FLIGHT SIMULATION FORUMS

[C-130]

I must admit this forum would be little more than a meeting place if it was not for Jon.

Thanks for your knowledge and helping us as people to gain a knowledge.
_________________
Ludo62

[Gonzy]

[99jolegg]

Intersections are simply where two airways meet. They can form waypoints and routes just like VORs except you don't track them. They are signposts, if you will. Intersections aren't used for approaches other than as markers on approach plates for STARs (Standard Terminal Arrival Routes). They have nothing to do with distance markers, nor minimum altitudes.

If I get a moment in the near future, I'll put a post together on VOR navigation, NDB / ADF navigation and subsequent uses. NDBs are useful, they are also the simplest. Tune the NDB frequency (3 digits) to the NAV1 radio. The ADF will simply point to where the beacon is. Simple as that.

Victor airways are low altitude airways. They are airways in the sky that range from around 1000ft to 18,000ft and mainly join VORs. They are around 8nm in width and vary in length, depending on how far apart the VORs are.

Jet airways are high altitude airways that go from 18,000ft to the top of controlled airspace, 60,000ft I believe.
_________________
a

99jolegg - Click below to support FSF

*****************

[Gonzy]

[99jolegg]

[Gonzy]

Finally!! Some clarity! Partial perhaps, but much clearer than before our discussion. I'll stop now before you start charging me a fee. Anyway, I'll first need to put into practice what I've learned before asking anymore questions.

Thank you!

[99jolegg]

No problems, good luck, let us know how you get on.
_________________
a

99jolegg - Click below to support FSF

*****************

[Bindolaf]

Just an extra note on the intersections. True, they are not really a VFR thing, but you don't need a computer to track them. An intersection is usually defined by two radials from two VORs (the point where they meet is the intersection), so if you have a dual RMI instrument (if you can track two different VORs) you're golden.

Let's say VOR ABC radial 350 and VOR DEF radial 073 intersect at intersection ABCDE. Tune to VOR ABC and fly outbound on the 350 radial, while keeping VOR DEF tuned on the NAV2 frequency and OBS2 (CRS2) on 073. When the VOR2 needle centers you are crossing the 073 radial of VOR DEF and you've reached intersection ABCDE.

If you need more clarity I'd be happy to provide - or some of the more experienced people in here even better :)

EDIT: Some explanations about VORs, radials, STAR/SID etc. here

http://library.avsim.net/esearch.php?CatID=fs2004misc&DLID=102004
_________________
Bindolaf

[99jolegg]

One thing that could potentially be a bit misleading in that link:

You will ask: "If I am inbound to the VOR on the 090 radial, am I not travelling on the 270 radial??".

No! Your heading will be 270, but the radial you're on, the "road" you're on is called 090. Once you pass the VOR station, the "road" is renamed 270 and now you're travelling on the 270 radial OUTBOUND instead of the 090 INBOUND to the VOR. Your direction hasn't changed.

True, if heading towards a VOR on the 090 radial with the TO flag your heading will be 270 degrees. You should always remember reciprocity though...to set your OBS to the reciprocal of the radial you're on if the flag is TO not the radial you're on or you will get desperately lost. If flying FROM, the heading and radial (assuming no wind) would be the same.

Just to make that clear
_________________
a

99jolegg - Click below to support FSF

*****************

[Gonzy]

Great tip, Bindolaf, thanks! Will definitely try that out.

[Gonzy]

Hey Jon et al. Back with an update and a question.

Everything has been working as you said they would. It's hard work precisely tracking the VORs, so much so that I don't get to enjoy the view as much anymore. It's more satisfying in other ways though.

Now a quick question, do the VORs in the sim vary re the strength of their signals? If so, how am I supposed to be able to tell one from the other? I ask because there are times when i get a good clean signal 150nm away and sometimes I'm right on top of the VOR when i get the signal (nearest iirc was 30-40 nm). As far as I can tell, there were no terrain obstructions that could have interfered with the signals. How substantial is the effect of altitude & the weather when trying to catch these signals? I usually fly no lower than 3,500 ft.

Although not getting the signal right away does add a little excitement to sim flying, I'm starting to love hearing those morse code beeps. I don't know how I'd react if it were in real life though.

[99jolegg]

You can turn off the morse code identifier once you have the VOR crosschecked with the map.

Any variation in strength will be small. However, remember that in the real world, VORs are subject to coastal effect, thunderstorm effect, night effect and terrain effect. I think only terrain effect is modelled in the sim, the rest aren't. This will have an effect on the strength of the signal and possibly produce an erroneous reading when tracking.

I wouldn't suggest trying to track a VOR for more than 30-50nm.
_________________
a

99jolegg - Click below to support FSF

*****************

[Gonzy]

Ok , got it. Need to study the terrain more closely then when choosing VORs in the flight planning stage. Would you know a VORs maximum range? That would help a lot in the planning stage, want to avoid zig-zagging too much. Thanks!

[99jolegg]

It has a line of sight limitation but some can reach up to 175nm I believe. Don't forget you can fly for 50 miles to a VOR and then 50 miles from a VOR (as an example) before tuning to the next VOR. That should eliminate the need to zig zag.
_________________
a

99jolegg - Click below to support FSF

*****************

[Gonzy]

Thanks for reminding me. I do keep failing to track outbound, always rushing to track next in-bound. Probably a fear-induced reaction, also as a means to save fuel I guess as I usually take trips that would run the tanks dry (usually use small, single engine ga's).

Thanks, will try to keep that in mind!

[99jolegg]

UPDATE - 19 Mar 08 - Original post updated, to include clarification on certain parts, to add some common questions and answers to those questions and clarification about the GPS approach.
_________________
a

99jolegg - Click below to support FSF

*****************

[EthicsGradient]

Thanks, I've been looking like this for ages! I found plenty of tutorials relating to how ILS works, but none that showed me how to properly set one up!
_________________


"Higher, Ever Higher"

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz|8GB Crucial 800 MHz RAM|ASUS P5N-D Motherboard|Seagate 500GB Barracuda SATA II 7200rpm HDD|Gigabyte 9800GT-OC 1GB|OCZ Stealthstream 700GXS PSU|Vista Home Premium x64 SP1|Iiyama 22" E2208HDS-1 Monitor (at 1920 x 1080)

[C-130]

Can soemone tell me how i get the ADF frequency?
_________________
Ludo62

[Gonzy]

I believe that would be the NDB frequency found on the map, in red, circular icon with lots of dots. John would know for sure ofcourse.

[99jolegg]