VOR stuff

[sonic]

Well I dont have a problem with the fs9 flight planner, but then agian I havent really used it that much I was taking lessons and touch and gos getting used to how the aircraft handles and practice on landings etc.  I may not like it once I really start to use it,  The extent of my flight planning so far has been a short 30 miles trip.  

[beaky]

Well I dont have a problem with the fs9 flight planner, but then agian I havent really used it that much I was taking lessons and touch and gos getting used to how the aircraft handles and practice on landings etc.  I may not like it once I really start to use it,  The extent of my flight planning so far has been a short 30 miles trip.  

I found in RL flying that I learned more on longer trips. Gives you time to see what's going on. Plan a 100-mile or so trip with a few VOR waypoints. And to understand the deal with AC heading vs. VOR radials, try letting the AP fly along a radial for you (set to "nav" and make sure you aren't also set to follow GPS), with some wind. The AP will track the radial and set the nose where it needs to be to correct for wind. Watching the AP do this will teach you a thing or two about finding a proper heading without bothering to calculate it with a flight computer.
 Of course, you can also try it yourself by "chasing the needle"; once you're settled on the radial, note the compass heading you have to hold vs. the bearing of the radial.

[Gary R.]

Here's how i figured out VOR. A VORTAC is simply a radio beacon that broadcasts a 360 degree signal which the reciever on your plane is designed to interpret.  Look at the VOR on the map.  Now, 000 is north, 090 is east, 180 is south and so on.  Whatever direction you want to approach the VOR from or depart from you simply dial it in on your needles and when the needle goes centered line your course up with it.  It works coming and going.  You can also use VOR radials and DME readings to locate fixes.  Say a fix is 090 from VOR A at 25 NM DME just tune the frequency, set your needle to 090 and  steer for it watching your DME.  When the Needle is centered and you track the radial to 25NM DME viola, you found the fix.  An intersection of two radials at a given DME distance from one or the other or both even is called just that, an intersection. Airline pilots have to know about them because such fixes and intersections often serve as the centers for holding patterns.  Also important, while you are learning VOR navigation it is also good to have a sectional or airways map available to give you a visual aid to what you are trying to decipher on the needles. I don't use FS or any other electronic flight planner, I use charts and maps just as real pilots do.  I plan it out on paper first and then enter into  the flight planner to get IFR and GPS recognition from FS.  And, its even more time consuming if I am setting up an FMC or a Carousel IV A.