by Poseidon » Mon Jan 12, 2004 4:51 am
Hi, you seem to be confused.
When you fly IFR you actually submit a flight plan prior taking off (in FS). The controllers will then guide you during your flight giving instructions regarding the altitude and course you have to maintain, always based on your flight plan (departure, destination, flight level). During IFR flying you have to use your airplane's instruments in order to follow indicated course or maintain indicated altitude as given by the controller.
In VFR you may have submitted a flight plan for VFR or you may not. In both VFR cases you do not expect instructions by the controllers (as in IFR) for altitude and course to keep. This is your own responsibility and as such it is your choice to use your aircrafts instruments to control and monitor your airplane's altitude and course using any kind of navigation (GPS, VOR, NDB, intersections and airways on the map) or not use any aircraft instruments for the above reason and fly completely visually just viewing the terain below (like following a coastline, a river, the sun during sunset) and finally find your destination. In the last situation you obviously must know the area's geography very well.
Actually IFR/VFR is nto a matter of using VOR or any other navigation aid but having a controller guiding you or not.
I hope I helped you.
