VOR and GPS Navigation VOR Stands for VHF

VOR and GPS Navigation

VOR • Stands for VHF Omni-Directional Range • Provides magnetic bearing information to or from a station • Comes in 3 types • VOR/DME • VORTAC © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

VOR • Navigational Aid only • Provides only navigational information based on magnetic bearing • Thus, aligned with magnetic north © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

VOR/DME • DME Co-located with the VOR • Allows pilot to determine distance to the station if aircraft is equipped with a DME receiver © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

VORTAC • Military TACtical Air Navigation (TACAN) Co-located with the VOR • Allows pilot to determine distance to the station if aircraft is equipped with a DME receiver • Same concept as a VOR/DME © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

VOR Principles • Ground station that projects straight line courses (radials) from the station in all directions • From top view, imagine the spokes from the hub of a wheel • Distance of the VOR radials depends on the power output of transmitter © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

VOR Principles • All courses (or radials) from the station are in reference to magnetic north • Therefore, radial is called “magnetic bearing” • Radials are identified by numbers 001 to 360 degrees • Compass rose on chart to help aid in interpretation © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

VOR Principles • Transmits on a frequency band of 108. 0 to 117. 95 MHz • VHF – Line of sight • Range depends mainly on altitudes • Generally, you can ensure reception within 40 to 45 miles of a VOR above 1000 feet AGL © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

VOR Classifications • Classified by their operational use: • Terminal (T) • High Altitude (H) • Low Altitude (L) © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

Terminal VOR • Altitude of 12, 000 feet and below • Distance of up to 25 miles from station © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

Low Altitude VOR • Altitude of 18, 000 feet and below • Distance of up to 40 miles from station © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

High Altitude VOR • Reception distance varies based upon altitudes © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

Using the VOR • Tune the VOR Frequency into the VOR Receiver • Ensure that VOR receiver is in VOR/Localizer mode (VLOC) • Identify the station • Press the volume button on the VOR Radio • Ensure NAV is highlighted • Listen for Morse code • Navigate by selecting the proper bearing to or from the station © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

Components of a VOR Receiver TO flag Course Deviation Indicator Omni-Bearing Selector NAV Flag Degrees off course Compass Card © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

VOR Tracking • Are you going TO or FROM the station? • Two different radials • If you enter the wrong one, you will “reverse sense” • Bracket for wind and keep the CDI centered © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

Bad Tracking © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

Reverse Sensing • Always use a bearing that corresponds relatively close to heading • Why does it happen? • VOR Receiver doesn’t know heading of aircraft • It only senses your direction from station • If you set to reciprocal your CDI will deflect in the opposite direction © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

Cone of Confusion • Flying over VOR station, receiver becomes confused on whether you are TO or FROM the station • You may notice an OFF flag if directly overhead © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

Cross Checking Position • Using Triangulation • Take to Radials from two known VORs • Will make three known points © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

VOR Orientation Exercises • Open Page 9 -28 of your Jeppesen Book © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

VOR Receiver Checks • Generally, VORs are pretty accurate (+/- 1 degree) • Must check the accuracy of the receiver • Do this every 30 days © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

VOR Receiver Checks • No specific tolerances for VFR Flight (IFR Only) • 3 ways to check accuracy: • • FAA VOR Test Facility (VOT) Certified Airborne Checkpoint Certified Ground Checkpoint If two receivers are installed in the aircraft, a dual receiver check can be done © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

VOT • Use CDI to center 180 or 360 • Should say 180 degrees TO or 360 degrees FROM © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

VOR Ground/Air Checkpoint • Follow the directions on the checkpoint description for the azimuth © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

Dual Receiver Check • Put both receivers on the same course • Receivers should match one another © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

Time and Distance from a Station • Used to determine how far from a station with no DME Time in seconds between bearings Degrees of bearing change = © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved. Minutes to Station

HSI • Improved VOR indicator that combines heading indicator with VOR © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

DME • Always a separate facility, even if collocated with the VOR • Signal code every 30 seconds says DME is working • VOR Morse code repeats 3 to 4 times in 30 seconds © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

DME • Operates based upon slant range distance • More accurate if further away © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

GPS Navigation… © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

Global Positioning System • Satellite based navigation system • Worldwide in scope • Development still underway • US D. O. D. © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

Global Positioning System • Not necessary to know the technical aspects of GPS operation to use in VFR navigation • Does differ, however from the conventional ground-based electronic navigation © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

Global Positioning System • Uses specialized calculations, known as Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM) to determine if a satellite is providing corrupted information • RAIM needs a minimum of 5 satellites • If RAIM Warning, GPS is not accurate © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

VFR Waypoints for GPS • Normally starts with a VP… • E. g. VPSMS can be input directly into the GPS receiver © 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.

GNS 430 Tips and Tricks

© 2015 Coast Flight Training. All Rights Reserved.