wrong, but the FAA requires that a pilot
check the VOR for accuracy within 30 days of an IFR flight. Even if a pilot never flys IFR, it is prudent to
regularly check the VOR for accuracy.

One acceptable way to formally check VOR accuracy is with a VOR Test Facility, more commonly called a
VOT. A VOT is a low-power Omni station located on many of the mid-to-large size airports. A VOT differs
from a standard Omni in that it transmits only a single radial, the 360° radial.

To calibrate a VOR, the pilot tunes in the VOT frequency while on the ground (in rare instances this check is
performed in the air). Refer to the back of the Airport/Facility Directory for frequencies and whether it is a
ground check (G) or an airborne check (A). See the Connecticut illustration below.

4 of 5 25-05-2022, 18:25
VOR Navigation https://web.archive.org/web/20200218040805/http://www.navfltsm.add...

CONNECTICUT
VOR TEST FACILITIES (VOT)
Type
Facility (Arpt Name) Freq. Remarks
VOT

Bradley Int'l 111.4 G

Bridgeport (Sikorsky
109.25 G
Mem)

Groton (Groton–New
110.25 G
London)

Hartford (Hartford– 3 nm Radius

108.2 A
Brainard) 1200–5000 ft.
Data is from the Airport/Facility Directory.

Next, rotate the OBS until the to-from needle centers. Read the number from the Omni Bearing Indicator
ring or digital display. To be legal, the gauge must be within 4° of either 180° with the TO flag showing or of
0° with the FROM flag showing.

Make note in the illustration above that the VOT at Bradley Int'l. airport is on 111.4 MHz. That information
is important later while performing one of the VOR approach practice flights.

It's time to fly—All flights will be on the New York Sectional Chart.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

5 of 5 25-05-2022, 18:25
VOR Navigation https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003846/http://www.navfltsm.add...

VOR Navigation
Part II
You will encounter five basic problems in the routine use
of the VOR:

Determining a course to take you direct to a VOR.

Intercepting and tracking radials inbound and outbound
from a VOR.
Identifying an intersection.
Determining the Wind Correction Angle that will keep you
on course.
Where on earth am I?

You normally will encounter the first case immediately

after takeoff. The procedure is simple. After tuning and
identifying the station (Click center-portion of radio face),
rotate the OBS until the left-right needle is centered and the
TO-FROM flag shows TO. The number that now appears under the OBS index is your course to the station
(inbound). It will always be the reciprocal of the radial you are on.

Now turn to and fly that heading, applying drift correction as necessary to keep the needle centered, and
that's all there is to it.

Setting the Nav Receiver and VOR

The proper time to tune your Nav receivers is while the aircraft is on the ground. Don't need to be fumbling
about after take-off, looking at the Nav receiver or VOR indicator, when you should be concentrating on
your climb-out and your turn to the outbound heading. So include tuning the Nav receivers, along with the
ADF, in your pre-take-off checklist. That includes setting the OBS to the desired radial.

I've set the Nav Radios, but the TO-FROM flag is still off. What's wrong?

Well, nothing is wrong, actually.

Microsoft, in their "as real as it gets" approach, doesn't allow a VOR to indicate until the aircraft is 1000 ft or
so above the ground, unless the VOR station is located at the departure airport. VORs operate in the VHF
band, "line of sight," and therefore their signals can not be received until attaining a certain altitude above
the ground.

The solution is to turn on the "ident" feature of your Nav receiver, so that you will be able to hear the VOR's
Morse-code identification. Take off with everything properly set, and when you hear the Morse ident, or
shortly afterward, you have gained sufficient altitude for reliable reception. The VOR's To-From flag should
appear. Then, verify by its code that the proper station is tuned, and turn off the ident.

Take note, though, of the published range of the VOR, which FSNavigator displays when the cursor is
placed on the VOR. If you're out of range, you won't pick up the VOR signals, and the To-From flags will
not appear.

You may also have noted that while on the ground the ADF indicator usually jumps to life when that radio is
tuned to the correct frequency, even if the NDB is 25 NM away. That, too, is proper, because the LF radio
waves of an NDB propagate differently than VHF, and can be received while the aircraft is on the ground.

Great Barrington Airport to Chester VOR, KGBR to CTR VOR

The first flight will be from Great Barrington, Mass. to the Chester VOR, 21.2 nm distant. Chester VOR is
115.10 MHz. Tune the Nav receiver to the CTR VOR before takeoff and turn on the ident switch to permit
hearing the Morse code identifier when the Omni is received (Click center-portion of radio face). Depart
from Runway 11 and climb to 5500 ft. After receiving and verifying the ident signal (Click center-portion of
radio face) rotate the OBS until the needle centers and the TO-FROM flag is in the TO position. The flag
may not appear until a few seconds after hearing the ident.

1 of 6 25-05-2022, 18:26
VOR Navigation https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003846/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Great Barrington Airport to Chester VOR. Click image for full size.

Turn to the heading shown on the VOR index card and fly to the station, keeping the needle centered with
only an occasional correction of heading, if needed. Don't chase the needle! Monitor the Nav Trainer's digital
heading readout to more accurately set and track the radial.

As the aircraft nears the Chester VOR the needle will become more sensitive and may swing farther off
center. Continue to resist the urge to chase the needle. Maintain the correct heading until station passage,
indicated by the TO-FROM flag switching to the FROM position.

Repeat this flight once more, then reverse to runway 29 for another two flights. Fly this route twice more
from Rwy 29, but set in a 24 kt wind from 005° to practice tracking a radial with a crosswind. Follow the
same technique of "bracketing" that you used for NDB flights.

Cortland County – Chase Field, N03, to V423 Outbound from Ithaca VOR

This flight originates at Cortland County – Chase Field, New York, N03. The flight plan requires
intercepting the V423 airway outbound from the Ithaca VOR and then continuing en route for ten minutes.

Cortland County Airport to Ithaca VOR, V423 outbound. Click for full size.

V423 is an FAA-designated airway. The "V" preceding the airway number signifies that it is a VOR airway
connecting two or more Omni stations. Examine the chart and note that V423 is 026° outbound from the
Ithaca VOR. If you had the actual N.Y. Sectional chart you would note that this segment of V423 runs 41 nm
from the Ithaca VOR Northeast to the Syracuse VOR.

The procedure to intercept an outbound radial is:

1. Before takeoff, set the Nav receiver to the appropriate VOR frequency.
2. Similarly while still on the ground, set the OBS to the radial intended to intercept.
3. On takeoff, turn to the heading set into the VOR. Since we are intercepting an outbound radial, the
heading and the OBS setting should match.
4. The TO-FROM indicator should settle on FROM. If it doesn't then continue on the OBS heading until
the FROM flag appears. Be aware that the TO-FROM flags won't appear until reaching the minimum
reception altitude.
5. Where are you in relation to the desired intercept radial? The CDI, left-right needle, will tell you. If the
needle is centered, with a FROM flag, you are already dead-center on course. Rather unlikely, though.
6. If the needle is to the left, turn left to intercept the radial. The amount of turn depends on how much
needle deflection is showing. A large needle deflection warrants a large intercept angle, perhaps 30°. A
small needle deflection requires a more modest interception angle.

2 of 6 25-05-2022, 18:26
VOR Navigation https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003846/http://www.navfltsm.add...

7. A needle deflection to the right requires right turns to intercept.

8. Once intercepting the radial, return to the OBS heading and check for any wind correction needed to
properly track the radial outbound.

This flight departs from Cortland County Chase Field, N03, Runway 24. Before departure set the Nav
receiver to the Ithaca VOR, 111.80 MHz., and the OBS to 026°.

Your cruise altitude will be 5500 ft. Takeoff and maintain runway heading until 2000 ft. Then turn right to
340°. This will give you a 45° intercept angle with V423. It will take seven or eight minutes before you note
movement of the VOR needle with a 90 kt climb. As the needle nears the center of the gauge, turn right to
026° for the intercept. Correct your course as necessary to center the VOR needle and to keep it centered.

After intercepting V423 continue your climb to 5500 ft and fly en route for at least ten minutes confident that
you are properly maintaining track. Repeat this outbound intercept flight two more times. Then fly the route
another two times after setting in an 18 kt. wind from 090°.

Enjoy the flights.

Kingston-Ulster Airport to Albany VOR, 194° inbound

20N to ALB VOR, Landing KALB

It's time to move from practice examples to an actual flight. On this flight we intercept and track a VOR
radial inbound to the station.

When you are tracking a radial inbound to a station, you are actually flying in the opposite direction of the
radial. Remember, all radials are outbound from a VOR. Suppose that you must track inbound on the 073°
radial of the Busybody VOR. Since the 073° radial is outbound from the station and you are flying inbound,
you must determine the reciprocal of the radial to properly set the OBS on the VOR indicator.

The reciprocal, of course, differs from the radial by 180°. Don't reach for your calculator to determine a
reciprocal. Use the 200–20 method. With this method, you'll accurately determine the radial in less time than
it takes to pick up your calculator and turn it on.

You either add 200 then subtract 20 or subtract 200 then add 20. Two examples will show you how easy this
is.

Let's go back to tracking inbound to the Busybody VOR on the 073° radial. Add 200, we have 273°. Subtract
20 we have 253°—which is the reciprocal.

In that case we added 200 then subtracted 20. It can't be the other way around, subtract 200 and add 20,
because the answer is impossible. Consider: subtract 200 from 073°, we have –127°. Add 20 brings this to
–107°, an impossible answer since it's negative.

The second example, track inbound on the 345° radial. First, subtract 200 which gives 145°, then add 20
which gives 165°—the reciprocal, fast and accurate.

Now the flight.

3 of 6 25-05-2022, 18:26
VOR Navigation https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003846/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Kingston-Ulster Airport to Albany VOR, 194° inbound. Click for full size.

The flight begins on Rwy 15 of Kingston-Ulster airport in Kingston, New York. Tune your Nav receiver to
115.3 MHz for the Albany VOR and set the OBS to 014°. Cruise altitude will be 3500 ft. After takeoff, turn
left to 060° to intercept the V123 Airway. This route will take you to Albany alongside the Hudson River a
good part of the way.

You will intercept V123 about five to six minutes after lift-off from Kingston-Ulster Airport. This is a 46 nm
flight and we will enlist the aid of the DME to signal when to begin our descent. Make sure that the DME is
switched to Nav1. It should show the distance to Albany VOR as soon as there is a needle deflection on
VOR1.

When the DME reads 11.0, begin a 500 fpm descent, maintaining 110 kts. When you are comfortably close
to the Albany airport and Runway 01 is clearly in sight, slow your speed, set up your landing configuration,
and land. Field elevation of Albany Airport is 285 ft.

Enjoy a cup of coffee in the pilot's lounge on the completion of the flight.

Repeat this flight with a 25 kt. wind from 100°.

Reporting an Intersection, KGDM to KEEN

An intersection is the point where two or more designated VOR radials cross. Sometimes the combination of
a VOR radial and a specified distance along that radial defines an intersection. There is no ambiguity on an
intersection location. Intersections are often named, but not always.

Performing some action at an intersection is a commonplace piloting event. It may be a shift in course along
a Victor airway, a point of departure to begin an instrument approach, or it could simply be a required or

4 of 6 25-05-2022, 18:26
VOR Navigation https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003846/http://www.navfltsm.add...

requested position to report to ATC.

Intersections are identified on both Sectional charts and IFR enroute charts. The illustration below shows the
difference in presentation of intersections on those charts, with WARIC intersection the example.

The intersection of the 298° radial from the Gardner VOR and the 238° radial from the Keene VOR defines
the WARIC intersection.

Named intersections, for example WARIC in the left illustration, are identified on Sectional charts by two (or
more) crossed arrows pointing towards the VORs that form the reference for that intersection. The parachute
symbol here has nothing to do with the intersection; it pertains to nearby Turners Falls airport and cautions
of that activity in the area.

The right-hand illustration shows the format for an intersection on an IFR enroute chart. A triangle denotes
an intersection. Note also that the two arrows point away from the VORs. The "21" in the box is the distance,
in nm., from the Gardner VOR. That box signifies that the intersection may also be established by the 238°
radial from the VOR plus a DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) fix at 21 nm.

The "14" in the upper right designates the 14 nm. distance between WARIC and the Keene VOR. The *3500
denotes the minimum obstruction clearance altitude, MOCA, and the 4000 denotes the minimum en route
altitude, MEA.

Assume that you are flying outbound from Gardner VOR on the 298° radial. ATC has requested that you
report arrival at the WARIC intersection for further clearance. If your aircraft has two Nav receivers, tune
Nav-1 to Gardner VOR, 110.6 MHz. Set the OBS to 298°. Tune Nav-2 to the Keene VOR, 109.4 MHz., and
set that OBS to 238°.

Flying outbound from Gardner, heading 298°; when the needle on Nav-2 centers, you have arrived at the
WARIC intersection. Both VOR indicators will display FROM flags.

How do you know whether you have passed an intersection before you set up the two Navs? It's easy. When
the "side" radial is set in the OBS, you have not arrived at the intersection as long as the needle is deflected
toward the station, or to the right in this case.

If you had tuned in Keene VOR, set the OBS to 238° and the needle deflected left, you've already passed
WARIC, and you better let ATC know it fast.

Only have one Nav receiver? All of the above still works, just takes a little more fiddling. After you are
outbound from Gardner and are comfortable that you are accurately tracking the 298° radial, switch on the
autopilot and activate the heading hold function. Now retune the Nav for the Keene VOR, reset the OBS to
238°, and monitor the CDI needle. It's worth a quick look back to the Gardner VOR on occasion to be certain
that you are accurately tracking outbound on the 298° radial. Don't dwell there else you may pass the
intersection.

Now the flight

5 of 6 25-05-2022, 18:26
VOR Navigation https://web.archive.org/web/20200218003846/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Gardner Muni Airport to WARIC Intersection. Click for full size.

You have been cleared to depart Gardner, Mass. Muni Airport, KGDM, Runway 18. Turn due west on
takeoff then intercept V2 westbound, the 298° radial of Gardner VOR. Report WARIC intersection for
further clearance by pausing Flight Simulator and ending the flight.

Before departure, set Nav-1 to Gardner VOR, 110.6 MHz., and set the OBS to 298°. This will be a single-
receiver navigation problem. WARIC intersection is the 238° radial of Keene VOR, 109.4 MHz.

Gardner field elevation is 955 ft. ATC has cleared you to 6000 ft.

Repeat the flight with a Runway 36 departure from Gardner. Turn left on departure to 270° and maintain that
course until you intercept V2 westbound. Then follow V2 to WARIC Intersection. On reaching WARIC
Intersection you are cleared to intercept V93 inbound to the Keene VOR, 109.4, on the 238° radial (Set your
OBS to 058°). Reduce altitude to 3000 feet for the leg to Keene.

We will use the DME as an aid on when to again descend. When the DME reads 4.0 on the way to EEN
VOR, further descend to 2000 ft and reduce speed to 90 kts. At EEN VOR turn left to about 025° to land at
Dillant-Hopkins Airport, Keene, N.H., elev. 485 ft. You are cleared for a straight-in approach on Runway 02,
5.3 nm. from Keene VOR on the 022° radial outbound.

Determining the Wind Correction Angle that will keep you on course

This section will be a review for those who diligently worked the NDB portion of this tutorial. This is the
situation that you will use most frequently if you set a wind in your flight simulator for your flying
challenges: figuring out the proper Wind Correction Angle, WCA, or "bracketing the course."

If you always take immediate corrective action when you notice the left-right needle drifting off center,
you'll never get off course far enough to need bracketing; but a sharp turn over the VOR or vectors to a new
radial where the wind effect is unknown, may find you chasing a CDI that's off scale.

The first thing to do is to turn 30° towards the radial and wait for the needle to center. For example, in the
last flight with a runway 36 departure from Gardner Muni Airport, turn left after exiting the traffic pattern to
intercept the 298° radial. Since we want to intercept quickly, establish a 30° intercept angle with a heading of
268° and then track the 298° radial when the needle centers. With a crosswind, you'll soon notice that the
CDI is drifting off center.

Assume the wind has blown you to the left of course—the needle is to the right of center. Here is the
procedure for the example flight from Gardner to determine the Wind Correction Angle to accurately track
the 0298° radial.

1. Begin the bracketing procedure with a turn to 328°, which is the 298° desired track plus a 30° first-try
bracket correction.
2. This should move the needle back to center. Since it moved the CDI back to center, you now know the
WCA bracket: 30° is too much and 0° is not enough.
3. Try something in between, so with the needle centered, cut the wind correction in half—to 15°. Your
heading should now be 298° + 15°, or 313°.
4. Evaluate the effect of the 15° WCA. Depending on whether the plane still drifts away from the radial,
add more correction; if it drifts toward the radial, decrease the WCA.
5. Continue this cut-and-try process until the CDI stays nailed dead-on in the center.
6. The procedure sounds complicated, but is very intuitive. Do it a few times and it becomes second
nature.

Click on the VOR Navigation - Part III button for more VOR procedures.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

6 of 6 25-05-2022, 18:26
VOR Navigation- Part 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20200219025939/http://www.navfltsm.add...

VOR Navigation
Part III

Benjamin Counter returns

I was enjoying a fine meal at Ashford by the Sea in Hampton, N.H. The
Boss had told me to have a good dinner during my layover in coastal New
Hampshire. "The tab’s on me," he said.

My cellphone rumbled. I glanced about at the nearby diners all of whom

had grown silent at the sight of my cellphone. "Yes?" I whispered into the
mouthpiece.

"I want to get to Concord first thing in the morning," the voice boomed
from the other end. It was Counter.

In the past he called the Boss when he wanted to charter. Then he got my
home-phone number and called me direct. The Boss had told me to
accommodate Counter whenever it was feasible. He'd bill him later. Now
Counter had my cell number. What was next?

"Concord?" I asked rather foolishly.

"Yeah, I'm at Pease Int'l. Tradeport in Portsmouth and saw your plane parked by the General Aviation
terminal. I have to get to Concord to thank President Franklin Pierce," he answered.

That really set me back. Pierce, our 14th President, had died in 1869. "I don't believe he'll be able to see
you," I wise-cracked.

"Don't be funny," Counter rejoined. "Eight-A.M. at the airport," and he hung up.

What did Counter have in common with Pierce, I wondered? A quick look on the Internet later was of little
help. A Democrat and our most obscure President, Pierce was from Concord, N.H. Did Counter hate
lawyers? Pierce was oft quoted from his inaugural speech, "In a body [like Congress] where there are more
than one hundred talking lawyers, you can make no calculation upon the termination of any debate."

No, there had to be something more. Then it started to come to me. Pierce was a 'Northerner with Southern
principles.' He favored slavery which so angered his followers that many broke away and formed the
Republican Party. Counter wanted to thank him for his contribution to the formation of the Republican Party.

Pierce's popularity wasn't helped by the Whig opposition's campaign rhetoric: "Hero of many a well-fought
bottle."

I set my alarm and went to bed.

The Flight, KPSM to KCON

Your flight is from Pease Int'l Tradeport, Portsmouth, N.H. to Concord (N.H.) Muni Airport. A strong cold
front came through a few hours ago, leaving crystal-clear skies and a very strong wind of 28 kts. from 345°.
You will depart from Runway 34, intercept the Concord 119° radial and land at Concord on Runway 35. The
distance between the two cities is 31 nm. Pease field elev. is 98 ft., and Concord is at 344 ft. Cruise at 4500
ft. Flight time is about 22 minutes.

Before departure, set your Nav 1 receiver to 112.90 MHz, and the OBS to 299°—the reciprocal of the CON
VOR 119° radial. Be aware that the CON VOR is about 3.5 NM past the field if you are tracking the distance
from Pease with your DME. Set a 28 kt wind from 345° into your Flight Simulator weather page.

1 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:29
VOR Navigation- Part 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20200219025939/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Pease to Concord. Click image for full size.

Where am I?

With the plethora of Navaids dotting the landscape these days, it's getting harder and harder to get lost. But
we pilots are an ingenious lot. No matter how closely the FAA, or its equivalent in other countries, spaces
Navaids to protect us against ourselves, we continue to outwit them. We don't get lost, of course. Pilots
simply don't get lost—it's just that none of the landmarks within the range of our vision happen to be on our
chart. We certainly intend to talk to the authorities about these poorly-marked charts once we land, that is if
we can find the correct airport—or any airport.

There is hope. With a VOR receiver fixing one's location takes only moments.

We're somewhere on this section of the chart. Click image for full size.

We locate our position by triangulation. We'll use the Hartford, HFD, 114.9 MHz VOR to the west and the
Norwich, ORW, 110.0 MHz VOR to the east as our reference points.

Select either HFD or ORW as your first reference, it makes no difference. We'll use Hartford.

2 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:29
VOR Navigation- Part 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20200219025939/http://www.navfltsm.add...

The Nav receiver is set to the HFD VOR, 114.9 MHz, the ident switch is on, and we've rotated
the OBS until the needle is centered with the FROM flag showing. The index card and digital
readout shows that we are on the 065° radial from HFD. Remember, the aircraft heading does
not affect determining the radial from a VOR if you center the needle with the FROM flag
showing.

You can prove this to yourself on your Flight Simulator. Position your aircraft within receiving range of any
VOR, but not too close, then determine the radial from the VOR by centering the needle with the FROM flag
showing, and then fly the aircraft in any heading, observing that the needle doesn't significantly change other
than the normal movement from crossing radials.

With this information, we'll draw the 065° radial from HFD on the chart.

We're somewhere on the 065° radial of HFD. Click image for full size.

Now repeat the procedure using the Norwich VOR.

The Nav receiver is set to the ORW VOR, 110.0 MHz, the ident switch is on, and we've rotated
the OBS until the needle is centered with the FROM flag showing. The index card and digital
readout shows that we are on the 340° radial from ORW.

With this information, we'll draw the 340° radial from ORW on the chart.

3 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:29
VOR Navigation- Part 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20200219025939/http://www.navfltsm.add...

See, Pilots don't get lost—we're at the intersection of the two radials.
Click on the image for full size.

Important Note: One obtains the greatest position accuracy when the angle between the two reference
VORs is 90°. In this case, the angle is 085° (065° – 340° which becomes 065° + 20°).

Where am I on the Airway?

The procedures just described are useful if a pilot becomes disoriented or lost, but hopefully that is a very
infrequent experience. A much more common situation is the desire to locate your position along a Victor
airway when it is a long distance between VORs or to an intersection. This is especially true when flying
IFR and ground features are not visible.

Route of flight, V270 to V489. Click image for full size.

Assume that your route of flight takes you westward from Chester VOR (279°, CTR, 115.1) via V270 to
AGNEZ intersection (222°, ALB, 115.3) where you turn south on V489. It is 56 nm from Chester to
AGNEZ. Flying time (no wind) in the Cessna Nav Trainer with a 110 kt cruise is about 31 minutes from
station passage to that intersection. Monitoring progress along a long, straight flight path provides an
excellent opportunity to determine your ground speed and the head- or tail-wind component.

4 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:29
VOR Navigation- Part 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20200219025939/http://www.navfltsm.add...

The Nav receiver is tuned to Albany VOR, 115.3, ident switch is on, and the needle has been
centered on the 175° radial from ALB. Since we are flying on V270 we needn't draw the full
radial down from Albany VOR—just a tick mark where it crosses our flight path will show
where we are.

There we are, at the intersection of the two radials. Click image for full size.

IFR charts are useful for more than just IFR flights. Consider the Chester to AGNEZ route via V270 on chart
L-25. Notice how many intersections there are along the route. These are convenient checkpoints during a
flight. The radials are already printed on the chart, it's simply a matter of tuning in Albany VOR on 115.3
MHz, and setting the OBS for the appropriate radial, making certain that the FROM flag is showing. Then
you can map your progress along V270 from Chester to AGNEZ intersection, at which point the flight plan
requires a left turn to intercept V489.

There's even an NDB immediately on the flight path so that's one more checkpoint of your progress. Just
tune the ADF to 272 KHz, Philmont, PFH and note station passage.

Your next flight will be Chester to AGNEZ. Fly it with the IFR chart. Click here to print that chart.

IFR chart showing V270, Chester to AGNEZ. Click image for full size.

The flight will begin at Barnes Muni Airport, KBAF, in Westfield, Mass., 13 nm southeast of Chester VOR.
Intersections will be from Albany VOR, 115.3 MHz.

1. Set 30 kt wind from 150° into your flight simulator.

2. Using your virtual E6-B, calculate WCA for this 30 kt wind from 150°, cruise at 110 kts, magnetic
course; 279°.
3. Tune Nav to Chester VOR, CTR, 115.1 MHz.
4. Take-off from Barnes Muni Airport, KBAF, Runway 15. Turn left then direct to Chester VOR. Reset
timer.
5. Climb to 4000 ft.
6. At Chester VOR, intercept V270 westbound. Start Timer.
7. Apply calculated Wind Correction Angle.
8. Cruise at 110 kts IAS.
9. Log the time when passing the following intersections:

NOTE: You will use both Nav2 and your DME to identify intersections.

STELA
ATHOS ... At ATHOS Climb to 6000 ft.

5 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:29
VOR Navigation- Part 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20200219025939/http://www.navfltsm.add...

ACOVE
AGNEZ

10. Terminate flight after passing AGNEZ—Stop Timer.

Benjamin Counter's unlikely friend

This was the highlight of the year, the annual convention of the New
England chapter of the Charter Pilots of America. It was at the Biltmore,
Providence, Rhode Island's grand dame of hotels. The Boss grudgingly
gave me the time off—not because he wanted to, but to keep his pilots
current on the latest regulations and procedures emanating from
Washington.

The convention was nearing its end after two days of updates and seminars
on issues affecting charter pilots. Tonight's formal dinner-dance nicely
capped everything off. I was in my hotel room struggling with my bow
tie—real, not clip-on, when a knock sounded on the door. I glanced at my
watch, congratulating myself on knowing the perfect corsage arrangement
to compliment my companion’s gown.

I called to the delivery person to bring in the flowers and froze when an
all-too familiar voice boomed "Good evening!"

It was Counter.

"I see we’re just in time," he went on before I could utter a word.

"We are?" I said in amazement.

"Yes," Counter replied, a broad grin on his face. "You won’t need the bow tie or the monkey suit—we have
to leave in forty-five minutes to get to the meeting on time."

"I have other plans tonight," I said, returning to the task of tying my bow tie.

"The Boss said you might say some nonsense like that—told me to tell you to call him if you had any
problem doing the charter. Said something about seminars being a waste of time and money, anyway"
Counter finished.

"Where we going?"

"Worcester—they’re doin a special memorial on a classmate of mine—Abbie Hoffman."

I was stunned. "The Abbie Hoffman," I asked, "of the Chicago Seven?".

"Yes, of course," Counter replied, confused that I would ask. "Is there another?"

I looked at Counter again. Yeah, he was about the right age.

Abbie Hoffman, the leader of the Yippies, Youth International Party, organized the nation's youth through
media stunts. He had been in Chicago to disrupt the 1968 Democratic Convention in protest of the Vietnam
War. Among other things, he had pledged to spike the entire city's water supply with LSD. It was technically
an impossible feat, but nonetheless the city surrounded the reservoir with armed guards.

The anti-war demonstrations became violent and Hoffman, with other leaders, was arrested, leading to the
famous Chicago Seven trial. He went underground but ultimately was imprisoned. Following his release he
became increasingly unstable and committed suicide in 1989.

I looked at Counter again, wondering what this business leader could have in common with Abbie Hoffman.
Because of all of the acid and drugs that had been done during those years the Hippies' famous underground
slogan came back to me:

If you can remember the 60's,

you weren't really there!

I glanced at my watch again. Leaving now, I could still be back in time for dessert and the dance. "I have a
phone call to make and we'll go," I said, reaching for the phone.

The Flight, KOQU to KORH

This flight, from Quonset State Airport, KOQU, in North Kingstown, R.I. to Worcester, Mass., KORH,
draws on a number of NDB and VOR navigation procedures that you have learned so far. Your cruise speed
will be 110 kts, and climb at 90 kts. Total distance is 51 nm. It's a fun flight because you do something
different on each leg. Here are the details:

6 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:29
VOR Navigation- Part 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20200219025939/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Quonset to Worcester. Click image for full size.

Click here for a high-resolution image of the flight-route.

This flight, from Quonset State Airport, KOQU, in North Kingstown, R.I. to Worcester, Mass., KORH,
gathers together many of the lessons learned so far relating to both NDB and VOR Navigation. It?s an
interesting flight because the navigation requirements of each leg are different. There are five legs labeled A
to E on the KOQU-KORH Route Map. Your cruise speed will be 110 kts, and climb should be 90 kts. Total
distance is 50 nm. Your cruise altitude will be 3000 ft. Turn on all aircraft lights for the departure, and switch
off the landing and taxi lights after takeoff. The flight is about 30 minutes.

Before you begin your flight, tune your ADF receiver to 241 kHz, your Nav-1 receiver to 115.6 MHz and
your Nav-2 receiver to 110.90 Mhz. Also tune your Standby Nav-1 Receiver to 117.4 MHz. Set the OBS of
VOR-2 to 289°. You will set VOR-1 OBS during the flight. Turn off the MKR Receiver.

It is highly recommended that you print the Route Map from the link in the main text. It is also
recommended that you assemble a flight log, with the times for each leg calculated. There is no wind in this
flight so the time calculations are quite simple.

This will be a VFR flight, but a Night Flight (Alt-W-T and click on ?Night?). Many aviation professionals
believe that night flights should exclusively be IFR.

1. Depart from Rwy 34, Quonset State Airport, KOQU, just south of Providence.

2. Leg A, 7 nm … Fly inbound to PVD VOR, 115.6 MHz, climbing to 3000 ft. Center the VOR-1 needle
with your OBS on takeoff, verifying that the TO flag is showing. That will be your course to PVD.

3. Leg B, 12 nm … At PVD VOR you will continue on Leg B via NDB navigation. Your ADF needle
will indicate the course to fly direct to SFZ NDB, 241 kHz.

4. Leg C, 18.5 nm … At SFZ NDB turn to a course of 358° and fly outbound still relying on NDB
Navigation. Your ADF will point behind you, to 178°. Swap the Active and Standby frequencies on
Nav-1 so 117.4 Mhz is active. Set the VOR-1 OBS to 049°. When the VOR-1 needle centers you are at
the waypoint for the left turn to intercept the approach path to Worcester’s Rway 29. Nav-2 should
already be tuned to 110.9. That is the ILS frequency for Runway 29 into Worcester, but we are not
going to fly the ILS, but rather track it in as if it were a VOR signal.

5. Leg D, 4.3 nm … At the waypoint just identified when the VOR-1 needle centered, turn left to 320°

7 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:29
VOR Navigation- Part 3 https://web.archive.org/web/20200219025939/http://www.navfltsm.add...

and descend to 2600 ft. Leg D is very short, only 4.3 nm, so be alert for the centering of the VOR-2
needle which will indicate that you are on the approach path for Runway 29 of Worcester. You should
begin your left turn to the runway approach path before the needle is centered.

6. Leg E, 8 nm … Once you have made your turn onto the final approach path to Runway 29 slow your
aircraft and make a normal landing, keeping the VOR-2 needle centered. Don’t forget to turn your
landing and taxi lights, too. Be alert, Worcester field elevation is 1009 ft.

7. NOTE: The OBS knob does not affect needle position when flying with an ILS signal. However, it is
wise to rotate the OBS to your desired Approach course, 289°, as you did at the beginning as a
reminder of the final approach course.

OK! Congratulations for a safe trip. Now click on the VOR Approaches button immediately below to learn
how to land using the VOR when in the soup.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

8 of 8 25-05-2022, 18:29
VOR Approach - Part 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20200129205258/http://www.navfltsm.add...

VOR Approaches
Part I

In aviation, a lack of planning can often result in undesirable consequences.

As the name implies, VOR approaches are approach procedures which use VORs as the primary
navigational aid. This section is the first of two that describes VOR instrument approaches. First will be
approaches where the VOR is located away from the airport and Part II covers approaches where the VOR is
located on the field. This is the same classification system that was used with the NDB approaches that you
studied earlier.

Variations of each fundamental type of VOR approach are described and you will fly them all. Seven
practice flights cover the most commonly encountered VOR approaches.

A flight-information package is associated with each flight. It is a zip file containing the text description of
the flight, a PDF file of the appropriate portion of the IFR chart, and a PDF file of the approach plate for the
designated runway at the destination airport. Simply click on the image showing the route of flight to
download the information file.

Both the IFR charts and the approach plates were scanned at 300 dpi, so keep that in mind when sizing them
to print. In general, you won't go far wrong with one-inch (2.54 cm) left and right margins.

Before you fly the flights study the text descriptions, the approach plates and the IFR charts that you
downloaded. By doing this you will find that the procedures fall right into place. Keep the information
packages near your computer when you fly the flights, too, so that you can easily refer to them for specific
details. After you print the information packages file them in a three-ring binder, otherwise clutter can build
fast.

VOR approach procedures are nearly identical to the NDB approaches discussed earlier. If you progressed
through those sections then transitioning to VOR approaches will be simple. The VOR gauge indications
will differ from the RMI, of course, and some fiddling of the OBS will be necessary, except when on a
Localizer approach.

This section concentrates on VOR approaches where the VOR is located off the field.

If you jumped to this point of the website without proceeding through the earlier sections, I strongly
recommend that you return to the Air Navigation section and review the sections on VFR Sectional Charts,
IFR enroute low altitude charts, and the basics of plotting a course. Further, you should go to the NDB
Approaches/Approach Plates section and read the basics of Instrument Approach Plates, now called
Terminal Procedures.

Don't chase the needle!

Oh, are you going to grow to hate that expression. It was used often in the NDB sections, and you will see it
used frequently through-out the VOR sections, too.

What does "Don't chase the needle mean?" Well, consider Roger Rudder's piloting technique. He's tracking
the VOR and the needle drifts a dot to the right. Ole eagle-eye Roger notices, and following the maxim
"always steer towards the needle" slams the stick to the right. The sound of breaking glass comes from the
passenger cabin as beverage glasses fly everywhere. But Roger has done very well because the needle has
nicely, and very quickly, returned to center.

But, wait! How'd that needle get a dot to the left, now? Doesn't matter. Dauntless Roger has the situation
well under control, and in a superb example of mind over matter, slams the stick to the left, up against the
stop, to get that frigging needle centered again, where it belongs! His technique was better, because this time

1 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:40
VOR Approach - Part 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20200129205258/http://www.navfltsm.add...

fewer beverage glasses were heard breaking from the rear cabin.

But the needle is determined to prove who the boss is and it again drifts to the right. Never can it be said that
Roger Rudder doesn't understand how to correct the aircraft's heading when off course. With the supreme
confidence that only piloting can bring, Roger again slams the stick to the right, with only a brief mutter
heard from under his breath.

Children watching from the ground giggle and point in awe at the near-perfect S-curves that Roger's plane is
carving in the sky.

Well, you get the picture. Fearless Roger Rudder was chasing the needle with the stick (yoke) in a vain
attempt to master the heading situation, rather than properly correcting his heading.

In the dark ages, an instructor would shout a cliché if he thought Roger Rudder had slid behind the controls.
"Change heading the same way that you approach a woman—slowly, with forethought, and then stop a bit to
see what effect you've had before you do anything else!" Of course, he threw in a few expletives, too, just to
make sure that you both were on the same wavelength.

Well, an instructor wouldn't survive long today with a sexist attitude like that. Pretty good aviation
technique, though.

The most important first step to correct a heading with a drifting VOR (or ADF) needle is to stop the
movement of the needle. Don't panic and immediately try to recenter the needle. Get the needle stopped!
Once you've stopped the drift of the needle and noted the heading required to do that, it's then a simple jog to
get the needle back on center again.

Take Roger Rudder's situation again. The VOR needle has drifted one dot to the right. You would briefly
consider how rapidly the one-dot drift occurred, then make a small heading adjustment to the right, and
watch what happens. If the needle continues to move to the right. make another small heading adjustment to
the right, and again stop to see the effect.

Of course, if the first heading adjustment not only stopped the needle, but started it moving toward the left,
you would make an even smaller heading adjustment to the left to stop the needle from drifting.

If the gods are smiling on you, the first heading adjustment will stop the needle. Usually not, though, and
some bracketing will be necessary.

Once the needle is frozen to the face of the gauge, note your heading, then turn the aircraft towards the
needle to center the needle. With the needle centered, return to the heading that froze the needle to the gauge
face, and track dead-on all the way in to the runway.

It's an extraordinarily easy technique to master and it consistently works. The giggling children will have to
find something else to amuse them.

* * *

The Boss was having difficulty holding his temper. I was having difficulty not smiling.

"The only service we provide is the best charter flight you can buy," The Boss said with resignation. He was
using his speaker phone, and for a change, it was he and not me who was having the difficult conversation
with Mr. Benjamin Counter.

"Don't tell me that!" Counter snapped back. "You fly into New Hampshire all the time, so you certainly had
to know. What I can not understand is why you and your pilots refused to divulge the information to me."

"I'm sorry you're upset, Mr. Counter, but asking our pilots to competently and safely fly our aircraft is quite
enough," The Boss said while rolling his eyes to the ceiling. "To also expect them to be Certified Financial
Advisors doling out advice during a trip is unreasonable. When our pilots are in the air we expect their
mental arithmetic to pertain to course headings, ground speeds, procedure turns, and the like, not to interest
rates, stock market indices, or commissions."

"Hogwash on the Certified Financial Planner stuff," Counter bellowed out. "Do your pilots know that there is
no income tax in New Hampshire?"

"Of course they do, Mr. Count..."

"And do they also know that there is no sales tax in New Hampshire?" Counter continued.

"Well, yes, I suppose that they do," The Boss said, beginning to show little affection to The Customer is
always right motto affixed to the wall behind his desk. "After all, Massachusetts' people frequently flock to
New Hampshire to avoid sales taxes on big-ticket purchases."

"Well, then, why did I have to learn those facts just yesterday from the celery and lettuce man in the grocery
store?" Counter shouted.

The Boss wisely chose a different path. "Now that you know the situation, what would you like from us?"

"I'm in Concord and want a flight to Manchester. I understand that good-value property is still available there
and that it's the cultural hub of New Hampshire. I may want to set up a new residence in the vicinity, and
avoid those vindictive taxes. I also heard that not long back Money Magazine named Manchester the #1 Best
Small City in the Northeast."

2 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:40
VOR Approach - Part 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20200129205258/http://www.navfltsm.add...

"OK," The Boss said, "We'll fly you ... "

"One thing worries me about New Hampshire, though," Counter interrupted. "Looks like there's a lot of
muddled thinking there."

"Muddled thinking?" The Boss and I repeated in unison.

"Yeah," Counter answered. "Less than 40% of the state voters are Republican; the rest are Democrats or
Undeclared." A click and dial-tone followed as Counter hung up.

"I guess he wouldn't have cared to know that New Hampshire planted the first potato in the U.S. in 1719," I
said, walking for the door.

The Flight

The flight begins at Concord Municipal airport, KCON,

Concord, New Hampshire with Manchester, N.H., KMHT,
the destination. Click on the image to the left to download the
flight-information package, con-mht.zip.

The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the approach plate for
VOR Rwy 35 at Manchester, and this text description of the
flight.

This flight ends with the simplest VOR approach. You will
fly to the VOR, proceed outbound from the VOR, away from
the field, make a procedure turn to the left, and return to the
VOR, finally descending to the runway.

Do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step

flight details with this text and your charts. Only by doing
this will you understand the purpose of each step, but you
will visualize them in your mind, a critical part of instrument
flight.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 1000 ft

overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and one mile visibility. The
wind is calm.
Move your aircraft to Concord's Runway 35, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-2. receiver to the Manchester VOR, 114.4 MHz., ident MHT.

NOTE: Fly this entire Approach with your Nav-2 Receiver for better needle visibility.

Set VOR-2 OBS to 172°. Reset the timer to zero.

Takeoff from Runway 35 with a climbing left turn to the southwest. ATC has cleared you to 3000 ft.
Intercept V141 south-bound, 172° magnetic course indicated by the VOR needle centering and a TO
flag showing. Cruise at 110 kts.
Track inbound to the MHT VOR. Heading will be 172° with no wind.
On station passage, when the FROM flag appears, turn left to 155° and set the VOR-2 OBS to 155°.
Start the timer, and track outbound for two minutes.
During the outbound leg from the VOR, descend to 2000 ft. You probably will have to continue your
descent into the procedure turn since you have 1000 ft. to lose.
After two minutes outbound from the VOR, turn left to the procedure turn heading of 110°. Reset and
restart the timer.
Fly the 110° heading for one minute then make a 180° turn to the right to 290°.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 335° the inbound heading to the VOR and to Manchester's Runway 35 and
reset the timer, but do not start it yet.
Intercept the MHT 335° radial with a right turn, and start the timer.
Descend to 1600 ft., drop one notch of flaps and slow to 75 kts.
Shortly after two minutes on the timer you will reach station passage at the MHT VOR, indicated by
the TO-FROM flag switching to FROM.
Maintain your heading; don't worry on station passage if the needle slides off the side of the gauge. If
you're tracking well it will return to center shortly after station passage.

The purpose of everything that you have done so far is to stabilize the approach before arriving at the FAF,
Final Approach Fix. By stabilizing the approach only power adjustments will be necessary to descend or
maintain level flight. If you don't stabilize the approach before arriving at the FAF, it's not likely to be
satisfactory.

If there is a crosswind, which is common, the inbound leg from the procedure turn to the FAF is the
place to establish the correct WCA, not after passing the FAF.
On station passage at MHT, when the FROM flag appears, reset and restart the timer, and reduce
power to descend to the MDA, Minimum Descent Altitude, of 860 ft.
Don't chase the needle on station passage. Maintain 75 kts. and proceed outbound from the VOR on
the 335° radial towards the runway, remaining level at 860 ft.
The distance from the station to the runway is 4.3 nm. At 75 kts 3 min., 26 secs. will elapse to cover
this distance.
With one mile visibility you should sight the runway or approach lights at about 2 min, 38 secs. after

3 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:40
VOR Approach - Part 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20200129205258/http://www.navfltsm.add...

station passage. Although the runway will lie dead ahead if you have tracked from the VOR well, it is
angled 17° to the right. Runway 35's heading is 352° so be prepared to turn to it when you sight it.
On seeing the runway, further slow the aircraft and configure it for landing. Field elevation is 242 ft so
you will have a little over 600 ft to descend to land.

Repeat the flight with the same conditions, but set in a 010° at 26 kts crosswind into your Flight Sim weather
page. Enjoy the challenge and satisfaction of flying it well.

* * *

Mt. Monadnock, the second most climbed mountain in the world.

At last, a tranquil flight. Counter had neither reached me on my pager nor through The Boss. I was on my
way out of the pilot's lounge at the Gardner, Massachusetts municipal airport, headed to my Cessna Nav
Trainer to perform the usual early-morning thorough preflight. The jaunty gait to my step pronounced to all
my good humor and optimism. I stopped to let the fuel truck pass on its way to a plane that had just taxied
in.

When the way became clear again, I couldn't move. Counter was standing beside my plane, a broad grin on
his face. At his feet was a mountain of gear, the specifics of it indiscernible from the distance.

"Good Morning!" he shouted.

I responded in kind, if not quite with the same enthusiasm.

"You don't have to deadhead back after all. I have a long weekend free, and want to go to Keene, N.H. then
scale Mt. Monadnock," he said as I drew nearer. He spread his hands at the stack of mountaineering
equipment at his feet for emphasis.

Even though Mt. Monadnock is the second most-climbed mountain in the world, behind only Mt. Fuji in
Japan, the level of difficulty is not high. It peaks at 3165 feet, 1800 feet above the parking lot, with five
major, well-cleared and well-marked trails to guide the trekkers. A fit person can make it to the top in under
three hours including rest stops.

I looked at Counter's equipment in awe: four stacks lay at his feet:

Clothing

Two hats, a sun hat and warm hat

Wind parka w/hood
Mittens, Camp
Mittens, Climbing
Over Mittens
Wind pants
Gaiters
Overboots
Polarguard jacket and pants

Camping Gear

A tent
Sleeping bag and booties
Thermarest pad
Bic lighters
Bowl, cup, spoon
Tea strainer

4 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:40
VOR Approach - Part 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20200129205258/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Food
Alarm wrist watch
Swiss Army knife
Tooth brush/Tooth powder
Hand lotion, Chapstick
Miniature TV set

Climbing Gear

Ice ax
Ice tool w/hammerhead
Crampons
Ropes (2 9x50m)
Prusiks
Pulleys
Harness (seat and chest)
Belay/Rappel device
Carabiners
5 Pickets
4 Ice Screws
Tools for bindings and crampons
First-aid kit
Aspirin

Day Gear

Water Bottles w/insulated cover

Sun screen
Sun glasses, Sun hat (baseball)
Ski goggles
Camera/Film
Compass, Maps

Had Counter confused Mt. Monadnock with the 12,380 ft. Mt. Fuji?

One thing about Counter, he never did anything very ordinary. I knew Keene well, with relatives living there.
It's the geographic center of New England. The view from Mt. Monadnock's summit is magnificent. On a
clear day all six New England states can be seen.

If it had been Halloween, Counter could have participated in another Guiness Book of World Records event:
For five straight years more pumpkins were carried into Keene and put on display than anywhere else in the
world. Over 17,000 last year.

Counter didn't do his homework well: Keene and Cheshire County are conclaves with the highest density of
Democrats in all of New Hampshire. Clinton visited there six times, twice after being elected President. The
local organizing committee issued a special button for one of Clinton's appearances: Keene on Hilary.
Clinton quipped that he had one of those buttons on his desk in the Oval Office, although it's unclear whether
he uttered those words before or after the Monica mess.

The Flight

The flight begins at Gardner Municipal airport, KGDM,

Gardner, Mass. with Keene, N.H., KEEN, the destination.
Click on the image to the left to download the flight-
information package, gdm-een.zip.

The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the approach plate for
VOR Rwy 2 at Dillant-Hopkins airport in Keene, and this
text description of the flight.

This flight is unusual in that a procedure turn is not

required for our route of flight. We proceed from the GDM
VOR to EEN VOR and straight in to Runway 2 at Dillant-
Hopkins, KEEN.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-

by-step details of the flight with this text and your charts.
Only by doing this will you both understand the purpose of
each step, but you will visualize them in your mind, a
critical part of instrument flight.

NOTE: Fly the Instrument Approach portion with your

Nav-2 Receiver for better needle visibility.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 2400 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and two miles
visibility. The wind is calm.
Move the aircraft to Gardner's Runway 36, KGDM, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-1 receiver to the Gardner VOR, 110.6 MHz., ident GDM.

5 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:40
VOR Approach - Part 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20200129205258/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Set the VOR-1 OBS to 323°. Reset the timer to zero.

Tune NAV-2 to 109.4 MHz., Keene VOR, ident EEN.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 024°, the inbound track to Keene VOR and Dillant-Hopkins' Runway 2.
Takeoff from Runway 36 with a climbing right turn to 280°. ATC has cleared you to 4000 ft. (The
right turn provides an easier intercept of the 323° radial from Gardner VOR.)
Intercept Gardner's 323° radial northwest-bound, indicated by the VOR needle centering. Cruise at
110 kts.
Track outbound from the GDM VOR. Your heading will be 323° with no wind.
Engage the HDG control of the Autopilot to maintain the 323° outbound track from GDM.
Intercept the 024° radial of EEN VOR, 109.4 MHz, with a right turn and descend to 2600 ft.
Slow to 75 kts and drop one notch of flaps. Track inbound to the VOR.

At this point your approach should be stabilized.

On station passage, when the FROM flag appears, start the timer, and descend to 2100 ft.
Don't chase the needle on station passage. Maintain your heading and don't worry if the needle slides
off the side of the gauge. If you're tracking well it will return to center shortly after station passage.
Runway 2 is 5.7 nm from the FAF, EEN VOR. Elapsed time to cover that distance at 75 kts will be
4 min., 34 secs.
With two miles visibility, the runway threshold or approach lights should become visible 2 min.,
58 secs. after station passage.
On sighting the runway, configure the aircraft for landing and make a normal landing. Field elevation
is 488 feet so slightly more than 1600 ft must be lost for touchdown from the MDA.
Runway 2's heading is 019° so a 5° turn to the left to it will be necessary after sighting it.

* * *

"I know your family has planned the reunion for

two years," The Boss said, handing me a sheet of
paper. "But this is right on your way—should only
take a couple of hours."

I was in The Boss's office and quickly read the

document; an e-mail from Mr. Benjamin Counter. It
repeated what The Boss had already told me over
the phone. Counter had recently learned of a distant
relative that had died in an Indian ambush in the
late 17th century, and he wanted to get to the site to
learn more.

Counter had joined the information age by sending

an e-mail. A spark of hope rose in me that he would
continue to progress and learn how to plan in the
future, rather than "Right now will be OK," when
asked 'when did he want to leave?'

Counter's e-mail detailed what little he knew. The time was July 4, 1697 and his relative was in a party of
settlers returning home from the Parish of Unity in S. Berwick, Maine. Major Charles Frost was among the
group, the apparent target of the ambush. Frost was Military Governor of the Province of Maine, before it
broke away from Massachusetts. In a battle during the King William War, Frost and his troops captured 600
Indians, selling some of them in the West Indies as slaves. Others were killed.

The Indians retaliated—and it was successful. Frost was killed, along with two settlers who happened to be
in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Counter's goal is Littlebrook Air Park, in Eliot, Maine, a five minute drive to "Ambush Rock," where the
incident took place. It all happened over 120 years before Maine became the 23rd state. And Counter had to
be there "right now!"

"Pick up Counter at Portland's G-A terminal," The Boss said with finality.

I left, wondering what logic made a flight north to Portland then back south with Counter to Eliot "right on
my way."

The Flight

The flight begins at Portland International airport, KPWM,

Portland, Maine, with Littlebrook Air Park, 3B4, in Eliot,
Maine the destination. Click on the image to the left to
download the flight-information package, pwm-eliot.zip.

The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the VOR-A approach plate
for Littlebrook airport in Eliot, and this text description of the
flight.

This flight requires a circling approach to Littlebrook's Runway

30, and includes a wind condition to keep the challenge up.
There is also a VOR intersection to contend with. The flight
proceeds from Sanford to the Pease VOR, PSM, a left

6 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:40
VOR Approach - Part 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20200129205258/http://www.navfltsm.add...

procedure turn, return to PSM and track outbound to

Littlebrook with a circling approach into the left traffic pattern
for Runway 30.

A longer flight was allotted than previous flights to provide

time to stabilize the Wind Correction Angles.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-

step details of the flight with this text and your charts.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 750 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and one mile
visibility. Set the wind at 29 kts., from 300°
Move the aircraft to Portland's Runway 29, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-1 receiver to the Kennebunk VOR, 117.1 MHz., ident ENE and the Nav-2 receiver to
Pease VOR, 116.5 MHz, ident PSM.
Set VOR-1 OBS to 242° and VOR-2 OBS to 200°. Reset the timer to zero.
Takeoff from Runway 29 with a climbing left turn to intercept the 242° radial to ENE VOR.
Climb at 90 kts. to your cruise altitude of 4000 ft. The WCA will be 16° Right for climb.
Plan a 110 kt. cruise speed. With a 29 kt. wind from 300 the WCA will be 13° Right.
Set the proper Wind Correction Angle based on air speed, then engage the autopilot heading control
for that heading.
On station passage of ENE, when the FROM flag appears, continue outbound on same course, but the
airway becomes V106.
Intercept YUKES intersection of V106 and V3, indicated by centering of the VOR-2 needle with a TO
flag showing.

How do you know whether you have passed an intersection? It's easy. When the needle is on the same side of
the gauge as the station is to the aircraft, you have not arrived at the intersection.

But remember, intersections are determined by FROM radials. The radial FROM PSM to establish YUKES
intersection is 020°. With the VOR tuned to PSM, and with the OBS set to 020° we have not reached the
intersection as long as the needle is deflected to the left, which is the side of the aircraft that the station is on.

But we have set the OBS for PSM to 200°, the reciprocal of the radial, the TO direction because we are
going to intercept that radial and fly to the station. Setting the OBS to the reciprocal of the radial, and with
the TO flag showing, reverses the rule. We have not reached the intersection as long as the needle is
deflected away from the side of the aircraft that the station is located, or to the right in this case.

Turn left at YUKES and track inbound to the PSM VOR, magnetic course of 200°. The Wind
Correction Angle will be 15° Right. Set the autopilot heading control on if desired.
NOTE: From this point on fly the rest of the route using VOR-2. This VOR is easier to read with no
Glideslope needle.
Descend to 3000 ft. during this southbound leg.
At station passage of PSM, when the FROM flag appears, turn right to 232°, set the OBS to 232°, start
the timer and fly outbound for two minutes. The WCA will be 14° Right.
At two minutes, turn left to 187° into the procedure turn. Reset and restart the timer. The WCA will
still be 14° Right.
At one minute turn right to 007° The WCA should be 14° Left. Set the OBS to 052° the inbound
heading to PSM VOR and to Littlebrook Airport.
On intercepting the 052° radial turn right to track to the PSM VOR. Start the timer and descend to
1500 ft.
After two minutes or so expect station passage. The WCA inbound will be 14° Left at 110 kts.
Slow to 75 kts, and drop one notch of flaps. Readjust the WCA to 21° Left at 75 kts. to keep the
needle centered at this reduced speed. Use the autopilot heading hold, if desired, inbound to the VOR,
but at station passage of PSM VOR switch the autopilot off and manually fly the remaining portion of
the approach and landing.

At this point your approach should be stabilized, especially your compensation for the strong wind from the
left.

At station passage, when the FROM flag appears, reset and restart the timer and descend to the MDA
of 720 ft. Your ground speed will be 81 kts. Time to cover the 4.3 nm to the field at 81 kts. will be 3
min., 11 secs.
With one-mile visibility, expect to sight the field at 2 min., 27 secs. after station passage of PSM VOR.
Field elevation is 125 ft.
On spotting the field, turn right to enter a left downwind leg of 125° (WCA of 2° Right). The left base
leg will be 035° with a WCA of 23° Left. Be aware that your ground speed on final approach will only
be 46 kts. into the teeth of the wind, so moderate your rate of descent to avoid an embarrassing last-
minute burst of speed to prevent an early landing.
Note that The landing threshold of Runway 30 is displaced 86 ft. Don't touchdown early.

After the flight reward yourself with a cup of coffee for a job well done. Instrument approaches don't get
much tougher than this one

* * *

I love the morning and arrived at the airport early, as usual, before anyone
else. Started the coffee and relaxed in the pilot’s lounge.

7 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:40
VOR Approach - Part 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20200129205258/http://www.navfltsm.add...

The phone rang in the outer office. Still by myself I went out and picked it up.

"Charter Service," I answered.

"Good morning," a beautiful female voice began. "Am I speaking with the
Executive Charter Pilot?"

With that voice, I was willing to be anything she wanted. "Yes, Ma'am," I
answered in my sunniest voice.

"Good, I'm Cheryl, Mr. Counter's Administrative Assistant. He's on Block

Island and asked me to contact you about a flight to North Kingstown, Rhode Island. He was feeling very
nostalgic last night about what drive's him, about what gives him the motivation to arise each morning and
fight off the swarming alligators." After a pause, she said rather apologetically, "His words."

"Of course we can help," I responded. "What time this morning does Mr. Counter want to be there?" I asked
trying very hard to keep the sarcasm from my voice.

"He said it didn't matter," She answered. "Anytime between 9:00 AM and 10:00 AM would be OK."

"Must be pretty important," I said, shaking my head sadly.

"Oh, it is," she responded quickly. "Mr. Counter wants to visit the birthplace of Gilbert Stuart, the man
whose work so inspired him."

The name meant nothing to me. "Is Mr. Stuart famous?" I asked.

"Oh, yes," Cheryl enthused. "He's the famous artist that painted George Washington's portrait that you see
hanging everywhere. And he painted the portraits of four other presidents, too, plus British Kings George III
and George IV.

"I'm sure Stuart's work is awesome, but I'm missing the connection with the motivation that drives Mr.
Counter," I said rather puzzled.

"Oh, Silly," Cheryl said with a laugh, "Stuart did the portrait that's on every one-dollar bill."

The Flight

The flight begins at Block Island State airport, KBID, Block

Island, Rhode Island, with Quonset State airport in North
Kingstown, KOQU, Rhode Island the destination. Click on the
image to the left to download the flight-information package,
sey-oqu.zip.

The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the approach plate for VOR
Rwy 34 at Quonset State airport in North Kingstown, and this
text description of the flight.

You wanted a VOR approach where the Omni was off the field?
Well, not only is this VOR some 8 nm. off the field, but it is
past the field. This approach introduces the concept of an FAF
identified by the intersection of two VOR radials. A procedure-
turn is not required for our route of flight and entry into the
approach.

The flight proceeds from the 048° radial of Sandy Point VOR,
SEY, at Block Island, intercepts the 186° radial of Providence,
PVD, then straight in to Quonset's Runway 34.

You'll be a little busy on this approach, but it's a piece of cake

compared to the last one.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-

step details of the flight with this text and your charts.

NOTE: Fly the Instrument Approach portion with your

Nav-2 Receiver for better needle visibility.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 900 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and two miles
visibility. The wind is calm.
Move the aircraft to Block Island, KBID, Runway 28, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-1 receiver to the Sandy Point VOR, 117.8 MHz., ident SEY.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 048°. Reset the timer to zero.
Tune the Nav-1 Standby Frequency to 110.0 MHz, the Norwich VOR, ORW.
Tune the Nav-2 receiver to 115.6 MHz., Providence VOR, ident PVD.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 006°, the inbound course to the VOR and Runway 34 at Quonset State airport.

8 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:40
VOR Approach - Part 1 https://web.archive.org/web/20200129205258/http://www.navfltsm.add...

The "NoPT" notes on the approach plate explain that if you fly the SEY 048° radial at an
altitude of 1700 ft and intercept the PVD 006° radial TO the station, you may enter the
approach procedure without having to perform a procedure turn.

Takeoff from Runway 28 with a climbing right turn and intercept the 048° radial from SEY VOR. The
SEY VOR is the IAF, Initial Approach Fix, for the approach.
For such a short flight you'll cruise at the 1700 ft. initial approach altitude for Quonset State. Climb at
90 kts.
When you are satisfied with the VOR outbound track, engage the autopilot heading control to maintain
the magnetic course of 048°.
When the VOR-2 needle centers, indicating an intercept of the 006° radial TO PVD, turn left to 006°.
When properly tracking inbound on the 006° radial, reengage the autopilot to maintain the heading.
Switch to the Nav-1 Standby frequency, 110.0 MHz., the Norwich VOR, ident ORW.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 110° to identify BRUCE intersection when the needle centers and a FROM
flag is showing.
Reduce your speed to 75 kts., and drop one notch of flaps.

At this point your approach should be stabilized.

Fly to the BRUCE intersection. Remember, with the needle on the same side of the gauge as the
station is to the aircraft—to the left in this case—you have not yet arrived at the intersection.
BRUCE intersection is the FAF for the approach to Runway 34. When the VOR-1 needle centers,
you're there. Start the timer.
Descend to 660 ft.
Time to fly the 5.1 nm. from the FAF to the MAP at 75 kts. is 4 min., 05 secs.
With two-miles visibility you should spot the approach lights or Runway 34 threshold in 2 min.,
29 secs.
On sighting Runway 34, land normally.

This concludes the session on VOR approaches for the situation where the VOR is located some distance
from the field.

Fly each approach a second time, to hone the techniques, before moving to the next section.

Click on the Approaches—VOR on the Field button to move to the next type of VOR instrument approaches,
where the VOR station is on the field.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

9 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:40
VOR Approach - Part 2 https://web.archive.org/web/20200210130558/http://www.navfltsm.add...

VOR Approaches
Part II

Piloting a DC-3 in IFR weather, 1942.

VOR approaches with the station off the field have the advantage that an electronic fix, the Final Approach
Fix, is available to provide exact time and distance information to the airport. For this reason, some pilots
prefer that type of VOR approach over one where the VOR is on the field, where precise time and distance
information to the field is not available.

Of course, if the Omni station has DME capability and a DME is available in the aircraft, then time and
distance information to the station, or the field, would be available.

The approach procedures described here assume no DME capability.

VOR approaches flown when the station is on the field have two advantages over the others, though. First,
the VOR sensitivity increases as one nears the VOR, or field. This should place the aircraft nearer to the
desired final approach position.

Second, there is no ambiguity on the MAP, Missed Approach Point. When the VOR is off the field, the pilot
must determine the MAP point by measuring time from the FAF. In the case of the VOR on the field, the
TO-FROM flag will switch from the TO position to the FROM position. At that point if the runway is not in
sight, the pilot must execute a Missed Approach Procedure.

With the flight experience obtained from the previous practice sessions, these approach procedures will be
easy.

Runway Visibility Range

A number of years ago, the FAA decided that visibility figures didn't accurately report how far down a
runway a pilot could see from a moving aircraft. They developed a new criteria which better specified the
visibility down a runway; called Runway Visibility Range, or RVR. In many instances approach plates now
report visibility minimums in RVR.

Look at the table of minimums on a Martha's Vineyard approach plate.

Minimums, Martha's Vineyard VOR RWY 24 approach.

CATEGORY A B C D

S-24 500/24 437(500-½) 500/40 500/50

437 (500-¾) 437 (500-1)

CIRCLING 500-1 520-1 520-1½ 620-2

432 (500-1) 452 (500-1) 452 (500-1½) 552 (600-2)

Notice the first entry under Category A and B for the S-24 approach, the straight-in to Runway 24 at
Martha's Vineyard airport. It is "500/24." The 500, of course, is the Minimum Descent Altitude, MDA. Can't
go below that altitude unless the runway or approach lights are in sight and a normal landing can be made.

A "24" appears after the slash indicating that a minimum of 2400 feet RVR is required to land for S-24. The
RVR is specified on an approach plate in hundreds of feet. If you were flying a Category-C aircraft, your
RVR requirement is 4000 ft., and 5000 ft. for Category D.

Well, all that is nice to know. When you look at the minimums on your approach plates, you'll now
understand that sometimes statute miles visibility requirements are specified and at other times the RVR

1 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:42
VOR Approach - Part 2 https://web.archive.org/web/20200210130558/http://www.navfltsm.add...

requirements are shown, and you'll recognize each.

Unfortunately, that's as far as Microsoft lets you go, is to understand the information. Flight Simulator only
lets you select visibility in statute miles. Maybe a future patch will fix that.

There are two ways to convert the RVR to statute miles to enter the proper information into the flight
simulator: First, you could divide the RVR by the 5280 ft. in one mile. For a 2400 ft. RVR, that would give
you 0.45 mi. which you would round up to 0.5 mi.

The second, and simpler way, is to look at the military numbers on the approach plate. Jump to the second
set of numbers, specifically those enclosed by parenthesis. Again for Categories A and B, the military
numbers are "(500-½)." The military requirement is 500 ft. ceiling with one-half mile visibility. From this
you now know to enter one-half mile visibility into your flight simulator for these two categories. Category
C would be ¾ mile visibility and Category D would be 1 mile visibility.

A 2400 ft. RVR is so common that you will quickly learn to enter one-half mile visibility into your flight
simulator for that situation.

The visibility minimums for the circling approach are always given in miles.

* * *

I was on short final to Nantucket's Runway 24. The

weather was at minimums for the VOR approach;
420 ft. ceiling, solid overcast, heavy fog with a 2400 ft.
runway-visibility-range. Now at the MDA, my
windshield was brushing at the clouds while I mucked
about in and out of the scud, trying to keep on course.

What lousy weather, even the birds must be walking.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when an alarm sounded

in the cabin. Quickly glancing around, I searched for
the source of trouble. Then the racket stopped.
Returning my gaze to the gauges, the aircraft was still
doing well; heading right on the money and altitude on
the MDA. MAP was in forty-five seconds. If the
approach lights didn't show soon, it was going to be a Go-Around.

The alarm sounded again, more insistent. I cursed to myself. It was my cellphone in my flight bag. I had
forgotten to turn it off. If I had the time and altitude, I'd have opened the canopy and sent that phone sailing
into Buzzards Bay. There was nothing I could do now but put up with it. It was a distraction I didn't need as
it continued to ring.

Then the runway appeared and I greased on a landing. As I turned off the runway, the ringing stopped.

The caller caught up to me as I was asking the line-boy to fuel the aircraft. I dug into my flight bag, retrieved
the phone, and answered it. Counter was on the other end.

"Good Day to you," he boomed, as if sunning himself on the Riviera. "How convenient that you're at
Nantucket. I'm here, too."

"And where might that be," I asked, trudging to the terminal, the mist seeping through my clothes.

"A cab's bringing me out now. Your boss said I could catch you there, that you wouldn't mind a short hop to
Martha's Vineyard."

"What's going on in the Vineyard," I asked, glancing above at the darkening skies.

"The lighthouses, of course. It's the lighthouses," Counter replied. "I watched A Stolen Life on The Late
Movie last night. Great Bette Davis movie! Great special effects! The story was around a Martha's Vineyard
lighthouse. Martha's Vineyard has five of 'em, you know. And the best, I hear, is Gay Head.

"The weather's not looking good," I tried.

"Nonsense! I'm packed, checked out of the hotel, got my bag with me, and everything." He responded. " I'm
almost there. What better time to look at lighthouses and listen to fog horns then on a foggy day?" he asked.

"I don't think there have been any fog horns working for years," I said, with a glimmer of hope.

"Doesn't matter. That Gay Head light is one important light. It sits 170 feet above the sea on clay bluffs on
the Western side of Martha's Vineyard. That's where the Devil's Bridge rocks threaten the entrance to
Vineyard Sound, the main route to Boston Harbor from the south."

"Did you know that a lighthouse could be too high?" Counter went on. "Yep, he replied," before I could get a
word in. "Gay Head was so high at first that it shone above the fog. Didn't help the ships very much. It's been
up and down like an elevator ever since, designers trying to find the best height."

"There was a big shipwreck nearby in 1884. I heard 120 people drowned. I want to go there and learn more,"
Counter ended.

"Let me check the weather on the Vineyard, see if it's as bad as it is here," I said.

2 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:42
VOR Approach - Part 2 https://web.archive.org/web/20200210130558/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Nantucket, Massachusetts to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Nantucket to Martha's Vineyard with a VOR Rwy 24 approach.

Click on image for flight-information package.

The flight begins at Nantucket Memorial airport, Nantucket, Mass. with Martha's Vineyard, Mass. the
destination. Click on the image above to download the flight-information package, ack-mvy.zip.

The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the approach plate for VOR Rwy 24 at Martha's Vineyard airport in
Vineyard Haven, and this text description of the flight.

This is a straight-forward flight ending with an instrument approach at Martha's Vineyard, where the VOR is
on the field. We proceed from Nantucket to the MVY VOR, fly outbound, execute a procedure turn, and
return to MVY and Runway 24 at Martha's Vineyard.

There is a very difficult 128° right turn at MVY VOR when arriving from Nantucket to intersect the 067°
radial to start the approach. We convert this into a simple maneuver with a left teardrop turn at MVY, coming
back around to intercept the 067° radial.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text and your
charts. Only by doing this will you both understand the purpose of each step, but you will visualize them in
your mind, a critical part of instrument flight.

NOTE: Fly this entire flight with your Nav-2 Receiver for better needle visibility.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 800 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and one mile
visibility. The wind is calm.
Move the aircraft to Nantucket's Runway 24, airport KACK, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune Nav-2 receiver to Martha's Vineyard VOR, 114.5 MHz., ident MVY.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 299°. Reset the timer to zero.
Takeoff from Runway 24 with a climbing right turn to 345°. ATC has cleared you to 4000 ft.
Intercept Martha Vineyard's 299° radial northwest-bound, indicated by the VOR needle centering.
Cruise at 110 kts.
Track inbound 299° to the MVY VOR.
As the needle centers and the FROM flag appears indicating station passage, start the timer and
maintain your 299° heading for one minute. Change the OBS setting to 067°.
Don't worry if the needle slides off the gauge on station passage, and don't chase it by altering your
heading. Stay on course and the needle will return to dead center in a moment.
At one minute after station passage turn left and come back around to intersect the 067° radial inbound
to MVY VOR. The TO flag should be showing when the needle again centers.
Stop and reset the timer on the return leg to MVY, but don't start it.
At station passage, when the FROM flag appears, start the timer and fly outbound for three minutes
descending to 1800 ft.
Drop one notch of flaps and slow to 75 kts. while on the outbound leg.

It's vital to stabilize the approach well before beginning descent to the MDA.

At three minutes, or slightly longer if you wish to be at 1800 ft. when beginning the procedure turn,
turn right to 112°. If the outbound leg is more than three minutes, mentally note the time when starting
the procedure turn. Be aware that you must remain within 10 nm. of the VOR during the approach
procedure, which is only five minutes or so flying radius from the VOR at 110 kts. Time and distance
allowances must be included for the procedure turn to stay within the 10 nm.
Reset and restart the timer. Fly the 112° heading for one minute. Set the OBS to 247°, the inbound
track to the VOR and to Runway 24.
After one minute into the procedure turn, turn left to 292° to return to intercept the 247° inbound radial
to the station.
Reset but do not restart the timer.
When the VOR needle centers, turn left and track inbound on the 247° radial.

3 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:42
VOR Approach - Part 2 https://web.archive.org/web/20200210130558/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Start the timer, and descend to 500 ft., the MDA. Since you flew outbound for three minutes, expect
station passage after three and a half minutes, or so, inbound. If the outbound leg was different than
three minutes, add about a half-minute for the inbound leg to station passage. This will not be exact,
but will provide a far better gauge of distance to the VOR then guessing.
Keep the VOR needle centered with minor heading adjustments, but don't chase the needle.
Be alert on this approach. With only one mile visibility, you will sight the approach end of the runway
only 48 secs. before arrival at the threshold. The runway will be a bit off to the left because of the
location of the VOR on the field.
If the TO-FROM flag switches to FROM before or just as you sight the runway, immediately execute
the Missed Approach Procedure shown on the approach plate— it's too late to land.
Field elevation is 68 ft., hence you must descend 432 ft. after sighting the field. Chopping the power
and dropping full flaps should put you in a good approach attitude, as well as allowing you to slow the
aircraft even more. Do not point the nose of the aircraft down and dive for the field. A crash may
result or the speed will be so high that you will float past the end of the runway. Flare normally and
touchdown.
Time: 32 minutes.

* * *

"Flying is too easy, today," Counter said, as I was

gathering the items for our flight. He had out-done
himself and scheduled this flight two days in
advance. "Push a few buttons, and electronics take
you from Point A to Point B," he went on. "As far
as I can see, even a child could do it."

"Nothing to it," I replied, not looking for a debate.

"It's so simple, sometimes I wonder why I even
come along."

"You don't even look like a pilot," Counter said,

moving in a different direction. "No scarf, no
goggles, no helmet, no leather jacket."

"The Boss doesn't pay me enough to buy upscale

stuff like that," I said, with a sigh.

"I may have to talk to him about that, he charges me big money. Let's get going—I can't wait to learn about
some real pilots and the airplanes that they flew," Counter said walking out the door towards the aircraft.

"Well, you'll see plenty at The New England Air Museum at Bradley," I answered, catching up to him. "They
have over 125 aircraft in their collection."

"I'm only interested in one plane and one pilot, actually—Louis Bleriot of France. He was the first to fly solo
across the English Channel, from France to England. Did it in 1909," Counter said, his enthusiasm building.
"In the Bleriot Monoplane X1."

"Yeah, he sure earned a reputation," I said.

"You bet he did. Taught himself how to fly, invented his own plane, and a monoplane instead of the biplanes
that everyone else was fooling around with." Counter was getting excited. "Imagine, he won the £1000 prize
from the London newspaper, the Daily Mail, for a 24 mile, 40 minute flight. That was $5000, had to be a
good pilot."

"Worth about $100,000 today. He had his problems, though. Crashed his plane 51 times before the flight
across the Channel," I added. "He even had a cast on his leg when he set the record with his famous flight."

"Yeah? Where'd you learn that? All I read was that his engine quit over the English Channel because it had
overheated. Then a lucky rainstorm came up and cooled off the engine enough to restart and get him over the
White Cliffs of Dover," Counter finished proudly.

"Well, you do know that he crashed when he landed on English soil?" I asked.

"Of course," Counter said, a bit defensively. "All the old pictures show that."

"That was crash number 52. That nameless soul had to have had Bleriot in mind when he coined the famous
expression." I said, holding back a smile.

"What expression was that?" Counter asked suspiciously.

"Any landing that you can walk away from is a good landing."

Meriden, Connecticut to Hartford, Connecticut.

The flight begins at Meriden Markham Municipal

airport, KMMK, in Meriden, Connecticut, with Bradley
Int'l. airport, KBDL, in Windsor Locks, Connecticut the
destination. Click on the image to the left to download
the flight-information package, mmk-bdl.zip.

4 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:42
VOR Approach - Part 2 https://web.archive.org/web/20200210130558/http://www.navfltsm.add...

The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the approach plate

for VOR Rwy 33 at Bradley Int'l., and this text
description of the flight.

This is another VOR approach not requiring a

procedure turn. And, while the VOR for this approach
is on the field, the Final Approach Fix is a VOR
intersection providing the same valuable time and
distance information to the field as if the VOR were off
the field. It's sort of the best of both worlds.

On this flight you'll also use the DME to identify

intersections.

To add to the challenge, this is a circling approach with

a serious wind component. You will land on BDL's
Runway 15, but use the approach procedure for
Runway 33 and circle to land at Runway 15. You'll be
busy.

Actually, it's a pretty straight-forward flight ending with a circling instrument approach at Bradley Int'l.
where the VOR is on the field. We proceed from Meriden to the Hartford VOR, then to the CLEFF
intersection, inbound to the WISOK intersection, the FAF, and then to the airport, circling around to land on
Runway 15.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text and your
charts. Only by doing this will you both understand the purpose of each step, but you will visualize them in
your mind, a critical part of instrument flight.

NOTE: Fly the Instrument Approach portion with your Nav-2 Receiver for better needle visibility.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 900 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and two miles
visibility. Set the wind to 20 kts. from 175°.
Move the aircraft to Meriden's Runway 18, KMMK, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune Nav-1 receiver to Hartford VOR, 114.9 MHz., ident HFD. Fly the first leg with Nav-2.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 070°. Reset the timer to zero.
Switch the DME to Nav-1, HFD VOR. KMMK is 14.9 NM from the VOR.
Tune the Nav-2 receiver to Bradley VOR, 109.0 MHz, ident BDL.
Set VOR-2 OBS to 329°.
Fly Nav-2. Takeoff from Runway 18 with a climbing left turn to track 070° to HFD. ATC has cleared
you to 5000 ft.
Climb at 90 kts. While climbing, the WCA will be 12° to the Right. Monitor your progress with the
DME.
At 110 kts. cruise, the WCA is 10° to the Right.
On station passage at HFD, when the FROM flag appears, turn left to magnetic course 021° and set the
VOR-1 OBS to 021°. The WCA will be about 4° to the Right.
Descend to 3000 ft. CLEFF Intersection is 10.3 NM beyond HFD VOR.
Fly Nav-2. When the VOR-2 needle centers, you are at CLEFF intersection, 10.2 nm. from the field.
Turn left to the 329° magnetic course heading inbound to the VOR and start the timer. You will have
an 18 kt. tailwind and need a 7° WCA to the Left at 75 kts.
Switch your DME to Nav-2 which should show about 10 NM from BDL VOR on the field.
Descend to 1900 ft. Drop one notch of flaps and slow to 75 kts.

It's vital to stabilize the approach well before beginning your descent to the MDA.

WISOK Intersection, your FAF, is 6 DME from BDL VOR.

When the DME shows 6.0 you are at WISOK intersection, the FAF, 5.1 nm to the station and field.
Reset and restart the timer, and descend to 680 ft.
With the 18 kt. tailwind your ground speed will be 98 kts. It is 3 min., 17 secs. to the threshold of
Runway 33.
With two-miles visibility, you should spot the runway in 2 min., 00 secs. This is the opposite end of
your landing runway.
On sighting Runway 33, directly move to the right to enter the 330° left downwind leg for Runway 15.
Do not drift into the clouds. If you do, you must immediately execute a missed approach.
The Left base leg is 240° with a 14° Left WCA. Turn final approach and land normally after
configuring the aircraft for landing. Your ground speed on final will be 57 kts.
Time: 26 minutes.

This flight shows how helpful a second VOR and DME can be during an instrument flight.

* * *

The Boss had a good year last year—business was up strongly. He was even considering hiring another pilot
and leasing another Cessna Nav Trainer.

It must have been a good year, because I was on my way to Bridgeport to pick up new electronics for the
fleet. We were going all digital. I think Mr. Counter had something to do with that. He talked about other
charter companies being more modern and maybe that's where his business belonged.

5 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:42
VOR Approach - Part 2 https://web.archive.org/web/20200210130558/http://www.navfltsm.add...

That got The Boss's attention real fast. One final leg and I'd be in Bridgeport. The weather wasn't
cooperating well, but at least it was above minimums, if only barely.

What made this flight particularly enjoyable was that I had left my pager and cellphone back home. It would
be almost impossible to interrupt my schedule.

I finished the flight planning, had gotten the weather, filed an IFR flight plan for Bridgeport, and pre-flighted
the aircraft. I was ready to go. The engine came up smoothly when I started it, and the gauges all looked
good. Chester is not a controlled field, so I dialed up UNICOM to announce my intentions to depart.

As I was taxiing out to the runway, UNICOM called back and asked if I could take a message from a Mr.
Benjamin Counter. I reported that their transmission was breaking up, must be a bad mic., but I would check
back when airborne. I opened the throttle and was quickly in the air.

Chester, Connecticut to Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Chester to Bridgeport with a VOR Rwy 24 approach.

Click on image for flight-information package.

This third flight will be easy. You've been through a host of new procedures up to this point and it's time for
a VOR approach that's "fun." The flight begins at Chester airport, 3B9 (KSNC in FSX), in Chester,
Connecticut with a destination of Igor Sikorsky Memorial airport, KBDR, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The
approach will be to Runway 24. Click on the image above to download the flight-information package, chstr-
bdr.zip.

The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the approach plate for VOR Rwy 24 at Bridgeport, and this text
description of the flight.

This is another VOR approach not requiring a procedure turn and also one where the FAF is a VOR
intersection. We proceed from Chester airport to the Madison VOR, then to the BAYYS intersection,
inbound to the MILUM intersection, the FAF, and then to the airport with a straight-in landing to Runway
24. Again, you'll use your DME.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text and your
charts. Only by doing this will you both understand the purpose of each step, but you will visualize them in
your mind, a critical part of instrument flight.

NOTE: Fly the Instrument Approach portion with your Nav-2 Receiver for better needle visibility.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 700 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and one mile
visibility. The wind is calm.
Move your aircraft to Chester's Runway 17, airport 3B9 (KSNC in FSX), and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-1 receiver to Madison VOR, 110.4 MHz., ident MAD. Fly the first leg with Nav-1.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 258°. Reset the timer to zero.
Set the Nav-1 Standby Frequency to 116.6, CMK VOR.
Switch the DME to Nav-1 receiver.
Tune the Nav-2 receiver to 108.8 MHz., the Bridgeport VOR, ident BDR.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 234° for the BAYYS intersection and the approach heading for Rwy 24.
Fly Nav-1. Takeoff from Runway 17, Chester airport, with a climbing left turn over the airport to
intercept and track 258° to MAD VOR. ATC has cleared you to 4000 ft.
Climb at 90 kts., then cruise at 110 kts. after reaching 4000 ft.
MAD VOR is 9 DME from Chester Airport.
On station passage at MAD VOR, when the FROM flag appears, turn right to magnetic course 276°
and set the VOR-1 OBS to 276°.
Descend to 3000 ft. after passing MAD VOR.
When the two VOR needles center you are at BAYYS Intersection, the Initial Approach Fix, IAF, for
this approach.
BAYYS Intersection is 12.7 DME from MAD VOR.

6 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:42
VOR Approach - Part 2 https://web.archive.org/web/20200210130558/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Fly Nav-2. When the VOR-2 needle centers at BAYYS, turn left and track TO the BDR VOR on the
234° heading.
Descend to 1800 ft.
Switch the Nav-1 receiver to its Standby Frequency, 116.6 MHz; CMK VOR, ident CMK.
Set VOR-1 OBS to 110°.
Drop one notch of flaps and slow to 75 kts.
MILUM intersection, the FAF for the VOR approach to Runway 24, is the intersection of the 110°
radial from CMK VOR.

It's vital to stabilize the approach well before beginning your descent to the MDA.

On reaching the MILUM intersection and FAF, start the timer and descend to 500 ft.
Continue tracking inbound TO the Bridgeport VOR and Runway 24.
At 75 kts., 3 min., 45 secs. will elapse to fly the 4.7 NM. to the MAP or Runway 24 threshold.
With one-mile visibility, Runway 24's threshold or approach lights should become visible in 2 min.,
58 secs.
Bridgeport's field elevation is 10 ft., so you will have 47 seconds to descend 490 ft. for touchdown.
Slow the aircraft for a normal landing by reducing power and further lowering the flaps.
Flight time: about 20 minutes.

* * *

This ends the VOR approaches. The next section introduces the Instrument Landing System.

Before moving on to the ILS, though, fly each approach above a second time to hone the techniques.

Click on the ILS Basics button to learn about the Instrument Landing System.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

7 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:42
ILS Basics https://web.archive.org/web/20200204015916/http://www.navfltsm.add...

The Instrument Landing System

Up to now, your instrument approach experience has

allowed you to land in weather conditions as adverse as an
overcast ceiling of 400 ft. and visibility as low as one-half
mile.

NDB and VOR approaches, with their lateral guidance to

the runway, greatly improve the reliability of flight
schedules. But without the capability to provide vertical
guidance to the runway they are limited in utility. No
vertical guidance classes them as non-precision
approaches.

The Instrument Landing System adds glide-slope, or

elevation information. Commonly called the ILS, it is the
granddaddy of them all when it comes to getting down
close to the ground. In every sense it is a precision
approach system and with the most sophisticated
equipment it can guide you right down to the runway—
zero Decision-Height and zero visibility.

If you jumped to this point of the website without

proceeding through the earlier sections, I strongly recommend that you return to the Air Navigation section
and review the sections on VFR Sectional Charts, IFR enroute low altitude charts, and the basics of plotting
a course. Further, you should go to the NDB Approaches/Approach Plates section and read the basics of
Instrument Approach Plates, now called Terminal Procedures.

The ILS Components

When you fly the ILS, you're really following two signals: a localizer for lateral guidance (VHF); and a glide
slope for vertical guidance (UHF). When you tune your Nav. receiver to a localizer frequency a second
receiver, the glide-slope receiver, is automatically tuned to its proper frequency. The pairing is automatic.

There's more to an ILS than the localizer and glide slope

signals. The FAA categorizes the components this way:

Guidance information: the localizer and glide slope.

Range information: the outer marker (OM) and the middle
marker (MM) beacons.
Visual information: approach lights, touchdown and
centerline lights, runway lights.

Descriptions of the ILS components

Three-dimensional depiction of the Instrument Landing System. Early VOR indicators had the yellow and
blue-colored arc as shown here, but it was later phased out because it provided no useful information.
Localizer antennas shown at far end of runway.

The Localizer

The localizer signal provides azimuth, or lateral, information to guide the aircraft to the centerline of the
runway. It is similar to a VOR signal except that it provides radial information for only a single course; the
runway heading. Localizer information is displayed on the same indicator as your VOR information.

When tracking the localizer the pilot turns towards the needle in the same manner as with VOR navigation.

1 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:44
ILS Basics https://web.archive.org/web/20200204015916/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Familiar looking gauge, isn't it? Tracking inbound on the Localizer to Runway 5, Green airport, Providence,
R.I. From left to right, the aircraft is 1° Right of course, two dots (turn left to return); On course; and 1° Left
of course (turn right to return).

The localizer indicator reacts differently from a VOR in several ways.

1. The localizer consists of only a single course.

2. The localizer course needle is four times as sensitive as a VOR needle. Heading adjustments must be
much smaller because of the increased sensitivity of the indicator. For VOR work, each dot under the
needle represents 2° deviation from course while for the localizer each dot under the needle represents
0.5° deviation from course.
3. Because the localizer provides information for only one radial, the runway heading, the Nav. receiver
automatically cuts out the OBS, the Omni Bearing Selector knob. Rotating the OBS still rotates the
course ring on the instrument, but has no affect on the needle.

In all three cases here,

the aircraft is tracking the Localizer inbound to Providence's Runway 5, heading 047°. Notice that the OBS
is set at three different positions with no effect on the needle centering. That is a characteristic of the
Localizer indicator.

Smart pilots rotate the OBS to the desired localizer heading as a reminder of where they are going, as in the
first image to the left, above.

How sensitive is the Localizer? Near the Outer Marker, a one-dot deviation puts you about 500 ft. from the
centerline. Near the Middle Marker, one dot means you're off course by 150 ft.

Specifics of the Localizer

1. The localizer antenna is located at the far end of the runway.

2. The approach course of the localizer is called the front course.
3. The course line in the opposite direction to the front course is called the back course.
4. The localizer signal is normally usable 18 NM from the field.
5. The Morse code Identification of the localizer consists of a three-letter identifier preceded by the letter
I. Here is the localizer identifier for Providence's Runway 5.

I-PVD

No, this is not Providence. It's the localizer antenna at Charlotte's (N.C.) Douglas Int'l airport on a murky,

2 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:44
ILS Basics https://web.archive.org/web/20200204015916/http://www.navfltsm.add...

about-to-snow day.

The Glide Slope

The Glide Slope is the signal that provides vertical guidance to the aircraft during the ILS approach. The
standard glide-slope path is 3° downhill to the approach-end of the runway. Follow it faithfully and your
altitude will be precisely correct when you reach the touchdown zone of the runway.

Think of the glide slope as a localizer laying on its side, squirting a signal 3° up into the air, and you'll have
it just about right.

Tracking the glide slope is identical to tracking a localizer. If the glide-slope needle swings away from
center—up or down—maneuver the aircraft towards the needle by adjusting the engine's power. Don't point
the aircraft's nose up or down.

Inbound to Runway 5, Green airport, Providence, R.I. From left to right, the aircraft is Above the glide path,
On the glide path, and Below the glide path.

Remember the stable approach that we worked so diligently to obtain for NDB and VOR approaches? It's
every bit as important when tracking the glide slop. Pointing the aircraft's nose up or down disturbs that
stability. Changing the power doesn't.

The glide path projection angle is normally adjusted to 3 degrees above horizontal so that it intersects the
MM at about 200 feet and the OM at about 1,400 feet above the runway elevation. The glide slope is
normally usable to a distance of 10 NM.

How sensitive is the glide slope? It's much more sensitive than the localizer. At the Outer Marker, each dot
of glide slope deviation equals about a 50-foot excursion from the prescribed glidepath. At the Middle
Marker, the sensitivity is an astounding eight feet per dot.

Marker Beacons

Marker beacons are used to alert the pilot that an action (e.g., altitude check) is needed. This information is
presented to the pilot by audio and visual cues. The ILS may contain three marker beacons: inner, middle
and outer. The inner marker is used only for Category II operations. The marker beacons are located at
specified intervals along the ILS approach and are identified by discrete audio and visual characteristics (see
the table below). All marker beacons operate on a frequency of 75 MHz.

Indications a pilot receives when passing over a marker beacon.

MARKER CODE LIGHT SOUND
400 Hz
OM ___ BLUE
two dashes/second
1300 Hz
MM ._._._ AMBER
Alternate dot and dash
3000 Hz
IM .... WHITE
only dots
BC .. .. WHITE
Notice above that the sound gets "quicker" and the tone "higher" as the aircraft moves towards the airport
—first dashes, then dots and dashes, finally just dots.

Click the beacon indicators to hear their tones.

The OM, 4 to 7 NM from the runway threshold, normally indicates where an aircraft intercepts the glide path
when at the published altitude.

The MM, 3500 feet from the runway threshold, is the Decision Height point for a normal ILS approach. On
glide path at the MM an aircraft will be approximately 200 feet above the runway.

The IM. 1000 feet from the runway threshold, is the Decision Height point for a Category II approach. See

3 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:44
ILS Basics https://web.archive.org/web/20200204015916/http://www.navfltsm.add...

later for description of categories of ILS approaches.

BC ... Most, but not all, airports with an ILS also offer guidance on the back course. The BC marker
identifies the FAF for the back course. A Back-Course approach is non-precision since there is no glide path
associated with it.

The majority of problems in locating marker beacons are the availability of real estate and access to utilities.

Decision Height?

The ILS brings in a brand new term, Decision Height, or DH as you will always hear it from here on. Thus
far, the altitude published in the minimums section of the approach plates that you have used has been the
MDA, or Minimum Descent Altitude. When flying a non-precision approach, you are not authorized to
descend below the MDA unless you can see the runway or the approach lights and make a normal landing.

DH has a similar meaning. The DH for an ILS approach is a point on the glide slope determined by the
altimeter where a decision must be made to either continue the landing or execute a missed approach. That's
pretty simple.

Consider the minimums, below, for Runway 5 at Green airport in Providence, R.I.

Approach minimums, Runway 5, Green airport, Providence, R.I.

CATEGORY A B C D
S-ILS 5 253/18
S-LOC 5 460/24 460/40
CIRCLING 560 - 1 620 - 1½ 620 - 2
Note: For this example, the military minimums data has been omitted.

Here is the interpretation of the minimums data from the table above, for any Category A or B aircraft, i.e.,
1.3 × Stall Speed equals or is less than 120 kts.

The minimums for a straight-in ILS approach to Runway 5 are 253 ft. DH and 1800 ft. RVR. As you
descend down the glide slope, when your altimeter reads 253 ft., you must make a decision whether to
continue the descent and approach, or to execute a missed approach.
If the Glide Slope is unavailable for whatever reason, one could fly a Localizer approach straight in to
Runway 5. In that case, with no glide slope, the approach is no longer a precision approach because no
vertical guidance information is being provided. The 460 ft. on the chart is now the MDA, not the DH,
and the minimum RVR has increased to 2400 ft. Here, like the VOR and NDB approaches that you
have already flown, you may descend to the MDA as soon as you pass the FAF.
The circling approach, of course, is also a non-precision approach. Its MDA is 560 ft and the
minimum visibility is one mile. Notice that RVR is not used here. RVR is strictly for visibility down a
runway. In a circling approach, the pilot's concern is his or her ability to keep the airport in sight while
maneuvering for a runway which differs from the approach course.

Many airline carriers require Category D minimums for a circling approach even if the aircraft falls in
the Category A or B range. The circling approach is difficult and raising the minimums relieves some
of the stress.

Sad to say that there are air carrier pilots who refuse to accept anything other than an ILS approach
due to their lack of experience with the other procedures. They would prefer to encounter a runway
with unfavorable winds. Nor do they trust their "black boxes" without any experience with them on
alternate approaches.

ILS Categories

For the longest time, the minimums for an ILS approach were one-half mile visibility and a 200 ft. ceiling.
Then things began to change, principally the reliability, accuracy, and capability of the autopilot. RVR, a
more reliable measurement of visibility, began to appear on approach plates, too.

As these changes evolved, the FAA designated three categories of ILS approaches, with successively lower
minimums. Later, they decided that three categories didn't fit all of the desired situations and further
expanded it. The next table shows the full range of ILS approaches.

Categories of ILS Approaches.

Minimum
Category Minimum RVR Remarks
DH
I 200 feet 2400 feet
With touchdown zone and
I 200 feet 1800 feet
runway centerline lighting .
Half the minimums of a standard
II 100 feet 1200 feet
Cat I approach
IIIa 100 feet 700 feet
IIIb 50 feet 150 to 700 feet

4 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:44
ILS Basics https://web.archive.org/web/20200204015916/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Pray that your electronics and

No RVR
IIIc No DH autopilot are accurate and
limitation
reliable.
Data from Aeronautical Information Manual, AIM, FAA.gov.

You'll notice that the Cat. IIIc approach is a zero-zero approach.

The autopilot is in full control of the aircraft for any approach below Cat. I. And you can't initiate a Cat. II or
Cat. III approach at just any airport simply because the weather minimums require it. Those approaches, like
all the others, must be approved and published.

Does lower-minimum ILS capability really buy us anything?

Good question. I suppose that the FAA keeps a myriad of statistics on aircraft landings throughout the U.S. I
don't know whether that data includes statistics on the category of an ILS landing, but wouldn't it be
interesting to know what percent of commercial-airliner landings are Cat. II or lower? Or even legit Cat. I?
Maybe a senior captain of a major airline can write-in and tell us of his or her experience.

Of interest, though, is the progressive lowering of minimums for each type of approach for a real situation.
Take a look at the next table which compares the DH/MDA and RVR for each type of approach at Green
Airport in Providence, R.I.

Straight-in approach minimums for Runway 5,

Green airport, Providence, R.I. Rwy 5 elevation is 53 ft.
Type Approach DH/MDA ft. *** AGL, ft. RVR ft.
NDB ** 740 687 4000
VOR 720 667 2400
LOC 460 407 2400
ILS 253 200 1800*
ILS Cat. II 153 100 1200
* Touchdown zone identification lights and runway centerline lights are available.
** An NDB approach is no longer available at Providence but was left in this table to illustrate the numbers.
*** MDA values are shown on approach plates in increments of 20 ft since that is the way altimeters are
marked. (and the MDA is always rounded up)

The "LOC" approach is a Localizer approach which utilizes only the localizer component of an ILS. It is
thus a non-precision approach with higher minimums. Localizer approaches are the first subject covered in
the next chapter.

Compass Locators

Thought you'd seen the last of the RMI? Not so. Airline captains use them more
frequently than you'd guess, even if seldom for an NDB approach.

It has become increasingly common to colocate a compass locator transmitter

with the Outer Marker beacon. Some airports also have them with the Middle
Marker and Inner Marker beacons, too. These LF NDBs serve the dual function
of keeping pilots appraised of their position relative to the marker beacons and
also can be navigation aids in their own right.

Compass-locator NDBs usually have a power of less than 25 watts, with a range
of at least 15 miles and operate between 190 and 535 KHz. At some locations,
higher powered radio beacons, up to 400 watts, are used as OM compass
locators. These generally carry Transcribed Weather Broadcast information (TWEB).

Compass locators transmit two-letter identification groups. The outer locator transmits the first two letters of
the localizer ident Morse code, and the middle locator transmits the last two letters of the localizer ident
code. In both cases, the ident begins with the letter "I." For example, at Providence, Runway 5: (assuming
that a compass-locator beacon were at these two markers)

Localizer Ident: I-PVD

OM Ident: I-PV

MM Ident: I-VD

Distance Measuring Equipment (DME)

This is a nice DME, other than the fact that I couldn't read the
digits until I repainted them white. The FSX version is more
attractive.

The controls and readouts are about as evident as you'll find.

Across the top is distance in NM (5.1), ground speed in kts
(80) and the time to station in minutes (4). This model lets you

5 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:44
ILS Basics https://web.archive.org/web/20200204015916/http://www.navfltsm.add...

select which VOR the DME is measuring distance from—the one tuned with Nav receiver #1 (N1) as in this
case, or Nav receiver #2 (N2).

The only small issue is a reminder that the distance indicated on the panel of a DME is slant range, not
distance along the ground. The aircraft is in the air and the distance measured is from up there to the station,
like the hypotenuse of a triangle, if that doesn't bring back too many bad memories. So you'll always be
somewhat closer to the station than indicated by the DME.

The error is greater for short distances than large distances. For example, if you were cruising at 5000 ft. and
the DME indicated 5.1 NM as in the illustration, your ground distance to the station is about 4.9 NM, a 3%
error. If your DME reports 30 miles, still at 5000 ft, ground distance now is 70 ft shorter than the slant range,
an insignificant error.

Distance Measuring Equipment can be a crucial part of an ILS installation. Not only does it assist with the
approach, but it can be a necessary component to guide you to the FAF to begin the approach. You'll get a
chance to do some DME work in the final section of the ILS approaches.

Functions of the DME in an approach:

1. When installed with the ILS and specified in the approach procedure, DME may be used:
a. In lieu of the OM,
b. As a back course (BC) final approach fix (FAF), and
c. To establish other fixes on the localizer course.
2. In some cases, DME from a separate facility may be used:
a. To provide initial approach segments,
b. As a FAF for BC approaches, and
c. As a substitute for the OM.

Early ILS

You might be surprised to learn that the Instrument Landing System pre-dated the invention and deployment
of the VOR system. Test installations of VOR systems in the late 1940s quickly showed their usefulness and
by the early 1950s wide-spread installation of these systems was a high priority for the FAA, then known as
the CAA.

Experimental work on instrument approach and landing systems, however, had been well under way since
1928. The first ILS was installed for service tests at the Indianapolis airport in 1940.

The first Instrument Landing System, Indianapolis (Ind.) Municipal airport, 1940. The only noted difference:
their Inner Marker is now the Middle Marker.

Indianapolis was not chosen by accident. The CAA had consolidated its technical development facilities
there in 1939, adjacent to the municipal airport. That site was the center for developing air navigation aids
until 1958 when it moved to Atlantic City, N.J.

6 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:44
ILS Basics https://web.archive.org/web/20200204015916/http://www.navfltsm.add...

The 1940 gauges don't look much different than ours, 60+ years later. The blue and yellow colors were
intended to remind pilots which side of the ILS beam they might be on but later were deemed unnecessary.

Enough, already. It's time to fly. Click on the Localizer Approaches button to learn about instrument
approaches using the ILS Localizer signal.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

7 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:44
Localizer Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041154/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Localizer Approaches

1939. Doesn't this remind you of a simpler time? No instrument approach needed here. Sorry, no prizes for
guessing the type aircraft.

You've had plenty to read so far, so we'll get right into some flights. All flights in this section end with
Localizer Approaches, with no vertical guidance information provided. Thus they all are non-precision
approaches, and Minimum Descent Altitudes, MDAs, will apply.

Some pilots call non-precision approaches "Dive and Drive"—"Dive" to the MDA and then you're so low
that you feel you could almost "Drive" to the runway.

Five practice flights provide lots of variety on types of Localizer approaches.

* * *

Flying the Localizer

Most of the skills learned when flying VOR approaches are applicable to Localizer approaches.

Turn towards the needle to correct for drift—except for a Back Course approach when you do the
opposite and turn away from the needle to correct for drift.
Don't chase the needle.
Establish the proper Wind Correction Angle very early in the approach.
Stabilize the approach so that only power changes are needed for altitude changes.

The biggest difference, of course, is the four-times increase in sensitivity when tracking a localizer. Off
course by one degree is a two-dot deflection on the Indicator gauge. A half-degree misalignment is one dot.

How do you correct a heading that is misaligned by one-half degree? You "kick it over." Yes, that means
rudder pedals. And you kick the pedal on the side that you want to turn. Right turn. Right pedal. You simply
don't bank a plane when you want to make a 1° heading adjustment.

One of the joys of flying the MS flight simulators are that the aircraft are generally very stable on heading.
It's too bad the same can't be said for altitude stability. So once you have established your heading, your
aircraft is likely to stay where you want it all the way down the pipe to the runway.

A joystick is the least satisfactory control when flying a localizer or ILS. It is very difficult to make small
changes with a joystick. They are super in combat situations when you want to roll out of a tough situation,
but not ideal for holding the localizer.

A yoke is the next step up from a joystick. It's easier to make small heading corrections with it than a
joystick. The realism is more satisfying, too.

And, as mentioned, rudder pedals with a yoke is the best possible choice. Now you have the same control
over your flight that a pilot flying the big iron has (and the same control as one who flies the small iron, too).

Something to think about when your tax refund arrives and you're puzzled about how to spend it.

* * *

The first flight is from Newburgh, N.Y., KSWF, to the Essex Co. airport, KCDW, in Caldwell, N.J.

Localizer approaches are very similar to VOR approaches with a few slight differences. The most noticeable
will be the increased sensitivity of the needle on the localizer indicator. As already mentioned, it is four
times as sensitive as when the Nav receiver is tuned to a VOR signal.

Also recall that the OBS setting has no impact on the needle. So get into the habit of setting the OBS to the
localizer approach course as a reminder of where you are going. It will be one less thing to write down or
remember and it is always in front of you.

1 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:47
Localizer Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041154/http://www.navfltsm.add...

* * *

Stewart Int'l airport, Newburgh, N.Y. to Essex Co. airport, Caldwell, N.J.

Stewart Int'l., Newburgh, NY., to Caldwell, N.J. with localizer approach to Runway 22. Click the image to
access the complete flight-information package.

This first flight is easy and enjoyable. The flight begins at Stewart Int'l airport, KSWF, in Newburgh, N.Y.
with a destination of Essex Co. airport, KCDW, in Caldwell, N.J. The localizer approach is to Runway 22.
Click on the image above to download the flight-information package, swf-cdw.zip.

The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the approach plate for LOC Rwy 22 at Caldwell, and this text description
of the flight.

We proceed south-bound from Stewart, tracking to the Teterboro VOR, but intersect the localizer to
Caldwell's Runway 22., before reaching Teterboro. We turn right to track inbound to Caldwell with a
straight-in landing to Runway 22. We must pass a VOR intersection after the FAF before descending below
800 ft.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text and your
charts. Only by doing this will you both understand the purpose of each step, but you will visualize them in
your mind, a critical part of instrument flight.

NOTE: Fly the Instrument Approach portion with

your Nav-2 Receiver for better needle visibility.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 1100 ft

overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and two miles
visibility. The wind is calm.
Move the aircraft to Stewart's Runway 16, airport
KSWF, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-1 receiver to the Teterboro VOR,
108.4 MHz., ident TEB.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to the vicinity of 190°. You will
center the needle with the OBS after takeoff and track
that radial until intercepting Caldwell's localizer. Fly the
first leg with Nav-1.

2 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:47
Localizer Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041154/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Tune the Nav-2 receiver to Caldwell's localizer,

109.35 MHz., ident I-CDW.

Set the VOR-2 OBS to 223°, the localizer track to the runway.
Reset the timer to zero.
Takeoff from Runway 16, climbing out with a modest right turn 190°.
Fly Nav-1. When your VOR-1 comes alive, and warning flags disappear, readjust the OBS as
necessary to center the needle. Observe that a TO flag is showing and then ident the VOR, TEB.
Track that radial to Teterboro. ATC has cleared you to 4000 ft. Climb at 90 kts., then cruise at 110 kts.
after reaching your assigned altitude.
You will intercept Caldwell's Runway 22 localizer before reaching the Teterboro VOR, about 13 min.
into the flight.
Begin your descent to 2000 ft. when the VOR-2 Localizer needle comes alive, i.e., when you can see
movement towards the center of the gauge. Descent rate should be no more than 500 to 700 fpm.
Note from the diagram on the approach plate that the 25 NM MSA is 3000 ft. You will intercept the
localizer at about 18 NM from the field, putting you well within the 10 NM safe radius for the
Localizer approach. Observe that the safe radius centers on the FAF, some 5 NM before the field.
Therefore you can go immediately to the altitudes shown for the approach, which is 2000 ft, until
reaching the FAF.
Ident the localizer before committing to the right turn, I-CDW.
Fly Nav-2. Turn right to heading 223° on intercept to track inbound to Runway 22.
Continue your descent to 2000 ft.
Slow to 75 kts. and drop one notch of flaps.

It's vital to stabilize the approach well before beginning your descent to the MDA.

Readjust the VOR-1 OBS to 323°—a FROM flag should appear. When that needle centers you are at
the FAF for the Runway 22 approach. Monitor its progress to keep appraised of your relative distance
to the FAF.
Maintain 2000 ft. until the FAF.
The Outer Marker beacon will sound out dashes at the FAF, and the Blue OM light will appear on the
marker beacon receiver's indicator.
At the OM, start your timer and start your descent to the 860 ft. MDA.
Readjust the VOR-1 OBS to 303°. You may not descend below 860 ft before passing this intersection,
even if you have the field firmly in sight.
Hold your rate of descent between 500 fpm and 700 fpm. Passengers in unpressurized aircraft
unaccustomed to flight will be uncomfortable with higher rates of descent.
Don't chase the needle; it will be very sensitive as you near the runway. Just try to keep it from
moving.
At 75 kts., 4 min., 14 secs. will elapse to fly the 5.3 nm. to the MAP or Runway 22 threshold.
With two-miles visibility, Runway 22's threshold or approach lights should become visible in 2 min.,
38 secs.
Caldwell's field elevation is 173 ft., so you will have a minute and a half to descend 687 ft. for
touchdown. Slow the aircraft for a normal landing by reducing power and further lowering the flaps.
Good job; have a cup of coffee. The Boss said he'd pay for it.
Flight time: About 25 minutes.

* * *

Manchester, N.H. to Beverly, Mass.

3 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:47
Localizer Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041154/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Manchester, N.H. to Beverly, Mass. with localizer approach to Runway 16. Click the image to access the
complete flight-information package.

This flight is somewhat shorter than the first flight but a little busier during the final approach. The flight
begins at Manchester airport, KMHT, in Manchester, N.H. with a destination of Beverly, Massachusetts,
KBVY. The localizer approach is to Runway 16. Click on the image above to download the flight-
information package, mht-bvy.zip.

The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the approach plate for LOC Rwy 16 at Beverly, and this text description
of the flight.

We proceed south-east bound from Manchester to the Lawrence VOR, then intersect the localizer to
Beverly's Runway 16., making a right turn to track inbound to the airport with a straight-in landing to
Runway 16. A VOR intersection is the FAF for this approach.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text and your
charts. Only by doing this will you both understand the purpose of each step, but you will visualize them in
your mind, a critical part of instrument flight.

NOTE: Fly the Instrument Approach portion with your Nav-2 Receiver for better needle visibility.

You'll use your DME to identify the FAF.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 800 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and two miles
visibility. The wind is calm.
Move the aircraft to Manchester's Runway 17, airport KMHT, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-1 receiver to the Lawrence VOR, 112.5 MHz., ident LWM.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 145°. Fly the first leg with Nav-2.
Tune the Nav-2 receiver to Beverly's localizer, 110.5 MHz., ident I-BVY.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 157°, the localizer track to the runway.
Reset the timer to zero.
Switch your DME to Nav-1 receiver to monitor progress to LWM VOR.
Fly Nav-1. Takeoff from Runway 17, climbing out with a modest left turn to intercept LWMs 145°
radial. A TO flag should appear. Ident the VOR.
ATC has cleared you to 3000 ft. Climb at 90 kts., then cruise at 110 kts. after reaching your assigned
altitude.
Be alert for station passage at LWM as things will get busy.
On station passage at LWM, when the FROM flag appears, continue on your 145° heading.
Begin your descent to 1800 ft.
Switch your DME to Nav-2 receiver.
Fly Nav-2. Turn right to 157° as you intercept the Runway 16 localizer.
Slow to 75 kts. and drop one notch of flaps.

It's vital to stabilize the approach well before beginning your descent to the MDA.

The FAF is 5.9 DME from KBVY, on Nav-2 .

Maintain 1800 ft. until the FAF.
At 5.9 DME, the FAF, start your timer and start your descent to the 580 ft. MDA.
Hold your rate of descent between 500 fpm and 700 fpm.
Don't chase the needle; it will be very sensitive as you near the runway. Just try to keep it from
moving.
At 75 kts., 4 min., 00 secs. will elapse to fly the 5.0 nm. to the MAP or Runway 16 threshold.
With two-miles visibility, Runway 16's threshold or approach lights should become visible in 2 min.,
24 secs.
Beverly's field elevation is 107 ft., so you will have about one and a half minutes to descend 473 ft. for
touchdown. Slow the aircraft for a normal landing by reducing power and further lowering the flaps.
Safe landing, the runway will be wet.
Flight time: About 19 minutes.

* * *

LDA Approach vs. Localizer Approach ... Is there any difference?

Not much, actually. If you've thumbed your way through an FAA volume of instrument approach plates
you'll have noticed an occasional heading such as LDA Rwy 2, and the like. Although they're not common,
you may encounter a Localizer-type Directional Aid in your Flight-Simulator travels.

If you stay on course with a conventional localizer approach it will roll you down the centerline of the
runway. That's why Cat II and Cat III ILS approaches are possible.

The LDA is the same as a localizer, but off-set from the runway heading. It provides course guidance down
to a point from which you can proceed to the airport by visual references. Terrain features generally force the
installation of an LDA approach system; it's the skyscraper, or 1000-ft. TV tower, or granite hill on the
normal approach path that prevents using the conventional localizer.

Chester, Connecticut to Hartford, Connecticut

4 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:47
Localizer Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041154/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Chester, Conn. to Hartford, Conn. with LDA approach to Runway 2. Click the image to access the complete
flight-information package.

This next flight culminates with an LDA approach. Think of it as one more way to keep final approaches
from becoming too boring. It's very short and begins at the Chester, Connecticut, airport, 3B9, KSNC in
FSX, where you earlier began a flight leading to a VOR approach. We're heading in a different direction this
time, to the Hartford-Brainard airport, KHFD, in Hartford, Connecticut.

The LDA approach at Brainard is to Runway 2. Click on the image above to download the flight-information
package, chstr-hfd.zip. The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the approach plate for LDA Rwy 2 at Hartford-
Brainard, and this text description of the flight.

The flight could hardly be simpler. We proceed northwest, make an easy intercept of the Runway 2 localizer
into Brainard. After the FAF we cannot descend below the MDA until passing the Danns intersection, even if
the field is in sight. Assume that this flight is under radar control, allowing the direct route to an intercept of
the localizer.

Note: You may wish to fly this LDA Approach as if there were no radar vectors available. In that case you
would be required to fly the PUBLISHED LDA Rwy 2 approach. On an Instrument Approach Plate the
published approach is depicted by a bold line. Thus your LDA Rwy 2 Approach would include entry into the
holding pattern with a right turn at the HF LOM and then one circuit around the racetrack. This also provides
the opportunity to nail down the WCA for the inbound leg. Thanks to Burt Stevens for pointing out this
requirement if not under radar control.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text and your
charts. Only by doing this will you both understand the purpose of each step, but you will visualize them in
your mind, a critical part of instrument flight.

Remember, this is an LDA approach, Localizer-type Directional Aid, and the approach path is not lined up
with the runway. A right turn is necessary upon reaching the runway to land. Going straight, without the
turn, will bring you down onto the taxiway and into the control tower, a rather unsatisfactory ending to a
good IFR approach.

NOTE: Fly the Instrument Approach portion with your Nav-2 Receiver for better needle visibility.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 900 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and two miles
visibility. The wind is calm.
Move the aircraft to Chester's Runway 35, airport 3B9, KSNC in FSX, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-1 receiver to the Hartford VOR, 114.9 MHz., ident HFD.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 278°.
Tune the Nav-2 receiver to Brainard's Runway 2 Localizer, 109.7 MHz., ident I-HFD.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 002°. The Runway 2 heading is 23°, so anticipate a 21° right turn on arrival.
Reset the timer to zero.
Fly Nav-2. Takeoff from Runway 35, climbing out with a modest 10° left turn to a 345° heading to
insure intercepting the localizer at a comfortable distance from the FAF.
ATC has cleared you to 3000 ft. Climb at 90 kts., then cruise at 110 kts. after reaching your assigned
altitude.
Ident both the localizer, I-HFD, and the VOR, HFD. A FROM flag should be showing on the HFD
VOR.
On intercept of the localizer, turn right to 002° to track it inbound.
Descend to 2200 ft.
Slow to 75 kts. and drop one notch of flaps.

5 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:47
Localizer Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041154/http://www.navfltsm.add...

It's vital to stabilize the approach well before beginning your descent to the MDA.

Watch the progress of the VOR-1 needle. When it centers you will be at the FAF.
Reset the VOR-2 OBS to 023° the runway heading. Maintain 2200 ft. until the FAF.
When the Outer Marker sounds, and the Blue marker light appears, with the VOR-1 needle centered
from the HFD VOR, start your timer and start your descent to the 640 ft. MDA.
Hold your rate of descent between 500 fpm and 700 fpm.
Reset the VOR-1 OBS to 323°, the Danns Intersection.
Don't chase the needle; it will be very sensitive as you near the runway. Just try to keep it from
moving.
Include VOR-1 in your instrument scan; you cannot descend below the MDA until passing Danns
Intersection, when this needle centers.
At 75 kts., 4 min., 20 secs. will elapse to fly the 5.4 nm. to the MAP or Runway 2.
With two-miles visibility, Runway 2's threshold or approach lights should become visible in 3 min.,
07 secs.
One more time, this is an LDA approach. Anticipate a right turn to 021° to land after sighting the
runway.
Brainard's field elevation is 18 ft., so you will have one and a half minutes to descend 622 ft. for
touchdown, about 400 fpm.
Slow the aircraft for a normal landing by reducing power and further lowering the flaps.
The Runway 2 landing threshold is displaced 410 ft. Don't touchdown early.
Pray that, before your next arrival here, a bulldozer removes what ever terrain features prevented this
from being a standard localizer approach.
Flight time: About 15 minutes.

* * *

Lebanon, New Hampshire to Springfield, Vermont

Lebanon Muni airport, Lebanon, N.H. to Springfield, Vt. with a Localizer circling approach to
Runway 23. Click the image to access the complete flight-information package.

It's time to notch up the excitement a little. This flight has several new aspects: the Localizer back
course must be flown to set up the approach, a procedure turn is needed to get turned around, and it all
ends with a localizer approach to Runway 5, then circling around to land on Runway 23.

Oh yes, and a climbing 360° turn above the Lebanon airport to gain some altitude before heading off
toward the destination airport.

The flight begins at Lebanon Muni airport, KLEB, Lebanon, New Hampshire, with a destination of
Hartness State airport, KVSF, Springfield, Vermont. A localizer approach to Runway 5 and circling to
land at Runway 23 ends it all. Click on the image above to download the flight-information package,
leb-vsf.zip.

The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the approach plate for LOC-A at Springfield, and this text
description of the flight.

Recall that if an approach plate name ends in a letter, like LOC-A, rather than a runway number, then a
circling approach is required. Looking at Springfield's LOC-A approach plate, you will notice that the
localizer takes you right down the throat of Runway 5; a 050° localizer course to Runway 5 which is
aligned to 050°. So what's the problem with a straight-in approach to Runway 5?

6 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:47
Localizer Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041154/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Your elevation above the runway threshold is the problem. The field elevation is 577 ft. and the MDA
is 1660 ft., nearly 1100 ft, above the end of the runway. That's too high to safely descend and land,
thus a circling approach is called for.

We proceed south-bound from Lebanon Muni, intercept Springfield airport's Localizer and then fly
over the Springfield airport. We fly outbound on the localizer and enter a standard left procedure turn
three minutes after passing the SXD NDB. We then return to the airport on the localizer, with SXD
NDB the FAF for the approach. Descend to the MDA, circle the airport on sighting it, and land on
Runway 23.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text
and your charts. Only by doing this will you both understand the purpose of each step, but you will
visualize them in your mind, a critical part of instrument flight.

NOTE: Fly the Instrument Approach portion with your Nav-2 Receiver for better needle
visibility.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 1900 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and
two miles visibility. The wind is calm.
Move the aircraft to Lebanon's Runway 18, airport KLEB, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-2 receiver to the Springfield Rwy 5 localizer, 111.3 MHz.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 230°, the back course to Springfield's Rwy 23.
Tune the ADF to the Springfield NDB, 265 KHz., ident SXD.
Reset the timer to zero.
Takeoff from Runway 18, climbing out to the right with a full circling turn above the Lebanon
airport. Set your initial climb rate at 800 fpm so that your altitude will be about 2000 ft when
departing the airport on a course of 190°.
ATC has cleared you to 6000 ft. Climb at 90 kts., then cruise at 110 kts. after reaching your
assigned altitude.
Maintain your 190° course until intercepting Springfield airport’s localizer (back course). The
centering of VOR-2’s needle indicates that you have intercepted the localizer.

When your Nav-2 receiver picks up the Springfield Localizer you will be flying on the back course.
This localizer is set up to guide you on a 050° heading to the vicinity of Runway 5 for the approach.
But you will be tracking the localizer in the opposite direction, on a 230° heading. THE LOCALIZER
NEEDLE OPERATES IN THE REVERSE DIRECTION WHEN YOU FLY THE BACK COURSE
OF A LOCALIZER.

Instead of turning toward the needle if you drift off course, on the back course you must turn away
from the needle.

On intercept of the localizer turn to 230°. To stay on course fly away from the needle.
Once you have intercepted the back course localizer, note the ADF needle. It should be on 230°
and pointing towards the nose of the aircraft.
Fly over the Springfield airport and continue outbound on the back course of the localizer. You
will temporarily lose the localizer signal when you are over the airport but it will return as you
continue outbound towards the SXD NDB.
At station passage of the SXD NDB, when the ADF needle swings and points to your tail, start
the timer and begin a descent to 4500 ft.
Fly outbound for three minutes. Continue to be aware of the reverse sensing of the needle.
Reduce your speed to 90 kts.
At three minutes enter the left procedure turn, heading 185°
Reset and restart the timer.
Reset OBS-2 to 050° the localizer heading.
After one minute in the procedure turn, turn right to 005° and return to the localizer course.
Begin descent to 3500 ft., lower one notch of flaps and further reduce your speed to 75 kts.
Reset the timer.
As the needle centers turn right to 050° to intercept and track the localizer inbound. From here
in you turn towards the needle to correct for drift, being on the front course of the localizer.
Again, with no wind, the ADF needle should be pointing to 050° right on the nose of the
aircraft.
Your ADF needle will reverse direction at the FAF. Start the timer and begin your descent to
1660 ft.
At 75 kts., 5 min., 26 secs. will elapse to cover the 6.8 NM from the FAF to the airport.
You should spot Runway 5 after 3 min. 50 secs. with two miles visibility.
On sighting the field, which will be nearly 1100 ft. below you, jog to the right and enter the left
downwind leg to land on Runway 23.
Descend to the 1400 ft pattern altitude then execute a normal left turn approach to Runway 23.
Left base leg will be 320°. Land normally, being aware of the 100-ft. trees on either side of the
runway.
Give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back.
Flight time: about 37 minutes.

Before moving to the next flight, refly this flight. It contains just about every procedure that you will
encounter in a localizer approach: a back course, a front course, NDB FAF, procedure turn, and a
circling approach.

* * *

7 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:47
Localizer Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041154/http://www.navfltsm.add...

The Localizer Back Course

The localizer antenna array is located at the far end of the runway, away from the approaching aircraft.
Its antennas are arranged and manufactured in such a way to transmit a narrow signal on the runway
approach path. That localizer signal is so accurate that with its guidance, along with the glide slope
signal, an aircraft can safely land when the visibility is zero and when the ceiling is zero.

However, the Localizer antenna array also radiates a narrow signal beam in the opposite direction of
the approach path. That signal is called the Localizer Back Course.

A prime advantage of the Back Course is that the airport gets it for free. It need only be tested and
certified to become available to pilots "coming in from the other direction." It is an excellent
alternative to a circling approach. As you will see in the next flight, approach plates are published
specifically for the localizer back course.

Too many pilots shy away from a back course approach because of the reverse sensing of the needle.
On the back course, one must correct drift with a turn away from the needle. Keep your wits about
you, though, and you will quickly master the reverse sensing needle.

The Back Course localizer approach is a non-precision approach. There is no glide-path guidance with
it. Glide-path signals from the front course may be received while on the back course, but you should
ignore them.

You engage this autopilots for a Back Course approach by pressing the REV ... "Reverse"
switch. The REV switch reverses the sensing of the autopilot so that it turns the aircraft
away from the needle to correct for drift. Note that the APR ... "Approach" switch also
turns on. This autopilot is coupled ONLY to the NAV-1 receiver.

Although a back course localizer approach is similar to a VOR approach, it has several advantages
over a VOR approach.

It is four times as accurate as a VOR approach.

It can provide lateral guidance precisely on heading with the runway since the localizer antennas
are in front of the runway, not offset to the side like an Omni antenna must be.
It provides a signal for a single radial, the runway heading. Hence, no OBS settings are needed
nor can they be set wrong.
When used in lieu of a circling approach, the airport minimums are lower and the approach is
simpler.

You'll enjoy the variety of a Back Course approach.

Marshfield, Massachusetts to New Bedford, Massachusetts

Marshfield, Mass. to New Bedford, Mass. with a Back Course Localizer approach to Runway 23.
Click the image to access the complete flight-information package.

8 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:47
Localizer Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200228041154/http://www.navfltsm.add...

This may be your last opportunity to fly a back course approach. The FAA is decommissioning these
sort of approaches and replacing them with GPS approaches. Microsoft uses the latest FAA data base
when releasing new versions of Flight Simulator. The Back Course approach to Runway 23 of New
Bedford, KEWB, was the only one listed in the New England book of approach plates.

We begin this last localizer-approach flight at 3B2 (although note from the approach plate that it is
now KGHG), Marshfield Municipal Airport, in Marshfield, Mass. It’s a short flight, only 29 nm, but
this back course approach has a 3.55° approach angle to New Bedford’s Runway 23, steeper than the
normal 3.00°. We also provide you with a comfortable 30° intercept of the back course signal.

Because this is such a short flight, your “cruise” altitude will be 2000 ft, the initial approach altitude
for New Bedford’s Localizer back course approach to Runway 23.

You will depart from Marshfield’s Rwy 24, maintain Rwy hdg until your ADF points 205° to FFF
NDB, then fly to FFF NDB on the 205° bearing and on to the 30° intercept of the back course
localizer.

Click on the image above to download the flight-information package, 3b2-ebw.zip. That zip-file
includes the IFR chart, the approach plate for LOC-BC Rwy 23 at New Bedford, and this text
description of the flight.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text
and your charts. Only by doing this will you both understand the purpose of each step, but you will
visualize them in your mind, a critical part of instrument flight.

NOTE: Fly the Instrument Approach portion with your Nav-2 Receiver for better needle
visibility.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 700 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and two
miles visibility. The wind is calm.
Move your aircraft to 3B2, Rwy 24.
Tune Nav-2 to 109.7, New Bedford’s localizer frequency.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 234° as a reminder of New Bedford’s Rwy 23 heading.
Switch your DME to Nav-2. You will need it during the approach.
Tune your ADF to 257.0 kHz, for FFF NDB.
Takeoff from Rwy 24 and maintain runway heading.
Climb to 2000 ft.
When the ADF nears 205° (about 5 nm after takeoff) turn left and fly the 205° bearing to FFF
NDB (about 10 nm).
Drop one notch of flaps and slow to 75 kts on the way to FFF NDB.
Shortly after station passage of FFF NDB you will intercept the localizer for New Bedford’s
Rwy 23.
Turn right to 234° and fly the localizer back course. Recall one more time that you fly away
from the needle to keep it centered.
At DME 9.8 descend to 1900 ft.
At DME 4.6, the FAF, descend to your MDA, 460 ft.
When the approach lights or Rwy 23 is visible land normally.
Flight time: about 22 minutes.

Refly this short flight to further hone your back-course skills.

* * *

This is the end of the localizer approaches. You've flown five of them and your last ones should have
been pretty good. With this experience behind you, go back and fly the five approaches one more time.
You'll be pleased at how well you do.

The next piece in the ILS approach is flying the Glide Slope. Click the Flying the Glide Slope button
below to get started.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

9 of 9 25-05-2022, 18:47
Flying the Glide Slope https://web.archive.org/web/20200428021045/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Flying the Glide Slope

Wouldn't it be great to be in this front office?

The five Localizer approaches in the previous section were an excellent beginning to mastering the ILS. That
experience, especially if you flew each approach twice, greatly reduces the distraction of tracking the
localizer while learning full ILS approaches.

However, you must proficiently accomplish one remaining task before you're ready to fix your eyes on the
glide slope needle and descend the slippery slope to the runway.

The standard glide slope for an ILS approach is three degrees. To maintain that three-degree descent you
must know the rate of descent needed for any ground speed, elsewise your ILS approaches will be very
unsatisfactory.

Knowing the descent numbers is not enough. You must also be able to accurately maintain the desired rate of
descent.

Stay with us and we'll resolve both problems.

First, here are the rates of descent for various ground speeds for a three-degree glide slope.

Rates of descent for a three-degree glide path vs. Ground Speed.

kts 55 60 65 70 75 80
fpm 292 318 345 371 398 424
est. 275 300 325 350 375 400

Note first: the higher the ground speed, the higher the descent rate to stay on the three-degree profile.

The fpm row, feet per minute, shows the actual rates of descent needed for various ground speeds
appropriate for the Cessna Nav Trainer. For example, at 75 kts. ground speed, your aircraft must descend at
398 fpm to remain perfectly aligned with a three-degree glide slope.

Well, the 398 fpm number, along with the other rates of descent in that row, show that calculators are alive
and well. But few mortals could memorize that row of numbers, let alone recall them when mucking about in
the soup just prior to an approach.

It's time for another rule of thumb: Multiply the ground speed, in knots, by five and you will have a usable
number for the correct rate of descent, in feet per minute.

Note the row in the table labeled "est." That is the ground speed multiplied by five. Those numbers are a
little lower than the actual fpm's needed, but are within about five percent so only a little tweaking will be
needed to stay on the glide slope. Furthermore, those numbers keep you on the "high" side of the glide slope,
a better place to err than the "low" side.

And that is the key to a good ILS approach: "only a little tweaking is needed."

We've beaten around the bush on this Ground Speed thing. The air speed is not what's of interest in this
calculation, it's the ground speed that counts. So if the TAS is 75 kts as it should be for the Cessna Nav
Trainer on approach, and your headwind component is 15 kts., then ground speed is 75–15 or 60 kts., times
five would be a rate of descent of 300 fpm.

Sorry, a lot of words to say that rate of descent equals five times the ground speed.

Practice, Practice, Boring, Boring

Not today. We're going to practice setting and maintaining the proper glide-slope rate of descent by flying
the VASI in brilliantly clear VFR weather—at six different airports with only a few keystrokes to move from

1 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:49
Flying the Glide Slope https://web.archive.org/web/20200428021045/http://www.navfltsm.add...

one airport to another. You jet jockeys flying the big iron can even participate if you promise to keep your
fingers, err, ah, mouse, away from the autopilot.

VASI System

Most runways with a published IFR approach are equipped with lights that help pilots determine if they're on
the proper descent path during the final stages of approach and landing. The most common system is the
VASI, or Visual Approach Slope Indicator.

VASIs come in several varieties, but a typical system includes two sets of light bars placed on the left side of
the runway, one nearer the landing threshold than the other. Lenses split the light into red and white beams.

Three combinations of lights exist with this arrangement. If you're approaching the runway on the proper
glide path, usually a three-degree slope, you'll see a red light above a white light.

Left, "Red over red, you're dead," approach is low. Center, "Red over white, you're all right,"
approach is perfect. Right, "White over white, you'll fly all night," approach is high.

Intuitively, of course, one understands that red-red is "danger," or low, and then the others take care of
themselves.

Intercepting the Glide Path

The preferred method to intercept a glide path, whether the ILS Glide Slope or the VASI lights, is from
below. Two reasons for this.

Intercepting a glide slope from above involves shifting from the rate of descent used to intercept to the rate
of descent to maintain the glide slope. For most that is a more difficult maneuver than flying level and
beginning a descent when intercepting the glide slope. Why complicate your life when all you need do
otherwise is concentrate your attention on a proper ILS approach?

The glide-slope beam "thickness" is 1.4° but false lobes can exist above the glide path. An aircraft might
intercept one of these erroneous signals when intercepting from above, leading it to the runway on an
improper glide path.

So do it the easy, error-free way. Fly level, intercept the glide path from below, then begin and stabilize the
rate of descent.

Aiming Point

While VASI lights are a useful aid for controlling the slope to the runway, you must also have an aiming
point. The aiming point is the point where the airplane would impact the runway if you don't initiate a flare.

Flight-simmers love the long, straight-in approach. It seems so much simpler than the standard entry into a
downwind leg where it's necessary to keep the runway in sight during the turn onto base leg and the turn
onto final.

The straight-in approach also eliminates the needless bother of determining entry, downwind and base-leg
headings, of determining wind correction angles for each of those headings, and of determining which

2 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:49
Flying the Glide Slope https://web.archive.org/web/20200428021045/http://www.navfltsm.add...

approach is standard for the desired runway, left-hand or right-hand turns. Gone, too, is the worry of how far
away from the runway to fly the downwind leg and when to turn base-leg.

In fact, standard procedure landings, with turns onto base leg and final, are easier than long approaches
because everything happens so much closer to the airport where you can see and judge better. It's unfortunate
that Flight Simulator viewing limitations discourage pilots from becoming proficient in those fun-type
landings.

All of that aside, most IFR landings follow a long, straight-in instrument approach. The aiming-point
technique will improve all of your landings, whether long, straight-in approaches, or the standard procedure
landings. Once the landing becomes visual it will accurately get you to the threshold of the runway.

Begin by focusing your attention on the threshold end of the runway, an easily discernible point in Flight
Simulator. The object is to adjust your rate of descent so that the aiming point does not move during your
entire approach to land. It only gets bigger as you get closer.

A post-it sticky pad will be useful until you have a few landings under your belt using this technique. You'll
practice this in the VFR landings with the VASI, but in actual IFR approaches you'll use this technique as
soon as the runway becomes visible.

After you begin your descent down the glide-path and everything is fairly stable, pause your FS and srick a
post=it on the monitor with the top beside the approach end of the runway, to emphasize your aiming point.
Then continue your approach. The end of the runway must not stray from the top of thr post-it you stuck on
the screen.

If you have set your rate of descent precisely correct, it will be as if you're suspended in air; there will be no
movement of the runway as you approach. It will almost be eerie. Any movement of the approach end of the
runway signifies that the point of your actual landing will differ from your point of intended landing. Here
are the possibilities:

1. Aiming point established at yellow mark (the top of your post-it).

2. No movement of the runway threshold as you near the airport. The rate of descent is perfect.
3. The runway threshold is creeping up the screen as you approach. The landing will be short, the rate of
descent is too high. Pray that there are no schools or hospitals below.
4. The runway threshold is creeping down as you approach. The landing will be long, the rate of descent
is too low. Pray that no 20-story condos are at the end of the runway.

Once you alert your senses to be aware of any movement of the runway threshold, this becomes a very
natural technique to use when landing.

Remember to adjust rate of descent with power, not by changing the position of the yoke. Consider this
ancient aviation proverb:

If you want to go up, pull back on the yoke.

If you want to go down, pull back a little more.

If you want to go down real fast and spin around and around and around, just keep pulling back.

Actually, the technique to control rate of descent on the glide slope is controversial. See the discussion on
this a little farther down the page.

Why don't I just set the rate of descent with the VSI?

Because the VSI, the Vertical Speed Indicator, lies to you. It does a
very nice job of telling you what happened the day before yesterday,
but is about the least reliable gauge on your panel at telling you
what's happening now.

3 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:49
Flying the Glide Slope https://web.archive.org/web/20200428021045/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Try this little experiment. Trim your Cessna Nav Trainer for straight
and level flight, about 100 kts. IAS. The VSI should show zero.
Now shove the nose down ten degrees, watch the VSI, then pull the
nose ten degrees above the horizon. The VSI needle is all over the
place.

The VSI does a good job of reporting stable conditions, straight and
level flight or a constant, unvarying climb or descent. But it is of
little use while the attitude of the aircraft is changing.

If the VSI has so little value, why put it on the panel?

Didn't say that it was of little value. It is excellent at reporting stable settings, which is what IFR flying is all
about. Stable settings.

Holding the Glide Slope—Throttle or Pitch?

Student pilots learn early in their flight training that the throttle controls rate of descent, or climb, while the
yoke, or pitch, controls airspeed. Few people argue with that, although there is some interaction between the
two controls. But it's a nice simple, nearly fool proof technique.

There are times to do this backwards, though. For example, if one is flying straight and level and the altitude
has drifted low by 15 feet, an ease-back on the yoke to regain that small altitude is an appropriate technique.

Midway through this ILS section, I started to get some feedback on holding the glide slope with pitch, or
attitude, and airspeed with throttle, rather than the other way around. I went to some experts and the
consensus was right down the middle. Half said throttle for rate of descent, the other half said pitch, or yoke.

I got a lot of good information when I posted the question on an aviation newsgroup. Here are my
conclusions, taken from many responses.

Learn the proper power setting to hold the glide slope. The following VASI approaches will help you
do just that.
Intercept and descend down the glide slope, using the throttle to control your rate of descent.
If you are drifting above the glide slope, very slightly reduce the throttle and note the RPMs that most
closely keep you on the glide slope.
If you are drifting below the glide slope, slightly ease back on the yoke to "quickly" return to the glide
slope, then slightly increase the RPMs to stay on the glide slope. Allegedly, there is safe altitude below
you when descending the glide slope, unless otherwise noted on the approach plate. But, in fact,
obstructions below you, such as TV towers or tall buildings, can be frighteningly close. So don't tarry
when below the glide slope. Pitch control is a quicker reaction than power control.
Flying a jet vs. a prop plane makes a big difference. In a jet, many seconds can elapse between the
time that you advance the throttles and a noticeable power increase (or decrease) occurs. A prop plane,
on the other hand, responds much more quickly to throttle adjustments. So, when flying a jet, track the
glide slope with the yoke, or pitch control, because you want immediate response.

Things happen so much more quickly in a jet. In the early days of jet travel, a jet crashed on an ILS
approach. The pilot, with a gazillion hours in propliners, did the natural thing, and advanced the
throttles when he started to drift below the glide path. By the time the engines responded, some ten or
fifteen seconds later in those days, he was scraping the ground.

So bottom line:
a. In prop planes, throttle to control rate of descent. If high, slightly decrease the throttle.
b. When below the glide path, responsively return to the glide path with the yoke, then slightly
readjust power to stay there.
c. In jets, because events occur so swiftly, pitch control to maintain the glide slope.

VASI Approaches

Let's fly some VASI approaches. Here are six which will help your glide slope work.

The VASI Approaches&#151all are 3.0° glide path.

Set This Intercept Loc.
City Rwy Hdg Type RPM
Head Wind Alt. MHz.
Schnectady
1. 4 –– 2000 040° 109.7 VASI
KSCH
Providence
2. 23 –– 1900 227° 109.3 VASI
KPVD
Worcester 305° @
3. 29 2700 292° 110.9 VASI
KORH 15 kts.
White Plains
4. 16 –– 2000 162° 109.7 PAPI
KHPN
Boston
5. 4R –– 1800 036° 110.3 PAPI
KBOS

4 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:49
Flying the Glide Slope https://web.archive.org/web/20200428021045/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Keene 035° @
6. 2 2600 023° 108.9 PAPI
KEEN 20 kts.
Click here to print the full VASI approach information.

PAPI: VASI, but a notch better

Actually, only three of the approaches in front of you rely on the VASI; the other three use the PAPI. PAPI,
the Precision Approach Path Indicator, as its name implies, vertically guides you to the runway with a
narrower beam of light, thus more precisely. Here is the PAPI in pictorial form.

The familiar red and white lights have the same meaning as with the VASI, but the PAPI places
them side-by-side rather than front-to-back.

Since the PAPI systems uses a narrower beam of light you must fly the glide path more precisely than the
VASI to stay on the beam. You really have to stay on your toes when flying the VASI because there is no
indication that you are drifting off the glide path until the lights switch to red-red or white-white. You may
find yourself flying an S-slope down to the runway: bump the white-white, descend and bump the red-red,
climb and bump the white-white, etc.

The PAPI, with its extra lights, forewarns you when you are drifting from the desired glide path. If you see
three reds or three whites, slightly off the glide path, it's time to take the necessary action to stop the drift.
Minor power adjustments should do it and knowing the correct RPM for the desired rate of descent puts you
a jump ahead of the game, where the lights are determined that you shan't stay between them. It's actually
rather fun. You feel as if you've beaten the system when you slide all the way down the glide path with the
PAPI lights properly remaining white-white-red-red.

The approaches that you will fly begin 4.0 NM before reaching the FAF. This provides a little over 3 minutes
to Ident the localizer and to stabilize the aircraft in straight and level flight on the localizer heading. All
speeds are 75 kts., with one notch of flaps dropped.

The intercept altitudes shown are taken from the approach plates for an ILS approach to the same runway.
They are your expected altitudes as you cross the Outer Marker. These altitudes will differ from the approach
altitudes shown on your approach plates. The intent here is to descend using the VASI rather than fly a full
approach.

Intercept the descent path when the Outer Marker sounds, dashed tones, and a blue indicator light
illuminating on the instrument panel. In most instances, the VASI lights will not be visible from the Outer
Marker in Flight Simulator. Don't worry, start the planned descent at the Outer Marker. The VASI will pop
into view very shortly.

Note the RPM column at the end of the table. Record the engine RPM here for each flight after you have
achieved a stabilized descent down the glide path. The point is to learn what engine RPM provides the
proper rate of descent for your aircraft in the approach configuration of 75 kts., and one notch of flaps
lowered. Then when you fly the full ILS you reduce your engine power to this RPM setting when
intercepting the glide path.

To minimize porpoising, smoothly reduce the RPMs when throttling back to descend. The digital tach
readout allows you to precisely set the desired RPMs.

Point of View

The Flight Simulator program has a tab position to change your point of view of what is in front of the
windshield. The system defaults at 1.00, but many pilots who fly in "real time" feel that a value of 1.5, which
magnifies the view, is more realistic. Their rationale is that it is equivalent to focusing your eyes on a
specific target, such as a runway, vs. taking in the broader picture like viewing mountains.

I prefer the 1.5 view, but it is a subjective thing. Try both then, for all flights, stick with the one that you like

5 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:49
Flying the Glide Slope https://web.archive.org/web/20200428021045/http://www.navfltsm.add...

best. The VASI lights are definitely easier to see in the 1.5 view mode. Alt View/Options then enter zoom.

Here are the steps for the VASI approaches.

Turn off Autopilot—this is important. Aircraft may crash trying to return to settings previously saved
by the autopilot.
Set Zoom to 1.50 ... View/Options.
Go to the "World/Weather" page in FS to set the weather conditions: Click the "Clear All Weather"
button.
Get your Cessna Nav Trainer airborne from any airport, and then trim it out to 75 kts. straight and
level, with one notch of flaps set in. Headings and altitudes don't matter now because you will set them
in later for each approach.
Set the Nav-2 to the localizer frequency shown in the table, and set the VOR-2 OBS to the heading in
the table.
If a head wind is indicated in the table, go to "World/Weather" and set in the appropriate wind
numbers.
Go to "World/Map View" to set in your latitude and longitude, heading and altitude information for
each approach.
Save the FS Program, marking it as your default so that it will return to these conditions the next time
you open FS.
Start planned descent rate (based on ground speed) at the OM even if VASI/PAPI lights are not yet
visible. Descend at 400 fpm for 75 kts ground speed.
Fly and enjoy! Don't let the red-over-white VASI indication slip away.
Trim for 75 kts., if necessary, with the digital elevator trim.
Scan all flight instruments during the descent; don't let the airspeed wander from 75 kts.
Pay close attention to the RPMs, keeping them where they belong.
Press "Shift-Enter" to raise view of ground, if needed and "Shift-Backspace" to lower view. (fs9 and
earlier only, FSX, of course, does it differently.)
Record the engine RPM in the table for the stabilized descent down the glide path.
To repeat a flight, press "Ctrl – ;" to return to its beginning point.

Flying the Glide Slope

You're now ready to fly the glide slope. The glide-slope needle flies identically to the localizer needle; no
adjustments on the gauge affects the needle position. You fly towards the needle to correct for an off-course
indication. The illustrations below show the three possible vertical situations when flying the glide path to
Providence, R.I., KPVD, Rwy 5.

On the left, glide-slope needle is low, you are above the glide-path and must fly down, toward
the needle to return. In the center, both needles are centered, aircraft is on glide path and
localizer – your approach is perfect. On the right, glide-slope needle is high, you are below the
glide-path and must fly up, toward the needle to return.

The deviation of the glide-slope needles is exaggerated in the illustrations. Don't let them get that far off of
center. Like the Localizer needle, react promptly when you see needle movement away from center. The
object is to stop the needle movement. Don't fret for the moment that you might be a needle-width off of
center. Get the needle stopped, by adjusting power. Once you're satisfied that the needle is stopped, then
make a tiny power correction to return the needle to center.

Think small when flying the glide slope. All adjustments should be small. Some pilots advocate a jog of the
yoke to return the aircraft to the glide slope but this is likely to mess up the stability that you've worked so
hard to establish. Try to adjust only with the throttle.

Six Glide Slope flights

Guess what? You're going to repeat the six flights that you just completed with the VASI/PAPI, but flying the
glide slope needle.

The table below summarizes these flights and flight conditions.

The Glide Slope Approaches -- 75 kts, one notch of flaps.

Head Vis. Ceiling
City Rwy TDZE Alt. Hdg LOC Ident DH
Wind mi. ft.
Schnectady
1. 4 338 –– 2500 040° 109.7 I-SCH 3/4 650 555
KSCH

6 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:49
Flying the Glide Slope https://web.archive.org/web/20200428021045/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Providence
2. 23 51 –– 2100 227° 109.3 I-ARJ 1/2 350 251
KPVD
290°
Worcester
3. 29 991 @ 15 3000 289° 110.9 I-EKW 3/4 1300 1191
KORH
kts.
White
4. Plains 16 439 –– 2100 162° 109.7 I-HPN 1/2 750 639
KHPN
Boston
5. 4R 18 –– 1800 036° 110.3 I-BOS 1/2 320 218
KBOS
020°
Keene
6. 2 488 @ 20 2600 018° 108.9 I-EEN 1 920 823
KEEN
kts.

Here are the steps for the Glide Slope approaches.

Click here to print the full Glide Slope approach information for use while flying. The printed version
is necessary. It contains all of the information in the table above plus the FS setup information needed
for each flight.
Click here to download the zip file with the six approach plates in PDF format needed for the flights.
Approach Plates for Glide Slope flights.
Turn off Autopilot—this is important. Aircraft may crash trying to return to settings previously saved
by the autopilot.
Go to "World/Weather" to set the weather conditions to the ceilings and visibilities shown in the table.
Set the cloud tops at 10,000 ft. If a head wind is indicated in the table, enter that data while there, too.
Get your Cessna Nav Trainer airborne from any airport, and then trim it out to 75 kts. straight and
level, with one notch of flaps set in.
Set the Nav-1 receiver to the localizer frequency shown in the table, and set the VOR-1 OBS to the
heading in the table.
Go to "World/Map View" to set in your latitude and longitude, heading and altitude information for
each approach.
Save the FS Program, marking it as your default so that it will return to these conditions the next time
you open FS.
Begin your descent when the glide slope needle centers. Use the RPMs established from the VASI
flights for descent.
Fly and enjoy! Don't let the glide-slope needle slip away, but don't chase it, either.
Trim for 75 kts., if necessary, with the digital elevator trim.
Scan all flight instruments during the descent; don't let the airspeed wander from 75 kts.
Pay close attention to the RPMs, keeping them where they belong.
To repeat a flight, press "Ctrl – ;" to return to its beginning point.

This is the end of flying the glide slope. We're at the point that most flight-sim pilots were waiting for: the
full ILS approaches. Well, all you have to do is click the ILS Approaches button below to get there.

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

7 of 7 25-05-2022, 18:49
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Flying the ILS

Although it looks like a DC-3, it's a DC-2. Douglas Aircraft Company manufactured only 156 DC-2s
before introducing the DC-3.

An ILS is an ILS is an ILS.

Well, not exactly. Here follows eight ILS approaches, each differing from the other in some manner. As you
fly these approaches, hopefully without benefit of the autopilot, except for the final flight, you can't help but
notice that tracking the localizer and glide slope is getting easier and easier. As you come to the end of this
section, you might find that keeping the needles centered within half a dot is no longer much challenge.

The only method to achieve that level of flying, is "flying by the numbers." Without consistency little
success can be achieved. While flying, keep a chart near at hand that contains the important flight settings.
Here's the chart that I use for the Cessna Nav Trainer. Note that the power settings are only approximate and
will vary with altitude, but they are a good place to begin.

Cessna Nav Trainer Flight Settings

Nav Trainer RPM Flaps KTs FPM
Maintain
Climb 2500 – 90
90 kts
Cruise-Level, 5000 ft 2500 – 110 –
Cruise-Descend 2350 – 110 500
Approach-Level 2050 one notch 75 –
Approach-Descend 1800 one notch 75 500
Approach-Glide Slope 1750 one notch 75 400

Click here to print the table. Note that your flight settings may vary.

Prepare a chart similar to this for each aircraft you fly. Add a Manifold Pressure column if the aircraft has a
constant speed propeller. Print this, or make your own, and fasten it to a piece of cardboard. Construct such a
chart for every aircraft that you fly and keep them next to your monitor for easy access.

* * *

The ILS Approaches

Before beginning the ILS approaches, firmly understand the meaning of DH, Decision Height. The DH is the
lowest height to which the approach can be conducted by instrument reference alone. From that point on you
must be able to see either the runway or the approach lights and be able to execute a safe visual landing. If
not, a missed approach is required.

NOTE: YOU WILL GET THE GREATEST BENEFIT FROM THIS SECTION IF YOU FLY EACH
APPROACH A SECOND TIME BEFORE MOVING TO THE NEXT FLIGHT. FLYING EACH A
THIRD TIME IS EVEN BETTER. ALL FLIGHTS ARE VERY SHORT.

* * *

1 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

"Florida?" I repeated, dumbfounded.

"Yeah," The Boss answered, "Mrs. Grayson wants her ferrets flown down there, to Palatka, to be with her for
the winter—wants personal handling, know that they won't be sitting out beside the baggage compartment of
some plane in this subfreezing temperature."

It had all happened so fast. Florida looked mighty good now after the fourteen-inch snowfall in New
England a few days back. I was ready to go in an hour. Mrs. Grayson's chauffeur had brought the ferrets to
the airport with their cage, and I left for Palatka in my Nav Trainer.

Ferrets delivered, I was now at the motel, pool-side to be exact, enjoying the warm sun and beautiful
temperature. Life was good.

"Sir, are you the charter pilot?" The desk clerk had approached with a sheet of paper in his hand. "A fax for
you," he said, handing it to me, and left.

"Tried reaching you since early this morning. Please answer your phone. Had to get the motel
fax number from your Boss."

"I'll be there in an hour. Need a flight to Gainesville. Want to catch a sunset hot air balloon ride
tonight."

It was boldly signed "Counter." Very boldly signed.

The weather was going to change in a few hours, be uncharacteristically overcast. I'd get Counter to
Gainesville, but wondered whether he'd be ballooning tonight or not. I grabbed my towel and headed for the
room to change. Maybe it would be a bumpy flight.

Larkin airport, Palatka, Florida to Gainesville, Florida.

Larkin airport, 28J, Palatka, Fla. to Gainesville, Fla., KGNV, with ILS approach to Runway 28
(Rwy 29 in FSX). Click the image to access the complete flight-information package.

This first flight is easy and enjoyable. The flight begins at Larkin airport in Palatka, Florida, 28J, with a
destination of Gainesville, Fla., KGNV. The ILS approach is to Runway 28 (Rwy 29 imnFSX). Click on the
image in the main text to download the flight-information package, 28j gnv.zip.

The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the Gainesville ILS approach plate for both Rwy 28, and Rwy 29 for
FSX), and this text description of the flight. We proceed southwest from Larkin to intersect the localizer to
Gainesville's Runway 28 (Rwy 29 in FSX). Once on the localizer beam it is a straight-in landing to

2 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Gainesville's Runway 28 (Rwy 29 in FSX).

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text and your
charts. Only by doing this will you both understand the purpose of each step, but you will visualize them in
your mind, a critical part of instrument flight.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 500 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and one-half
mile visibility. The wind is calm.
Move the aircraft to Larkin Airport, Palatka, Fla., Runway 27, airport 28J, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-1 receiver to Gainesville's localizer, 111.3 MHz., Ident-GNV.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 285°, the localizer track to Runway 28 (286° for Rwy 29 in FSX).
Tune the Nav-2 receiver to the Ocala VOR, 113.7 MHz., ident OCF.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 017°. This is the Dante Intersection with the localizer where you will make an
altitude change.
Switch the DME to Nav-1 (FSX) or to Nav-2 for fs9 to monitor progress towards Gainesville.
Tune your ADF to 269 kHz, ident GN. Your ADF will keep you informed on how close you are to
intercepting the Gainesville localizer.
Turn on your MKR BCN Receiver with the switch near the OMI lights.
Takeoff from Runway 27,
Turn left to 260°.
Climb to 3000 ft.
After the Gainesville localizer is received on Nav-1 monitor your ADF needle. When it nearly points
to 285° (or 286° for FSX) you know the localizer intercept is very near.
Intercept the localizer 285° inbound to Runway 28 (286° for Rwy 29 in FSX), keeping the localizer
needle centered.
Begin your descent to 2100 ft. on the localizer intercept. Descent rate should be no more than 500 to
700 fpm.
At Dante Intersection, when the VOR-2 needle centers, descend to 1700 ft.
You are now 6.0 NM from the Outer Marker.
Slow to 75 kts. and drop one notch of flaps.
Tune Nav-2 to 116.2 mHz, the Gainesville VOR. This will provide DME info to the airport for fs9.
The VOR-2 OBS setting is not a factor.

It's vital to stabilize the approach well before beginning your descent down the ILS.

• Maintain 1700 ft. until intercepting the glide slope at the OM.
• The Outer Marker beacon will sound out dashes at the FAF, and the Blue OM light will appear on the
marker beacon receiver's indicator.
• Stay on the glide slope and localizer until you reach your DH of 322 ft. Don't look away from the
gauges until very shortly before reaching the DH, about one-half mile from the runway.
• You've heard this before. Don't chase the needles; they will be very sensitive as you near the runway.
Just try to keep them from moving.
• Gainesville's Runway 28 (or 29) TDZE, Touch Down Zone Elevation, is 122 ft. Thus with a 322 ft
DH you are 200 ft above the ground. It should be an easy coast in from there if you've stayed on top of
the needles.
• Remember, on an ILS, the TDZE is the important elevation, not the field elevation. The Runway 28
(Rwy 29 in FSX) TDZE at Gainesville is 30 ft. lower than the field elevation, a very significant
difference. Take a look at the plan view of the airport on the approach plate to see the difference.
• Nice start on an easy flight, if a little busy.
• Flight time: About 20 minutes.

* * *

Monroe County, Monroeville, Alabama to Pensacola Regional, Florida

3 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Monroe County airport, Monroeville, Ala. to Pensacola Regional airport, Pensacola, Fla. with an
ILS approach to Runway 17. Click the image to access the complete flight-information package.

This flight is also easy and enjoyable, with some intersection work thrown in for a change of pace. The flight
begins at Monroe County airport, KMVC, Monroeville, Ala. with a destination of Pensacola Regional
airport, KPNS, Pensacola, Fla. The ILS approach is to Runway 17. Click on the image above to download
the flight-information package, mvc-pns.zip.

The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the approach plate for ILS Rwy 17 at Pensacola, and this text description
of the flight.

We proceed southeast and then south from Monroe County airport to the PENSI intersection. Then it's a left
turn for a straight-in ILS approach to Pensacola's Runway 17. The flight requires some modest VOR/DME
work to identify intersections.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text and your
charts. Only by doing this will you both understand the purpose of each step, but you will visualize them in
your mind, a critical part of instrument flight.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 500 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and one-mile
visibility. The wind is calm.
Move the aircraft to Monroe County's (Monroeville, Ala.) Runway 21, airport KMVC, and retract the
flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-1 receiver to Monroeville VOR, 116.8 MHz.,
Ident-MVC.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 160°.
Tune the Nav-2 receiver to the Saufley VOR, 108.8 MHz., ident NUN.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 188°.
Switch the DME to Nav. 1. This will monitor distance from MVC VOR.
Fly Nav-1. Takeoff from Runway 21, climbing out with a left turn to intercept MVC's 160° radial.
Intercept with a very shallow angle; you are very close to the VOR.
ATC has cleared you to 5000 ft. Climb at 90 kts., then cruise at 110 kts. after reaching your assigned
altitude.
Pay close attention to VOR-2. The OFF flag will be showing because the aircraft is out of range of the
NUN Omni (range is 39 NM). Turn on and leave on the VOR-2 ident so that you will hear when it
becomes active. Check that the OFF flag is no longer visible before relying on this gauge.
Fly the MVC 160° radial until the VOR-2 needle centers. The DME will read 23 to 24 NM at the
intersection.
Fly Nav-2. When the VOR-2 needle centers, turn right to 188° and track that radial southward.
Descend to 4000 ft.
After intercepting NUN's 188° radial, retune the Nav-1 receiver to Crestview VOR, 115.9 MHz., Ident
CEW.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 263°.
When both the VOR-1 and VOR-2 needles center, you are at PENSI intersection. The DME should
read about 30 NM from CEW.
At PENSI intersection immediately turn left to a 166° heading.
Retune the Nav-1 receiver to 111.1 MHz., Pensacola's localizer frequency for Runway 17, Ident
I-PNS.
Reset the VOR-1 OBS to 166°, the heading for Pensacola's Runway 17.
Fly Nav-1. Track the localizer inbound.

4 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

The DME will read 19-20 NM, about 13-14 NM to the FAF.
Descend to 1700 ft. Descent rate should be no more than 500 to 700 fpm.
Reset the VOR-2 OBS to 052°, to identify the Brent Intersection.
Brent intersection is the FAF for the ILS approach to Runway 17. There is no OM.
Check that the Nav-2 receiver is still tuned to Saufley VOR, 108.8 MHz., Ident NUN.
Drop one notch of flaps and slow to 75 kts.
Maintain 1700 ft. until intercept of the glide slope, shortly before arrival at the Brent intersection.
The DME will read 5.9 NM at Brent intersection, with both VOR-1 and VOR-2 needles centered.
Reduce power and descend down the glide slope upon intercept.
Stay on the glide slope and localizer until you reach your DH of 321 ft. Don't look away from the
gauges until very shortly before reaching the DH, about one-half mile from the runway.
DH is 321 ft. Don't descend below that point if the runway is not in sight. You will reach the DH near
the Middle Marker, amber light on the panel, alternating dots and dashes sounding from the speaker.
Pensacola's Runway 17 TDZE, Touch Down Zone Elevation, is 121 ft., 200 ft. below you at the DH. It
should be an easy coast in from there if you've stayed on top of the needles.
Land and take satisfaction in the challenge of a busy flight.
Flight time: About 37 minutes.

* * *

My laptop computer was open in front of me. I was at my motel after a charter to bring a WW II history buff
to visit the Holocaust Memorial Museum here in St. Petersburg. I spotted The Boss's e-mail message right
away. Short and to the point, it read: "Nothing this morning, check back after lunch."

The AOL Instant-Messenger Icon flashed as I was about to disconnect. I clicked on the Icon, but didn't
recognize the screen name, "TheWildOne." I opened the message.

It was from Counter.

I read Counter's message, wondering the nature of his present crisis.

"I have to be at McKechnie Field today in time to see the Pittsburgh Pirates play. They head north for the
regular season after this game," the e-mail began. "The Buccos have always been my team ... a baseball team
with heritage. Can't watch them play in New England since they're in the National League. Only American
League sissies up there."

McKechnie Field was in Bradenton, not far south of St. Petersburg, across Tampa Bay, but a long drive
around the inlet. McKechnie had been the Pirates' spring-training home for over thirty years. I went back to
the e-mail.

"The Pirates will be back in the hunt again for division championship, and maybe more. With their history,
it's only a matter of time. Earned their name in 1890 because they 'Pirated' a star player from the
Philadelphia A's. So much nostalgia surrounds the Bucs, I gotta be at the game. Hey, what other team can
boast all this?

They played the first World Series game ever in 1903, against the Boston Pilgrims.
Honus Wagner, Pirate shortstop, was the first player to have his signature branded in a Louisville
Slugger. He never batted below .300 for his first 17 years as a big leaguer.
Honus Wagner was also in the first class to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb,
Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson were the other original members.
Pirate Bill Mazeroski was the first player to decide a World Series with a home run in the 7th game. It
happened against the Yankees and was one of the greatest moments in World Series history.
The Bucs have the most players with 3000 hits; Honus Wagner, Paul Waner and Roberto Clemente.
The Pirates have the most batting championships, with twenty-four.
The Pirates always struggled for attendance. In their first stadium, Recreation Park, one game showed
a paid attendance of six, plus eleven hanger-ons, for a total of seventeen in the ball park.
Forbes Field was home for the Pirates for sixty-one years, from 1909 to 1970. With a twelve-foot brick
outfield fence, it was a "Man's" field.
Left-center field was so deep, 457 ft., that the batting cage was stored there during ball games.

5 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

That deep center field allowed a lot of room for triples and inside-the-park home runs. Pirate
"Chief" Owen Wilson set the major league record for triples (36) in a single season in this park.
The right-field roof was an 86 ft. high target for many Major League sluggers. Ten different
players launched eighteen home runs over that roof. Pirate Willie Stargell led the charge with
seven round-trippers.
Babe Ruth was another legendary long-ball hitter to clear that roof. As he finished his career
with the Boston Braves, on May 25, 1935, Ruth hit three home runs against the Bucs. His last
four-bagger, number 714, cleared the right field roof. Babe Ruth was the first to launch one over
the roof, too.
Pitchers had a challenging task in Forbes Field. In its sixty-one year history, there was never a
no-hitter thrown.

I thought about Counter's e-mail. He sounded a believer in the Pittsburgh Pirates.

I loved baseball, too, and McKechnie Field was the place to watch it played the way it should be: In the sun
and on the grass.

St. Petersburg, Florida to Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida

St. Petersburg Int'l airport, Fla. to Sarasota/Bradenton Int'l airport, Fla. with an ILS approach to
Runway 14. Click the image to access the complete flight-information package.

The previous flights were easy, but pretty busy during the ILS approach. This flight is less busy, but with
some interesting variations. The flight originates at St. Petersburg Int'l airport, KPIE, Fla. with a destination
of Sarasota/Bradenton Int'l airport, KSRQ, Fla. The ILS approach is to Runway 14. Click on the image
above to download the flight-information package, pie-srq.zip.

The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the approach plate for ILS Rwy 14 at Sarasota, and this text description
of the flight.

We proceed southwest from St. Petersburg, KPIE, and intercept Sarasota's ILS at a rather sharp angle. Again,
no OM, but must rely on a VOR radial and DME distance for the FAF. We have a nice long straight-in ILS
approach to Sarasota's Runway 14. The flight requires some modest VOR/DME work to identify
intersections. Also, simulated ATC instructions will be given in the form of change of altitude at certain
DME distances.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text and your
charts. Only by doing this will you both understand the purpose of each step, but you will visualize them in
your mind, a critical part of instrument flight.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 400 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and one-mile
visibility. The wind is calm.
Move the aircraft to St. Petersburg's Runway 17L, airport KPIE, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-1 receiver to Sarasota's localizer, 111.3 MHz.,
Ident I-FFV.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 136°. as a reminder of runway heading.
Tune the Nav-2 receiver to the St. Petersburg VOR, 116.4 MHz., ident PIE.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 188°. Fly the first leg with Nav-2. .
Switch the DME to Nav-2. This will monitor the distance from PIE VOR.
Fly Nav-2. Takeoff from Runway 17L, climbing straight out to intercept PIE's 188° radial.
NOTE: You may be surprised to see that the VOR-2 needle indicates a left turn to intercept the 188°
radial. That is because of the location of the VOR on the field relative to the runway. Ignore that for
the moment and climb straight out until intercepting the 188° radial, about 0.6 NM on your DME.
ATC has cleared you to 3000 ft. Climb at 90 kts., then cruise at 110 kts. after reaching your assigned
altitude.
Fly Nav-1. On intercept of Sarasota's Localizer for Runway 14, turn left and track inbound at 136°.
You are about 13 NM from the field.

6 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Begin descent to 2000 ft.

Drop one notch of flaps and slow to 75 kts.
Retune the Nav-2 receiver to 115.2 MHz., Sarasota's VOR, Ident SRQ.
Set VOR-2 OBS to 135°.
Monitor the DME along with the other flight instruments—there is no OM.
Maintain 2000 ft. until intercept of the glide slope, shortly before arrival at FRUGL intersection.
FRUGL intersection is 6.3 NM from SRQ VOR. It is the FAF for the ILS approach to Runway 14.
Reduce power and descend down the glide slope upon intercept.
Stay on the glide slope and localizer until you reach your DH of 224 ft. Don't look away from the
gauges until very shortly before reaching the DH, about one-half mile from the runway.
DH is 224 ft. Don't descend below that point if the runway is not in sight. You will reach the DH near
the Middle Marker, amber light on the panel, alternating dots and dashes sounding from the speaker.
Sarasota's Runway 14 TDZE, Touch Down Zone Elevation, is 24 ft., 200 ft. below you at the DH. It
should be an easy coast in from there if you've stayed on top of the needles.
Pat yourself on the back for a good flight.
Flight time: About 22 minutes.

* * *

Kissimmee, Florida to Melbourne, Florida

Kissimmee Municipal airport, Fla. to Melbourne Int'l airport, Fla. with an ILS approach to
Runway 9R. Click the image to access the complete flight-information package.

An ILS approach doesn't get much simpler than this one. The flight originates at Kissimmee Municipal
airport, Fla., KISM, with a destination of Melbourne Int'l airport, Fla., KMLB. The ILS approach is to
Runway 9R. Click on the image above to download the flight-information package, ism-mlb.zip.

The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the approach plate for ILS Rwy 9R at Melbourne, and this text
description of the flight.

We proceed southeast from Kissimmee and intercept Melbourne's Localizer 21 NM from the field providing
a nice long straight-in ILS approach to Runway 9R. The previous flights will make this seem very easy.
Except that it's time for a real-world cross wind.

By now you should have downloaded and installed the virtual E6-B computer, and placed an icon on the
desktop. This marvelous utility calculates Wind Correction Angle—WCA, and Ground Speeds in a matter of
seconds. You should use it for every flight where a wind is present. Then you will know in advance what
action is necessary to counteract the effects of the wind.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text and your
charts. Only by doing this will you both understand the purpose of each step, but you will visualize them in
your mind, a critical part of instrument flight.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 400 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and one-mile
visibility. Set the wind at 150° at 15 kts.
Move the aircraft to Kissimmee's Runway 15, airport KISM, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-1 receiver to the Melbourne VOR, 110.0 MHz., ident MLB.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 089°.
Tune the Nav-2 receiver to the Vero Beach VOR, 117.3 MHz.,
Ident VRB. Fly the first leg with Nav-2.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 129°.
Turn Nav-2 Ident on, and leave it on, to recognize when that VOR becomes "active," which will be
about 3000 ft. MSL.

7 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Switch the DME to Nav-2. This will monitor the distance to VRB VOR.
Takeoff from Runway 15, climbing out left to 135°
Fly Nav-2. Intercept VRB's 129° radial when the VOR gauge becomes "active,"—hear ident and OFF
flag no longer visible.
ATC has cleared you to 5000 ft. Climb at 90 kts., then cruise at 110 kts. after reaching your assigned
altitude.
The Virtual E6-B calculates 3°R WCA for this cross wind and heading at 110 kts. TAS. The wind is
almost directly on the aircraft nose during this first leg, slowing the ground speed to 96 kts.
At about DME 42 the VOR-1 needle should be nearly centered.
Near the intercept point of the 089° radial to MLB retune Nav-1 receiver to Melbourne's Localizer,
108.3 MHz., Ident I-MLB.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 090° as a reminder of the runway heading.
Fly Nav-1. Turn left and intercept Melbourne's Localizer for Runway 9R.
Inbound track is 090° but roll out on 097° heading to compensate for the cross wind
You are about 17 NM from the FAF.
Begin descent to 2100 ft.
Maintain 110 kts. until instructed otherwise.
Change Nav-2 to the Melbourne VOR, 110.0 MHz., ident MLB.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 089°.
Drop one notch of flaps at DME 13 and slow to 75 kts.
The Virtual E6-B calculates 10°R WCA for this cross wind and heading at 75 kts. TAS.
The ground speed will be 66 kts. on final. Use the rule of thumb of five times ground speed for rate of
descent on the glide slope, which is 330 fpm, a shallower rate of descent than you are accustomed to.
Be attentive to this rate of descent while coming down the glide slope. Less power reduction will be
needed than for a no-wind approach.
The FAF, Outer Marker, is at 7.8 NM on the DME.
Maintain 2100 ft. until intercept of the glide slope.
Use this level-flight part of the approach to stabilize the air speed and WCA before reaching the FAF.
Reduce power and descend down the glide slope upon intercept.
Stay on the glide slope and localizer until you reach your DH of 233 ft. Don't look away from the
gauges until very shortly before reaching the DH, about one-half mile from the runway.
DH is 233 ft. Don't descend below that point if the runway is not in sight. You will reach the DH near
the Middle Marker, amber light on the panel, alternating dots and dashes sounding from the speaker.
Remember, your WCA is 10°R. Therefore you must look slightly left to spot the runway since you are
crabbing down on the approach.
Melbourne's Runway 9R TDZE, Touch Down Zone Elevation, is 33 ft., 200 ft. below you at the DH. It
should be an easy coast in from there if you've stayed on top of the needles.
Flight time: About 35 minutes.

Melbourne Beach, our destination after the flight and once the weather clears.

* * *

Avinger Field, Vance, SC to Charleston, SC

8 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Avinger Field, Vance, SC to Charleston, SC. with an ILS approach to Runway 15. Click the
image to access the flight-information package.

A maintenance problem last night forced an unscheduled landing at Avinger Field in Vance, South Carolina,
SC87. It was quickly repaired this morning and we can continue our flight to Charleston, SC, KCHS, our
original destination. But the weather has turned sour so an IFR flight to Charleston is in order with an ILS
approach to Runway 15. Click on the image above to download the flight-information package, sc87-
kchs.zip. The zip-file includes the approach plate for ILS Rwy 15 at Charleston, and this text description of
the flight (No IFR Chart).

This flight will introduce you to the "Might is Right" rule.

You fly this ILS approach into Charleston Int'l, intermingled with the big iron and their 160 kts approach
speed, over twice that of your Nav Trainer. The controller has asked you to maintain 110 kts. until glide
slope intercept at the Outer Marker, a routine type of request at many very-busy airports. You're not
obligated to comply, but if you don't the controller may ask you to do a "right 360 for spacing, and to report
over Atlanta for additional advisories before returning to the final approach course."

You see, the jet jockeys can get a little testy when asked to line up over St. Louis for their turn inbound
behind you while you lollygog in at 75 kts. from 20+ NM out.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text and your
charts. Only by doing this will you both understand the purpose of each step, but you will visualize them in
your mind, a critical part of instrument flight.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 400 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and one-mile
visibility. The wind is calm.
Move the aircraft to Avinger Field’s Runway 13, airport SC87.
Tune the Nav-1 receiver to the Charleston ILS, 109.7 MHz, ident I-CHS.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 153° as a reminder of the runway heading.
Tune the Nav-2 receiver to the Charleston VOR, 113.5 MHz, Ident CHS.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 153°.
Switch the DME to Nav-2.
Turn on your MKR BCN Receiver (Switch is next to the OMI Lights).
Turn on Nav-1 Ident, and leave it on, to recognize when that VOR becomes "active."
Fly Nav-2. Takeoff from Runway 13 with a right turn-out to 145°.
ATC has cleared you to 4000 ft.
When the VOR-2 needle becomes alive, somewhere under 1500 ft MSL, intercept the 153° radial to
CHS VOR.
When VOR-1 becomes active, about 27 DME from the CHS VOR, intercept the localizer and fly the
rest of the way with Nav-1.
At DME 23 descend to 3100 ft. Maintain 110 kts.
At DME 14 descend to 1600 ft. Maintain 110 kts.
When you reach the Outer Marker, descend on the Glide Slope. Lower one notch of flaps and slow to
75 kts.
Your DH is 243 ft., at the MM. Do not descend below 243 ft unless Charleston’s Rwy 15 is in sight.
Charleston's Runway 15 TDZE, Touch Down Zone Elevation, is 43 ft, 200 ft. below you at the DH. It
should be an easy coast in from there if you've stayed on top of the needles.
Flight time: About 23 minutes.

* * *

The DME arc

The next flight introduces the DME arc. A DME arc is a flight path that is flown at a constant distance from
a VOR station. In the extreme case, it would be a 360° circle around the VOR. For a 16 NM DME arc the

9 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

radius of the circle would be 16 NM centered on the VOR. The illustration below shows the 16 NM DME
arc from Ormond Beach VOR, OMN, entering from the north to the Runway 7L ILS approach at Daytona
Beach, Florida.

A DME-arc approach saves time. The time-consuming procedure turn is eliminated along with the
frustration of flying away from the airport to set up the approach.

Daytona Beach International has two DME arc approaches. This is the north-entry 16 NM DME
arc.

The pertinent information is written along the DME arc on the approach plate: 16 NM arc from Ormond
Beach VOR, OMN, no procedure turn required (or allowed), fly the route at 1600 ft. altitude. The entry point
is HANAV intersection.

The aircraft enters the DME arc at HANAV intersection from V267 and continues around the arc until
LR–223, the 223° Lead Radial, which Leads you into the ILS. At LR–223 the pilot turns sharply to the left
and intercepts the localizer.

To fly a DME arc perfectly accurately the pilot must concentrate solely on the DME, constantly making
small heading corrections towards the VOR. This is neither practical nor safe. Other gauges on the panel
demand attention and pre-landing duties are usually calling at this time, also.

Flying straight-line segments is the key to mastering the DME arc.

The HANAV intersection is on OMN 260°. The Lead Radial is 223°—37° around the arc. We will fly "15°
straight-line segments," that is, we will change heading by 15° increments to remain "on the arc."

Upon entering the arc, include the DME in your instrument scan. When the DME increases by 0.1 mi, turn
left (in this case) by 15° and be alert again for the next shift of the DME to 16.1 NM and make the next 15°
change in heading to the left, and so forth until reaching the 223& deg; Lead Radial. Then make a normal,
left turn to intercept the localizer.

* * *

Larkin airport, Palatka, Florida to Daytona Beach, Florida

10 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Larkin airport, Palatka, Fla. to Daytona Beach Int'l airport, Fla. with an ILS approach to
Runway 7L. Click the image to access the complete flight-information package.

This flight originates at Larkin airport in Palatka, Florida, 28J, with a destination of Daytona Beach Int'l
airport, Fla., KDAB. The ILS approach is to Runway 7L. Click on the image above to download the flight-
information package, 28j-dab.zip. The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the approach plate for ILS Rwy 7L at
Daytona Beach, and this text description of the flight.

We proceed east from Larkin to V267, then southbound to the HANAV intersection, and then follow a
16 NM DME arc around the Ormond Beach VOR, OMN to the ILS to Daytona Beach's Runway 7L.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text and your
charts.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 400 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and one-mile
visibility. The wind is calm.
Move the aircraft to Larkin's Runway 9, airport 28J, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-1 receiver to the Craig VOR, 114.5 MHz., ident CRG.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 178°.
Tune the Nav-2 receiver to the Ormond Beach VOR, 112.6 MHz., Ident OMN.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 135°. Fly the first leg with Nav-2.
Turn on Nav-2 Ident, and leave it on, to recognize when that VOR becomes "active," which will be
about 1500 ft. MSL.
Tune your ADF to 263.0, the Daytona Beach Locator Outer Marker Beacon DA.
Set the DME to Nav-2.
Fly Nav-2. Takeoff from Runway 9 and fly due east, 090°, anticipating intercept of the 135° radial to
OMN.
ATC has cleared you to 5000 ft. Climb at 90 kts., then cruise at 110 kts. after reaching your assigned
altitude.
Intercept OMN's 135° radial after the VOR gauge becomes "active,"—hear ident and OFF flag no
longer visible.
When VOR-2 centers turn right, intercept, and track OMN's 135° radial south-east bound.
Fly Nav-1. About 6 NM later, when VOR-1 centers, turn right, intercept V267, and track CRG's 178°
radial south bound.
Switch the DME to Nav-1.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 260° to identify HANAV intersection.
At DME 48, ROYES intersection, begin descent to 1600 ft.
Maintain 110 kts. TAS.
Switch the DME to Nav-2.
Fly Nav-2. When VOR-2 centers at HANAV, note the DME reading.
If the DME is less than 16.0 NM, turn right 10 to 30° to enter the DME arc, depending on the distance
from the desired arc.
If the DME is more than 16.0 NM, turn left to 10 to 30° to enter the DME arc, depending on the
distance from the desired arc.
Change the VOR-2 OBS to 223°, the LR-223 radial from OMN.
Maintain the heading determined above until the DME moves to 16.0 NM. Then return to original
178° heading.
Change VOR-1 to 109.7 MHz., Runway 7L Localizer, Ident I-DAB.
Change VOR-1 OBS to 070° as a reminder of the runway heading.
When the DME shows 16.1 NM turn left 15° and maintain the new heading until the DME again
moves to 16.1 NM.
If the DME keeps increasing, cut another 10° to the left and proceed as before.
Repeat this procedure around the arc until VOR-2 centers, at LR-223°.
Fly Nav-1. Turn left to 090° to intercept the localizer to Runway 7L.
Monitor your ADF – as the needle nears 070° you are also nearing the localizer.
Drop one notch of flaps and slow to 75 kts.

11 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Intercept the glide slope and descend normally.

Stay on the glide slope and localizer until you reach your DH of 230 ft. Don't look away from the
gauges until very shortly before reaching the DH, about one-half mile from the runway. Don't descend
below that point if the runway is not in sight. You will reach the DH near the Middle Marker.
Daytona Beach's Runway 7L TDZE is 30 ft.
Flight time: A busy 37 minutes.

* * *

The P-40 was America's foremost fighter in service when WW-II began. P-40s engaged
Japanese aircraft during the attack on Pearl Harbor and also were flown in China early in 1942
by the famed Flying Tigers. Courtesy Air Force Museum, wp-afb, Dayton, Ohio.

It was raining like the dickens. I had just taxied in to Ithaca's Tompkins County airport, in New York, on my
way back home from Florida, with a detour tomorrow to Albany to pick up a package for The Boss. The rain
and low weather hadn't messed up my plans, this was my scheduled stopover for the night anyway.

The receptionist and I were waiting for the line-boy to bring the numbers in for my refuel so I could settle
the bill, catch a taxi into town, and get to my motel. The line-boy would need a canoe to make it in with this
downpour. It was pitch black outside except for the nearby blue taxiway lights and the reflections off the
tarmac from the rain-weakened floodlights.

The telephone rang. The receptionist answered it, said a few words, then turned to me. "Did you just fly in
from Florida in a Nav Trainer?" she asked.

"Yes," I said, puzzled.

"Lucky," she responded, with a glance out the window at the weather, and handed me the phone.

"Glad I caught you." It was Counter. "The Boss didn't have your motel info so I would have missed you if
you weren't at the airport."

I glanced at the weather, too, thinking only of my nice warm motel. "Glad that didn't happen, I answered."

"I need a lift to Elmira in the morning. Want to get over to the Hammondsport, to the Glenn H. Curtiss
Museum."

"Albany's the other direction from Elmira," I responded, drily. "And the weather's not looking good, either."

"Albany? Who wants to go to Albany? My father-in-law's brother was a Flying Tiger in World War II. Flew
the P-40 Tomahawk. Glen Curtiss invented and built that plane, over 14,000 of them. I want to go see what it
looks like and learn more about it. Twelve cylinder, 1400 HP engine pushed that baby along, I know that
much."

"Great plane, great pilots you know," Counter went on. "They held back the Japanese planes from attacking
the Burma road into China. The Flying Tigers had a thirty to one kill ratio over the Japanese. That ratio's
never been equalled since. Just about won the war for us in China, shot down 300 Japanese aircraft. Our
guys were there the summer before Pearl Harbor, in 1941."

"Sound's a worthwhile visit," I said.

"You know, Curtiss was a great pilot, too," Counter interrupted. "The government issued him Pilot's License
#1. But back to the Tomahawk, I'd sure like to buy one of those P-40s for what Uncle Sam paid."

"How much was that?"

"$55,000 and change," Counter said with a laugh. "See you in the morning."

Ithaca, New York to Elmira, New York

12 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Tompkins County airport, Ithaca, New York to Elmira/Corning Regional airport, Elmira, New
York with an ILS approach to Runway 6. Click the image to access the complete flight-
information package.

We're back in the north again. This flight originates at Tompkins County airport in Ithaca, New York, KITH,
with a destination of the Elmira/Corning Regional airport, Elmira, New York, KELM. The ILS approach is
to Runway 6. Click on the image above to download the flight-information package, ith-elm.zip. The zip-file
includes the IFR chart, the approach plate for ILS Rwy 6 at Elmira, and this text description of the flight.

We proceed southwest from Ithaca to the Elmira VOR via V426, execute a tear-drop turn and return to
intercept the localizer to Elmira's Runway 6.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text and your
charts.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 1200 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and one-mile
visibility. The wind is calm.
Move the aircraft to Ithaca's Runway 32, airport KITH, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-1 receiver to the Ithaca VOR, 111.8 MHz., ident ITH.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 236°.
Tune the Nav-2 receiver to the Elmira VOR, 109.65 MHz., Ident ULW.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 235°.
Switch the DME to Nav-1.
Fly Nav-1. Takeoff from Runway 32 with a climbing left turn.
Intercept and track V428, the 236° radial of ITH.
ATC has cleared you to 4000 ft. Climb at 90 kts., then cruise at 110 kts. after reaching your assigned
altitude.
Fly Nav-2. At 11 DME, VILCU intersection, switch navigation to VOR-2.
Track the 235° radial to the Elmira VOR, ident ULW.
Switch the DME to Nav-2.
Change Nav-1 to Elmira's Runway 6 Localizer, 109.1 MHz., ident I-UEK.
NOTE: Runway 6 and 24 Localizers are both on 109.1 MHz., but have different idents because each is
a front-course approach. If you ident the localizer too early you will hear I-ELM for Runway 24.
Change VOR-1 OBS to 062° as a reminder of the runway heading.
Don't chase the VOR-2 needle as you approach ULW, it will be very sensitive and may even drift off
scale for a moment.
At station passage of ULW, turn left to 223°.
Reset VOR-2 OBS to 223° and track that radial outbound.
Fly Nav-1. At 7 DME turn right to 040°.
Descend to 3300 ft.
Intercept the Runway 6 Localizer.
After localizer intercept, drop one notch of flaps and slow to 75 kts.
Intercept the glide slope and descend normally.
Stay on the glide slope and localizer until you reach your DH of 1144 ft.
Don't look away from the gauges until very shortly before reaching the DH, about one-half mile from
the runway. Don't descend below that point if the runway is not in sight. You will reach the DH near
the Middle Marker.
Elmira's Runway 6 TDZE is 944 ft.
Flight time: 34 minutes.

* * *

13 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

A reminder to the "young-uns" that flavorful, multi-course meals were once served in the "back
cabin," and on real china, as seen in this DC-2. Note, too, the absence of over-size luggage in the
overhead bins.

* * *

CAT II Approaches

For years, the ILS capability to land with a ceiling as low as 200 ft. and a visibility limited to one-half mile
was satisfactory for airline schedule maintenance, if not without a few grumbles. When conditions lower
than this extreme exist, it is rarely for long periods of time, i.e., morning fog that will later burn off, or
during heavy thunderstorms when no one should be attempting a landing anyway, etc. Most passengers
understand that delayed flights due to poor weather are beyond everyone's control.

But the rapidly increasing number of passengers and aircraft showed how much chaos could result if weather
shuts down an entire region to air travel, even if briefly. So the FAA went the extra step and developed a
working system to allow aircraft to land all the way down to zero ceiling and zero visibility.

As previously discussed, ILS landing conditions were segregated into three Categories, with CAT I being the
existing minimums of 200 ft DH and one-half-mile visibility.

A CAT II capability allows landings with seeing conditions as low as a DH of 100 ft. above the TDZE, and
1200 ft. RVR, slightly less than a quarter-mile. In other words, CAT II cuts the CAT I minimums in half.

A pilot doesn't just jump into his favorite aircraft, though, and decide to shoot a CAT II approach because the
weather has gone sour. The FAA issues a CAT II authorization after the pilot satisfies certification and
currency requirements. In addition, a CAT II approach may only be flown in an aircraft meeting minimum
equipment requirements and into fields with approved CAT II approaches.

The pilot must pass both an oral exam and a flight test to be certified. The flight test requires at least two ILS
approaches to a DH of 100 ft, one to a full-stop landing and the other to include a missed-approach
procedure. The CAT II approaches must be performed with an autopilot (over-simplification, but will do).

A CAT II authorization is only valid for six months, then another oral exam and flight test must be passed.

For a runway to be certified for a CAT II approach, an Inner Marker beacon, IM, is required in addition to
the OM and MM beacons. The IM is located at the DH for a CAT II approach.

The minimum additional aircraft equipment requirements are a marker-beacon receiver capable of receiving
the IM and a CAT II approved autopilot. At the IM a white light on the aircraft's instrument panel flashes and
high-frequency dots sound from the loudspeaker.

CAT II Approach Plates

Five features distinguish a CAT II approach plate from a standard (CAT I) ILS approach plate. See the
illustration below, from the CAT II ILS Rwy 9 approach Plate for Stewart Int'l airport in Newburgh, New
York.

14 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Profile view, CAT II ILS Rwy 9 approach Plate, Stewart Int'l airport, Newburgh, New York. See
the numbered notes below.

1. The approach plate is identified as a Category II ILS.

2. The plate carries an aircrew and aircraft certification notice.
3. Two "S-ILS 9" lines exist in the profile view, one for 150 DH, 1600 RVR, and the other for 100 DH,
1200 RVR.
a. For six months after the first issuance of a CAT II authorization, the pilot must adhere to the
150/16 limitation.
b. If the aircraft has no IM receiver, the Inner Marker denoted by a flashing White Light, (or it's
inop), and the pilot relies on a barometric-pressure altimeter for DH, the pilot must adhere to the
150/16 limitation.
c. The 100/1200 CAT II approach is authorized when the pilot confirms completion of three CAT
II ILS approaches to a landing under actual or simulated conditions with a 150-foot DH within
six months of the date of original issuance (after the first six months).
4. Radio (Radar) Altimeter readings are shown on the approach plate for the 150 and 100 ft. DH points.
(shown here as RA142 and RA92 respectively)
5. The TDZE, Touch-Down Zone Elevation also appears on the profile view. (482 ft MSL in this
instance)

Radio (Radar) Altimeter

The radio altimeter, or terrain-clearance indicator, is an

absolute altimeter; it indicates the actual altitude over terrain,
however uneven. It operates by first sending a radio signal
from the aircraft to the earth's surface. A receiver in the aircraft
then picks up the reflection of the signal from the surface. The
time it takes for the signal to travel to the earth and back is
converted into absolute altitude which is displayed on a gauge.

The radio altimeter does not depend on barometric pressure

settings. The Nav Trainers do not have a conventional radio
altimeter of the type shown above, but the fs9 and FSX
versions display this information in digital form above the
standard pressure altimeter.

The radio altimeter has several unique features:

The altitude scale is non-linear. Notice that as much space on

the dial is devoted to 0–100 ft. as is used for 1000–2500 ft. The low end of the scale, when near the
ground, is where the greatest resolution is needed.
Here the altitude bug is set at 92 ft. This corresponds to the 100 ft. DH, 1200 ft RVR CAT II
minimums at Stewart Int'l airport in Newburgh, N.Y.
The radio altimeter can be coupled to the autopilot. When coupled, the green indicator shows on the
dial. The radio altimeter only arms when the autopilot is coupled to the localizer of an ILS approach.
The green indicator light switches to red when descending below the altitude set by the bug.
In a CAT I or CAT II approach, the aircraft is manually flown on to the runway from the DH point.
The autopilot must be switched off to allow manual flying. The radio altimeter automatically switches
off the autopilot when the aircraft has descended to the altitude set by the bug.
Modern radio altimeters are digital with an audio call-out at the bug setting in addition to the above
features.

15 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Consider this CAT II approach. The DH is 100 ft., and with a TDZE of 20 ft., the DA (Decision
Altitude) is 120 ft. If the terrain were absolutely flat, at the DA point, the Radio Altimeter would
register 100 ft. above the ground. But at the DA here the terrain is 28 ft. MSL, 8 ft. above the
TDZE, so the RA correctly shows that the aircraft is only 92 ft. above the terrain.

* * *

Monticello, New York to Newburgh, New York

Sullivan County airport, Monticello, New York to Stewart Int'l airport, Newburgh, New York
with a Cat II ILS approach to Runway 9. Click the image to access the complete flight-
information package.

The final flight in this section culminates in a CAT II ILS approach. This flight originates at Sullivan County
airport, Monticello, New York, KMSV, with a destination of Stewart Int'l airport, Newburgh, New York,
KSWF. The CAT II ILS approach is to Runway 9. Click on the image above to download the flight-
information package, msv-swf.zip. The zip-file includes the IFR chart, the CAT II approach plate for ILS
Rwy 9 at Stewart, and this text description of the flight.

This CAT II flight will use the autopilot.

You may wonder why Stewart Int'l airport, not near a major city, has an 11,818 ft. runway. Those living in
the region will remember it as Stewart Air Force Base, an installation closed down for budget reasons.

We proceed south-bound from Monticello to the Huguenot VOR and turn east to intercept the localizer to
Stewart's Runway 9, followed by the CAT II approach.

As usual, do nothing until you have gone through the step-by-step details of the flight with this text and your
charts.

Set the flight simulator weather conditions to 630 ft overcast, cloud tops at 10,000 ft., and one-quarter
mile visibility. The wind is calm.
Move the aircraft to Sullivan County's Runway 15, airport KMSV, and retract the flaps to 0°.
Tune the Nav-1 receiver to Stewart's Runway 9 Localizer, 110.1 MHz., ident I-SWF.
Set the VOR-1 OBS to 092° as a reminder of the runway heading.
Tune the Nav-2 receiver to the Huguenot VOR, 116.1 MHz., Ident HUO.
Set the VOR-2 OBS to 165°. Fly the first leg with Nav-2.
Switch the DME to Nav-2.
Fly Nav-2. Takeoff from Runway 15 with a right turn to 165° on climb-out.
Pay close attention to VOR-2. The OFF flag will be showing because the aircraft is out of range of the
HUO Omni until you gain sufficient altitude. Turn on and leave on the VOR-2 ident so that you will

16 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
ILS Approaches https://web.archive.org/web/20200429091541/http://www.navfltsm.add...

hear when this VOR becomes active. Check that the OFF flag is no longer visible before relying on
this gauge.
Intercept and track the 165° radial to Huguenot VOR.
ATC has cleared you to 5000 ft. Climb at 90 kts., then cruise at 110 kts. after reaching your assigned
altitude.
At Huguenot VOR turn left to heading 080°.
Change VOR-2 OBS to 080°.
Begin descent to 2900 ft.
Track HUO's 080° radial to the MANEE intersection, the intercept of Stewart's Runway 9 Localizer.
Fly Nav-1. On localizer intercept, turn right to 092°.
Turn On the autopilot and activate the Approach function&#150APR.
Descend to 2100 ft.
Monitor the flight instruments to be certain that the autopilot is accurately tracking the localizer.
Drop one notch of flaps and slow to 75 kts.
On glide slope intercept, reduce the RPMs to maintain 75 kts.
Monitor Airspeed and all other flight gauges closely. Don't let anything wander.
The DH is 582 ft. (RA92), 100 ft. above the runway.
Don't look away from the gauges until very shortly before reaching the DH, at the Inner Marker (series
of high-speed dots from speaker.)
At the DH, disconnect the autopilot (press "Z") and manually fly the aircraft to touchdown.
Stewart's Runway 9 TDZE is 482 ft.
Flight time: 28 minutes.

* * *

CONGRATULATIONS!
You've completed the Tutorial!
Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2008, Charles Wood.

17 of 17 25-05-2022, 18:50
Credits https://web.archive.org/web/20200428190129/http://www.navfltsm.add...

Credits
Although I did the keyboarding for this site it contains the fine
contributions of many people.

With no prior experience in building a website I was overwhelmed

at the generosity of those that I asked for permission to either
reproduce their work, or for their technical help, or to use their
designs, artwork and descriptions.

Many thanks to those listed below in alphabetical order, who so

willingly shared their talent so that I could assemble these
webpages:

Bob Austin, of Mission Viejo, California. A scenerio in the VOR Approaches section required an over-kill
list of mountaineering equipment for Mr. Benjamin Counter. Counter intends to "scale" southwest New
Hampshire's 3165 ft. Mt. Monadnock, the second-most climbed mountain in the world, behind only Mt. Fuji
in Japan. Since Florida's highest "mountain" just reaches 345 ft. I had to look elsewhere for an expert. Bob
Austin jumped right in, providing an awesome equipment list, which I had to shorten. Any omissions are my
work, not his. Bob has the credentials to provide an accurate and complete list, too. In his climbing he's
completed six big-walls including two El Capitan routes—The Nose and Triple Direct. Thanks, Bob. Just
reading your equipment list I could imagine the wind fiercely blowing off the face of the mountain, daring
any climber to move higher.

Wagner Beskow, for his Handy Sheet 3.0. Wagner, a Brazilian in New Zealand taking his Ph.D., assembled
this one-page compendium of useful facts for the flight-simmer. "It takes a while for a beginner to find all
that information and when he does it's all scattered and difficult to refer to. The idea was to produce
something useful that could stay around without cluttering the 'cockpit' too much." Thanks, Wagner. I wish I
could say my cockpit was uncluttered now.

Boeing Company, photo of 40-A mailplane. The 40-A, a fabric-covered mail plane, was Boeing's first
commercial success. Built in 1927 (the year Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic), it carried mailbags
and—load permitting—two passengers. http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/gallery/boeinghistcom.html

Tom Christine, Electrical Engineer, Federal Aviation Administration. Tom was very helpful on specifics
about present-day Non Directional Beacons, including their power levels, uses, their friendly coexistence
with GPS, and frequency limits of the LF band. Thanks Tom.

Mario Corral, Sydney, Australia, who sent me the sketch of the homing pigeon. Mario patiently explained to
me some similarities and differences between homing pigeons, racing pigeons, and carrier pigeons. Thanks
Mario for keeping me on the right track.

Rick Covington, photos of the Piedmont DC-3 in the "On the Beam" section. Thanks Rick ... an excellent
photo. You can find more of his photographic expertise at www.airliners.net. He photographed the Piedmont
shown here in Durham, N.C.

Mike Genovese for the finest interior shot I've seen of any aircraft. "The shot was taken in Nassau in the
early 90's... the plane was just sitting there unattended as we (crew of a major airline) walked by on the
ramp... I could not resist the opportunity for the 'Kodak Moment!' ... " Great pic Mike and keep your camera
handy as you jet to all those tough destinations. See www.airliners.net for more of Mike's work.

Jesse Kempa for his virtual E6-B calculator program. This program does it all, and best of all, it's freeware.
Input True Course, TAS, wind speed and direction and on the click of a button it returns the Wind Correction
Angle and Ground Speed. It will calculate distances between points with known lat. and long. coordinates,
and on and on. Thanks Jesse for a great utility. internet.oit.edu/~kempaj/e6b.htm

Brian Kostick, the gauge programmer of the very-useful digital Elevator Trim indicator. With it the pilot has
repeatability in elevator trim settings. Thanks to Brian, [email protected], for an instrument that I rely on and
for his quick willingness to let me use it in this panel.

Paul Lutus ... who wrote the freeware HTML editor "Arachnophilia" which I used in assembling these
webpages. Arachnophilia is a full-featured, nearly perfect editor—and now v4.0 is even better with a
120,000 word spell-checker. Paul has an outstanding philosophy on life, too. Thanks, although we've never
"met." www.arachnoid.com

Alice Marks ... for the extraordinary sketch of McGirr field. That picture is the essence of the intermediate
fields that Air Mail pilots aimed for when facing an emergency. Her artistry instantly backed me onto
McGirr field—into the new era of Air Mail, with the wind sweeping across the plains, striking me in the
face. But then, it should have because Alice Marks's father was McGirr field's caretaker and Alice grew up
there. She has a wonderful first-person account of the activities at the field that beats anything you'll read in
stuffy history books. Take five and go to her site and relive the experience. http://www.halcyon.com/cliffsan
/airmail/air_mail.html. Thanks Alice, twice ... for sketching McGirr field to keep that kernel of history alive

1 of 2 25-05-2022, 18:53
Credits https://web.archive.org/web/20200428190129/http://www.navfltsm.add...

and for letting me share it with others.

Ned Preston, Agency Historian, Federal Aviation Administration. Ned provided the chronology on when
VORs were introduced, a whole wealth of information on the four-course radio range and on the light-
beacon system used to identify the airways at night before radio navigation facilities were in place. Never
met a more helpful person. Thanks Ned.

Bill Rambow for his many e-mails answering so many questions. Bill designed the incomparable dual panel
for the Douglas DC-3 / R4D / C-47. A restored, flyable U.S. Navy R4D at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum in
Reading, Pa. was the model for his work. A finer piece of work I've never seen. Thanks for the
encouragement, Bill.

Tom H., "Rumple," a gentleman who always sets his work aside to answer the other fellow's questions. I
reaped the benefits of his very-methodical air-file testing. He also designed the manifold pressure gauge for
the training panel in my Virtual Airline. Tom is very visible on newsgroups and forums patiently answering
questions that are asked over and over. Thanks for being there, Tom.

Sarah at Airline History Website for the photo of the KLM Douglas DC-5 which opens the VOR Navigation
section. I only recently learned that a DC-5 had ever existed and wanted to include a picture of it. Since
Sarah's site has 350 Airline Histories, 1700 Airline Pictures, and 150 Airliners from 1920 to 1999, I knew it
would be there. Why is Sarah interested in all this stuff? ... because she's a pilot—and more. She writes
software for and sells IFR flight Simulator programs for real IFR training. Thanks Sarah for the great work
that you put into your site. airlines.freeuk.com/airlines

Chris Sheldon, [email protected], from the U.K. He photographed G-AMPZ at Manchester Airport, and
it appears here in the IFR Charts section. The aircraft belongs to Atlantic Airways (previously called Air
Atlantique) who are based at Coventry Airport. The first letter in the registration number, "G," denotes a
U.K. aircraft. Chris exhibits his work at www.airliners.net. Thanks Chris.

Ike Slack of Coyote Avionics Design. Poor Ike ... My request began as a simple "Could you replace the
sometimes-nonfunctional ADF digital readout with a reliable gauge for FS2002?" Not only did Ike say yes,
but a half-day later it was on our panel. At last, no longer an ADF readout that would occasionally indicate
higher than 360°! With that success came, "Ike it would really be great if we had digital indicators for the
OBS settings on the two VORs." In a jiffy, Ike had them in my e-mail inbox. And so it went also with the
digital heading indicator and digital timer. Ike didn't even wince when I asked if all those gauges could be
made to also function with FS2000. Smile never left his face, either, when I casually mentioned that the
gauges didn't seem to load properly into FS98. So a big thanks to Ike Slack for the digital gauges that are
functional in FS98, FS2000, and FS2002. Visit the Coyote Avionics Design website at
http://www.reality.com/coyote.

Russ Strine, Mid Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, Pa. Here's another fountain of information. A very busy
man at the museum, he pushed his papers aside and spoke with me for an hour on the telephone about
aviation in the old days and VORs and NDBs and answered questions that I just wasn't savvy enough to ask.
He gave me some anecdotal stuff, too, that you can't find in books. Thanks for your time, Russ, and all the
information. www.maam.org

Barry Thomas, Silversmith, who created the magnificent chalice pictured in the section on tracking ADF's
inbound. That section's lead-in story centers around Mr. Benjamin Counter's desire to fly to Meriden,
Connecticut, 'The Silver Capital of the World' to buy some silverwork. The chalice pictured was not created
in Meriden, nor even in the U.S. Barry Thomas is a silversmith in rural Derbyshire, England. Meriden earned
the Silver-Capital title in the late 19th century and it is doubtful that it still retains the rights to that sobriquet.
Thanks Barry for the great picture, too. More of his masterpieces can be found at
http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/bthomas.

Rod Watson, for his stunning photograph of the Gay Head Lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.
Rod has visited over 170 lighthouses in the US. and the Lighthouse Gallery section of his website, Rod's
Photo Gallery, includes photographs of most of those lights, organized by geographic locations. He
photographs more than lighthouses, too. Thanks, Rod, for a great picture. Rod's Photo Gallery

Roland Zuiderveld, from Sweden, for his totally awesome picture of a DC-3 descending out of the clouds at
dusk to land. Roland also displays his work on www.airliners.net. Thanks Roland, and if you take any more
pictures like this one I want to hear about them.

Many others contributed to my virtual airline webpages and were just as generous. They are identified on
that site. Assembling a webpage is so much easier with the assistance of people like these.

With thanks,

Charles Wood

Site best viewed at 600 × 800 resolution or higher.

© 1999 – 2004, Charles Wood.

2 of 2 25-05-2022, 18:53