Question about a VOR

[BlueJays]

Good morning

Say, for example, you know that the heading from one airport to another is 200 degrees (assuming no wind), would that be the heading that you have the arrow pointing to on the VOR, with the needle showing you whether you were you left or right of track?

Sorry if this is a silly question!

Regards

B

[ChickenHouse]

Good morning

Say, for example, you know that the heading from one airport to another is 200 degrees (assuming no wind), would that be the heading that you have the arrow pointing to on the VOR, with the needle showing you whether you were you left or right of track?

Sorry if this is a silly question!

Regards

B

Good Morning!

Yes, it is silly ...

First question: where is the VOR?

[Fitter2]

Answer to all your questions.

http://www.pprune.org/professional-pilot-training-includes-ground-studies/505790-ir-training-software.html

Disclaimer, I have no connection with Steve Oddy than being a satisfied user.

[BlueJays]

At the airport

[Martin_123]

see if this helps How to Navigate Using a VOR: 9 Steps (with Pictures) - wikiHow (http://www.wikihow.com/Navigate-Using-a-VOR)

[funfly]

When the needle is pointing at the VOR it's pointing at the VOR.

[Jan Olieslagers]

When the needle is pointing at the VOR it's pointing at the VOR.

Yes, but is that with reference to true bearing or magnetic? :8

[paco]

I assume you mean track (VORs are nothing to do with headings*), but yes, if the track from A to B is 200 degrees, you would place that at the top of the VOR instrument. That would be the radial from A, then follow the indicator that tells you whether you are left or right.

*Having said that, it can be useless without heading information.

Phil

[thing]

You need the magnetic heading (or selected radial that you are going to intercept) not track to the VOR set on the instrument itself, the VOR doesn't know what the wind is. Then make a rough allowance for drift on your compass heading and see how it pans out. Don't sweat the numbers, all you need to be doing is tracking down your selected VOR radial and if you are far enough away the allowance for wind will probably change anyway.

[tecman]

To amplify a bit, if you want to use the aid as a command instrument, you dial up the magnetic ground track outbound from the reference VOR station (location A in Paco's example). 'Command instrument' just means that e.g. you fly right when the needle is deflected to the right. For example, if the magnetic track from A to B is 200 deg, dial that into the omni bearing selector (rotating scale), then fly (or intercept) the track ('radial') from B to A keeping the needle centred.

That's all very simplifed, and references such as those noted earlier are well worth a read.

[ChickenHouse]

Doing radionav one should always be precise! If assumed VOR is on RWY DEST, wind zero and HDG from DEP to DEST is 200, then you fly INBOUND VOR RADIAL 020 -> bottom of needle to 020, flag TO (bad example to remember, due to the 200 - 020).

[thing]

Are you one of these magic pilots that can fly to within a degree? I bow to your abilities.

[tecman]

CH, before the OP gets confused it's worth pointing out that either of our settings will work, if the course deviation indicator is interpreted appropriately.

I have always been under the impression that VOR 'radials' are strictly magnetic tracks outbound, so in your example I would announce that I was 'inbound on the 200 radial' and, of course, my heading would be 020.

[ChickenHouse]

I have always been under the impression that VOR 'radials' are strictly magnetic tracks outbound, so in your example I would announce that I was 'inbound on the 200 radial' and, of course, my heading would be 020.

Why are you flying back home ;-) ? The OP question was regarding a heading of 200 from departure to destination VOR and if you do so, you fly inbound on physical VOR radial 020, correct.

[thing]

The OP question was regarding a heading of 200 from departure to destination VOR and if you do so, you fly inbound on physical VOR radial 020, correct. Correct. Tecman all VOR radials are magnetic. I think where people get confused is flying inbound to VOR's, outbound never seems to be a problem as you are flying the physical radial give or take a few degrees for tracking. In your example above CH putting it into real life I've heard people inbound on the 020 radial call that they are inbound on the 200 radial, as of course that would be their heading.

[tecman]

Well, I do sometimes come home:). But I see that you assumed the VOR to be at the remote destination, which is fine and does bring you inbound on the 020 radial with a heading of 200, +/- drift correction if there were any.

The terminology I was trying to underline for the OP is that radials are ONLY outbound magnetic tracks from the VOR, and that one can be inbound or outbound on a given radial.

Thing, I made that precise point about magnetic tracks and radials in the my first post. The divergence in examples came from assuming a different start/end point for the flight.

[Mach Jump]

Say, for example, you know that the heading from one airport to another is 200 degrees (assuming no wind), would that be the heading that you have the arrow pointing to on the VOR, with the needle showing you whether you were you left or right of track?

Sorry if this is a silly question!

Assuming that the VOR is either at the departure, or destination airfield, Yes, except that, if you go off track, the left/right needle will show which way to go to get back on track.


MJ:ok:

Ps. There are no silly questions, just confusing answers. ;)

[Radix]

..........

[AdamFrisch]

You can get yourself into more trouble than you'd ever think possible with a VOR unless your aircraft is pointing/flying in the general direction you're tuning. It gets real confusing if you don't. With an HSI, you don't have this problem.

http://flighttraining.aopa.org/images/ft_magazine/article_art/1294vor3.jpg

http://www.pilotfriend.com/training/flight_training/nav/images/6.gif

[Private jet]

Correct. Tecman all VOR radials are magnetic.



I believe VOR's in northern Canada & Alaska are based on True N due to the rapid changes of variation because of proximity to the mag N pole and all that...

[tecman]

Interesting re Canada, and vaguely recall an article about FAA IFR track revision to account for changes in variation. Can't remember the outcome but maybe one of the US posters knows the result. I'm assuming that this will all be very second order to the OP :)

[foxmoth]

Another thing to consider here is the distance - the OP stated the VOR is BlueJays - At the airport,

But he does not say WHICH airport, with a VOR at both ends and a distance of (say) 120nm you will initially want to track OUTBOUND on the departure VOR on the 200 radial, this is because you will be out of range of your destination, heading will be 200 as no wind. depending on height you will lose the first VOR due to range, when within range of the destination VOR you then want to track inbound on the 020 radial (OBS at the top on 200 though, still tracking and heading 200). You may actually find though that when you pick up the destination VOR, due to various factors, you are not actually ON the 020 radial - you then have two choices - centre the needle and fly inbound on whatever radial you are actually on, or fly L/R to centre the needle and fly inbound on the 020 Radial. Also note that if you follow a radial outbound to get somewhere errors in the system may mean you are L/R of track when you get there, obviously the further away from the VOR that you are the larger the off track error - you can be looking at up to 5 degrees or even more, though this is rare, so 60nm from the VOR you could be 5 miles off track!

[glendalegoon]

Dear ORIGINAL POSTER:


I would like you to think about this. It might help you understand.


The VOR extends 360 roads. And you name the roads by the numbers/degrees.

The trouble is you can go two ways on each of these roads .

(FOR EXAMPLE. Down near Los Angeles, California there is a road called 101. IF you are in Santa Barbara (about 90 miles west/northwest of Los Angeles ) You can get on 101 and if you are going in one direction upon it you will go to Los Angeles, but if you are on the same road , in the other direction you will get To San Francisco...same name of the road, different direction)


So, if you are going to an airport that has a VOR upon it and it is the only VOR you are using. YOU ARE ON THE 20 degree road, but going on the 200degree direction on that road. And in no winds, your heading will be 200 degrees and you should select 200 degrees in the OBS (omni directional bearing selector).

Now, sustitute radial for road.



There are other terms you really must learn.


RADIALS

COURSE (everyone uses the term ground track and I don't like it, course is the better term)

Heading (and the VOR doesn't care what heading you are on)

BEARING TO

BEARING FROM


Get out a piece of paper and pencil and draw it until you can explain it somehow to someone else.

[thing]

I believe VOR's in northern Canada & Alaska are based on True N due to the rapid changes of variation because of proximity to the mag N pole and all that...

Apologies. I'm being very parochial and thinking everyone is flying in UK, I must remember it's called the World Wide Web for a reason...:)