Patch's Flight Schools Guide

Most flight schools will have you focus a huge chunk of your time learning navigation. As a pilot, it’s your duty to know exactly where you are at any given time. Without knowing where you’re located, you may soon find yourself flying into Class B airspace without receiving clearance first. Every part of the country also contains military operations areas as well as restricted flight areas. Flying into these areas won’t just cost you a reprimand; they may cost you your license and the safety of yourself and the others using the area. If you ever are lost, the most important thing you can do is CONFESS the situation to someone who can help you. Air traffic controllers are usually able to locate you and help get you out of or stay clear of any areas you need to avoid.

The most common tool used for aircraft navigation is the “very high frequency omnidirectional range” system or VOR. There are 3 different types of VOR systems available, the basic VOR, VOR/DME and VORTAC facilities. All three work by transmitting a radio signal out from the VOR station in every direction. These “beams” or signals are referred to as “radials” and spread out in all 360 degrees. The signal transmitting out at 270 degrees from the station is called the two-seven-zero radial. This is what you use to figure out where you are located.

The VOR signals transmit at a very high frequency and are limited to line of sight. That means, if you have a mountain between you and the VOR station, you may not get a good signal. This will sometimes require you to climb to a higher altitude to intercept the transmission. If there’s an interference area, you’ll usually see this listed in the Airport/Facility Directory.

There are actually three different types of VOR stations depending on your location and where you’re flying. The first one is the Terminal VOR or TVOR and should only be used when you’re within 25 nautical miles of the transmitting station and below 1000′ above ground level (AGL). The low altitude VOR is designed to be used accurately within 40 nautical miles and between 1000′ and 18,000′ AGL. The last is the HVOR or high altitude VOR. It’s accurate at various altitudes and, depending on topography, up to 130 nautical miles.

Now that you know how the signal is transmitted, how is it received in your aircraft? In order to use this information your plane is going to need an antenna, a receiver and the VOR indicator on your control panel. The same radio you use to talk to the air traffic controllers will pick up a signal from the VOR station. If you switch over to this signal, you’ll hear a Morse code being transmitted which should match the identifier listed on your sectional. It’s very important for you to verify the identity of the VOR station before you start using it for navigation.

Let’s look at flying TO the VOR station first. Once you’ve tuned in the VOR and verified it’s the right one, your indicator will spring to life and you’ll see the needle start to move. Turn the dial until you have the white needle light up exactly in the middle of the indicator and there is a “TO” listed on the dial. At this point you be able to see exactly what heading you need to fly to go directly to the VOR station. Obviously 180 degrees out from this, the needle would still be lined up but it would now say FROM instead of TO. This is the heading you need to fly directly away from the VOR station and it’s also the “radial” from that VOR.

Remember, this only tells you what radial you’re on at that moment. If you drew a line at that angle out of the VOR on your sectional, you’d know you’re somewhere on that line. What you want to know is WHERE on that line. One of the best ways to figure out exactly where you are, is to use the second VOR in your aircraft (if it’s equiped with one) and do something we call triangulation. Find another local VOR and tune in that station in the same way. Figure out what radial you’re on from that VOR and draw another line out from that station. Wherever the two lines meet is where you’re located. Keep them both lined up and you’ll be able to track yourself on your sectional.

Even if you’ve learned how to fly and use your new GPS system, it’s important to always do some navigation with the old standby, VOR. I agree GPS has really simplified things for pilots and helped us a lot with accuracy and safety. A VOR will not tell you where the nearest airport is and automatically tune in the tower, but it will provide you with a second source of information if you should ever need. Try planning and flying your next cross-country using nothing but your VOR. It’s a fun exercise and helps keep your skills sharp.

Tagged as: A/FD, GPS, navigation, radial, triangulation, VOR, VOR/DME, VORTAC